Technology and Security

In this episode of Technology & Security, Dr. Miah Hammond-Errey is joined by cyber security and governance leader Min Livanidis. They discuss what resilience really means in an AI-enabled environment and how to reframe the conversation: AI risk is often a governance question. From identity and access management to data controls and shared responsibility models, the fundamentals of cyber security remain vital. While new forms of AI introduce probabilistic and agentic risks that require different safety considerations, the scaffolding of resilience—clear governance, structured risk management and technical literacy—has not changed.
The conversation reinforces the need for fundamental security controls during technological acceleration. Most successful cyber incidents still exploit basic weaknesses, not advanced AI capabilities. At the same time, AI is amplifying both defensive tools and human vulnerabilities, particularly through scams, impersonation and disinformation. Great security is not expecting perfect human decision-making but designing systems that reduce cognitive load and embed security by design. Ultimately, resilience depends less on hype and more on discipline: clarity of purpose, investment in people, and the consistent application of fundamentals. Her start in intelligence gave Livanidis insight into elements of leadership including curiosity, diversity and how to create a tech capable workforce. 
Min Livanidis is a cyber security, risk, and governance expert, currently Chief Security Advisor for Public Sector at Microsoft, Chair of the UNSW Institute for Cyber External Advisory Board, Co-Chair of Home Affairs’ Resilience Expert Advisory Group, and a former intelligence officer with experience across government and industry.
Resources mentioned:
Journal Article: Big data, emerging technologies and the characteristics of ‘good intelligence’: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/figure/10.1080/02684527.2023.2287255 // https://miahhe.com/downloads 
Cognitive Edge podcast: https://share.transistor.fm/s/cfcd90d1

In this episode of Technology & Security, Dr Miah Hammond-Errey is joined by Major General Mick Ryan to examine how emerging technologies are reshaping war, alliances, and societies at a moment of profound global uncertainty. Ryan argues that the post-World War II order has ended, leaving democracies in an interregnum characterised by growing chaos. Against this backdrop, technology—from AI and autonomous systems to information and cognitive warfare—is not removing friction from conflict, but accelerating it, widening its surface area, and increasing the consequences of strategic misjudgement.
Drawing on his recent work, Ryan explores lessons from Ukraine as a laboratory for contemporary conflict, emphasising that the most transformative shift is not drones or AI, but the speed at which societies and institutions can learn and adapt. This episode examines the changing role of alliances, the tension between values and interests, the risks of over-reliance on technology without organisational reform, and the ethical limits of AI in decision-making. The conversation concludes with an assessment of national resilience—economic, cyber, physical, and societal—and the need for clearer public conversations about risk, preparedness, and the responsibilities of citizenship in an increasingly contested world.
Major General Mick Ryan (Ret’d) is a former senior Australian Army commander and leading analyst of war, strategy, and emerging technologies, currently a Senior Fellow at the Lowy Institute and Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

In this episode of the Technology & Security podcast, host Dr. Miah Hammond-Errey is joined by Kate Carruthers. Kate is currently the head of data analytics and AI at the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She shares her journey from defending Westfield against state and non-state cyber attacks to leading UNSW's enterprise data, AI, and cybersecurity efforts, including delivering the university's first production AI system in 2019 and re-architecting its cloud data platform for AI and ML. She notes boardrooms are evolving from basic cyber literacy to probing AI risks like models, data, and risk registers. 
 
Carruthers outlines some real-world examples, such as UNSW’s enterprise AI program, including a machine learning model that predicted which students were likely to fail a course, with 95%+ accuracy, so the university could design careful, humane intervention protocols to reduce self-harm risk. She argues that while frontier models like OpenAI and Gemini have a place, their compute costs, water intensity and general-purpose design make them poorly suited to some business problems, and that the future lies in smaller, industry-specific models trained on highly relevant data. The conversation covers the rise of agentic AI coding tools, the risk of deskilling junior developers, and the need for diverse, product-focused teams to translate technical systems into workable human processes.​
 
On security, she prioritizes CIA triad integrity over confidentiality, warning of data alterations in cars, medical devices, and government systems via poisoning or underinvestment in encryption. Carruthers urges Australian AI sovereignty—opting for open-source like Databricks over proprietary stacks—amid US-China model contrasts and outage risks from providers like AWS or CrowdStrike. Throughout, she encourages leaders not just to read about AI but to use multiple systems themselves, understand their limitations as probabilistic tools in deterministic business environments, and ground every deployment in clearly defined problems, ethics, and user needs.​

In this episode of the Technology & Security podcast, host Dr. Miah Hammond-Errey is joined by Professor Ganna Pogrebna. They explore the intersections of behavioural data science, AI, cybersecurity, and technology adoption. The discussion covers urban-rural technology divides and the dilemmas faced by small businesses using "off the shelf" AI tools. It explores Australia's global position in quantum algorithms and cybersecurity innovation and digital twins, showcasing their role in simulating complex systems in cybersecurity and even nuclear decision-making. 
 
This episode highlights the limits of machine learning for fighting misinformation, emphasising that humans still detect novel attacks better than algorithms. Ganna shares practical inclusion strategies that policy and industry leaders can adopt, such as "inclusion riders" in contracts to increase representation. The conversation closes on actionable ways to bridge the research-adoption gap, the evolving challenge of leading human–machine teams, and the enduring need for experimentation and resilience as technology, policy, and society evolve.​
 
Highlights 
🌏 Bridging urban–rural and global divides in technology use, access and security.
🛡️ Why digital twins are useful and how they can improve cybersecurity decision-making. 
🕵️‍♂️ Human intuition still outpaces AI for spotting new cyber threats.
⚖️ How business incentives and KPIS are still a leading method for behavioural change. 
🤖 Leadership now means leading people who are combinations of human–machine. 
💡 Co-design, not just adoption, drives effective technology and security tools.

In this episode of Technology & Security, host Dr. Miah Hammond-Errey is joined Dr Adrian De Grazia, Global Intelligence Lead at Pfizer. This episode explores counterfeit pharmaceuticals and the evolving landscape of forensic science. The conversation takes listeners inside global operations, including the technologies transforming supply chain integrity, collaboration with law enforcement, and the unique challenges of detecting and disrupting complex networks involved in medicine counterfeiting. It also explores the importance of data literacy for leaders, and the role of alliances in combating security threats at national and corporate levels. 
 
Listeners hear about innovative approaches to product integrity and authentication—from advanced packaging to real-time tracking—alongside reflections on emerging security risks linked to AI, chemical profiling, and supply chain vulnerabilities. Insightful examples, including Operation Pangea and Australia’s digital forensic strategy for foreign interference, highlight the real-world impact of science in protecting patients, supporting public safety, and fostering interdisciplinary cooperation at local and global scales.
Please note, while employed by Pfizer, the views shared by Dr De Grazia are his own, taken from studies, personal and professional experiences past and present.
Resources
https://www.pfizer.com/products/medicine-safety/counterfeiting 
 
This podcast was recorded on the lands of the Gadigal people, and we pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging. We acknowledge their continuing connection to land, sea and community, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Music by Dr Paul Mac and production by Elliott Brennan.