From firewalls to fire alarms: How converged security is the future

Optic Security Group cybersecurity and risk leaders will be speaking at the upcoming CyberCon 2025 in Melbourne, the Australian Information Security Association's premier event.

In our increasingly connected world, opportunities to amalgamate data and deliver better protection and resilience to organisations are becoming more feasible across more security domains.

Physical security incidents often involve cyber assets, for example, and cyber security incidents often have markers in the physical realm – yet in most organisations they are run under distinct hierarchies as separate entities that are disengaged from each other. There is an opportunity, and it is being missed!

In a CyberCon 2025 panel discussion titled "From firewalls to fire alarms: How converged security is the future", Optic Security Group CSO and Cyber Resilience Group Managing Partner Grant McKechnie, Optic Security Group Brand & Innovation Director Nicholas Dynon and CRG Managing Partner Chris Keune will join with NBN Australia CSO Darren Kane and Vocus CISO Suthagar Seevaratnam to talk converged security.

During the discussion, Grant, Suthagar, Darren, Chris and Nick will take the audience through a journey of the enhancements and opportunities in the cybersecurity and physical security sectors that will enable us to move beyond perceived professional and organisational differences and band together – converge – for the betterment of security across our organisations and our nation.

The panellists will consider recognised barriers – and potential roadblocks – to organisations in Australia adopting a converged approach. They will show that our physical and cybersecurity industries are not that far apart, often with a common vernacular, common conceptual frameworks, and focus on a common goal – protecting our people, assets, businesses, information, reputation, and livelihoods.

The panel will also discuss how changes in current legislation, including the Security of Critical Infrastructure (SOCI) Act, should be driving the convergence conversation with its holistic requirements now in place and enforceable. They will look at how convergence brings opportunities not just for better security, but for a more cost-efficient model to achieve that better security.

They will discuss how this can all be used as an enabler for a strong security strategy with a forward leaning focus - in short, a more mature security posture.

The session will take place at Cybercon 2025, Melbourne, on Thursday 16 October at 10:30 am.