Sydney Data Protection and Security Summit 2024

Audience

The 143 strong audience included:

• CISOs from UBS, JP Morgan, Tourism Australia, Lion Corporation and more
• Heads of Cyber from Woolworths, Tokio Marine Group, ABN AMRO and more
• Heads of Data and Privacy from Equifax, The NRMA, Super Retail Group and more

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The Agenda

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The event opens with a keynote by Kelly Henney, Partner and National Data Privacy Lead at KPMG, who discusses the implications of Australia's reformed Data Privacy Act for data protection and security leaders. She focuses on how the reforms reshape compliance requirements, empower consumers, and demand heightened organisational accountability, offering strategies to navigate these changes effectively.

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Following this, an on-stage interview features Christopher Johnson from Charter Hall and Scott Leach from Varonis. They delve into the data security challenges intensified by recent breaches and the introduction of AI. The discussion highlights Charter Hall's decision to invest in data security solutions to reduce operational risks and provides insights into staying ahead of emerging threats in the AI era.

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A panel with experts like Ash Nair, Dan Chesterman, and Tim Stead explores the intersection of data innovation, security, risk, and privacy. They discuss building robust data resilience programs, focusing on effective data discovery and classification across multi-cloud environments, access governance strategies, implementing robust security controls, navigating global data privacy regulations, and enabling secure cross-organisational collaboration.

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After a networking break, attendees participate in an interactive session on protecting privacy in the new data landscape, engaging with real-world scenarios to determine optimal courses of action. Demonstration sessions follow, where industry leaders share how they overcame common challenges and enabled data discovery to uncover hidden threats.

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Another panel titled "Guardians of Data: Navigating Privacy in a Connected World" features professionals like Roslyn Rosaria Vadala and Tim Armstrong discussing data ethics, balancing privacy with innovation, empowering data literacy, and anticipating future challenges such as quantum computing and AI-driven data analysis.

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Post-lunch, a panel with Gaurav Vikash examines building a roadmap for enhanced data protection, exploring the latest trends like AI and automation, strategies for ensuring data privacy and security, and adapting to changing legislation to stay ahead of regulatory requirements. The event concludes with a great debate on whether AI will be more beneficial or detrimental to data protection efforts, exploring AI's dual role in bolstering cyber defense and presenting new challenges in organisational security.

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Speakers Included:

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• Kelly Henney, Partner and National Data Privacy Lead - KMPG
• Christopher Johnson, Head of Group Technology - Charter Hall
• Scott Leach, Vice President, APAC - Varonis
• Ash Nair, General Manager - Data Analytics Automation and AI (CDAO), iCare NSW
• Dan Chesterman , Former Group Executive Technology and Data - ASX
• Tim Stead, Sales Engineering Director, APAC, Securiti
• Carl Duncan, General Manager, WyldLynx
• Roslyn Rosaria Vadala, Experienced Chief Privacy Officer and Senior Legal Counsel
• Amyn Nathwani, Head of Data Governance and Privacy - Healthdirect Australia
• Jihad Zein, Global Head of Governance, Risk and Assurance, Group IT - Toll Group
• Tim Armstrong, Director - Data, Technology and Product - Nova Entertainment
• Gaurav Vikash, Head of Security and Risk - APAC - AXON
• John Reeman, CISO and Co-Founder, Cyooda Security 
• Asaf Ahmad, CISO and President, CyberEx 
• Joe Varkey, Principal Cybersecurity Architect, AIA 
• Ben Wise, Former CISO, Great Southern Bank
• Nipun Sharma, Enterprise Data Analytics & AI Architect, Komatsu
• Anthony Salerno, Head of Information Security, Dentons
• Mark Pesce, Co-Founder, Wisely AI
• David Soldani, SVP Next Generation Advanced Research, Rakuten Mobile

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Sponsors Included:

Varonis

Netwrix

Forcepoint

Securiti

Cohesity

Opentext

ShareFile

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Summary

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This summit was particularly important for the contemporary and future Australian business and government landscape because it addressed escalating concerns around data breaches, privacy, and the security of sensitive information. As Australia continues to embrace digital transformation, protecting data has become a top priority to maintain public trust, comply with regulations, and prevent financial and reputational damage. The insights and collaborations formed at Data Protection Sydney are expected to influence national policies, enhance organisational practices, and strengthen Australia's overall cybersecurity resilience.

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Testimonials

• The event was really well organised
• Well paced. Good crowd engagement
• The organisation was excellent, my congrats
• The conference was really good. Thanks for the opportunity to attend

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