In Australia’s National Interest - Security of Critical Infrastructure

Pentagram Advisory

What comprises Australia’s national interest, and how does the rise of insider threat activity in Australia’s critical infrastructure connect to Australia’s national interest? I expect this topic was not the first thing on your mind when you woke this morning ready for breakfast and a hot shower, however the topic is relevant because it is fundamental to you having breakfast, a wash, and getting on with you day. Let me explain.

  1. May 20

    Insider Threat – Case Study: Jareh Sebastian Dalke

    Pentagram's case study of U.S. citizen Jareh Sebastian Dalke who worked the the National Security Agency and became an insider threat there. He stole top secret information and tried to sell that information to Russia.

    11 min

  2. May 18

    The Dark Arts of Insider Threat: What Harry Potter Teaches Us About Human Nature, Trust and Protective Security

    If you are fascinated by Harry Potter, psychology, human behaviour, and the complex realities of protective security — this episode is for you. What do Harry Potter and insider threat have in common? More than you might think. In this episode, Tim Slattery and Marina Shteinberg from Pentagram Advisory explores the surprisingly sophisticated insider threat lessons hidden within the world of Hogwarts — from coercion and radicalisation to manipulation, identity compromise, disgruntlement, behavioural change, and the psychology of trust. Through characters such as Professor Quirrell, Ginny Weasley, Draco Malfoy, Kreacher, Barty Crouch Jr, Madam Rosmerta, Peter Pettigrew, and Severus Snape, we examine how human vulnerability, emotional pressure, ideology, coercion, and organisational culture can quietly undermine even the most protected environments. This is not simply a conversation about fiction. It is a discussion about modern protective security, insider threat, human behaviour, workforce resilience, and the growing importance of psychologically informed security programs in today’s critical infrastructure and organisational environments. Whether you are a Harry Potter fan, security professional, risk practitioner, psychologist, HR leader, or simply fascinated by human nature, this episode offers a unique and thought-provoking lens on one of the most complex challenges facing organisations today: the human factor. Because beneath the magic, J.K. Rowling was never really writing about spells. She was writing about us.

    35 min

  3. May 11

    From Attestation to Assurance: What the New CIRMP Annual Reporting Questions Signal About the Future of Critical Infrastructure Governance

    In this episode, Tim Slattery and Marina Shteinberg from Pentagram Advisory explore what the recently updated CIRMP annual reporting form may reveal about the evolving expectations of the Department of Home Affairs surrounding governance, operational resilience, assurance, and Board accountability under the Security of Critical Infrastructure Act 2018. The discussion examines the broader shift from compliance-focused attestation toward evidence-based assurance, including what the expanded reporting requirements may mean for Boards, senior executives, and responsible entities preparing for the FY2025–26 CIRMP reporting cycle.

    17 min

  4. Apr 28

    When Employees Leave: Managing Trust, Risk and Security Beyond Exit

    When employees leave, it is often treated as a process — access removed, systems closed, the relationship ended. But for people, it is a moment of change. A shift in identity, status and direction — shaped by how that experience is perceived. At the same time, for organisations, this is often when risk is most concentrated. Knowledge remains. Relationships continue. And control begins to reduce. So what really happens to trust at the point of exit? In this episode, Tim Slattery and Marina Shteinberg from Pentagram Advisory explore why exit and post-employment risk are often overlooked — and why how organisations manage people at this moment can shape what happens next.

    16 min

  5. Apr 28

    Insider Threat: New South Wales Treasury Employee

    Insider threat is the misuse by a trusted person of privileged access to, or influence over, assets and operations.  The trusted person’s actions may be unintentional, or their actions may be intentional.  In either instance the harm caused can be the same.  But to become an ‘insider’ a person has to be granted admission. Australian media reported in April 2026 that an employee of the New South Wales Treasury had been charged for allegedly downloading over five thousand government documents. In this podcast, Pentagram recounts the public information about the case and explores insider threat issues which the case highlights.

    9 min

  6. Apr 24

    Insider Threat: Australian lawyer charged with misconduct

    Insider threat is the misuse by a trusted person of privileged access to assets and operations.  The trusted person’s actions may be unintentional or they may be intentional.  In either instance the harm caused can be the same. Organisations make a choice to grant trust to a person when they decide to employ them.  But the pre-employment screening process is really a point-in-time security check which would reject candidates with any obvious security risk attributes.  However, real risk occurs once a person is employed, is inside the organisation, and is often trusted by default. If an organisation does not have appropriate measures in place to observe and evaluate employees then they maximise the risk of insider threat activity. This risk is often exacerbated where organisations rely heavily on initial screening and trust-based models, without implementing mechanisms for continuous monitoring of behaviour and access.   In such environments, abnormal activity may go undetected because there is no established baseline against which to assess deviations. In this podcast Pentagram Advisory explores the insider threat case of a lawyer employed by the New South Wales Director of Public Prosecutions.

    8 min

  7. Apr 22

    Independent Review of the Security of Critical Infrastructure Act 2018 - Pentagram Advisory comments

    In March 2026, the Commonwealth Government published the Independent Review of the Security of Critical Infrastructure Act 2018. The intent of the Review, conducted by Dr Jill Slay between November 2025 and January 2026, was to assess whether Australia's Security of Critical Infrastructure Act 2018 (SOCI Act) is achieving its intended objectives, functioning as intended, and is not producing unintended consequences.   In this article, Pentagram Advisory Pty Ltd (Pentagram) will provide excerpts of the Review and also comment on components of the Review that Pentagram considers to be of most interest to Pentagram’s SOCI client entities and to our Community of Practice.

    36 min

  8. Apr 17

    In the National Interest: From Ukraine to Geelong - What Critical Infrastructure Disruption Really Looks Like

    The recent fire at Viva Energy’s Geelong refinery has been widely reported as an industrial incident. But what does it reveal about Australia’s broader vulnerability when disruption occurs at nationally critical assets? In this episode, we move beyond cause and examine consequence — exploring how disruption to a single node in a highly concentrated and globally dependent system can have cascading effects across the economy. Ukraine has shown us what sabotage and disruption of critical infrastructure really look like. In the years leading up to Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, fires, explosions, cyber attacks and supply chain disruptions were often treated as isolated events — many ambiguous at the time, and later attributed to acts of sabotage linked to Russian state activity. What becomes clear, over time, is the pattern. Disruption rarely arrives as a single, decisive event — it emerges through a series of smaller incidents that only later form a recognisable and strategically significant pattern. Events like the Geelong refinery fire may be very different in nature — but they highlight how disruption at critical nodes can have broader consequences. Australia’s fuel system is not immune to these dynamics. In this episode, Tim Slattery and Marina Shteinberg from Pentagram Advisory examine what these patterns mean for Australia’s critical infrastructure — and why organisations must shift from a compliance mindset to one focused on assurance, resilience, and understanding their true points of vulnerability.

    12 min
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What comprises Australia’s national interest, and how does the rise of insider threat activity in Australia’s critical infrastructure connect to Australia’s national interest? I expect this topic was not the first thing on your mind when you woke this morning ready for breakfast and a hot shower, however the topic is relevant because it is fundamental to you having breakfast, a wash, and getting on with you day. Let me explain.

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