Defence & Security Podcast Network

Australia's maritime estate is simply too vast for any conventionally manned fleet to patrol effectively – uncrewed and autonomous systems will prove key to maintaining Australia's maritime sovereignty.
With an exclusive economic zone stretching across roughly 8.2 million square kilometres and critical northern chokepoints through which virtually all the nation's fuel and essential imports flow, the conversation establishes from the outset that the case for autonomous maritime systems isn't about technological novelty, it's about geographic necessity.
In this episode of the Defence Connect Spotlight podcast, host Steve Kuper speaks with Elysium EPL director Michael "Mitch" Mitchell where they discuss the increasing proliferation of autonomous and uncrewed systems with the Royal Australian Navy. 
Drawing on his experience as a submariner, Mitchell's first and most important argument is the persistence imperative. Manned patrol vessels, however capable, are constrained by crew welfare, logistics and port rotations. Autonomous platforms carry none of that overhead. They can loiter on station for days or weeks, consuming far fewer resources and requiring only remote oversight. 
His second key argument is a conceptual reframe: stop thinking about platforms and start thinking about payloads. The hull, in Mitchell's framework, is just a delivery mechanism. What matters is the modularity of what it carries – sonar, radar, sonobuoys, acoustic modems, hydrographic sensors – and whether those payloads can be swapped rapidly to meet different mission requirements. 
They also discuss Elysium EPL's dual-use certification approach, deliberately avoiding ITAR-restricted components, which is presented as proof of concept for this philosophy in practice. 
Perhaps the most culturally challenging argument Mitchell makes concerns attritability. Australian defence procurement culture treats assets as things to be preserved. 
Mitchell argues that small autonomous vessels need to be reconceptualised as expendable ordnance, drawing an explicit parallel with the Nulka active missile decoy deployed in numbers and postures that would be unthinkable for crewed platforms.
Enjoy the podcast, 
The Defence Connect Spotlight team

This week's essential cyber security podcast uncovers a new threat actor targeting a raft of Australian organisations and asks the important question: Is AI profitable yet? Hint – it is not.

Cyber Daily's David Hollingworth and Daniel Croft open the podcast with the good news that Anthropic's Mythos platform is, in fact, coming to Australia, and they talk to the man behind the website that asks – and illustrates – the question of our time: who is actually making money from AI?
It's also been a shocker of a week for data breaches in Australia, and it looks like one threat actor is behind most of the activity. Organisations such as the ACMI, the Melbourne International Film Festival, and a corporate catering service have all been allegedly hacked.
Find out what's happening in cyber crime in Australia, right here.
Just another week in cyber security.
Enjoy,
The Cyber Uncut team

What are One Nation's aspirations and policies for domestic manufacturing, infrastructure and military capability?

In this episode of the Defence Connect Podcast, senior journalist Robert Dougherty is joined by Senator Malcolm Roberts, who is representing Pauline Hanson's One Nation political party.
Senator Roberts holds a bachelor of engineering (honours) from the University of Queensland and a master's degree in business administration from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. He previously worked as a mining engineer and general manager in the coal industry before entering federal politics.
The podcast conversation includes the following topics:
One Nation's defence policy framework and its focus on national self-sufficiency, logistics and manufacturing capability.
The importance of sovereign capability in food production, energy security and defence industry resilience.
Defence infrastructure proposals, including northern rail logistics corridors and domestic steel production.
The role of accountability, military culture and leadership within the Australian Defence Force.
Debate surrounding diversity initiatives, recruitment challenges and "warrior culture" in defence.
Australia's defence procurement strategy, including perspectives on AUKUS, submarine acquisition and foreign defence partnerships.
The balance between supporting domestic defence manufacturing while ensuring access to proven military capability.
Concerns regarding governance, bureaucracy and decision making within defence procurement and public administration.
Finally, the discussion wraps up looking at the future of Australian defence preparedness, including the intersection of infrastructure, manufacturing and national sovereignty.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Defence Connect team

How can Australia keep pace with the rapid proliferation of drones reshaping the character of warfare and creating new challenges for militaries, governments and critical infrastructure operators around the world?
In this episode of the Defence Connect Spotlight podcast, senior journalist Robert Dougherty is joined by Ben Westgarth, chief executive officer of Department 13, to discuss the evolution of counter-uncrewed aerial system technology and Australia's role in developing sovereign capability.
Dougherty and Westgarth examine the significance of Project LAND 156, the Australian Defence Force's program to establish a layered counter-drone capability capable of detecting, tracking and defeating emerging aerial threats.
The pair explore the role of radio frequency detection technologies in modern electronic warfare, highlighting how Department 13's capabilities contribute to situational awareness and threat detection across increasingly complex operating environments.
They discuss the changing nature of drone warfare, drawing lessons from contemporary conflicts where low-cost, rapidly adaptable drone systems are challenging traditional military capabilities.
Westgarth outlines how focusing on the fundamental characteristics of drone systems, rather than individual models, can provide a more enduring framework for counter-drone development.
Looking beyond defence applications, the pair discuss the importance of dual-use technologies, balancing commercial opportunities with national security requirements.
Westgarth highlights the growing need for layered detection, warning and response systems to defend military installations, government facilities and essential national assets against emerging drone threats.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Defence Connect Spotlight team

Genetec's lead security architect joins the Cyber Uncut podcast to unpack the impact of AI on vulnerability hunting, prompt injection, and how to become invisible with one simple trick.

This week on the Cyber Uncut podcast, host David Hollingworth speaks with Genetec's lead security architect, Mathieu Chevalier, about how AI is dramatically impacting both physical and cyber security, the hidden costs of Anthropic's Claude Mythos, and why AI speed must always be matched with human intelligence.
But first, Chevalier shares his simple trick to appear invisible to AI with the assistance of just one page of text – or maybe just a T-shirt!
The pair then dive into how AI empowers Genetec's security platforms, the rising costs of every AI prompt, and the true power of vulnerability hunting in a post-Mythos world.
"I would say the best practices are not established now. It's still so new, and changing so fast," Chevalier says.
"So we're kind of trying to learn all together, as a cyber security community, how to do this."
Enjoy,
The Cyber Uncut team