The cyber effect: Transformation, communication and innovation inspire PwC's new cyber leader

By Robert Di Pietro, Cybersecurity & Digital Trust Leader, PwC Australia

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It’s overwhelming to think just how much the world has changed in the last 30 years.

Now, literally almost everything we do intersects with our digital lives, be it ordering groceries, watching TV or checking emails.

And while this digital duality has, in so many ways, improved our lives for the better, it has brought with it a myriad of challenges. Top of the list is cybersecurity.

As a kid growing up in Melbourne in the 1980s, I remember my first flush with tech - video games. Despite the pixelated graphics, stunted music and unreliable handsets, this great tech leap left me in awe and it seemed to have an unparalleled ability to bring people together.

Then of course came the 1990s and the grating sound of dial-up internet. It was slow, it was clunky, but it changed my life - and the lives of billions around the world - forever.

I remember signing up to our family’s first internet plan and arguing with my dad about whether we could afford the 100MB (per month!) plan, or to settle for the 50MB. Today our monthly internet consumption is literally thousands of times greater, and we can’t imagine our lives without it.

But, like many things, with the good comes the bad. And when it comes to the evolution of the internet, security was an afterthought.

The internet and many of its foundational services, like email, were designed to be open and accessible and we continue to grapple with the benefits and disadvantages of this legacy.

In 2022, digital technologies are evolving rapidly in life-altering ways - developing much faster than our ability to keep them safe and secure.

In a world so interconnected, it can sometimes be hard to see the weakest link. And that is precisely why cybersecurity is more important now than ever before.

We know all it takes is one wrong click to instigate a full-blown cyber attack.

We know cyber threats are the number one issue keeping CEOs up at night.

We also know that, in response to these threats, the legislative and regulatory frameworks surrounding cybersecurity in Australia continue to grow in scope and complexity, and this is all occurring against the backdrop of significant cyber-skilled workforce constraints.

But we have the opportunity to shift this narrative. Cybersecurity is not just a risk to be managed. It can be a powerful enabler, a competitive advantage, a catalyst for trust and confidence and offers an opportunity for Australia to shine on the world stage.

It is these opportunities that fill me with excitement to be appointed PwC Australia’s Cybersecurity and Digital Trust Leader. There has never been a more important time to tackle these cyber issues and strengthen the foundations upon which our digital future is built.

Cyber isn’t just about technology. It’s about understanding human behaviour and bringing diverse perspectives and skills together to solve complex problems for industry and government.

It’s also about simplifying difficult concepts and communicating them in a way all people can understand. It may sound like a highly technical field, but practising ‘good’ cybersecurity is about getting the basics right - learning and applying street-smarts for the digital world.

One of the reasons I enjoy delivering training and speaking at conferences is that I'm passionate about communicating these lessons - ensuring at PwC we simplify, not further complicate, cyber and related concepts like privacy, data governance and identity management.

Whether helping businesses embrace the cloud as part of their digital transformations, strengthening resilience of their critical supply chains, or building trust with citizens who are consuming digital services – cybersecurity must be at the heart of everything today’s businesses do.

It’s a privilege to help organisations navigate the cyber challenges of today and prepare for the threats of tomorrow, ultimately helping make the digital lives of Australians safer and more secure.