Year One in the Seat: Tara Dharnikota on What It Really Takes to Be a CISO cover art

Year One in the Seat: Tara Dharnikota on What It Really Takes to Be a CISO

Year One in the Seat: Tara Dharnikota on What It Really Takes to Be a CISO

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What does it really take to step into the CISO seat, and thrive? In this episode of Cyber Voices, the official podcast of AISA and the home of Australia's cybersecurity community, host David Savva-Willett sits down with Tara Dharnikota, Chief Information Security Officer at Victoria University. With a career spanning Telstra, PEXA, and now one of Australia's leading universities, Tara brings a rare blend of offensive security expertise, OSINT, and executive leadership. In this candid conversation, she reflects on her first year as CISO, what surprised her, what she'd do differently, and what the role of the future really looks like. In this episode, you'll hear:
  • Why the CISO role is fundamentally about translation, not just technology
  • How to communicate security risk to boards and executives in a language they actually understand
  • The trap of trying to prove yourself too fast — and why influence matters more than expertise
  • What "building security with people" rather than for them really means in practice
  • The convergence of cyber and physical security in complex environments like universities
  • Tara's vision for the CISO of 2030 — and what aspiring CISOs should be doing right now
  • The role that communities like AISA play in shaping future security leaders
Whether you're an aspiring CISO, a seasoned security leader, or an executive trying to better understand your security function — this episode is essential listening.

🎟️ Early bird registrations for the Australian Cyber Conference 2026 are open now — 14–16 October. AISA members grab a full 3-day Gold Pass for just $899. Head to cyberconference.com.au before 30 June.

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