CybersecCon 24 - Chillisoft

Re-visit CybersecCon2024!

EVENT RECAP

This year, CybersecCon was yet again bigger and better than ever! We want to express our gratitude to all those that registered and came along! Without you, there is no CybersecCon! We’d also like to thank our awesome keynote speakers, panelists, workshop hosts and sponsors! If you’re part of the cybersecurity industry in Oceania, CybersecCon is the must-attend event of the year! Best of all, thanks to our wonderful sponsors, CybersecCon is free too attend with approved registrations. The event is educational, engaging, and focused entirely on cybersecurity!

Attendees saw exclusive presentations from industry leaders, enjoyed lively debates and discussions from expert panels and for those that wanted to deep dive into leading solutions – we had several workshops led by top vendors. In these sessions, they delve into innovative solutions for today’s cybersecurity challenges. Attendees also have the opportunity to connect with representatives from leading Gartner vendors, discussing their security needs and ideas face-to-face. At CybersecCon, your input matters. Using our app, guests were able to join live Q&A sessions, and voice opinions through polls and votes.

We also aim to make CybersecCon fun. Attendees got to test their knowledge with trivia and code challenges, embarking on quests, and watching their scores climb for a chance to win some neat prizes! As a bonus, we also have a free e-book download for all CybersecCon fans.
Take a journey into a Time Travel Murder Mystery with Will Reid’s – Time May Never Tell! Download your copy here.

Recharged with snacks, juices, and coffee, attendees got to network with keynote speakers and panelists. Regulars reconnected with old colleagues, and everyone had a great chance to make new friends. The crowd got to unwind with a drink during our event-end happy hours, and for those invited, dress up for our gala dinner featuring live music, local cybersecurity comedy, and the Cyber Excellence Awards. With record attendance and registration numbers, we will aim to bring you an even bigger and better CybersecCon in 2025!

#Keynotes #Panel Discussions #Technical Workshops #Networking #Entertainment #Learning

Keynote Presentations

Paul Macpherson - Reserve Bank of New Zealand – Te Pūtea Matua | Director of Information Security (CISO)

Paul Macpherson leads the Information Security team for Te Pūtea Matua, with responsibility for managing information and cyber security risks across the organisation.

The Information Security team plays a critical role in ensuring the security and privacy of information entrusted to Te Pūtea Matua as kaitiaki of New Zealand’s financial system.

Paul has over 30 years’ experience in information security administration, consulting and management roles across the public and private sector. Previously he held information security management roles at Westpac NZ and Xero, and spent 10 years with KPMG where he provided information security consulting and audit services to clients globally. He is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) and Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP).

Paul will speak of the work his team have done over the last five years to improve cyber security risk management at the Reserve Bank of New Zealand – Te Pūtea Matua. He will highlight his team’s focus on taking a holistic, business led approach to reduce risks and ensure that the organisation meets its compliance obligations. He’ll outline these compliance obligations and discuss the dichotomy of supporting both a regulated entity and the regulator within one organisation. Paul will also take you through the tools and processes implemented to support risk management and assurance across technology and security at the RBNZ.

Nancy Taneja - Toyota New Zealand Limited | Chief Information Officer

In her former roles, Nancy has worked as Chief Information Security Officer and Chief Technology Officer.

Nancy is a seasoned technology and security leader with more than 20 years of global work experience. Over the last eight years she has worked extensively in NZ healthcare sector on transformation technology and security initiatives. She was also involved with secure AI deployment at an enterprise level.

For her work on cyber security and partnerships she received the NZ Cybersec Woman of the Year excellence award in 2023.

“I love technology in all shapes, forms and sizes. As a fervent technologist, I am deeply entrenched in the ever-evolving landscape of innovation, and I relish the challenges that technology presents, security being one of the biggest of them all.

Yet my passion extends beyond the confines of technology and security. Contributing to the community is my compass. For me, the true enchantment of technology lies in its capacity to connect us and empower us.”, she says.

Christophe Demoor - Auckland Transport | CISO

Hailing from Belgium and married to a Kiwi, Christophe started and spent most of his career in Europe, though New Zealand isn’t entirely unfamiliar: he worked with the Dairy Board in Wellington from 2001-2002 as a System Engineer.

On return to Brussels, he spent two years at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a Network and Security Engineer and then worked for a decade in retail with the Delhaize Group in his native Belgium as Network and Security Manager, then took a position in telecom with Telenet as Manager Security Engineering and subsequently Infrastructure Strategy Manager.

Before returning to New Zealand in 2021, Christophe held the position of Head of eConnectivity at global pharmaceutical company UCB. When back in New Zealand, Christophe was Cyber Security Consultant for two MSP’s and now Head of Technology Security (CISO).

Christophe will be speaking about ‘Auckland Transport, one year on from that breach….’

Phil Ross - Air New Zealand | CISO

Phil is a seasoned Chief Information Security Officer with over two decades of experience in safeguarding critical infrastructure across aerospace, banking, healthcare, telecommunications, and government sectors. Working closely with executives and board directors, Phil has enhanced the cybersecurity posture of nationally critical organisations across Europe. After completing his European tenure Phil sailed back to Aotearoa, where he now leads a large team of Cyber and Identity innovators at Air New Zealand. He serves on multiple advisory boards and the Executive Council of Digital Internet New Zealand.

