PROTEGAS Australia Presentation on Foreign Interference and IP Protection – A stellar line up of presenters tackled the important topic of Foreign interference and IP protection at an event jointly hosted by PROTEGAS Australia and QDSA on Wednesday 4th May 2022 at Queensland University of Technology.
In today’s climate of growing global instability and tension, it is important that we focus on security to protect the research and technological advancements here in Australia. This event brought to the forefront a swathe of issues faced by Industry, Defence and Academia as we work to reduce vulnerabilities and avoid foreign interference, both malicious and economic.
The program included presentations by several experts in the fields of Defence research innovation, academic research, cybersecurity, intellectual property, personal security, risk management, governance, risk frameworks and more.
Several presenters identified the potential issues that foreign interference can cause for Australian intellectual property and the probability that research institutes and Universities are potential prime targets for foreign interference due to technological advances they are making.
The afternoon was completed with a robust panel Q & A that fostered energetic discussions about all topics.
PROTEGAS Australia: Foreign Interference and IP Protection Event Presenters
Andrew Crowe, Mirragin Consulting – Director, Defence and National Security and Dr Jeremy Anderson, Director – Queensland Defence Science Alliance
The afternoon proceedings commenced with introductory and welcome presentations by Andrew Crowe, Mirragin Consulting, Director, Defence and National Security and Dr Jeremy Anderson, Director, Queensland Defence Science Alliance. Both speakers discussed the importance of events such as this.
Jeremy highlighted the opportunities for networking and collaborations that stem from these events and encouraged attendees to follow up with each other afterwards.
Andrew Crowe was a masterful Master of Ceremonies adding his own expertise to identify linkages between the presentations.
Mr Jerome Mullan, Director Security Intelligence, PROTEGAS Australia
Representing PROTEGAS Australia, Mr Jerome Mullan spoke about the issues of foreign interference and the implications for universities and Defence industry. The session explored the threat facing Australia as changes in technology and the international security landscape enable malign actors to target universities and industry, their IP, staff and infrastructure. Jerome also discussed single vs multivector IP security threats.
Brigadier (BRIG) Greg Novak – Commander 6th Brigade
Brigadier Novak took time out of a very busy schedule to provide attendees with a Defence perspective and an overview of Defence response to the current environment. BRIG Novak highlighted that Defence encourages collaboration with universities to gain military advantage and explained the need to protect information and intellectual property from foreign interference threats.
Brigadier Novak also mentioned several programs within Defence – such as the Defence Industry Security Program (DISP), Defence Science Partnerships (DSP2.0) and Defence Research, Innovation and Collaboration Security (DRICS) Framework.
Professor Andrea Bishop – Griffith University
Professor Bishop offered the University perspective of dealing with foreign interference threats and IP protection. She discussed the different ways that IP threats manifest (such as theft, sabotage, trade secrets) and the justification used for them (such as malicious or economic threats, sense of justice and humanitarian concerns etc.
Andrea also discussed risk assessment, governance and identified that cybersecurity is an overarching and major threat to academic institutions.
Panel Discussion and Q & A
The official part of the program concluded with an energetic and insightful Q & A with audience questions and responses by the panel consisting of:
- Mr Jerome Mullan, Director Security Intelligence, PROTEGAS Australia
- Aaron Pollard, Director, Protective Security, CyberCX
- BRIG Greg Novak – Commander 6th Brigade
- Ben Sorensen, Director of Strategic Partnerships, Cyber Security CRC
- Tahleigh Gibbs, Trade Marks Attorney, Redchip Lawyers
The panel discussion provided an opportunity for attendees to pose questions to the expert panel and it proved to be very well received. The discussion raised several issues and concerns amongst attendees and our expert panel rose to the challenge, offering a great deal of insight with their answers.
Networking Opportunities
One of the great benefits of events such as the PROTEGAS Australia: Foreign Interference and IP Protection presentation is the opportunity for networking to encourage potential connections and collaborations. At the conclusion of the afternoon, drinks and canapes were provided in order to encourage this.
Here is a short video recap of the event:
2022 will see QDSA continue its efforts to connect SMEs and research institutes with opportunities that will encourage the growth of Australian Defence capability and technology.
QDSA Upcoming Events and Opportunities
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The Queensland Defence Science Alliance (QDSA) is a university-led initiative to grow and connect an agile Defence innovation ecosystem, leveraging Queensland’s strengths, to deliver trusted solutions to meet Defence requirements.
