The Australian Cyber Conference 2024 in Melbourne wrapped up another successful year, bringing together experts, innovators, and leaders from across industries to address the most pressing challenges and opportunities in cybersecurity. Sean Martin and Marco Ciappelli teamed up with special guest Akash Mittal to capture the highlights, insights, and spirit of collaboration that defined this year’s event.
Guest: Akash Mittal, Chair, Australian Information Security Association (AISA)
On LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/akashgmittal/
Hosts:
Sean Martin, Co-Founder at ITSPmagazine [@ITSPmagazine] and Host of Redefining CyberSecurity Podcast [@RedefiningCyber]
On ITSPmagazine | https://www.itspmagazine.com/sean-martin
Marco Ciappelli, Co-Founder at ITSPmagazine [@ITSPmagazine] and Host of Redefining Society Podcast & Audio Signals Podcast
On ITSPmagazine | https://www.itspmagazine.com/itspmagazine-podcast-radio-hosts/marco-ciappelli
____________________________
Episode Notes
Throughout the conference, one theme stood out above all: the power of community. Akash reflected on how CyberCon fosters a collective effort to strengthen Australia’s cyber resilience by uniting government, academia, and industry under one roof. From keynote presentations to impromptu hallway conversations, the conference showcased how innovation and human connection go hand in hand to address global cybersecurity challenges.
The Block Party and Beyond
One of the most talked-about moments was the renowned Block Party, a celebration that blurred the line between networking and friendship. Marco described it as a unique experience that left a lasting impression on attendees. Beyond the lively gatherings, the conference also stood out for its ability to create a space where meaningful connections and ideas flourished—whether on the exhibition floor, during panel discussions, or at informal meetups.
Looking Ahead: The Future of CyberCon
As the conference came to a close, Akash shared an exciting vision for what lies ahead. With an ethos of continuous improvement, the organizing team is committed to delivering even more impactful experiences in the years to come. Feedback from attendees will play a vital role in shaping future events, ensuring CyberCon remains at the forefront of the cybersecurity community.
Highlights from the Exhibition Hall
The buzzing exhibition hall served as the heart of CyberCon 2024, brimming with energy and engagement. Sean and Marco noted how sponsors and vendors played a pivotal role, sparking conversations about cutting-edge solutions and driving collaboration across sectors. The hall wasn’t just about showcasing products—it became a space for dialogue, exploration, and innovation.
A Legacy of Success
CyberCon 2024 was more than just a cybersecurity conference—it was a celebration of the community that makes progress possible. The dedication of volunteers and the meticulous planning behind the scenes ensured the event’s success. As Akash noted, the conference continues to evolve as a space where quality content and genuine connections take center stage.
Closing Thoughts: A United Community
As Sean, Marco, and Akash wrapped up their time at the Australian Cyber Conference 2024, they reflected on what made the event truly special: its people. The conversations, collaborations, and shared sense of purpose have set the stage for a brighter, more connected future in cybersecurity. Melbourne’s vibrant energy was the perfect backdrop for a conference that reminded us all that innovation is strongest when it’s rooted in community.
____________________________
This Episode’s Sponsors
Threatlocker: https://itspm.ag/threatlocker-r974
____________________________
Resources
Learn more and catch more stories from Australian Cyber Conference 2024 coverage: https://www.itspmagazine.com/australian-cyber-conference-melbourne-2024-cybersecurity-event-coverage-in-australia
Be sure to share and subscribe!
____________________________
Catch all of our event coverage: https://www.itspmagazine.com/technology-cybersecurity-society-humanity-conference-and-event-coverage
To see and hear more Redefining CyberSecurity content on ITSPmagazine, visit: https://www.itspmagazine.com/redefining-cybersecurity-podcast
To see and hear more Redefining Society stories on ITSPmagazine, visit:
https://www.itspmagazine.com/redefining-society-podcast
Want to tell your Brand Story Briefing as part of our event coverage?