Workshop Presentations

PROGRAMME
LINEUP BIO's
WORKSHOPS
AWARDS & GALA

Time	Activity	Info
9:00 AM	Registrations	Workshop registration & welcome coffee
9:30 AM	Workshops	ESET \| Mimecast \| Qualys & VIP Imperva Capture the Flag!
11:30 AM	Lunch & Networking
12:00 PM	MAIN EVENT START
12:00 PM	Welcome	Alex Teh (Chillisoft CEO) - A.I is both beneficial and a risk to the Human Identity
12:20 PM	Keynote	Paul Macpherson Director of Information Security (CISO), Reserve Bank of New Zealand – Te Pūtea Matua \| Five years of improving cyber security risk management at the Reserve Bank of New Zealand – Te Pūtea Matua.
12:50 PM	Keynote	Nancy Taneja - Toyota New Zealand Limited, CIO, \| The Role of Generative AI in Cybersecurity
1:20 PM	Panel One	How best to use generative AI in the world of cyber security . Featuring: Nancy Taneja (Toyota New Zealand Limited, CIO), Ryan Economos (Mimecast’s Field CTO), Stephen Moore (Exabeam VP & CSS), Reinhart Hansen (Imperva CTO)
2:05 PM	Break	Networking session with nibbles & coffee served
2:45 PM	Panel Two	Platform vs Integrated Best in Breed, which is better? Francois Marais (Warehouse Group) Security Architect, Dane Blackmore (Netskope, Country Manager), Sam Salehi (Qualys, Managing Director ANZ), Simon Howe (ExtraHop, Area Vice President
3:30 PM	Keynote	Phil Ross (Air New Zealand, CISO), speaking on “The importance of securing your agile identity in a modern-day corporate environment.”
4:00 PM	Keynote	Christophe Demoor (Auckland Transport, CISO), speaking about 'Ensuring a safe and secure public transport'.
4:30 PM	Panel Three	Supply-chain attacks causing Identity theft and misuse of privilege access \| PANELISTS: Christophe Demoor, (Auckland Transport, CISO), Phil Ross (Air New Zealand CISO), Alex Su (Security Scorecard Senior Solutions Architect), Olly Stimpson (CyberArk ANZ Senior Security Strategy Adviser), Corey Nachreiner (WatchGuard Chief Security Officer).
5:15 PM	MAIN EVENT END
5:15 PM	Exabeam Happy Hours	Drinks, snacks and networking!
7:00 PM	GALA DINNER OPEN	Thanks to Mimecast
7:15 PM	Gala Opening	Dr David Gadnyx (Chillisoft, Marketing Manager)
7:20 PM	Welcome Note	Justin Flower (Mimecast, Senior Director ANZ)
7:30 PM	Live Band	RP3 Jazz Trio
7:35 PM	Mimecast Buffet Dinner
8:30 PM	Comedian	Jeremy Elwood
9:00 PM	Cyber Excellence Awards	Awards opening - 2023 Cyber Excellence Awards CISO of the Year Winner - Tony Allwood (Silver Fern Farms, Head of Security)
9:15 PM	2024 CISO of the Year	Presented by Tony Allwood - Silver Fern Farms, Head of Security & 2023 CISO of the Yea Winner
9:20 PM	2024 CyberSec Woman of the Year	Presented by Nancy Taneja Toyota New Zealand Limited, CIO & 2023 CyberSec Woman of the Year
9:25 PM	2024 SOC Analyst of the Year award	Presented by Mimecast
9:30 PM	2024 Cybersecurity Team of the Year award	Presented by Mimecast
9:35PM	2024 Partner Awards	Introduced by Dr David Gadnyx (Chillisoft Marketing Manager)
9:40 PM	Mimecast Partner Award	2024 Mimecast Partner of the Year \| Presented by: Josh Gardner (Mimecast, Channel Account Manager)
9:50 PM	Netskope Award	2024 Netskope Innovation Partner NZ \| Presented by: Dane Blackmore (Netskope, Country Manager)
9:55 PM	Imperva Awards	2024 Partner of the Year & 2024 Emerging partner of the Year \| Presented by Reinhart Hansen - Imperva a Thales Company (Director of Technology)
10:05 PM	ESET Award	2024 ESET Partner of the Year \| Presented by: Anthony Rowell - Chillisoft (Channel Account Manager)
10:15 PM	Closing Note	Geoff Cossey (Chillisoft, Founder & Owner)
10:30 PM	After-Party	RP3 Jazz Trio
12:00 PM	Event End

Keynote Speakers

Paul Macpherson - Reserve Bank of New Zealand – Te Pūtea Matua | Director of Information Security (CISO)

Paul Macpherson leads the Information Security team for Te Pūtea Matua, with responsibility for managing information and cyber security risks across the organisation.

The Information Security team plays a critical role in ensuring the security and privacy of information entrusted to Te Pūtea Matua as kaitiaki of New Zealand’s financial system.

Paul has over 30 years’ experience in information security administration, consulting and management roles across the public and private sector. Previously he held information security management roles at Westpac NZ and Xero, and spent 10 years with KPMG where he provided information security consulting and audit services to clients globally. He is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) and Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP).

