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Dtex Down Under: Building the World’s Cyber Security Innovation Hub

I have to say, it’s been quite an eventful couple of weeks here at Dtex. We’ve been riding a wave of excitement after getting dressed up and graciously accepting an Innovation Award from the Australian Chamber of Commerce at their 36th annual Australia Day Gala last Saturday, January 20. It’s hard to express how humbled we were to be presented with this honor by Ambassador Joe Hockey, and to be recognized for not only advancing the cyber security market in Australia but helping to foster a culture of innovation.

While there’s an obvious and significant market opportunity, with spending on critical security infrastructure in APAC expected to reach AU$22 billion by 2020, it goes far beyond that for us. With an unprecedented Cyber Security Strategy set forth in the spring of 2016 by the Prime Minister, Australia now has a solid philosophy for how we address the security challenges and opportunities presented by the digital age. And, just as importantly, we have the resources to put that philosophy into motion, as the Government has committed to investing more than AU$230 million to grow our cyber security expertise and capabilities.

Part of this investment went to establishing the Australian Cyber Security Growth Network (ACSGN), now known as AustCyber, who is responsible for setting the direction of our cyber security industry and then executing on it. Their fearless leader Craig Davies, both a respected industry veteran and a close ally of Dtex, shares the vision that Australia can, and should, take a leading role in addressing the critical and significant global cyber security skills shortage. Ultimately, the goal is for Australia to not only develop and export the most cutting-edge security solutions around the world, but also the resources and expertise needed to use them.

On behalf of Dtex, I personally have committed to supporting this cause by serving in the role of advocate and supporter – with a specific focus on making Adelaide a cyber security talent hub. This effort came to life with the inaugural Cyber Defence Challenge in May, where hundreds of participants, from students to entrepreneurs, came together in Adelaide to solve a real-world, insider-related threat scenario. Backed by the ACSGN and the Defence Teaming Centre and sponsored by Dtex, it culminated with the winner announced during Cyber Week in Sydney in September, and there are now plans to make it a national series in 2018.

There has also been a clear acknowledgment of the critical and active role that the private sector plays in shaping our cyber security ecosystem, and a critical element of this initiative is information-sharing and collaboration between the public and private sectors. With deep experience in supporting the needs of a diverse customer base – consisting both of government agencies and global enterprises, we here at Dtex are keenly aware that no organization, no sector, is immune to today’s most pressing security challenges: a global cyber security skills shortage, a chaotic and complex security solutions market, and a threat landscape that seems to be evolving faster than we can. And we are committed to playing a central role in driving us forward.

As testament to this, we’ve forged a strong partnership with leading mobility services provider Delv to deliver our Advanced User Behaviour Intelligence Platform alongside robust professional services offerings to the Australian Government. And with the relocation of the Australian Cyber Security Centre to Canberra last year, it seemed only fitting to follow suit… and in October, we joined the Delv team and a number of distinguished guests for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of a new Canberra office.

We’re still in the early stages and there’s much work to be done, but I firmly believe Australia has the power to drive real impact and progress when it comes to cyber security. We may be smaller than many of the leading economies, but I believe that puts us in the perfect position to really put our arms around this problem and drive progress more quickly. And perhaps even more boldly, I’d say that the inertia here around security is greater than anywhere else in the world right now.

It’s going to be a great year… and we’ll keep you updated along the way!