Karissa Breen interviews James Blakeley – Head of Govt. Relations, Atmos, Anthony Cook – Partner, Atmos New Zealand, Atmos, and ASD’s Michael Boyd, on how government can support organizations during major cyber breaches and in prevention. They say agencies can provide tailored advice, intelligence, and coordination, with Australia’s National Office of Cybersecurity and ASD reducing “noise” by consolidating information requests and enabling faster recovery through better information sharing.

They contrast Australia’s more mature, legislated “limited use” disclosure protections with New Zealand’s lack of similar safeguards, which can deter reporting and sharing indicators of compromise. On prevention, they discuss supply-chain risk, reliance on offshore SaaS/cloud providers, the need for minimum standards, exercises and guidance (e.g., ASD Essential Eight and Horizon 2), and updating clunky privacy laws, especially to better support small businesses.

Key takeaways include open collaboration, board awareness of global threats, and Australia’s progress as a model for New Zealand.