Episodes
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, hosts Liam Garman and Daniel Croft unpack new “safe habour” protections unveiled by the federal government, before looking into some recent hacks and controversy surrounding artificial intelligence. The pair begin the podcast examining the new “safe harbour” protections unveiled by Minister for Cyber Security Tony Burke, and how it will help information gathering for law enforcement agencies. They then examine the recent Total Tools breach, before...
Published 09/30/24
In this episode of the Contested Ground podcast, hosts Major General (Ret’d) Dr Marcus Thompson and Liam Garman invite Major General (Ret’d) Gus McLachlan back for a follow-up podcast, unpacking irregular warfare, information operations and military modernisation.  They begin the podcast discussing Russia’s “little green men” during the invasion of 2014, and how Russian units were able to take over swathes of Eastern Ukraine.  MAJGEN (Ret’d) McLachlan then unpacks his priorities in uniform...
Published 09/27/24
In this episode of the Defence Connect podcast, recorded live from Land Forces 2024, host Steve Kuper is joined by the chief executive of Land for Babcock International, Tom Newman, to discuss the evolution of land warfare. The pair discuss: The pair discuss the latest announcements and key focus points for Babcock at the 2024 Land Forces exhibition and Chief of Army Symposium and the key narratives shaping the conversation. They also discuss the UK’s current Strategic Defence Review...
Published 09/26/24
In this episode of the Defence Connect Spotlight podcast, Downer Professional Services’ Rachel Hatton, General Manager - Mission Engineering, and Connie Heaney, General Manager - Advisory & Technical Services, join Liam Garman to discuss what Defence’s Digital Engineering Strategy means for Australia, offer insights on digital and mission engineering approaches, and provide real world examples. The podcast begins by illuminating how the DE Strategy relates to the National Defence...
Published 09/23/24
In this episode of the Contested Ground podcast, Joe Hockey, former Australian ambassador to the United States, joins hosts Phil Tarrant, Major General (Ret’d) Marcus Thompson and Steve Kuper to discuss the continued importance of the Australia–US relationship. The trio begin by discussing the fallout of the latest presidential debate between contenders, former president Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, touching on the implications for the bilateral relationship. They also...
Published 09/20/24
In this episode of Cyber Uncut, host David Hollingworth is joined by Daniel Croft to unpack the week in cyber security. From hacks abroad and closer to home, the changing tactics of the once prolific LockBit ransomware gang, to new Australian laws introduced to protect our privacy and stop the spread of misinformation, the pair cover a lot of ground and try to find a bright spot in the Australian Federal Police (AFP) looking to mentor neurodivergent into a career in cyber security. Croft...
Published 09/16/24
In this episode of the Contested Ground podcast, Andrew Hastie MP, shadow minister for defence and shadow minister for defence industry, joins hosts Phil Tarrant and Liam Garman to discuss how Australia must develop sovereign capability amid growing geopolitical uncertainty. The trio begin the podcast discussing how Australia needs to support Defence SMEs to deliver sovereign capability amid rising political uncertainty before looking into additional uses of Australia’s special forces...
Published 09/13/24
In this episode of the Contested Ground podcast, Major General (Ret’d) Gus McLachlan, former Commander Forces Command, joins hosts Major General (Ret’d) Dr Marcus Thompson and Liam Garman to unpack modern asymmetrical warfare: from the Taliban in Afghanistan to Chinese Coast Guard vessels in the Philippine Sea, and even how social media is spurring political divisions. The podcast begins by analysing what grey zone warfare looks like in the modern geopolitical environment, from resource...
Published 09/13/24
In this episode of the Defence Connect Podcast, host Steve Kuper is joined by Andrew Henderson, principal of AgSecure. The pair discuss: The role and importance of Australia’s multibillion-dollar agriculture industry in the nation’s security. The importance of maintaining the nation’s access to sea lines of communication that provides the nation’s economic lifeblood and flow of trade between Australia and the broader Indo-Pacific. The central role securing the nation’s food security plays...
Published 09/12/24
In this episode of the Defence Connect Spotlight podcast, Ventia’s John Rogers, executive general manager - defence, and Belinda Grealy, executive general manager - telco fixed networks, join host Liam Garman to unpack how industry can help support Defence’s strategic objectives, including delivering advanced ICT capabilities, providing emergency response efforts and managing remote sites.  The trio begin the podcast discussing what makes a successful partnership between Defence...
Published 09/11/24
In this episode of Cyber Uncut, Shaq Johnson – ANZ bank’s head of customer protection – joins hosts David Hollingworth and Liam Garman to break down the current scam landscape in Australia, from what the scammers are doing to the real, personal impacts of falling victim to a scam. As Hollingworth says in the podcast, 164,111 scams have been reported to the National Anti-Scam Centre’s Scamwatch already this year, so while scams are slowing down, it’s still a significant challenge. Our...
Published 09/09/24
In this episode of the Defence Connect Podcast, host Steve Kuper is joined by Natalie Treloar, Dr Carl Rhodes and Christine Leah, PhD, of the National Institute for Deterrence Studies. The group discuss a range of topics, including: The evolution of deterrence theory throughout the Cold War and in the post-Cold War world as we face an era of great power competition. Australia’s history of using deterrence-focused platforms without a coherent strategy of deterrence despite the plans...
Published 09/05/24
In this episode of the Defence Connect Spotlight podcast, Noel Derwort, Executive General Manager – Advisory for Atturra, joins host Liam Garman to discuss how Atturra is embracing diversity of thought to deliver efficiencies for Defence, and how the company offers a truly sovereign capability for the ADF. The pair begin the podcast examining how Atturra supports the defence ecosystem, and how the company employs lessons and synergies from across Australian industry to support the ADF....
