Over the last decade, hackers have been responsible for data breaches at some of the world’s biggest companies, orchestrated countless phishing scames, and have even taken advantage of Australia’s own COVID-19 superannuation response.
The man responsible for keeping Australia’s own funds safe from these predators is Reserve Bank of Australia cybersecurity expert and UTS alumni Alistair Oxley.
“I always saw hackers as the next level,” Oxley said. “How can these people, who don’t have access to your source code, understand your system so well, and use it in a way you didn’t intend?”
From networking and programming into cybersecurity
Cybersecurity was not a field that Oxley intended to go in to when completing his Bachelor of Science in Information Technology at UTS.
He was tossing up between networking and programming, but as his education progressed, he began to lean towards programming.
After graduation, Oxley’s first role out of university was at financial services company AMP’s graduate program as a programmer.
“That was quite interesting because I did mainframe work there. And then after that I did some Lotus Notes development,” he said.
“But it really wasn’t really what I wanted to work on.”
It was then he discovered a role at the Reserve Bank of Australia which was more aligned to his passion in programming.
Semester 2 classes start in June, apply for a Diploma of IT today.
“I was four years a grad,” Oxley laughed.
But it was a journey that paid dividends as Oxley discovered the right pathway isn’t always linear.
After joining the RBA, he continued his path in programming, working on an online banking system for government agencies, as well as modernising the bank from mainframe applications into new solutions.
But after five years, he began to get an itch.
“I was always looking at delving deeper into technology,” he said.
“I always wanted to understand the next level [of technology]. The more you understand, the better you’re going to do.”
The next level for him was cybersecurity.
Becoming a cybersecurity expert
It was a field Oxley was not able to pursue at university, and when the opportunity came up in the cybersecurity team, he jumped at the chance.
“When I was at uni, we didn’t have courses or subjects on cybersecurity,” he said.
“It was this mystical thing that you knew about, but you didn’t really know about.”
Since then, his role has evolved from cybersecurity analyst, to technical and security lead, to becoming a manager of application and cybersecurity delivery, and he’s loved every second of it.
Tips for students
- Attitude is more important than technical skills
- Learn to socialise with people
- Take opportunities that are presented to you
- Apply yourself to projects
- Be happy and don’t be afraid of communication
Watch the full interview with Alistair Oxley:
To take your first step toward a career in cybersecurity, by studying a Diploma of IT at UTS College Sri Lanka.