Latest news with #DanielSutherland
Techday NZ
26-05-2025
- Business
- Techday NZ
Exclusive: DigiCert eyes growth in ANZ as cyber threats escalate
Cyber attacks are on the rise, quantum computing is edging closer, and businesses across Australia and New Zealand are under "increasing pressure to modernise their digital infrastructure." According to Daniel Sutherland, Regional Vice President for ANZ at DigiCert, building digital trust is now central to enterprise resilience. "We're seeing a growing volume in the number of cyber attacks and data breaches," he explained during a recent interview. "The Australian Signals Directorate reported over 87,000 cyber attacks last financial year alone." Sutherland explained that with organisations expanding their digital footprints and threats becoming more sophisticated, businesses need to rethink how they secure data, manage risk, and modernise legacy systems. "Digital trust enables organisations and consumers to navigate the digital world with confidence," he said. DigiCert, best known for its TLS certificates, has grown significantly in the past decade. What began as a company helping people verify the legitimacy of websites has become a major player in digital trust and identity management. "It's rare to work for an organisation that covers such a wide range – from enterprise PKI to IoT device integrity and software verification," he said. Innovation remains a key pillar. "We had 81 patents issued last financial year alone – ten of those were in post-quantum cryptography and nine in AI and machine learning technologies," Sutherland said. He added that DigiCert's presence in the ANZ region has become increasingly significant. The company now employs over 100 people in Australia and was named a Great Place to Work in both 2023 and 2024. "We're really proud of that recognition," he said. "It shows that our people enjoy working here and that we invest in our culture." One major milestone this year has been the local deployment of DigiCert ONE, its core digital trust platform, which is now hosted in Australia. "It's one of only five instances globally," Sutherland noted. "This allows local customers to meet data sovereignty and residency requirements, while managing digital trust within region." Among the most engaged sectors are those classified under critical infrastructure – from healthcare and finance to energy and government. "The Security of Critical Infrastructure Act is driving these organisations to reassess how they manage cyber risk," he explained. Sutherland highlighted a partnership with New Zealand health tech provider Clanwilliam as an example of digital trust in action. "They enable secure sharing of sensitive patient records and have connected 15,000 medical clinics, securing over 100 million clinical messages each year." IoT security is another priority. Sutherland pointed out the proliferation of low-cost, insecure devices as a risk. "There are expected to be 75 billion connected devices globally this year – ten times the human population," he said. "If these devices are used in mission-critical sectors like healthcare or energy, the security risk becomes enormous." One local project focuses on distributed energy resources (DER), such as solar panels feeding electricity back into the grid. "We're working with Australian energy providers to ensure these systems are secured with PKI technology," he said. Quantum computing is no longer a future concept – it's a pressing issue. "Microsoft, Amazon, Google – they've all announced quantum-ready chips," he said. "It's becoming a bit of an arms race." The timeline for businesses to prepare is short. "Gartner says organisations must migrate from legacy asymmetric cryptography by 2029," he said. "That's just four years away." Sutherland said DigiCert's post-quantum strategy includes helping companies inventory their cryptographic assets, assess vulnerabilities, and test new algorithms. "It's about identifying your crown jewels and building cryptographic agility," he said. Interest in this area is growing, especially in the financial services sector. DigiCert recently released a free e-book, ' Post-Quantum Cryptography for Dummies' , to help organisations take those first steps. The company is also looking at trust in digital content amid the rise of deepfakes and misinformation. "Did that CEO really say that on an earnings call? Is that real person trolling me on social media?" Sutherland asked. "These are real questions today." One solution is C2PA – an emerging standard backed by over 300 global organisations – which uses digital signatures to track image authenticity. "You take a picture, it's signed at the source. If it's altered later, you can trace that," he said. Gen AI is another game-changer. "AI agents are no longer just assisting – they're acting," he said. DigiCert sees PKI as the key to managing AI identity. "Think of it like a cryptographic passport. Every action the AI takes is signed and traceable. And if something goes wrong, you can revoke its certificate immediately." Looking ahead, Sutherland is excited about several initiatives, including the DigiCert Trust Summit in Sydney on 3 June. "It's a great opportunity to give ANZ a voice within our global strategy," he said. And with quantum computing on the horizon, the need for robust, agile security systems has "never been more urgent", according to Sutherland. "The next five years will be more important than ever to data security."
