Defence & Security Podcast Network

As global security deteriorates, a major new UNSW Canberra survey reveals a startling paradox in the Australian psyche: unwavering trust in the Australian Defence Force, coupled with a deep misunderstanding of its operations, widespread apathy towards increased funding, and a shocking drop in support for traditional alliances. Australia's relationship with the ADF is reaching a strange inflection...

How prepared is Australia for a more contested strategic environment, and what role can defence industry, emerging technology, and economic resilience play in strengthening national security? In this episode of the Defence Connect Podcast, Stephen Kuper, Robert Dougherty, and Bethany Alvaro unpack key insights from the inaugural Australian Defence Industry Accelerator Summit and the Australian Def...

Join Cyber Daily's David Hollingworth and Securonix's senior vice president for Asia-Pacific and Japan, Ajay Biyani, to break down why the challenge for organisations isn't replacing analysts – it's giving them the tools they need. Security operations centres are under unprecedented pressure as cyber attacks become faster, more sophisticated and increasingly powered by AI. At the same time, securi...

As Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese moves to secure the Pacific and ensure continued alignment with Australia, China threw a wrench in the works by conducting a ballistic missile test, effectively firing the starter's gun on a countdown to war. In a chilling diagnosis of the Australian political landscape, the latest Contested Ground podcast presents a blunt thesis: the nation has traded...

How is Australia's defence industry accelerating innovation to keep pace with rapidly evolving threats, from autonomous drones through to directed energy weapons? In this episode of the Defence Connect Spotlight podcast, host Robert Dougherty is joined by Lee Kormany, executive vice president Electro Optic Systems Defence Systems Australia. The discussion builds on a recent $5.7 million contract a...

Cyber criminals and nation-state actors are no longer relying on malware alone – they're exploiting trust. Here's what you need to know to fight back. ThreatLocker's Emile Barakat joins Cyber Daily's David Hollingworth to help Australia's business leaders understand how threat actors target professionals on platforms like LinkedIn – and how it needs to be addressed. Whether it's a fake recruiter,...

How can Australia balance the need to strengthen international security partnerships while accelerating investment in domestic defence capability across multiple domains? In this episode of the Defence Connect Podcast, Stephen Kuper, Robert Dougherty and Bethany Alvaro discuss a busy week across defence, national security and industry. Discussion includes new cooperation agreements signed by the A...

While Australia's level of political atomisation is far from as bad as what is being experienced in the broader Western world, we're not far-off. How we engage with generations of Australians will have dramatic ramifications for our national security in the immediate and longer term. Following mounting political tensions across the Western world, with startling examples in the United Kingdom in re...

Qualys' CEO joins the Cyber Uncut podcast to explain why autonomous remediation, smarter patching, and risk-based security will define the next generation of cyber defence. Cyber security is entering a new era as powerful AI models dramatically reduce the time it takes attackers to discover and exploit vulnerabilities. In this episode, Qualys CEO Sumedh Thakar joins Cyber Daily's Liam Garman to ex...

Questions remain about how Australia and its partners can respond to a deteriorating strategic environment while balancing capability development, industrial resilience and evolving security threats. In this episode of the Defence Connect Podcast, Stephen Kuper and Robert Dougherty discuss a week of major developments across defence and national security, spanning the war in Ukraine, Indo-Pacific...

As Australia faces a populist political surge and the established political parties continue to lose ground, can Australia's "sensible" centre hold, or will decades of failed policies, broken promises and declining economic opportunities finally come home to roost? In a departure from its usual international focus, Contested Ground turns to domestic tensions sparked by the federal budget. The host...

This week, Cyber Uncut looks at important tax time advice, a string of Aussie hacks that have exposed sensitive personal information, and the Australian Signals Directorate's decision to retire the Essential Eight. CPA Australia has a warning this tax time, and that is to be very aware of taking tax advice from AI chatbots and financial influencers. An AI hallucination could cost you real money, s...

Host Steve Kuper is joined by former navy logistician Dave Grosvenor and chair of the Gravity Group Steve Hayes for a wide-ranging discussion on Australia's sovereign capability, industrial resilience and the growing gap between strategic risk and national preparedness in this episode of the Contested Ground podcast. The conversation opens with a blunt assessment of Australia's strategic vulnerabi...

