Lynwen Connick new ANZ CISO

ANZ Bank has snared former Australian government cyber security strategy lead, Lynwen Connick, as its new chief information security officer. She replaces Steve Glynn, who stepped down after two-and-a-half years in the role.

Connick previously delivered the government’s National Cyber Security Strategy in her role as first assistant secretary, sharing and intelligence at the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Reporting to Gerard Florian, ANZ’s relatively new group technology boss, Connick will be responsible for ensuring the bank’s information security strategy evolves with the changing technology landscape and supports its digital transformation, ANZ said.

“Lynwen is one of Australia’s foremost cyber security experts with significant experience at the frontline of protecting the nation’s information infrastructure,” Florian said in a statement.

“As we transform into a digital bank, customers rightly expect that we will keep both their money and their data safe. Lynwen’s cyber security experience, working with government agencies and the private sector, will be a tremendous asset for both our business and our customers as we accelerate the delivery of new products and services,” he said.

In an interview with ANZ website BlueNotes, Connick said consumers expect that banks to do everything they can to secure operations online.

“I see this an opportunity…I love the opportunities that the internet and digital world is opening up for us but I want to know that I can do that securely and customers think very much the same way. That’s why I am here to make sure that we are not saying, ‘no you can’t do that’ but how can we do that securely?” she said.

“There are usually answers, there are things that you can’t do online but generally we can put in place security measures that enable people to do the things they want to do where they want to do, over the Internet.”

Commonwealth Bank last week also appointed a new chief information security and trust officer, Yuval Illuz, ITNews reported. Illuz, a cyber security specialist from Israel, is reporting to CBA’s CIO David Whiteing, the report said.