Learn More 👉 https://itspm.ag/evtcovbrf
From Melbourne to the World: Recap, Highlights and the importance of Human Connections in a Digital Connected Society | An Australian Cyber Conference 2024 in Melbourne Conversation with Akash Recap | On Location Coverage
Please note that this transcript was created using AI technology and may contain inaccuracies or deviations from the original audio file. The transcript is provided for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a substitute for the original recording, as errors may exist. At this time, we provide it “as it is,” and we hope it can be helpful for our audience.
_________________________________________
00:00:00] Marco Ciappelli: Sean, Marco, you know, it took me three days to get the time with Akash here. He's been busy. He's been busy.
[00:00:11] Akash Mittal: Yes, we've been busy as, as you, I believe you guys have been very busy talking to a lot of people, speakers. I think we're about
[00:00:18] Marco Ciappelli: 18 podcasts.
[00:00:20] Akash Mittal: Wow, you covered for the year.
Definitely
[00:00:25] Marco Ciappelli: until next year where we come back.
[00:00:27] Akash Mittal: Awesome. That's what we want. You come in, you collect the content for a year, and then we bring you back again. And
[00:00:33] Marco Ciappelli: then we do it all over again. We had a fantastic conversation. Government, uh, Academy, researcher, and uh, really, really good. Really inspiring, I have to say.
[00:00:45] Sean Martin: A lot of relevant, important stuff taking place here in Australia. Yeah. A lot of things leading, a lot of things catching up in some regards as well.
[00:00:54] Akash Mittal: Yeah, absolutely. You know, we are fully geared up for, you know, making this, the, the Australia a really cyber resilient country in the next few years. You know, we've got the support from the government.
There's a lot of things that are happening, which I'm sure you guys must have heard through the sessions and through, you know, talking to various people. Uh, everyone else really excited over here. The community as you, I'm sure you saw, came together. They all want to make this world a better, safer world, uh, digitally.
And we're excited.
[00:01:28] Sean Martin: You can feel the passion, you can feel the dedication to this, uh, to this work. I don't need that in my ear. But, uh, yeah, I mean you can just tell people do care about creating a society here in Australia. And being part of a global movement. Society that, uh, is looking out for each other.
[00:01:46] Marco Ciappelli: Yeah, definitely. That's something that I've seen, but first of all, a lot of conversation that involved the human element, which is not just the technology is how technology serves our communities at a small level and at a bigger level to the global level. When we talk with, uh, with the ambassador for technology, uh, that, uh, Just highlight how many of others like him are connecting to do something for the region and also at a global level.
So that's really important.
[00:02:23] Akash Mittal: You know, he's been tasked with a very important task. You know, Brendan Dowling, the ambassador for cyber security. That's what he's doing. He's, he's really making a difference. You know, those connections internationally for Australia. Uh, and then, as you said, Marco, the human element is absolutely so fundamental.
Again, as you would have seen over the last few years, you know, yes, the content is important, the keynotes, the featured speakers, all those things are important. But it's that human connection, people coming together, learning from each other's experiences, sharing. You know, we have the awards night on Tuesday night, and apart from, you know, celebrating the organizations and individuals.
There was so much emotions. There was so much, you know, sharing of, you know, stories amongst, uh, you know, everyone. It's just phenomenal. And, and that's why, you know, that human element is so, it, it underscores everything we do in the sector.
[00:03:13] Marco Ciappelli: Yeah. And talking about event, last night was the block party, which I already said, that's fantastic.
I had never seen it at any other event. I've not experienced anything like that at all. Yeah, no other event. And again, Thank you.
[00:03:25] Sean Martin: I hear people come just for that.
[00:03:27] Marco Ciappelli: Absolutely. And people, what I really enjoy is, they were not there trying to make sales. No. They were trying to make friends. Correct.
[00:03:36] Akash Mittal: Exactly.
That's the beauty of it. The block party has it's own reputation. The conference is the conference. But then the block party has it's own value. As you rightly said Sean, people do come for just a lot of people actually are really very interested to be part of the block party. Make those friends, make those connections.
Uh, we had the largest block party last night, uh, in, in, in the history that we've been doing this. And, and the environment was great. The weather worked enough, I heard. It was pouring down at 6. 30 and then it stopped the minute the delegates were coming in. Great, great planning. It was a great night. Great planning on the weather.