Paul will speak of the work his team have done over the last five years to improve cyber security risk management at the Reserve Bank of New Zealand – Te Pūtea Matua. He will highlight his team’s focus on taking a holistic, business led approach to reduce risks and ensure that the organisation meets its compliance obligations. He’ll outline these compliance obligations and discuss the dichotomy of supporting both a regulated entity and the regulator within one organisation. Paul will also take you through the tools and processes implemented to support risk management and assurance across technology and security at the RBNZ.

Nancy Taneja - Toyota New Zealand Limited | Chief Information Officer

In her former roles, Nancy has worked as Chief Information Security Officer and Chief Technology Officer.

Nancy is a seasoned technology and security leader with more than 20 years of global work experience. Over the last eight years she has worked extensively in NZ healthcare sector on transformation technology and security initiatives. She was also involved with secure AI deployment at an enterprise level.

For her work on cyber security and partnerships she received the NZ Cybersec Woman of the Year excellence award in 2023.

“I love technology in all shapes, forms and sizes. As a fervent technologist, I am deeply entrenched in the ever-evolving landscape of innovation, and I relish the challenges that technology presents, security being one of the biggest of them all.

Yet my passion extends beyond the confines of technology and security. Contributing to the community is my compass. For me, the true enchantment of technology lies in its capacity to connect us and empower us.”, she says.

Christophe Demoor - Auckland Transport | CISO

Hailing from Belgium and married to a Kiwi, Christophe started and spent most of his career in Europe, though New Zealand isn’t entirely unfamiliar: he worked with the Dairy Board in Wellington from 2001-2002 as a System Engineer.

On return to Brussels, he spent two years at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a Network and Security Engineer and then worked for a decade in retail with the Delhaize Group in his native Belgium as Network and Security Manager, then took a position in telecom with Telenet as Manager Security Engineering and subsequently Infrastructure Strategy Manager.

Before returning to New Zealand in 2021, Christophe held the position of Head of eConnectivity at global pharmaceutical company UCB. When back in New Zealand, Christophe was Cyber Security Consultant for two MSP’s and now Head of Technology Security (CISO).

Christophe will be speaking about ‘Auckland Transport, one year on from that breach….’

Phil Ross - Air New Zealand | CISO

Phil is a seasoned Chief Information Security Officer with over two decades of experience in safeguarding critical infrastructure across aerospace, banking, healthcare, telecommunications, and government sectors. Working closely with executives and board directors, Phil has enhanced the cybersecurity posture of nationally critical organisations across Europe. After completing his European tenure Phil sailed back to Aotearoa, where he now leads a large team of Cyber and Identity innovators at Air New Zealand. He serves on multiple advisory boards and the Executive Council of Digital Internet New Zealand.

Alex Teh - Chillisoft | CEO

Alex Teh is a cybersecurity business leader with over 20 years of proven industry success. Over a 16-year period as Director and founder of Vigil Software, Alex built the company from a start-up into a $44 million plus turnover operation. Vigil Software was then sold to a Pan-European company in 2016. Since joining Chillisoft as CEO, Alex has spearheaded the transformation of the company, turning Chillisoft from primarily working as ESET NZ, into a multi-Gartner leading vendor business. Chillisoft are now proud distributors of ESET, LogRhythm, CyberArk, Imperva, Help Systems, Netskope, Extrahop, Radware, Mimecast, Attack IQ and more. Chillisoft has since won many awards, including: 2020, 2021 and 2022 LogRhythm distributor of the year. 2021 Imperva APJ Partner of the year. 2020 Reseller News Specialist distributor and most recently, 2022 Reseller News Distributor Innovation Specialist.

Alex has been dedicated to building and growing sales, technical and marketing teams, with focus on achieving accelerated growth through ensuring high levels of integrity and excellence in cybersecurity. Alex works in a direct touch channel sales capacity, having sold and marketed to over 5,000 partners in EMEA and ANZ who trusted Chillisoft to provide commercial and technical value back to their customers. Chillisoft no works with over 2,000 partners in the ANZ market. Alex is a subject matter expert in all aspects of cyber security including; Next Generation Firewalls, SD-Wan, SASE, Data Loss Prevention, Cloud security, SIEM, WAF, DDOS, Email and Web security, Identity and Cloud Access Management (MFA, PAM, SSO), End point security (EDR), Network detection and response (NDR) and Mobile security.

Most keen on helping business build SOC’s and security services, Alex is highly passionate about cybersecurity. Most of all, Alex is dedicated to helping make the right security solutions available, bringing the best in cyberseucity to New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific!

Panel Speakers

Francois Marais - Warehouse Group | Security Architect

With over two decades of expertise in cybersecurity, Francois Marais has a distinguished career that began 23 years ago in South Africa as a security consultant. Emigrating to New Zealand 16 and a half years ago, Francois served as the territory manager for RSA Security, guiding significant regional security initiatives. Transitioning to independent consulting, he has delivered critical security solutions across New Zealand’s health, telecommunications, banking, insurance, and start-up sectors.

In 2023, Francois took on a pivotal role as a Security Architect at The Warehouse Group, focusing on retail and specialising in information security architecture, leveraging extensive experience to fortify the retail sector’s cybersecurity defences. Additionally, he founded CyberSeeker, further showcasing a commitment to enhancing cybersecurity landscapes.

