In Australia’s National Interest - Security of Critical Infrastructure

• National Security Threats Impacting Australia’s Critical Infrastructure Assets: Slow Motion Car Crash?

  In October and November 2025, the heads of Australia’s two most significant strategic intelligence assessment agencies made public their views on the geostrategic threats confronting Australia today.  In those remarks, both leaders set out some of the threats and explored some of the consequences that could be inflicted upon Australia, including Australia’s critical infrastructure assets, if action is not taken now to detect, deter, and defend against these threats to Australia’s national security.Australia has been warned for years by its intelligence agencies, and by its allies, of the threats to our critical infrastructure by threat actors including hostile nation states, organised crime, and issue-motivated groups and individuals. Have Australian governments, private sector entities, or citizens  responded in any meaningful way to these warnings, or have we been party to a slow-motion car crash, which we belatedly realise we are in the drivers’ seat for?

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• Insider Threat – Looking at the ‘Whole Person’

  In this episode, we explore why understanding the whole person is essential to managing insider threats across Australia’s critical infrastructure sectors. Drawing on decades of national security experience, the discussion examines why insider threat remains one of the most complex and misunderstood challenges under the Security of Critical Infrastructure Act 2018 (SOCI Act).We unpack the behaviours, vulnerabilities and coercive pressures that can turn a trusted insider into a threat, the realities of foreign interference, and the importance of moving beyond simplistic assumptions about ‘rights’ and workplace culture. The episode also highlights why a whole-person approach to personnel security is not only effective, but necessary for organisations seeking to build a trusted workforce.This episode is based on an article by Tim Slattery, who served 37 years in Australia’s defence, intelligence and national security community before moving into consulting. Tim now co-leads Pentagram Advisory, with a focus on insider threat mitigation and personnel security across government, industry and critical infrastructure.If you work in protective security, critical infrastructure, risk management or insider threat programs, this episode provides practical insights into one of the most pressing and least understood challenges facing Australia today.

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• When familiarity creates blindness: Rethinking insider threat, leadership influence and the future of trusted workforces

  In this episode, we explore one of the most overlooked vulnerabilities in today’s organisations: the way familiarity, comfort and trust can blind leaders to emerging insider-related risks.Drawing on recent NPSA research and Pentagram Advisory’s insights, we unpack why insider threat often feels “unlikely,” how the psychological contract shapes behaviour long before policies do, and why point-in-time checks provide only the illusion of safety.We examine the cultural resistance to insider threat programs, the language barriers that shape organisational acceptance, and the leadership blind spots that allow early warning signs to go unnoticed.Most importantly, we discuss how shifting from blind trust to informed trust can strengthen culture, governance and accountability — and what it takes to build a truly trusted workforce in an evolving threat landscape.If your organisation is reassessing its people-related risks, workforce suitability, or insider threat maturity, this episode provides a clear, practical lens to recalibrate assumptions and enhance preparedness.

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• Building Assurance: A Framework for Risk-Based Supply Chain Mapping and Categorisation

  In this episode, we unpack one of the most critical challenges facing Australia’s essential services: understanding and managing the risks hidden within complex supply chains. Modern critical infrastructure depends on long, interconnected, and often opaque networks of suppliers — and under the Security of Critical Infrastructure Act 2018, these dependencies are now a regulated security obligation.Drawing on Pentagram Advisory’s Eight-Step Risk-Based Supply Chain Mapping and Categorisation Framework, we explore how organisations can move beyond tick-box compliance and build a defensible, intelligence-led approach to supplier assurance.From governance and threat analysis to mapping, tiering, and continuous monitoring, this episode breaks down each step in practical terms for boards, senior executives, and security practitioners.You’ll hear how the right framework can transform supplier oversight from a procurement activity into a core protective security function — strengthening resilience, reducing over-reliance, and giving decision-makers a clear line of sight into vulnerabilities across every tier of the supply chain.Whether you work in energy, water, transport, telecommunications, or any sector covered by the SOCI Act, this episode provides essential insights for building assurance in an increasingly interconnected and risk-exposed environment.A supply chain is only as strong as the weakest link you can see.Tune in to learn how to make those links visible, verifiable, and secure.

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• In the National Interest: China’s Cognitive Warfare

  Welcome to another podcast in Pentagram Advisory’s ‘In the National Interest’ series, a series in which we explore geostrategic issues relevant to the security of Australia’s critical infrastructure.In this episode we will explore the subject of the China’s waging of cognitive warfare against Australia and other Western democracies. We will explore the relevance of the threat of cognitive warfare Australia's critical infrastructure and consider mitigations that critical infrastructure owners and operators may take.

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