AUSCERT 30 Years 30 Stories – Dushyant Sattiraju

Attending the AUSCERT conference for the past six years and presenting for the past four, Dushyant Sattiraju speaks of the helpful platform AUSCERT has provided. As the Security Operations Manager at Deakin University, AUSCERT membership has enabled Dushyant to bounce ideas and receive timely, supportive feedback ensuring the university’s cyber safety.

How did you first get involved with AUSCERT and what motivated you to become a member?

When I first started at Deakin, I was the only security staff. As we didn’t have a history of security, I needed support. I reached out to the community to see if anyone was willing to share their stories about what they were doing and what they were they prioritising. AUSCERT was a welcoming community and I got to connect with other universities and organisations that had similar security history as me. The ongoing sharing of stories and learnings has been one of the main reasons for my involvement.

What are some of the key benefits you’ve experienced as an AUSCERT member, both in terms of the resources and support offered?

One of the key benefits of membership are the AUSCERT services. I used a few services at Deakin such as the take down system, along with the threat intel platform. I found the analyst in the team very supportive and ideal for bouncing ideas off. AUSCERT’s conferences are an interesting avenue to meet different people from different organisations and various sectors, which has been great as well.

What advice would you give to someone considering becoming an AUSCERT member, and why do you believe that membership is valuable for organisations of all sizes and industries?

You get a lot for what you pay for with the AUSCERT membership. Not only do you get access to the conferences and events, but you also get access to the community. The community is very generous in sharing and forthcoming. Trying to implement new technology? Ask your questions to the community and they’ll get back to you within minutes. AUSCERT has connected me to organisations that I had never met before, supporting discussions about our technology and security journey overall.

Looking ahead, what do you think the future holds for AUSCERT, and how do you see the organisation continuing to play a vital role in the cyber security community?

AUSCERT is great for connecting people. For example, there are a few subgroups, such as the university sharing community to increase collaboration and knowledge sharing. The past few years I’ve talked about our experiences and incidents we’ve had. I predict we will see a lot more of these stories in the future – a fantastic opportunity to continue learning.