Richard Stiennon is Chief Research Analyst for IT-Harvest, the firm he founded in 2005 to cover the 3,051+ vendors that make up the IT security industry. He has presented on the topic of cybersecurity in 31 countries on six continents. He was a lecturer at Charles Sturt University in Australia. He is the author of Surviving Cyberwar (Government Institutes, 2010) and Washington Post Best Seller, There Will Be Cyberwar. Stiennon was Chief Strategy Officer for Blancco Technology Group, the Chief Marketing Officer for Fortinet, Inc. and VP Threat Research at Webroot Software. Prior to that he was VP Research at Gartner. He has a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering and his MA in War in the Modern World from King’s College, London. His latest book Security Yearbook 2022 was released in June, 2022. Get a copy here.

Data is exploding. Environments are getting noisier and the line between observability and security, it’s basically gone. Search isn’t just a feature anymore, it’s infrastructure. It’s how you see, how you detect, and ultimately how you defend from ai, power detection, engineering to unified visibility across logs, metrics, t races and security telemetry. We’re officially in a world where if you can’t search it in real time, you can’t secure it.

This bonus episode features Mandy Andress, CISO at Elastic, live from Elastic{ON} Sydney 2026. As Australia navigates its unique, sector-led approach to AI regulation, Karissa Breen and Mandy Andress explore the challenges—and opportunities—facing CISOs on the front lines of the agentic AI revolution.

Mandy Andress is currently the CISO of Elastic and has a long career focused on information risk and security.‬ Prior to Elastic, Mandy led the information security function at MassMutual and established and built information security programs at TiVo, Evant, and Privada. She worked as a security consultant with Ernst & Young and Deloitte & Touche, focusing on energy, financial services, and Internet technology clients with global operations. She also founded an information security consulting company with clients ranging from Fortune‬ 100 companies to start up organizations.‬

‭She is a published author, with her book Surviving Security having two editions and used at multiple‬ universities around the world as the textbook for foundation information security courses. Mandy also tested‬ and reviewed information security products for multiple publications as well as serving as the author for the weekly InfoWorld security column. She has been a sought after expert in the field, speaking at signature‬ security conferences such as BlackHat and Networld+Interop. In addition, she has taught a graduate level‬ Information Risk Management course for UMass Amherst in the College of Information and Computer‬ Sciences.‬

Mandy has a JD from Western New England University, a Master’s in Management Information Systems from Texas A&M University, and a B.B.A in Accounting from Texas A&M University. Mandy is a CISSP, CPA, and‬ member of the Texas Bar.‬

In this episode, we sit down with Simon Cook, Director of New Offerings at Genetec, as he discusses the convergence between physical and cybersecurity, and the impact of global standards such as GDPR and IRAP on industry practices. Simon details the shift from siloed teams to collaborative approaches, highlighting how increased connectivity and advancements like generative AI have expanded the attack surface, making cyber risks a broader business concern. He explores the ongoing challenges of device security—from consumer cameras to enterprise solutions—and the market’s growing awareness of attack vectors stemming from seemingly innocuous network devices. Simon also unpacks the complexities of privacy legislation, especially the right to be forgotten, emphasizing the need for technology providers to embed privacy and trust by design at every stage of product development. Finally, he offers insight into the future direction of physical security, predicting the acceleration of proactive, technology-driven systems and deeper integration of compliance frameworks worldwide.

Simon is a highly motivated, innovative and creative security professional with almost 20 years’ experience in the Pre-Sales and design space working with hardware, software and cloud solutions. Leadership experience and a proven track record of success growing and evolving teams in both medium and large organisations and on a global scale. Accustomed to speaking up to C- Level, in public forums and to press. A commercial techie that is inspired by good products, and passionate and motivated people.