Newsletter
November 2022

Recap of our Achievements for 2022!

WiCyS Australia aims to promote the cyber security discipline and profession through the presence and leadership of women, non-binary, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders who are passionate in the field of cyber security. Every year we aim to make an impact and this year we strengthened our collaborative partnerships with the Australian Information Security Association (AISA), Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Young Indigenous Women In Stem Academy CyberTaipan Program, Monash Technical School – STEM program, Prahran High School and Latrobe University that enabled us open the pathway to continue to achieve our mission.

Our Achievements are driven through the generous volunteer work of our Leadership team and members throughout the year of which we are very grateful for. Below are some of the highlights:

AISA (Australian Information Security Association) offered members of WiCyS free gold passes to attend the conference and setup a booth that saw over 500 visitors express interest in our community signifying the importance of what we do and how everyone wants to make an impact to our goal. If you would like to assist with 2023 planning of the AISA conference, please email wicysaustralia@wicys.org. We’ve included some photos from the wonderful event below!

CyberTaipan Competition – Through the CSIRO Young Indigenous Women's STEM Academy, WiCyS Australia were invited for the second year to support the program, we were privileged to be part of a 12-week program where we provided group coaching support to over 20 Indigenous and Torres Straight high school students across Australia who kicked goals in the national competition. If you would like to participate in 2023, please email us at wicysaustralia@wicys.org

Students are core to WiCyS – in fact it was the key reason Our founder Dr Ambareen Siraj established the association when 15 years ago she found herself being the only female student in class. To date WiCyS has over 50 student chapters across the globe and this year we are very proud to establish the first student chapters in Victoria - Prahran High school and with Latrobe University soon to come.

Networking - As we transitioned out of Covid to in person events we held our first Unplugged networking coffee mornings in Melbourne and Sydney and virtual event on Cyber Security Consulting Careers of three amazing women – you can watch a summary clip of this on our YouTube channel!

Message from WiCyS Australia - Director Programs Jane Arriagada

In this newsletter:

1. How to Protect Critical Infrastructute from Cyber Threats

2. WiCyS Student Chapter at Prahran High School

3. Member Spotlight: Eloise Robertson

4. Cybersecurity and Tech programs or organisations to support young women

5. Upcoming WiCyS Event – End of Year Trivia Night!

6. “Even though women are in the minority in cybersecurity, this game doesn't belong to men.” WiCyS Australia Member Spotlight – Eloise Robertson

7. Recommended Cybersecurity Resources

How to Protect Critical Infrastructure from Cyber Threats

In recent years, critical infrastructure around the world has proven vulnerable to new and sophisticated cyber attacks. In her presentation at the 2022 Digital Utilities conference, Associate Professor in Cybersecurity and Networking at Flinders University and our very own and WiCyS Australia Director of Academia, Dr Elena Sitnikova, discussed the challenges facing critical infrastructure companies and how they can best prepare against new and emerging cyber threats

For the full article, click here!

Dr Elena Sitnikova PhD, BE(Hon), CSSLP, SFHEA

WiCyS Australia Director of Academia

WiCyS Student Chapter at Prahran High School

Inspired by the work of her mother, our youngest advocate, Mariam Almezaiyin has set up a student chapter at her high school. This student chapter aims to support the young women in Prahran HS undertake cybersecurity and adjacent STEM careers.

To read more about our newest student chapter, click here!

Mariam Almezaiyin

Volunteer Student Advocate and Graphic Design Assistant, WiCyS Australia

Cybersecurity and Technology Programs and Organisations to Support Young Women

One of our goals at WiCyS Australia is to further the development of women in the cybersecurity industry. With that in mind, our Director of Community, Cassandra Diamond, has prepared a short overview of resources with links to a range of education and support programs and networks that support young women interested in technology and cyber industries.

At our stall at the AISA conference, many parents were seeking assistance for their daughters who demonstrated an interest in these areas, and this resource list is an excellent starting point.

Cassandra Diamond

WiCyS Australia Director of Community

WiCyS Australia – End of Year Event:

Online Trivia Night!

To celebrate the end of a big year for WiCyS Australia and the cybersecurity industry generally, our Director of Community Cassandra Diamond will be running a 30 minute trivia challenge that will be delivered using Kahoot (free to use) on November 29th at 7pm. Have your computer and mobile phones at the ready to participate (or a second screen available to do the Kahoot if you’re using a computer).

The trivia challenge will consist of 30 questions that relate to Christmas - music, movies and traditions. We will also be offering three Amazon vouchers for winners of the quiz – so be sure to tune in with your trivia knowledge at the ready!

Make sure you don’t miss this event by signing up here!

To read more about our upcoming events, see our WiCyS Australia site events page!

We’ve also prepared a list of festive mocktails to go along with the quiz!

“Even though women are in the minority in cybersecurity, this game doesn't belong to men”

Eloise Robertson is a new member of our WiCyS Australia community, and is a budding member of the cybersecurity industry! Like many of our members, Eloise is starting from scratch to launch her career in cybersecurity from the ground up, and has learned important lessons along the way that she can share with our members.

To read our profile of Eloise, click here!

Recommended Cybersecurity Resources

We are back with our famous resource recommendations that our team has come across, from an analysis of the cybersecurity landscape in Australia following the Optus and Medibank breaches to podcast episodes featuring our very own Dr Elena, here are some resources that our team has hand-picked to keep you sharp!

Let’s Talk Robotics

Exaptec was formed in 2015 to become a key part of Australia’s robotics industry. In this podcast episode, our very own Director of Academia Dr Elena Sitnikova talks about intrusion detection for Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition systems cybersecurity and the Industrial Internet of Things. With cyber-attacks increasing globally, she is exploring system antifragility and using artificial intelligence to analyse abnormal data that may affect critical cyber-physical systems. Listen to the podcast here, or wherever you get your podcasts: https://www.exaptec.com.au/podcast/2022/6/15/lets-talk-robotics-with-associate-prof-elena-sitnova

Thousand Eyes on Me

If you have been inspired by Dr Elena, be sure to check out her profile as a leading women in the Australian and global cybersecurity industry here! Listen to the podcast here, or wherever you get your podcasts: https://thousandeyeson.me/episode-28/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=episode-28

Cybercrime in Australia

The number of reports of cybercrime in Australia had shot up by 13% to 76,000 in a year, or one every seven minutes, even before a series of high-profile privacy breaches hit the headlines. The Guardian has posted this thoughtful review of the Australian cybersecurity landscape:

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/nov/04/cyberspace-a-battleground-as-reports-of-cybercrime-in-australia-jump-13

Optus and Medibank Breach

Few cybersecurity breaches have generated more headlines than the recent Optus and Medibank breaches in Australia. Our team found this overview from the Australian Financial Review insightful, and with the breach likely to dominate cybersecurity movements for the coming years, this is a useful starting point for any analysis:

https://www.afr.com/technology/how-to-avoid-joining-optus-and-medibank-on-the-cybersecurity-walk-of-shame-20221106-p5bw0q

Please feel free to get in touch with our team, and send any suggestions you might have to help us and our community!

Membership

To take advantage of the full benefits of WiCyS, register as a global member! Send an email to our WiCyS Australia team if you are interested, to take advantage of what our community can provide.

Global membership will enable you to network with more than 6,100 members across 69 countries, and give you access to many more benefits!

Acknowledgement

WiCyS Australia acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognizes the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities.

WiCyS Australia pays its respects to Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander cultures; and to Elders past, present and emerging.

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