Stephen Moore - Exabeam | VP & Chief Security Strategist

Stephen Moore is a Vice President and the Chief Security Strategist at Exabeam, co-founder TEN18, and the host of The New CISO podcast. Stephen has more than 20 years of experience in information security, intrusion analysis, threat intelligence, security architecture, and web infrastructure design. Before joining Exabeam, Stephen spent seven years at Elevance Health in various cybersecurity leadership roles. He played a leading role in identifying, responding to, and remediating their data breach involving a nation-state. Stephen has deep experience working with legal, privacy, and audit staff to improve cybersecurity and demonstrate greater organizational relevance.

Dane Blackmore - Netskope | Country Manager

Dane Blackmore is the country manager for Netskope, and has over a decade of experience working on digital transformation and cyber security objectives with business and government orgs of all sizes.

He is passionate about helping organisations to use zero trust architecture and cybersecurity to safely exploit one of their most valuable assets – customer data.

Simon Howe - Extrahop | Area Vice President

Simon is the Area Vice President for ExtraHop. A respected industry expert in the APJ region with over 25 years of sales and management experience Simon collaborates with the cyber security community to inform and uplift cyber security programs and capability. Previous to this role, Simon was responsible for building and managing relationships with organisations in Asia Pacific & Japan (APJ) for AttackIQ. Simon has also held senior sales and leadership roles at LogRhythm where he served as Vice President of Sales for Asia Pacific, Symantec, Commvault and Acronis. Originally from the UK, Simon has lived in Sydney since 1998.

Reinhart Hansen - Imperva (A Thales Company)| Director of Technology

Reinhart is an experienced Information Technology and Cyber Security leader of over 30 years. His career, founded on a degree in Computer Science from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), has a demonstrated history of working in technology leadership, advisory and sales/pre-sales roles that help businesses uncover and explore new opportunities for growth.

With a strong technical and entrepreneurial background, Reinhart founded a company earlier in his career that successfully developed and sold authentication security reporting and billing software to enterprises worldwide. The company and technology were later acquired by a global 2FA vendor.

Today, Reinhart has a large focus on cyber security and technology innovation powered by AI and automation. He helps organisations understand how they can source, build, and leverage technology to drive better business outcomes, while at the same time understand and manage their cyber risk. As a pragmatic technologist, he understands the importance that people and process play in the success of securing an organisation’s users, applications, infrastructure, and most importantly their data from cyber threats and cyber-attacks.

Ryan Economos - Mimecast | Field CTO

Ryan Economos is Mimecast’s Field CTO and is at the intersection between business and technology. With over 15 years of broad technology experience, he has focused on cyber security for the last decade. Through the lens of organisational risk, he works with organisations across the Asia Pacific region delivering on their cyber resilience outcomes.

Sam Salihi - Qualys | Managing Director ANZ

With over 18 years of experience in the cybersecurity industry, Sam has built a remarkable career trajectory. He has held key roles at reputable organizations such as Spectrum in UAE, Extol Corporation in Malaysia, IPSec, Optus, and Trustwave in Australia, where he served as the APAC Sales Director. Throughout his professional journey, Sam has demonstrated exceptional leadership skills in driving successful sales teams and highlighting the business value and return on investment (ROI) of diverse cybersecurity solutions. Sam holds a master’s degree in engineering management from Malaysia’s Universiti Tenaga Nasional, adding a solid academic foundation to his practical expertise in the field.

Alex Su - SecurityScorecard | Senior Solutions Architect

Alex is an experienced cyber security professional with over 20 years of experience in helping organisations uplift their cyber security maturity to the next level.

He is your trusted security advisor at SecurityScorecard, providing guidance and in-depth knowledge on the market and the application of the solution with a consultative approach.

Olly Stimpson, CyberArk ANZ | Senior Security Strategy Adviser

After 8 years at CyberArk, Olly Stimpson is now a Senior member of the Security Strategy Advisory practice. As part of this global team, he leads the company’s work in helping APJ-based organisations understand the changing security landscape and the key role CyberArk will play. Areas of focus include Identity Security requirements arising from cloud migrations as well as pioneering CyberArk’s approach to securing OT environments. Olly – who is based in Sydney and has also worked in the UK and Denmark – brings broad experience of the present and future considerations organisations must recognise to secure all Identities with the right level of Privilege Controls.

Corey Nachreiner, WatchGuard | Chief Security Officer

Recognized as a thought leader in IT security, Nachreiner spearheads WatchGuard’s technology vision and direction. Previously, he was the director of strategy and research at WatchGuard. Nachreiner has operated at the frontline of cyber security for 16 years, and for nearly a decade has been evaluating and making accurate predictions about information security trends. As an authority on network security and internationally quoted commentator, Nachreiner’s expertise and ability to dissect complex security topics make him a sought-after speaker at forums such as Gartner, Infosec and RSA. He is also a regular contributor to leading publications including CNET, Dark Reading, eWeek, Help Net Security, Information Week and Infosecurity, and delivers WatchGuard’s “Daily Security Byte” video on Facebook.

