Aaron Faloon

3rd party risk management is changing in a big way. With AI powered OSINT, it is getting closer to dynamic, automated, near real-time risk management. Static risk management has failed to deliver on numerous occasions if we look at the last 24 months of security breaches in Australia. #CyberSecurity #RiskManagement #ThirdPartyRisk #CisoZen

20

🟣Governing Through a Cyber Crisis: In 2024, the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD), in partnership with the Cyber Security Cooperative Research Centre (CSCRC) and Ashurst, released “Governing Through a Cyber Crisis: Cyber Incident Response and Recovery for Australian Directors.” 18 months later, these guidelines are relevant more than ever. ☑️ Readiness: Build the Foundations Before the Breach. Boards are expected to lead from the top, not just sign off on policy. Effective readiness means: - A comprehensive, regularly tested Cyber Incident Response Plan, integrated with business continuity and communications frameworks. - Clear board-level roles and responsibilities, including when to activate sub-committees or crisis structures. - Scenario testing and simulation exercises that involve directors, not just IT teams, ensuring governance mechanisms work under pressure. - Data governance frameworks that clearly identify where sensitive information resides, who owns it, and how it’s protected. - Supply-chain due diligence: recognising that vulnerabilities often sit outside the organisation’s perimeter. ☑️ Response: Act Decisively, Communicate Transparently. - When an incident unfolds, speed and clarity are critical. Boards should expect imperfect information but must ensure that: - Management activates the crisis plan and establishes clear reporting cadence. - Stakeholder communication is transparent, coordinated, and empathetic with customers, regulators, and the market. - Legal and regulatory obligations are promptly addressed. - External experts (forensics, legal, and communications) are mobilised early. - Larger organisations are encouraged to establish a Cyber Incident Sub-Committee to enable agile oversight, freeing the full board to focus on strategic and reputational governance ☑️ Recovery and Remediation: Oversight Beyond the Crisis. - The “long tail” of cyber risk extends months or years beyond the initial event. Boards play a central role in ensuring: - Root-cause analysis is independently reviewed and acted upon. - Remediation programs are well-resourced, customer-focused, and transparent. - Employee wellbeing is prioritised, fatigue and moral strain are common post-incident. - Regulatory investigations, compensation, and class actions are managed with integrity and accountability. - Lessons learned are embedded into the organisation’s cyber governance and shared responsibly with peers to strengthen the wider ecosystem. Boards that treat cyber resilience as part of enterprise risk management, rather than an IT line item will be the ones that navigate crises with credibility and protect stakeholder trust. Read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/eRfjqsUc

11

Audit Wake-Up Call for Public Sector Leaders A recent WA audit exposed serious cloud security gaps — and the consequences were real. • Misconfigured Microsoft 365 controls leaked minors’ sensitive data • A $71K invoice fraud slipped through email defenses • No Data Loss Prevention (DLP) in place • MFA relied on weak SMS codes — easily intercepted These aren’t advanced attacks. They’re preventable failures. If your council or agency uses cloud email and collaboration tools, this should hit close to home. When was the last time you reviewed your M365 security configuration — properly? Modern threats exploit default settings, legacy policies, and human trust. Zero-trust starts with identity, configuration, and visibility. >>>Read our guide on securing cloud and email environments before you become the next case study: https://lnkd.in/eHSMJqi5 Don’t wait for an audit — or a breach — to force action. #CyberSecurity #PublicSector #ZeroTrust #Microsoft365 #CloudSecurity #DataProtection #GovTech #InfoSec #RiskManagement #LocalGovernment

1

1 Comment

Some key highlights from Australian Signals Directorate (ASD)'s Cyber Threat Report 2024–2025: 1. There is a significant rise in cyber incidents and reports: The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) reported that in during 2024-2025 they have responded to over 1,200 major cybersecurity incidents which is a 11% increase from the previous year. 2. There is a steep rise in the financial impact due to cybercrimes: For businesses, the average loss due to cybercrimes is on the rise, Small businesses lost up to $56,571 a 14% increase from last year, Medium business lost up to $97,166 a 55% increase, and Large businesses lost up to $202,691 a 221% increase. It was also reported that an individual average self reported loss was $36,633 3. Critical infrastructure under increasing threat: Critical infrastructures have received notifications of 190 potential malicious cyber activity impacting their network which is a 111$ increase from last year. The Top 3 most common types of activity which led to infrastructure related incidents were: Scanning or Reconnaissance making up 41% DoS/DDoS making up 31% Phishing making up 20% 4. Credential compromise, email attacks and phishing remain the main methods of attack: It was reported that email compromise with no direct financial loss accounted for ~19% of business reports, Business email compromise with financial loss ~15%, identity fraud ~ 11% and phishing emails remains one of the most common attack methods. 5. New technologies are amplifying the risk like AI The report also warns the rise in the use of Generative AI by cybercriminals as they use these tools to automate the analysis of extensive datasets which allows them to find vulnerabilities, they also use generative AI to create content like videos, text, fake voices, websites etc. to help them trick their target easier. 💡 The big moves organisations must take: a. Implement Effective event logging - You can't defend what you can't see b. Manage legacy IT risks - Legacy technology lets threats thrive c. Effective Third-Party Risk Management (TPRM) - Shut the back door, choose sercure and verifable technologies d. Start preparing for Post Quantum Cryptography (PQC) more details: https://lnkd.in/gCVf9fSq

7

📣 As the recent ManageMyHealth incident and NCSC announcements show, New Zealand cannot afford to get complacent about cybersecurity...   ► The ransom hack on New Zealand's largest health portal is being billed as one of the country's biggest cybersecurity incidents - hackers threatening to release more than 400,000 documents stolen from about 126,000 Manage My Health patients if the private company fails to pay $60,000.   ► It's also been a massive period for the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). Recently, they took an unprecedented step - proactively reaching out to 26,000 New Zealanders to warn them their devices may be compromised by Lumma Stealer malware. This is the first time they've conducted public outreach at this scale, signalling a fundamental shift toward a more active protective stance.   ► They also released the New Zealand Cyber Threat Report for 2025, and frankly, it makes for sobering reading. A few key findings explain exactly why the NCSC is ramping up their activity: → State-sponsored actors are now actively targeting New Zealand organisations → Cybercriminals have access to increasingly sophisticated tools → Supply chains have become prime attack vectors → Unpatched vulnerabilities continue to provide easy entry points   ► And there's more - they just published new guidance on Secure Integration of #AI in #OperationalTechnology, recognising how rapidly our threat surface is expanding with emerging technologies.   For business leaders, this should be a clear signal. It reminds us that cybersecurity is a strategic business risk that demands board-level attention and investment as the threat environment has escalated to the point where government agencies are moving from reactive to proactive mode.   Examine these in detail (and more) at the National Cyber Security Summit this March 17-18 in Wellington: https://lnkd.in/gWqqzF7h #cyber #cybersecurity #cybersummit2026 #wellingtonnz Brightstar

16

2 Comments

📢 New Report Released: Cyber Security Priorities for Boards (2025–26)   The Australian Cyber Security Centre has published its latest guidance for directors here https://lnkd.in/gHMPdEVX   Key themes:   ✅ Secure by Design ✅ Legacy IT Risk Management ✅ Quantum-Ready Cryptography   I've create a report on how to align these priorities using Microsoft 365 Business Premium. If you want a free copy of the report just reply here.

4

1 Comment