Yes.
[00:04:11] Sean Martin: And the band led everybody over, which was really cool.
[00:04:13] Akash Mittal: Yeah, the band did. That was great. We had people dancing in front of it. I know. It's like, it was great. I saw it. I saw them on the line. It was better than my Indian wedding, I must tell you.
[00:04:25] Marco Ciappelli: And then there is the business side. You have a lot of sponsors, a lot of booths in the exhibition hall here.
So, was it what you expected?
[00:04:36] Akash Mittal: Look, I think above and beyond. I think everyone, the team's done a great job, you know, to bring it all together. The sponsors, you know, very happy. The feedback's been great. Everyone's, you know, really enjoying the conversations. Uh, the hall that we've got this time is bigger than the previous years.
It's one of the biggest halls in the history of this conference. And people are enjoying it. In terms of having that extra space to sit down and have those conversations. And then really interact with the business people, understand what challenges people are trying to solve. And see, again, this is another thing.
As part of this community coming together, The vendors play a very important part. They're the people who have seen various problems and they then bring in these solutions. So me as a cyber security professional, if I'm facing an issue and I'm trying to solve a challenge, if I come here and talk to them and they go, Hi, we have got you covered.
That's what I want. I want to be successful in my job and they play that part.
[00:05:39] Sean Martin: And I have to say, it's always been busy in there. Not uncomfortably, but you just get the, you get a good vibe being in there. There's the hubs, there's the villages, there's, there are people talking, there are people sitting, there are people learning.
It's, it's, I mean, it's pretty spectacular. And the food in there, it's pretty good too. You promised us good food. Yes. You delivered, for sure. Thank you. I mean, sushi in the hall? Come on, it doesn't get much better than that.
[00:06:06] Akash Mittal: Thank you. Thank you very much, Sean. We are. Very cautious about that. We really want to give everyone a great experience.
You know, whether it's the content, whether it's the connections, whether it's the food. We want to make sure that when you are here, you're really looked after. When you're fed well, you can learn well. Yeah, absolutely. And then it keeps you here, you know. You don't have to, you know, go outside and not be part of the conference in any way.
[00:06:30] Marco Ciappelli: Yeah, yeah. Even at the end of the day, even before the other events, people come back and hang out. Playing pinball. And other arcade games and hanging together. So that's, uh, that's really, really cool. Well, as you, I made, you made the joke before I said, you see the light at the end of the tunnel and say, yes, but the problem is that then it started all over again.
So what would you, are you envisioning something special already for next year or the Canberra one?
[00:07:04] Akash Mittal: Absolutely. It's going to be better. Yeah. That's, that's for sure. That's, that's our promise. Always better. We try to make it better every year. And, and that's again is, is our commitment. That we'll try to make the conference even better for our delegates.
We will collect the feedback through a survey very shortly. Today, after the conference is finished. Very good. We want to hear from our delegates. And please, please, if you were here and you spent the last three days or even part, part of the, you know, the, the conference. Please let us know what worked or what didn't work.
We really welcome that feedback so we can improve it. The planning has already started. Like I said to you earlier, Marco, that the end of the tunnel, the problem with it is that it goes in a circle. Uh, so we already started that. Uh, it's early days at this stage, but, but we are working through, you know, how the exhibition floor needs to look like and, you know, what the sessions are going to look like and what, what sort of, you know, uh, entertainment we're going to bring next year.
That's very important.
[00:07:58] Sean Martin: All right, it is. Entertainment.
[00:08:00] Marco Ciappelli: Yes, entertainment and keynotes, which we happen to know a few of them already. Uh, Joe Sullivan, he got an enormous feedback. I think people really appreciate it. Mikko, keep on it. I think he bent some lines during his, yeah. Yeah, Mikko, again, always fascinating.
And then you got Kall Pen, you got the astronauts, I forgot the name. Jose Hernandez. Yeah, Hernandez, which look like we may be able to have a chat post event with him. So that's really cool. And uh, yeah, I, look, I, I approve. I came all the way from Los Angeles and I'm glad I did. I'm glad you made it happen.