Workshop Hosts

Mimecast Workshop

Matt Youman - Mimecast | Senior Sales Engineer

Matt Youman is Mimecast’s Senior Sales Engineer, bringing a wealth of experience spanning across APAC, he has empowered sales teams and customers with technical expertise. Drawing on previous experience working to tackle complex problems and create lasting value, Matt builds strong relationships with clients and partners alike. As a continuous learner, he stays abreast of emerging technologies and best practices, readily sharing his knowledge and insights with colleagues and peers.

ESET Workshop

Brad Collins - Chillisoft | ESET Enterprise and MSP Business Manager

Brad Collins is the Enterprise and MSP Business Manager for ESET, focusing on our MSP partners and customers with our Complete, Enterprise and Elite products with the goal of allowing our MSPs to increase the security of their customers in an easy and cost effective manner. Brad has worked in IT Companies and MSPs for just over 20 years including growing one of those companies from 6 to 55 staff and is applying his wealth of real world experience in customer expectations and security solutions in this role to discuss the wider ESET product stack with MSPs.

Pierro Pierro Liebenberg - Tech Director & Security Architect (Chillisoft)

Pierro is a senior technical manager and cybersecurity architect with more than 28 years’ experience in the IT industry across Cyber Security, Cloud, Infrastructure & Hyperconverged Technologies, IT Support and Professional Services. He has delivered solutions to various multinational and international companies spanning finance, government, utilities and retail.

Roselt Kruger - Service Delivery Manager (Chillisoft)

TBA

Qualys Workshop

Joe Petrocelli - Qualys | Vice President, Product Management

Joe Petrocelli is a seasoned product leader with extensive experience in the government, technology and cybersecurity sectors. With over 20 years of experience, Joe has successfully led diverse teams in developing innovative solutions that enhance cybersecurity and user experience. Currently, Joe serves as Vice President of Product Management at Qualys where he focuses on VMDR, EDR, AI Security, and both the US Public Sector and Partner verticals. Joe’s expertise lies in Vulnerability and Risk Management, Endpoint Security, and Compliance.

Paul Digby - Qualys | Channel Sales Director

Having lived and worked in UK, Europe, North America, the Middle East, Singapore and ANZ, Paul has held executive & leadership roles, across Cyber Security, ICT, Telecommunications, FSI and logistics, though always in B2B – where he relishes the complexities & nuances of the market. ‘Things are seldom black or white in B2B. Where’s there’s grey there’s gold!’

Currently owning & leading out Qualys’ ‘Channel First” ANZ regional channel strategy, with a ‘Quality over Quantity’ partnering philosophy and working closely with Qualys’ exclusive NZ distribution partner Chillisoft, has seen revenue and margin growth out-perform the market.

Paul is passionate about cutting through the all too often, self-induced complexities in the vendor and channel world, to provide Partners and End-Customers with a compelling and differentiated value proposition, that above all else, is relevant to them.

Key to Paul’s success is a collaborative & entrepreneurial spirit, high integrity, reputation, and professionalism.

Darren Beattie - Tower Insurance | Head of Info Security

Darren is a seasoned security professional with over 30 years’ experience, starting with 12 years in the UK military dealing with crypto and communications security. Head hunted in 2007, took the step and became a senior firewall specialist for Telecom NZ (now Spark NZ). Darren has been with Tower Insurance for 6 years and has spent the past couple of years as the Head of Information Security, being responsible for all aspects of cyber security across the NZ and Pacific Islands operations. Being a thought leader in cyber, Darren encourages businesses to take leading edge approaches in cyber technology and processes, whilst instilling good governance across the business.

Imperva VIP Capture the Flag

Muqeet Khan | Imperva (a Thales Company) - Solutions Engineering Manager ANZ

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Shikhar Singh| Imperva (a Thales Company) Principal Sales Engineer Australia & New Zealand

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Special Guests

Gala Speakers

Tony Allwood | Silver Fern Farms - Head of Security

Tony is the Head of Security for Silver Fern Farms and has over 30 years experience working in technology. He is passionate about helping organisations and staff improve security and believes that a good security culture can be an enabler that provides many benefits to an organisation.

Justin Flower | Mimecast - Senior Director ANZ

With over 25 years of experience in sales leadership and enterprise solutions, Justin Flower is a highly accomplished sales executive, currently serving as the Senior Sales Director for Mimecast in the Australia and New Zealand region. He has been with Mimecast for over three years, leading the ANZ sales strategy.

Before joining Mimecast, Justin held the position of General Manager for the Southern Region at InfoTrust, where he was responsible for driving business growth and expanding market share. He also spent over 16 years at Sophos in various leadership roles, including Director of Enterprise Sales ANZ and Sales Manager for the Southern Region.

Justin’s career spans decades, with extensive experience in sales and management roles at organizations in both vendor and partner land, where he honed his expertise in strategic sales and customer engagement. His deep knowledge of cybersecurity, IT solutions, and enterprise sales has positioned him as a trusted leader in the industry.

Based in Melbourne, Australia, Justin continues to play a pivotal role in driving Mimecast’s success in the region by focusing on customer-centric strategies and fostering long-term relationships with clients.

