Cyber and the AI Threat with Michael Connory of Aphore Technology

Cybersecurity has moved from an IT problem to a boardroom problem, and most AFSLs haven't caught up yet. In this episode, I sit down with Michael Connory, CEO of Aphore Technology, who has spent over a decade helping some of the largest licensees in Australia, including RI Advice in the wake of their well-publicised incident, build genuine cyber resilience. Aphore now supports around 250 AFSLs through its Cyber Assurance Risk Rating program, and Michael brings a rare view into what actually happens when advice firms get hacked, what ASIC expects when they come knocking, and why the old Essential 8 framework is being retired in favour of something better suited to businesses like ours. We talk through: What Aphore does day to day, and how the Cyber Assurance Risk Rating process works Why credential compromise, not unpatched software, causes the vast majority of breaches Inside the first 48 hours of a real incident, and the exact order of calls a firm should make How AI is already reshaping both the threat landscape and the defences available to us The one thing Michael says every AFSL should do right now This is a timely, occasionally confronting, and ultimately reassuring conversation for any adviser or licensee who has been meaning to get on top of cyber risk but hasn't quite gotten there yet.