And to help and represent what you guys are doing here. All over the world. It's a bit again. It's a community. It's a team effort.
[00:08:52] Akash Mittal: Absolutely. It, you know, it absolutely takes the whole community to do this. All right, there's the volunteers, you know, the ISA operations team, our sponsors, the government, the state government of Victoria.
Everyone chips in. The center MCEC, events partner, Cornerstone. Everyone, they, they just, you know, Come together, make it happen, make it successful for all of us all the time. Um, and, and the one thing I'll also say, Marco, is, you know, we talk about bigger and better and, and we talk about numbers, you know, yes, numbers are, is, is a way of measuring things and it's a metrics, you know, and we would like to do that to see how we're doing.
But what's really significant is the connections, the quality, the quality, you know, that, that, that is really what I think keeps us going. You know, when we have those conversations, like You know, you guys made a significant effort to, you know, to come all the way over here, you know, to attend this conference.
And the feedback you're providing on that makes us more excited and go, Oh, that's great. We're gonna, we are here on, onto something. We're gonna make it even better next year.
[00:09:57] Sean Martin: We are onto something. It's been an incredible, incredible experience all week. For sure. For sure. And uh, Canberra's coming up.
[00:10:06] Akash Mittal: Canberra's coming up. Yes, uh, in March.
[00:10:09] Sean Martin: Slightly different
[00:10:11] Akash Mittal: focus. We do this for our, uh, you know, government and the public sector over there in Canberra. They don't travel, you know, and they're busy and they don't travel for conferences, you know, outside Canberra or, you know, and that's why we take the conference to them to help them out, you know, again for the same reason, same purpose, make the connections, get the understanding of what's happening in the industry, meet with vendors.
Uh, that's in March. Um You are more than welcome to fly over again. I know it's it's 17 hours of flight,
[00:10:42] Marco Ciappelli: but we can talk about it. Yeah
[00:10:46] Akash Mittal: And then the next year Melbourne again 14 15 and 16th of October October. October. It's in October. Correct. Yeah, yeah. It is, it is actually in October.
Last year as well it was in October. This is the, you know, this time we had it in November because of the availability with uh, with the venue. Uh, the Fly loves me. I know he is loving me a few minutes ago. So, , they wanna be on the podcast, . Oh, you guys are, you're very popular. You know, that's why, you know, maybe, maybe, you know, she was on the, on the floor and it was like, oh, these guys are popular.
That's right. Yeah. So, yes, in Melbourne next year again in October. Um, and you absolutely have to come back again. We'll certainly do that. I will put it on the calendar. Found the home here.
[00:11:30] Marco Ciappelli: Yeah. We had a great time. Made amazing people, made new friends, and, uh. Congratulations. I mean, it's definitely not your first time.
You guys did it very well. I mean, I, from the outside and a little bit of the backstage, I saw everything rolling and working very well. So congratulations. It's not, it's not easy. It's not easy to organize something like this big.
[00:11:56] Sean Martin: So I want to thank Megan, Ben and Zoe. Yeah. Incredible. So this thank you is for you.
I'm very grateful for all that you've done to help pull the conversations together and And, uh, people to us and, and helping us be successful in capturing the stories here. So not great. Thank you.
[00:12:14] Akash Mittal: Thank you so much for, for your participation. You guys have been great team. Uh, and, and like we, we, we really enjoy this partnership and, and absolutely, you know, this is going to be a long term thing for us.
[00:12:25] Marco Ciappelli: Great. Absolutely. Appreciate it. so much. so much. And everybody stay tuned. Uh, we'll probably should catch up and look all the other podcasts that we have done. If this is the last one or the first one that you see, there is a lot in between. There's a lot going on. A lot going on.
[00:12:41] Sean Martin: At CyberCon. Thank you Akash.
[00:12:43] Marco Ciappelli: Thank you. guys. CyberCon.
[00:12:46] Sean Martin: Melbourne. They have good swag too. Yeah. Yes, of course. Yeah,
[00:12:50] Akash Mittal: cool
shirts.