Security start-ups take part in GovPitch

The federal government has held its first GovPitch session, involving a group of small Australian cybersecurity start-ups pitching their solutions to various challenges faced by the public service.

GovPitch was established in an attempt to harness Australian cybersecurity innovation to improve the integrity of government services. It was attended by an audience of government secretaries, CIOs and heads of security.

The start-ups participating in GovPitch were selected by the Australian Cyber Security Growth Network (AustCyber), which has been established as part of the government’s Industry Growth Centres initiative.

At a speech opening the GovPitch, PM&C secretary Dr Martin Parkinson commented that technology industries will be the “engine room” of the Australian economy in the digital world.

“Cybersecurity in particular will form a major part of our economic growth into the future. And we need it to. We need it to help us build the stable, secure platform on which we can build our new economy,” he said.

He noted that the Digital Transformation Agency’s move to expand the Digital Marketplace procurement portal to include cybersecurity has made it easier than ever for start-ups to apply for government cybersecurity contracts.

“The fact that [the marketplace] already has more than 130 sellers in this category (two-thirds of which are SMEs) speaks to how powerfully this sector is growing,” he said.

The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet said it expects to hold more GovPitch events based on the success of the first.

Image courtesy Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

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