Auckland Cloud Security Summit 2024

Audience

The 138 strong audience included:

• CISOs from Auckland Transport, Orion Health, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei and more
• CTOs from Xero, TVNZ, Instant Finance, Tourism Holdings and more
• Heads from ANZ, Canva, Pulse Energy, Alvarium and more 

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The Agenda

The opening keynote by Mark Knowles, Global General Manager Security Assurance at Xero, focuses on "Securing Conversational AI: Empowering Business Innovation Safely." He discusses how security leaders can facilitate the integration of conversational AI technologies within their organisations while ensuring robust security measures, mitigating risks related to data privacy and cyber threats, and cultivating a security-conscious culture.

Following the keynote, a panel featuring Dane Maslen, Roxanne Salton, and Mark Knowles explores "Cloud Security in 2024 and Beyond: Challenges and Opportunities." The discussion addresses how to balance the trade-offs between security, performance, and cost in cloud environments, update audit and reporting programs to keep pace with technological innovation, comply with evolving regulatory and ethical standards, and foster a culture of security awareness among cloud users and providers.

The agenda continues with a panel on "Zero Trust Architecture in the Cloud," featuring experts like Eli Hirschauge, Kane Narraway, and Ahmed Ali, moderated by Varun Thapar. This session delves into the fundamentals of Zero Trust, practical challenges in its deployment, and strategies for maintaining robust security in increasingly complex digital ecosystems. Key topics include understanding Zero Trust principles, implementing them in diverse cloud infrastructures, and maintaining persistent security checks.

Participants then engage in roundtable discussions, choosing from topics such as Zero Trust, risk in cloud-native apps, emerging technologies, AI in cloud security, multi-cloud configuration, skills development, security tool innovation, and automation. These discussions allow for in-depth exploration of specific interests and collaborative problem-solving.

In the afternoon, a panel on "Container & Kubernetes Security" with Martin Bleakley and Nigel Wright examines the security threats and challenges in container and Kubernetes environments. The panel covers best practices for securing configurations, images, registries, and pipelines, monitoring and protecting workloads at runtime across different cloud platforms, and leveraging automation and DevSecOps to integrate security throughout the container and Kubernetes lifecycle.

The event concludes with a panel on "Nurturing Talent in Cloud Security & Technology: Strategies for Success in a Small Market." Panelists Sachin Bhatia and Jenny Botton discuss innovative approaches to attract diverse talent in smaller markets, initiatives for nurturing career growth through education and mentorship, building inclusive workplace cultures, and fostering collaborative ecosystems involving industry, government, and community engagement.

Throughout the day, the event maintains a focus on the evolving landscape of cloud security, addressing both technical challenges and human factors. Attendees gain insights into integrating advanced technologies like conversational AI while ensuring robust security, explore future challenges and opportunities in cloud security, delve into specialised topics through panels and roundtables, and discuss strategies for building and sustaining skilled teams in the industry.

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Speakers Included:

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• Mark Knowles, Global General Manager Security Assurance, Xero
• Dane Maslen, CISO, Kami
• Roxanne Salton, Chief Digital Officer, Southern Cross Health Society
• Eli Hirshauge, Head of Information Security, ANZ New Zealand
• Kane Narraway, Head of Enterprise Security, Canva
• Ahmed Ali, Chapter Lead - Network and Security, Spark New Zealand
• Martin Beakley, CISO, Laybuy
• Nigel Wright, Director of Security and Reliability, First AML
• Sachin Batia, Cyber Security Lead Trainer, Institute of Data
• Jenny Bolton, Domain Chapter Lead, CCL

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Sponsors Included:

Check Point

Qualys

ManageEngine

Gorilla

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Summary

This conference was particularly important for the contemporary and future New Zealand business and government landscape because it tackled critical issues associated with the widespread adoption of cloud technologies. As organisations across New Zealand continue to migrate to the cloud to enhance agility and efficiency, ensuring the security of these platforms has become paramount. The insights and collaborations formed at the Auckland Cloud Security Summit are expected to influence national cybersecurity policies, drive the development of robust security frameworks, and strengthen New Zealand's resilience against sophisticated cyber threats targeting cloud environments.

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Testimonials

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• This was an extremely well run event with great content
• Very informative and knowledgeable sessions
• Perfect and well balanced event, well done
• I found it great to mix with fellow members in the same technical space, showing how much we are all facing the same sorts of problems, challenges and working together to make the tech space in NZ better for all

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