On the Defense Podcast

Cyber threats and financial crime aren't often sunny topics, but Tyler Caskey, Partner and Director at TheBeanCounters, joins us to talk about how technology is helping finance leaders mitigate risks and protect their businesses. Hear Tyler describe what some leaders are doing to balance security and speed, as well as what excites him most about the future.

What are the scam tactics you should be looking out for? And, if those scams succeed, who will be – or should be – liable? Shameela Gonzalez (Executive Director - Financial Services Lead, CyberCX) unpacks some of today’s trickiest questions about B2B scams, what cybercrime looks like from the inside, and how Australia’s debate about scam liability reveals urgent truths that business leaders can’t...

Starting out as a young cybercriminal, hacker Bastien Treptel now uses his skills for good, but he still has to think like a “bad guy” to help organisations (and kids) stay safe. Tune in to hear how red teaming works, what hackers think about your business, why and how leaders should incorporate adversarial mindsets – and why AI might be a little more exciting than just scary.

We all know businesses can lose money to cybercriminals, but we don't always think about what else cyber threats might be costing us. Economist Alex Koutalistras dives into research produced by Oxford Economics and AustCyber, explaining the direct and indirect costs that all financial leaders should be considering. Note that the survey Alex refers to in this podcast relates to the work undertaken...

Okay, you've heard that cybersecurity is important, but we're all busy, right? And small businesses might be some of the busiest. So what are concrete, practical steps we can take to protect ourselves right now? Founder and Managing Director of Cyber Audit Team, Damian Seaton, explains some of the quickest and most affordable steps we can take toward stronger cybersecurity – and why effective secu...

What does a renowned cybersecurity expert see as the biggest threat in 2024? As a strategist and global thought leader, Professor Vijay Varadharajan has led teams at organisations like HP and British Telecom, as well as working with Microsoft and Optus. He's also been publishing research and security insights for over 40 years. Over the past decade, he’s become increasingly worried about society’s...

Lance Rubin, Founder of Model Citizn and longtime CFO, thought he’d taken all the precautions necessary to protect his small business. Then, one day, he learned they’d been hacked anyway. In this episode, Lance shares how the attack happened, why it could have been worse, and what he learned from it – a rare inside look given that most organisations are reticent to disclose that they’ve been hacke...

Who are the people behind cybercrime? Where do they work, how do they operate, where are they from? In this episode, we find out. Ken Gamble, executive chairman of cybercrime investigation agency IFW Global, tells us what he finds when he tracks down the fraudsters behind scams that cost millions. He also tells us why recovering stolen assets is so difficult and what businesses can do to ensure as...

Cybercriminals are usually after two things: your data or your money. While CFOs spend a lot of time thinking about how to protect the latter, it's important to understand how and why data security should be top of mind for every leader. To understand more, we spoke with Dan Draper, a data security expert, a filmmaker, and CipherStash's founder and CEO. Tune in to find out: how data protection wor...

Amid rapidly growing cyber threats, it's never been more critical for finance leaders to align their own strategies with those of security specialists. To help them do that, Drew Unsworth, advisor and former executive at NAB, Westpac, Xero, and CBA, sat down to talk about the Federal Government's new national cybersecurity strategy. Find out a banking expert's views on cybercrime, why it's such an...

In this episode of ON THE DEFENSE, Richard McBride, editor and publisher of CFO Magazine explores topics that sit at the intersection of finance and cyber security, from careers to risk mitigation to digital transformation. With over two decades of experience in the finance and business sector, Richard discusses the big issues that are facing finance leaders today. Richard explains the trends he's...