Published 09/04/24
In this episode of the Defence Connect Spotlight podcast, Ventia’s Melanie Evans, group executive/CIO - digital services, and John Parisella, general manager transformation - defence, join host Liam Garman to unpack how Ventia’s new and emerging data-driven capabilities are supporting decision making in Defence. Evans and Parisella begin the podcast discussing how Ventia is transforming Defence asset management, including creating digital twins for Defence capabilities the right way through...
Published 09/01/24
In this episode of the Contested Ground podcast, hosts Major General (Ret’d) Dr Marcus Thompson, inaugural head of the ADF’s Information Warfare Division, Phil Tarrant and Liam Garman unpack the importance of long-range strike as a deterrent and how Australia is uplifting its cyber and information warfare capabilities. MAJGEN (Ret’d) Thompson begins unpacking the benefits of establishing the ADF’s Cyber Command, drawing together the cyber capabilities of each of the services and enhancing...
Published 08/30/24
In this episode of the Defence Connect podcast, Steve Kuper, Robert Dougherty and Liam Garman unpack Ukraine’s Kursk offensive, Australia’s exposure to global economic headwinds and Iran’s mooted response to Israel’s assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. The podcast commences with an analysis of Ukraine’s offensive in Kursk, before examining whether the sanctions have had the desired effect on Russia’s economy. Kuper, Dougherty and Garman then assess how a growing axis of...
Published 08/29/24
In this episode of the Defence Connect Spotlight podcast, Graeme Bick, global test and evaluation campaign chief solution architect at QinetiQ, and Adjunct Associate Professor Dr Keith Joiner, engineering management and systems engineering at Old Dominion University, join host Liam Garman to discuss how T&E, certification, and systems assurance are essential for the delivery of Defence capabilities.  The trio begin the podcast unpacking how industry needs to adapt how it undertakes...
Published 08/27/24
Welcome to the inaugural episode of the Contested Ground podcast, where hosts Major General (Ret’d) Marcus Thompson, Phil Tarrant and Liam Garman unpack how nations vie for influence below the threshold of armed conflict. In this episode, the hosts unpack how foreign actors sought to stoke tensions during the recent English riots and how social media echo chambers have caused a deep division in society. The hosts then look closer to home and how the Australian Security Intelligence...
Published 08/27/24
In this episode of Cyber Uncut, James Blake, head of global cyber resiliency strategy at Cohesity, joins host Liam Garman to discuss how businesses can respond to destructive ransomware and wiper attacks – and why chief information security officers (CISOs) should perceive backups as a secret weapon in the fight against malicious actors.  The pair begin the podcast by analysing what the new-era ransomware and wiper attacks look like and how they can stop a business – even in critical...
Published 08/26/24
In this episode of the Defence Connect Podcast, host Steve Kuper is joined by Dr Ross Babbage, CEO of Strategic Forum and senior non-resident fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments.   The pair begin their conversation discussing the origins of Dr Babbage’s report for the Lowy Institute, Deterrence and alliance power: Why the AUKUS submarines matter and how they can be delivered.    The pair also discuss:  Some of the concerns in Australia, the...
Published 08/22/24
In this episode of the Defence Connect Podcast, the 2024 Western Australian AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award winner, Mandy Walker, joins senior journalist Robert Dougherty to discuss new ways to integrate regional businesses into the defence supply chain to resist seasonal challenges in Australia. The pair discuss the 2024 WA AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award, the national finals, and working in Western Australia. Walker, co-manager of Walkers Diesel Services, then explains a new initiative...
Published 08/15/24
In this episode of the Cyber Uncut podcast, Peter Maloney, CEO and managing director of AUCloud, joins host Liam Garman to examine the 71 per cent year-on-year increase in cyber attacks against healthcare systems and the risks that this will pose for regular Australians. The pair begin the podcast by unpacking key findings from the 2024 Cyber Security Healthcare Report and the key factors that contribute to this alarming trend. Maloney then provides insight into the Monash Health and...
Published 08/12/24
In this episode of the Defence Connect Podcast, Australian Army veteran Adrian Bucci joins senior journalist Robert Dougherty to discuss life in the Australian Defence Force, his deployment to Afghanistan, and becoming the first Australian forward observer to fire artillery on operations since the Vietnam War. The pair discuss Major (Ret’d) Bucci’s time with the Royal Australian Artillery, parachuting with the ADF, and assignment with United Kingdom troops during Exercise Long Look. Bucci...
Published 08/08/24
In this episode of the Defence Connect Spotlight podcast, Ed Zoiss, President, Space and Airborne Systems at L3Harris, joins host Liam Garman to unpack how integrated all-domain electronic warfare is a fundamental capability in today’s defence landscape, and how the Australian Defence Force must establish freedom of manoeuvre in the electromagnetic spectrum (EMS). The pair begin the podcast examining how electronic warfare is used in modern military operations and how L3Harris is helping...
Published 08/07/24
In this episode of the Defence Connect Spotlight podcast, Christopher Groves, former Royal Navy submariner and underwater business development lead at QinetiQ, and Graeme Bick, QinetiQ’s global test and evaluation campaign chief solution architect, join host Liam Garman to unpack how test and evaluation will be critical for the success of Australia’s nuclear-powered submarine program. The trio begin the podcast examining the role of T&E in submarine operations, especially in ensuring...
Published 08/05/24