Awards Presenters

Anthony Rowell | Chillisoft Account Manager

Anthony Rowell is a Channel Account Manager for Chillisoft, New Zealand’s specialist cybersecurity distributor. Representing cybersecurity industry-leading vendors including ESET, Imperva, Mimecast, and NetSkope to partner and customer bases numbering in well into the thousands.
With a strong background in information technology and security, Anthony has a comprehensive understanding of the evolving landscape of cyber threats and the mapping of these to the vendor technology and solutions Chillisoft represents
With a channel-first approach, mirroring the values of Chillisoft, Anthony works with partners to understand the unique security challenges of their clients, and providing guidance on tailored solutions to address their specific needs.

Parvindar Walia | ESET APJ President

As a cybersecurity executive with over 15 years of experience, Parvindar leads the Asia Pacific and Japan businesses for ESET, a global leader in endpoint protection and threat intelligence.

Specializing in the strategic development of teams, the cultivation of robust organizational cultures, and the successful growth of businesses through methodical planning and execution.

Parvindar manages a portfolio worth over USD 150 million and drives the region’s strategic vision and growth. Empowering teams and channel partners, optimizing operations and processes, and delivering customer-centric solutions.

Parvindar’s mission is to raise awareness and adoption of cybersecurity among individuals and organizations, enabling them to leverage the full potential of technology safely and securely. Parvindar has successfully executed go-to-market and business expansion initiatives, increasing market share, revenue, and profitability.

As an approachable and inclusive leader, Parvindar is passionate about building high-performance and diverse teams, nurturing talent, and fostering a culture of trust, empathy, resilience, and excellence.

Josh Gardner | Mimecast Channel Account Manager

Joshua Gardner has over 20 years’ experience across the channel ecosystem with a background in cybersecurity, network infrastructure and cloud, built from roles across vendors, distribution and partners. Currently serving as Distribution Manager at Mimecast for ANZ, Joshua is responsible for managing distribution channels, leveraging his expertise to drive channel growth and development across the partner ecosystem.

Event Hosts & Entertainers

Dr David Gadnyx | Event Host

David’s journey began in entry IT roles before delving into broadcasting, marketing and event management. David’s long-standing interest in tech, combined with his experience designing marketing strategies and managing multi-channel campaigns, allows him to create highly effective brand experiences. His PhD in Marketing, specializing in Attitude Inoculation, provides a strong foundation for understanding how to build consumer loyalty in competitive industries. David has managed a diverse range of projects, from large-scale conferences, automotive shows and music events to technical workshops, niche events and humble shows.

Holli Lovesy | Stage Host

Holli is an accomplished creative with a diverse background in project management, documentary filmmaking, television production, content creation, and entrepreneurship. With a passion for creating meaningful and impactful story-telling experiences, Holli has excelled in both corporate and creative settings, delivering outstanding results. Her involvement within the New Zealand Media & Broadcasting Industry has provided Holli with a wealth of expertise and development of her magnetic stage presence.

James Elwood | Comedian

Born in Canada, raised in the UK, and residing in New Zealand, Jeremy Elwood has
been performing comedy around the world for over 25 years. He has developed a
well-earned reputation for serving up hilarious stand-up infused with intelligence
and thought.

A regular panelist on THREE’ 7Days, and Radio New Zealand’s The Panel, and has appeared on The Project, The Comedy Gala, After Hours, and AotearoHA. His keen insights, observations and opinions keep us laughing at ourselves – and the myriad of lunacy in the world around us also. He has won a multitude of awards, the New Zealand Comedy Guild has voted him Best Male Comedian and also Best MC multiple times.

Jeremy regularly tours playing bars, clubs, and theatres around the country. This
coupled with shows in the NZ International Comedy Festival and various fringes from Dunedin to Edinburgh, make him one of the most well traveled comics we have. “An immensely skilled comic artist, and at the same time a very thoughtful humanist philosopher” – theatreview.org.nz.

Corey Blackburn | Photographer

Corey Blackburn, a professional photographer from Auckland, New Zealand, with a love for storytelling through imagery. From documenting the aftermath of September 11th in Egypt and gaining her first feature with Investigate Magazine, to her current role as the sole photographer for the University of Canterbury, Corey’s passion for photography has always come through in her work. She is especially talented in capturing corporate storytelling, the live essence of events, the feelings evoked in marketing campaigns, and the wonder from research projects. As an experienced photojournalist, Corey earned a sponsorship from Canon NZ for her event work during her time at Auckland’s UPFM radio station. Her portfolio includes coverage for renowned brands like Vodafone, Impact Summit, Humanitix, The Gough family Foundation, Q-Dance, ExEd, WILNZ, UC, LINCOLN and her works have been published through various print media including Fairfax, Stuff, Allied Press, Tipāko Business, Kia Ora, Investigate, Her, Woman, and Real Groove. Her works have been published through various print media, showcasing her diverse range of subjects and styles. From corporate biographies and product advertising to DJ, Artist, and Model portfolios, weddings, portraiture, and panoramic landscapes, Corey’s lens captures the essence of life in captivating frames.

RP3 Jazz Trio | Band

Formed in 2008, this intimate guitar, bass and drum trio features three of New Zealand’s premiere jazz artists. Playing original and standard material ranging from swing and Latin to contemporary jazz, this stylish trio has enthralled festival and corporate crowds alike at concerts throughout the country.