Questions remain around how Australia can grow sovereign capability while responding to evolving strategic challenges. In this episode of the Defence Connect Podcast, Stephen Kuper, Robert Dougherty and Bethany Alvaro discuss a busy week across defence and industry, including Australia's record $2.5 billion defence export deal with Canada and what it means for future international partnerships. Th...

How can Australia strengthen sovereign industrial capability while building a sustainable and globally competitive defence manufacturing sector? In this episode of the Defence Connect Podcast, senior journalist Robert Dougherty is joined by Philippe Odouard, former CEO of XTEK (now HighCom) and Quickstep, alongside David McLaughlin, co-founder and chief technology officer of 3D scanning technology...

This week, Cyber Uncut looks at the launch – and the blocking – of Anthropic's latest AI models, a raft of cyber attacks on Aussie organisations, and praises the Australian Federal Police for its work at home and abroad. AI giant Anthropic had a tough week recently. It launched its most advanced AI model yet, only to have the US government force it to block access. Cyber Daily's David Hollingworth...

How is artificial intelligence changing the world of modern defence operations, cyber security and military decision making? In this episode of the Defence Connect Spotlight podcast, host Steve Kuper is joined by Palo Alto Networks' Tom Scully, director and principal architect for government and critical industries Asia-Pacific and Japan, and US Army Major General (Ret'd) John Davis, vice presiden...

When Opposition Leader Angus Taylor announced a Coalition government would develop and implement a national security strategy, many shouted, "Finally!", but delivering a strategy that is fit for purpose is more political than most would think.   Since the release of the nation's first whole-of-nation national security strategy in 2013, successive Australian governments have sought to mask the nati...

ThreatLocker's APAC director of operations, Emile Barakat, joins Cyber Daily's David Hollingworth to discuss what makes the Essential Eight so essential, the federal government's budget spend on cyber security, and the Australian outlook on cyber crime and why it happens here. This week on the Cyber Uncut podcast, Cyber Daily deputy editor David Hollingworth speaks with Emile Barakat, the head of...

Many critics often describe Australia's glaring lack of industrial and economic complexity as a major national security challenge, while others see it as a glass jaw impacting our ability to sustain ourselves in a fight or crisis. So, what is needed? This glaring gap in our national resilience and survivability has increasingly figured in commentary and analysis as the Indo-Pacific emerges as the...

As AUKUS implementation accelerates, questions remain around Australia's role in the Indo-Pacific and how the nation should balance capability development with regional strategic priorities. In this episode of the Defence Connect Podcast, Stephen Kuper, Robert Dougherty and Bethany Alvaro discuss a busy week across Australia's defence landscape, including the establishment of a new US Navy support...

Australia's maritime estate is simply too vast for any conventionally manned fleet to patrol effectively – uncrewed and autonomous systems will prove key to maintaining Australia's maritime sovereignty. With an exclusive economic zone stretching across roughly 8.2 million square kilometres and critical northern chokepoints through which virtually all the nation's fuel and essential imports flow, t...

This week's essential cyber security podcast uncovers a new threat actor targeting a raft of Australian organisations and asks the important question: Is AI profitable yet? Hint – it is not. Cyber Daily's David Hollingworth and Daniel Croft open the podcast with the good news that Anthropic's Mythos platform is, in fact, coming to Australia, and they talk to the man behind the website that asks –...

What are One Nation's aspirations and policies for domestic manufacturing, infrastructure and military capability? In this episode of the Defence Connect Podcast, senior journalist Robert Dougherty is joined by Senator Malcolm Roberts, who is representing Pauline Hanson's One Nation political party. Senator Roberts holds a bachelor of engineering (honours) from the University of Queensland and a m...

How can Australia keep pace with the rapid proliferation of drones reshaping the character of warfare and creating new challenges for militaries, governments and critical infrastructure operators around the world? In this episode of the Defence Connect Spotlight podcast, senior journalist Robert Dougherty is joined by Ben Westgarth, chief executive officer of Department 13, to discuss the evolutio...