Cybersecurity Strategy and Roadmap Service

About Dubbo Regional Council

Dubbo Regional Council (DRC) is in the heart of regional NSW and servicing Dubbo, Wellington and surrounding villages. DRC delivers a broad range of essential services and community facilities to the region and is a major service centre for towns further west.

These services are supported by a large and varied workforce operating across multiple locations and service areas, helping meet the needs of residents, businesses and visitors throughout the region.

Background

The organisation’s technology environment supports approximately 700 computer users, ranging from office-based corporate staff through to operational, field-based and mobile workers.

Council relies on a wide range of line-of-business applications to support community services, corporate functions, infrastructure, customer service, finance, records, planning and operational service delivery. The environment includes a mix of on-premises, cloud and mobile technologies, with cybersecurity needing to support both traditional corporate systems and an increasingly flexible, connected and mobile workforce.

Challenges

Dubbo Regional Council’s Chief Information Officer, Matthew Green, said: “The decision to develop a cybersecurity strategy and roadmap was driven by a combination of increasing cyber threats, growing regulatory and government expectations, audit findings, and the need to move from reactive improvement activities to a more structured long-term program.

Like many local government organisations, Council operates in an environment where the reliance on digital systems continues to grow, while the threat landscape is becoming more complex and persistent.”

Solution

Dubbo Regional Council conducted a procurement process with Kaon Security selected. Their approach was collaborative and focused on developing a roadmap that reflected Council’s operating environment rather than applying a generic model.

As part of the engagement, Kaon Security facilitated a series of stakeholder workshops, a cybersecurity maturity assessment, and a detailed gap analysis to develop a clear understanding of Council's current cybersecurity capability and future priorities.

The workshops provided valuable discussions and insights, supported by a strong technical understanding of the subject matter while remaining accessible to stakeholders across the organisation. The sessions helped identify key risks, clarify existing practices and support a shared understanding of cybersecurity priorities across the organisation.

“The maturity assessment and gap analysis process was highly valuable in establishing a clear baseline of Council’s current cybersecurity position. It helped identify existing strengths and areas of improvement,” Mr Green said

Benefits

The Cybersecurity Strategy and Roadmap provided Council with a clearer cybersecurity vision and a prioritised plan. It also established a structured view of what needed to be achieved, how initiatives should be sequenced, and how cybersecurity activities could be aligned with organisational risk, governance and service delivery objectives.

The roadmap established clearer investment priorities, strengthened governance, and provided a more structured approach to improving cybersecurity maturity.

"Having a documented roadmap has allowed us to have a practical plan to drive forward specific cybersecurity initiatives,’ Mr Green said.

Looking ahead, Council plans to use the roadmap over the next three years to guide the project. The roadmap will provide a practical reference point for sequencing work and ensuring cybersecurity investment remains aligned with organisational needs.