SELECT A WORKSHOP TO VIEW MORE INFO

Please note: Workshop info may change closer to the event

Mimecast will be hosting two back to back 45 min workshop sessions.

FIRST SESSION

High Risk Users & Where To Find Them

68% of all cyber incidents originate from human fallibility, but an effective risk management approach is impossible without the ability to pinpoint our riskiest users.

This workshop will share how 8% of the workforce is responsible for the majority of incidents and dive into what makes workers high-risk, where those high-risk users spend their time, what are their riskiest behaviours, and what that might mean for an organization’s security.

From there we will explore how security professionals can effectively measure user risk in their own organizations and action on these findings to strengthen their cyber defense.

Finally, we will explore how this new way of thinking about individualized user-risk unlocks the possibility of Adaptive Security- the ability to apply the right amount of security to the right person at the right time.

By applying the different stages of user-risk management, from feedback to tailored safeguards & access, learn how to keep your workforce safe and business productive.

SECOND SESSION

Empowering Your Organization with Proactive Cyber Defense

Join us for a comprehensive update on the latest advancements in cybersecurity. Discover how Mimecast’s innovative product suite can transform your organization’s approach to risk management. From unparalleled email and collaboration protection to proactive defense strategies and employee-centric security, we’ll explore how to safeguard your valuable data, simplify compliance processes, and stay ahead of evolving threats.

HOSTS

Matt Youman - Mimecast | Senior Sales Engineer

Matt Youman is Mimecast’s Senior Sales Engineer, bringing a wealth of experience spanning across APAC, he has empowered sales teams and customers with technical expertise. Drawing on previous experience working to tackle complex problems and create lasting value, Matt builds strong relationships with clients and partners alike. As a continuous learner, he stays abreast of emerging technologies and best practices, readily sharing his knowledge and insights with colleagues and peers.

Ryan Economos - Mimecast | Field CTO

Ryan Economos is Mimecast’s Field CTO and is at the intersection between business and technology. With over 15 years of broad technology experience, he has focused on cyber security for the last decade. Through the lens of organisational risk, he works with organisations across the Asia Pacific region delivering on their cyber resilience outcomes.

Reducing MFA Challenges and Enhancing Patching

LIVE ATTACK SIMULATION!
A red team vs blue team exercise utilizing Attack IQ for the attack simulation and ESET for the defense. You’ll have blast seeing how the attack plays out in real time. Who will win the fight? The attacker or the defender?! It’s Chillisoft’s Technical Director & Security Architect, Pierro Liebenberg VS Roselt Kruger, Chillisoft Service Delivery Manager!

What are the cybersecurity threats New Zealand faces?
In this workshop, we’ll provide a summary of the types of attacks we are seeing in New Zealand via our global threat intelligence feeds. From Ransomware detections to Vulnerability Exploits we’ll cover off every type of threat, trends and top categories for the previous 12 months

Do your users find MFA tedious? Do you protect your Windows logins with MFA?
Nobody wants to pick up their phone 5 times at the start of every day. See the solution from ESET offers a single sign-on process to all of your online resources while also protecting your Windows, Server and VPN log-ins with MFA!

Are you managing your patching? Do you have to?
With our vulnerability & patch management service, we’ve had great success with partners replacing their RMM patching completely. Most found many Vulnerabilities on their PCs that were thought to have been previously fully patched! This will be covered off and we’ll be talking about some additional features coming soon as well.

Is your security team fully operational 24/7? Is it based in New Zealand?

Last year we launched our 24/7 MDR service, the only brand or distributor delivered MDR service in New Zealand. This totally unique offering has seen huge growth and we’ll be discussing how it can help you out as an MSP reseller, or for those running an IT team in-house plus some of the most interesting events we have seen.

Data Loss Prevention and Insider Risk Management with Safetica Cloud
An area of interest that is very quickly growing. We’ll be looking at how to not only prevent simple user mistakes, malicious behaviour, but also improve efficiencies in your workforce around identifying future risky users, those playing games, or even those printing more than typically expected

HOSTS

Brad Collins - ESET Enterprise and MSP Business Manager

Brad Collins is the Enterprise and MSP Business Manager for ESET, focusing on our MSP partners and customers with our Complete, Enterprise and Elite products with the goal of allowing our MSPs to increase the security of their customers in an easy and cost effective manner. Brad has worked in IT Companies and MSPs for just over 20 years including growing one of those companies from 6 to 55 staff and is applying his wealth of real world experience in customer expectations and security solutions in this role to discuss the wider ESET product stack with MSPs.

Pierro Pierro Liebenberg - Tech Director & Security Architect (Chillisoft)

Pierro is a senior technical manager and cybersecurity architect with more than 28 years’ experience in the IT industry across Cyber Security, Cloud, Infrastructure & Hyperconverged Technologies, IT Support and Professional Services. He has delivered solutions to various multinational and international companies spanning finance, government, utilities and retail.

Roselt Kruger - Service Delivery Manager (Chillisoft)

TBA

Mastering Cyber Risk Management

A Workshop for Proactive Security

We’ll introduce you to TruRisk, the Qualys platform based on the risk factors that matter most, including vulnerabilities, misconfigurations , end-of-support software, missing agents and more.

