OT Security Melbourne schedule

Security teams have more visibility into their environments than ever before, yet many organisations still struggle to translate data into clear security priorities. This opening presentation explores how security leaders move beyond dashboards and inventories to focus on the exposures that truly matter. By connecting visibility with risk, operations and investment decisions, organisations can turn insight into meaningful action.

When cyber decisions have physical consequences, accountability can be unclear. This panel explores where responsibility truly lies between engineering, operations, and security teams during incidents or critical changes. Panellists will discuss how organisations can align authority with operational responsibility to reduce risk.

• Who is accountable when a decision affects both cyber and physical systems?
• Where do current governance models fail under operational pressure?
• How can organisations clarify decision-making authority in OT environments?

Panellists:

Aidan Hollier Head of Asset Knowledge & Technology Melbourne Water

Vijay Narayan CISO Mercy Health

Sajid Bavakunji Cyber Security Manager Australian Energy Company 

This session explores how organisations can automate compliance checks, monitor assets continuously, and enforce security policies, while still keeping human oversight at the core.

When alarms are raised in OT environments, response can stall if responsibilities between IT, OT, and cyber teams are unclear. This session explores how organisations define ownership and governance so alerts lead to timely action rather than delay.

OT networks—from SCADA systems to PLCs—are designed to meet operational needs, but they can also create security gaps. This session explores how organisations can design architectures that balance reliability, availability, and cyber resilience. Hear lessons from highly customised environments, discuss safe IT–OT integration, and identify practical strategies to strengthen resilience without disrupting operations.

• How can OT networks be designed to meet operational needs while limiting security risk?
• What lessons can we take from industries with highly customised OT environments?
• How can IT–OT integration be achieved without compromising resilience?

Moderator:

Maryam Shoraka Corinium Advisory Board Member

Panellists:

Yi Wang Executive Manager – Network Security Risk nbn

Ameneh Jalali Chief Cyber Security Officer Yokogawa Australia & New Zealand

Bilal Baig Senior Digital Security Specialist OT Coles Group

With IT–OT convergence, IoT growth, and remote access, what does perimeter security even mean — and what replaces it?

Engineers instinctively prioritise physical safety, but cyber security is often treated as someone else’s responsibility. As operational systems become increasingly connected, that mindset creates risk. The challenge is embedding cyber security into engineering culture so it carries the same weight as HSE. This session will explore how organisations can advocate for cyber security within engineering teams without relying too heavily on a few security champions.

IEC 62443 offers a robust framework for securing industrial automation systems, but many organisations struggle to translate its comprehensive guidance into actionable steps. This session bridges the gap between theory and implementation, focusing on practical and scalable risk assessments to define appropriate security levels and build a sustainable foundation for operations. .

OT attacks are increasingly targeting engineering processes, diagrams, and templates, not just software. This session explores how trusted workflows and vendor inputs can introduce risk, why these compromises are hard to detect, and how organisations can secure connected systems without relying solely on audits or compliance checks.

How do you protect assets that were never designed to be connected and can’t just be swapped out?

Legacy systems, inherited standards, and vendor constraints shape much of today’s OT security. This panel asks panellists to imagine starting over, revealing which practices exist out of habit and which are truly effective. The discussion highlights opportunities to simplify, improve, and focus security on operational outcomes.
Discussion questions:

• Which current practices exist because of history rather than effectiveness?
• What design principles would matter most if starting from scratch?
• What practices would we eliminate immediately if rebuilding OT security today?

Panellists:

Trevor Goldman Manager – OT Cybersecurity ex-AGL

Mostafa Abdulla OT Cybersecurity SME APA Group