Jon Dean was appointed as Defence CISO in late 2020, bringing 18
years of domain expertise to the role.
Jon joined Defence as a graduate in 2002, starting his career as a cyber
security researcher in DST, working on a range of advanced cyber
science and technology programs as a senior researcher, manager and
leader, culminating in his appointment as a/Group Leader Automated
Analytics and Decision Support. Jon led DST’s development in Cyber
Mission Assurance and oversaw pioneering thrusts in automated cyber
operations, cyber threat intelligence and automated vulnerability analysis.
During his research career he was responsible for the delivery of a number of Cyber Defence
Mission Systems to protect both Australian and US networks and military platforms, and
established a world leading international research program for Cyber Mission Assurance. Jon
has received three commendations for achievements including delivery of capability to
support Joint Operations Command, development of joint AUS/US research collaborations
securing Australia access to multimillion dollar US capabilities, and excellence in the conduct
of cyber incident response.
He transitioned from research into operations in 2017, where he led Defence’s inaugural
operational cyber threat intelligence capability within Chief Information Officer Group. In
2018 he was appointed the Director of Cyber Security Operations In this role he was tasked
with modernising the Defence Cyber Security Operations centre, including the establishment
of Defence’s 24/7 Cyber Security Watch capability and ensuring cyber security operations are
directly applicable to the mission assurance of deployed networks.
Jon holds a Bachelor of Computing (Hons) from the University of Tasmania, and a Master of
Business Administration with excellence from the Australian Graduate School of
Management, University of NSW.