The Victorian Transport Association (VTA) has announced that its line-up of speakers is starting to take shape for its 2024 State Conference.
VTA CEO Peter Anderson confirmed that a keynote speaker, along with additional details, have been confirmed to address conference attendees on the growing threat of cyber security.
“Dr Derek Bopping is the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) first assistant director-general of cyber engagement and head of its Melbourne State Office, and we’re thrilled to have him present at the conference,” Anderson says.
The ASD is a federal government intelligence agency responsible for Australia’s cyber security whose operatives gather foreign signals intelligence through covert information acquisition.
This includes intercepting and analysing communications related to national interest issues such as terrorism, weapons proliferation and cyber threats.
The VTA says that the frequency of data breaches has grown in Australia in recent years. The average cost of a data breach has also grown by 32 per cent in the past five years, reaching $4.03 million last year according to the 2023 Cost of a Data Breach Report.
“The transport industry forms an integral part of Australia’s national security infrastructure and is not immune from cyber threats disrupting our systems and processes,” Anderson says.
“It is incumbent on every operator to take appropriate steps to ensure their business is suitably protected, and we are fortunate to have someone with Bopping’s credentials and reputation to inform us on the latest cyber intelligence, best practice and mitigation strategies and tactics.”