The CISO Boxer · Melbourne · Oceania

Daniel de Jager

A people leader who still codes. Director – Cyber Security – IT – Oceania – APAC at DP World Australia, leading a cyber team across Australia, New Zealand and Oceania. Hands up, eyes open, always ready for the next round.

Step into the ring
Cartoon of Daniel de Jager as a boxer in red gloves and red trunks reading CISO

Round 01 Profile

Leads and develops the cyber security team across Australia, New Zealand and Oceania at DP World Australia.

Previously Chief Information Security Officer at Silk Logistics Holdings. People first: building and coaching the team, then backing them with a strong technical background that keeps the work hands-on, close to the systems, the engineers and the threats. Outside work, Daniel boxes to stay fit and sharp, and the same discipline shows up in how he leads.

Round 02 Where the fight is

People leadership

Leading, coaching and developing a cyber team across the region. The coach in the corner. More ↓

Hands-on: code & offensive security

Still writes code and still pentests. Leading from inside the ring, not just the corner. More ↓

Logistics & critical infrastructure

Defending ports, operational technology and the supply chains that depend on them.

Governance & risk

Knowing the ring: clear accountability and risk-based calls leadership can act on.

Identity

Guard up where it counts. Who and what can reach which systems, and why.

Lean, high-leverage teams

Small, technical teams amplified by automation and AI. Economy of motion over wasted effort.

Round 03 In the corner: leading people

Every fighter needs a corner. Daniel's first job is the team.

A good corner reads the fight, keeps people composed between rounds and sends them back out better prepared. That is the leadership model: develop people, give them clear direction, and stay technical enough to coach from experience.

How he leads

  • Leading and developing a cyber security team across Australia, New Zealand and Oceania
  • Mentoring and growing junior talent into confident practitioners
  • Building lean, high-leverage teams that pair people with automation and AI
  • Co-chairing security governance with business stakeholders

Round 04 Still in the ring: code & offensive security

Not every CISO still codes or pentests. Daniel does: the gloves stay on.

Staying technical keeps the judgement honest. Building tools and testing defences first-hand, the way an opponent would, informs how risk is called at the leadership table.

What he works on

  • Offensive security and pentesting: reconnaissance and domain enumeration, vulnerable-by-design labs, reverse engineering and malware research
  • DFIR tooling: offline Windows event-log and artefact analysis
  • Security operations automation: CLIs for investigative and analytical tasks
  • Identity: read-only privileged-account discovery for on-prem Active Directory
  • Detection engineering for SOC and OT analysts, mapped to MITRE ATT&CK
  • CI and automation: GitHub Actions for testing and releases, policy-as-code, static analysis

Rust · Go · Python · C# · PowerShell · TypeScript · Shell · Terraform (HCL)

github.com/danieldejager

Round 05 Approach

Footwork

Readiness before the punch lands: posture, preparation and the drills that make response routine.

Sparring

Think like the adversary. Test defences the way an opponent would, before an opponent does.

Discipline

Consistent fundamentals, trained daily. No shortcuts, no theatre.

Between rounds, a reader of The Daily Stoic: focus on what is within your control, and stay composed about what is not.

Between rounds CISO Thursday

A weekly update and conversation between CISOs, published on YouTube.

Final bell Contact

Open to conversations on securing critical infrastructure.