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Enlisted Australian sailors trained to use US nuclear attack subs
In a major milestone of the trilateral AUKUS agreement, eight enlisted sailors and five officers of the Royal Australian Navy graduated last week from the U.S. Navy's Nuclear Power Training Unit. 'I remain impressed with the quality of Australian submariners who come through the naval nuclear propulsion training pipeline,' Capt. Robert Rose, commander of NPTU Charleston, said in a release. 'Six officers previously completed prototype training, each performing exceptionally well. I fully expect these recent graduates, especially our first enlisted personnel, will excel in the fleet.' The NPTU is provided by the U.S. Navy Nuclear Propulsion Program, which has operated 273 nuclear reactors in a 76-year period, oversees all matters related to naval nuclear propulsion and manages all civilians and military personnel tasked with building, operating and maintaining nuclear-powered ships. The Australian sailors spent six months undergoing rigorous NPTU training to learn how to crew nuclear-attack submarines that the U.S. agreed to deliver to Australia as part of AUKUS. The AUKUS agreement between the United States, United Kingdom and Australia rests on two pillars, the first of which is support for the Royal Australian Navy in acquiring nuclear-powered submarines. The second is to collaborate in key areas of naval technology: undersea capabilities, quantum technologies, artificial intelligence, cyber and electronic warfare. According to AUKUS commitments, the U.S. is set to deliver three Virginia-class fast-attack submarines to Australia in the 2030s, followed by a new class of five nuclear-attack submarines in the 2040s. The NPTU provided Australian sailors with courses in nuclear physics, nuclear reactor technology, mathematics and other related studies to prepare them to master various nuclear submarine systems and handle their reactors. Currently, the Royal Australian Navy uses Collins-class diesel-electric submarines. The Collins-class vessels are designed and built by the Swedish Navy and are renowned for their silence and stealth capabilities. However, despite their familiarity with fast-attack submarine weapons and combat systems, the enlisted Australian sailors previously had no experience handling nuclear reactors. 'This graduation marks a significant step forward for our Navy. Having naval nuclear power-qualified officers, and now sailors, is critical in meeting our goal of operating conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines,' Royal Australian Navy Commodore Daniel Sutherland said in a release. As the Defense Department prioritizes deterrence in the Indo-Pacific region, there has been a noticeable uptick in U.S.-Australia naval collaboration within the framework of AUKUS. On April 7, an Australian delegation visited Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, during which they met shipyard leaders and learned about infrastructure related to nuclear-powered submarine capabilities. They also toured the Virginia-class fast-attack submarine North Dakota. Earlier, on April 3, American and Australian naval leadership conducted a joint voyage on another Virginia-class vessel, the Montana. 'The exceptionally rigorous training our submariners are receiving at the U.S. Navy's Submarine School supercharges their skills and edges us even closer to operating our own nuclear-powered submarines from the early 2030s,' Chief of the Royal Australian Navy Vice Adm. Mark Hammond, who took part on the voyage, said in a release. 'Furthermore, the opportunity for our sailors and officers to gain hands-on experience working in U.S. Navy Nuclear submarines and learn from the extensive experience of their crews is invaluable to the achievement of our shared security objectives, and we are grateful to our U.S. partners for sharing their wisdom and experience operating these platforms.'
The Independent
15-04-2025
- The Independent
Police patrol national park to help protect endangered capercaillies
Police officers are carrying out early morning patrols in a national park to help protect a rare bird species at risk of extinction. Wildlife crime officers are patrolling the Cairngorms National Park to prevent capercaillies being disturbed during peak lekking season – when male birds perform competitive displays of courtship prior to breeding. The bird is a type of woodland grouse which has been in decline for decades and is expected to become extinct in 20-30 years. The national park is home to 85% of the UK's capercaillie population of 532 birds and the patrols are part of conservation efforts to save the species. Constable Daniel Sutherland, wildlife crime officer for Highlands and Islands, said: 'Capercaillie suffer when they are disturbed, and one thing we can do to help to prevent this is by not searching for them or allowing our dogs to run loose in areas where there are capercaillie and ground-nesting birds. 'In recent years, we continue to see wildlife photographers searching for capercaillie. Capercaillie are protected under Section 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. 'Disturbing them whilst lekking is a criminal offence and myself and fellow wildlife crime officers have started early morning patrols at key sites to prevent and detect disturbance.' The patrols are part of a conservation campaign led by the Cairngorms Capercaillie project and as well as wildlife crime officers involve wildlife guides, rangers and land managers. CCTV is also in place to protect lekking sites and members of the public are asked to follow 'caper friendly' routes to avoid these areas. Anyone who sees capercaillie being disturbed is asked to report this to Police Scotland on 101.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Yahoo
Police patrol national park to help protect endangered capercaillies
Police officers are carrying out early morning patrols in a national park to help protect a rare bird species at risk of extinction. Wildlife crime officers are patrolling the Cairngorms National Park to prevent capercaillies being disturbed during peak lekking season – when male birds perform competitive displays of courtship prior to breeding. The bird is a type of woodland grouse which has been in decline for decades and is expected to become extinct in 20-30 years. The national park is home to 85% of the UK's capercaillie population of 532 birds and the patrols are part of conservation efforts to save the species. Constable Daniel Sutherland, wildlife crime officer for Highlands and Islands, said: 'Capercaillie suffer when they are disturbed, and one thing we can do to help to prevent this is by not searching for them or allowing our dogs to run loose in areas where there are capercaillie and ground-nesting birds. 'In recent years, we continue to see wildlife photographers searching for capercaillie. Capercaillie are protected under Section 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. 'Disturbing them whilst lekking is a criminal offence and myself and fellow wildlife crime officers have started early morning patrols at key sites to prevent and detect disturbance.' The patrols are part of a conservation campaign led by the Cairngorms Capercaillie project and as well as wildlife crime officers involve wildlife guides, rangers and land managers. CCTV is also in place to protect lekking sites and members of the public are asked to follow 'caper friendly' routes to avoid these areas. Anyone who sees capercaillie being disturbed is asked to report this to Police Scotland on 101.