In this workshop we will talk about measurement, communication and elimination. We will share how through Qualys, you can calculate the known and unknown cyber risk across your internal and external attack surface and quantify it in a way that meets the unique demands of your business. We’ll also dig into defining and articulating your complete cyber risk posture throughout your organization. Finally, we will discuss proactive elimination of the most critical vulnerabilities within your environment, showing you easy-to-use workflows that are designed to unify your security and IT Teams.

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Paul Digby - Qualys | Channel Sales Director

Having lived and worked in UK, Europe, North America, the Middle East, Singapore and ANZ, Paul has held executive & leadership roles, across Cyber Security, ICT, Telecommunications, FSI and logistics, though always in B2B – where he relishes the complexities & nuances of the market. ‘Things are seldom black or white in B2B. Where’s there’s grey there’s gold!’

Currently owning & leading out Qualys’ ‘Channel First” ANZ regional channel strategy, with a ‘Quality over Quantity’ partnering philosophy and working closely with Qualys’ exclusive NZ distribution partner Chillisoft, has seen revenue and margin growth out-perform the market.

Paul is passionate about cutting through the all too often, self-induced complexities in the vendor and channel world, to provide Partners and End-Customers with a compelling and differentiated value proposition, that above all else, is relevant to them.

Key to Paul’s success is a collaborative & entrepreneurial spirit, high integrity, reputation, and professionalism

Joe Petrocelli - Qualys | Vice President, Product Management

Joe Petrocelli is a seasoned product leader with extensive experience in the government, technology and cybersecurity sectors. With over 20 years of experience, Joe has successfully led diverse teams in developing innovative solutions that enhance cybersecurity and user experience. Currently, Joe serves as Vice President of Product Management at Qualys where he focuses on VMDR, EDR, AI Security, and both the US Public Sector and Partner verticals. Joe’s expertise lies in Vulnerability and Risk Management, Endpoint Security, and Compliance.

Darren Beattie - Tower Insurance | Head of Info Security

Darren is a seasoned security professional with over 30 years’ experience, starting with 12 years in the UK military dealing with crypto and communications security. Head hunted in 2007, took the step and became a senior firewall specialist for Telecom NZ (now Spark NZ). Darren has been with Tower Insurance for 6 years and has spent the past couple of years as the Head of Information Security, being responsible for all aspects of cyber security across the NZ and Pacific Islands operations. Being a thought leader in cyber, Darren encourages businesses to take leading edge approaches in cyber technology and processes, whilst instilling good governance across the business.

This year’s gala dinner is sponsored by Mimecast. If you are interested in attending the gala, please note capacity is limited and a request must be placed during sign-up. If accepted, your attendance request will be confirmed prior to CybersecCon.

The Gala dinner is a celebration of the cybersecurity industry. It is a fantastic opportunity to network with peers and catch up with friends. The gala includes a wonderful buffet dinner freshly and purpose cooked by the Hilton. The gala will be hosted by documentary film maker and radio host, Holli Lovesy and special guests yet to be announced. As you dine, you’ll enjoy a gorgeous setting with, live music and entertainment. On stage this year, we have the sensual sound of the RP3 Jazz Trio, with a Kiwi all-star comedian TBA who will turn up the energy right before the Cyber Excellence Awards!

The Gala dinner also hosts the annual Cyber Excellence Awards!

Nominations for the awards are now open for the following categories: CISO of the Year, CyberSec Woman of the Year, SOC Analyst of the Year, SOC Team of the Year. Click the button below to read more about the Cyber Excellence Awards and to make a nomination.

AWARDS INFO & NOMINATIONS

2023 Cyber Excellence Award Winners

2023 CISO of the Year

Tony Allwood, Silverfern Farms

2023 CyberSec Woman of the Year

Nancy Taneja , Health NZ – Te Whatu Ora

2023 SOC Analyst of the Year

Fraser Dawson, Mainfreight

2023 Gala Dinner Photos

RP3 Jazz Trio

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS

FEATURING SPEAKERS FROM

THE FUN STUFF

While we gather at CybersecCon every year to learn and connect, we also like to make it fun! Attendees get to go on a quest as they uncover secret codes from every vendor booth – on top of that, we also have several banners with secrets to decode – this year was a bigger challenge with morse code, phonetic and binary secrets scattered around the venue! Well done to everyone that had a go, and a special wooo for our top 3 code breakers. In first place, Mohammed Shameel, followed by Vinit Sen in second place and Brendan Laing in third! Prizes included a woodgrain chess set, a Lego Star Wars set and Sony Ear buds! As a thank-you to CybersecCon attendees, we have a neat sci-fi book for free download. Download the e-book below!

Exclusive CybersecCon E-Book Download

Written by Kiwi author Will Reid, Time May Never Tell is a Time Travel Murder Mystery!

How awesome would it be to figure out for yourself how time travel really works? Go back 5 minutes or 80 years and play with time like it’s a video game! John does precisely that, when he accidentally enters into an existence with friends and foes both old and new that bring fear, fun, romance and the wonder of living in history. Interweaved with John, Steve and Joe manipulate the annals of time, from World War 2 England through to 2075 Santa Monica and lots in between. Entangled in the mess and motives of their journeys, we find murder. Who did what and why is the mystery that each timeline slowly detangles, as they traverse the space-time continuum, sometimes alone, and sometimes not.