Fortinet names Michael Murphy as first Australian head of operational technology and critical infrastructure

Fortinet has appointed Michael Murphy as its first head of operational technology (OT) and critical infrastructure for Australia.

Murphy, who was hired out of security vendor Trellix, is tasked to assist customers in building cyber resilience for operational technology and help understand how to achieve strong outcomes for OT security. He will report to Australia country manager Dale Nachman.

Fortinet said the role was created in part due to increased attacks on critical infrastructure organisations and the Australian government’s Security Legislation Amendment (Critical Infrastructure) Act 2021, which came into effect in December 2021 and is expected to see more amendments.

“The Critical Infrastructure Act has changed the landscape for many organisations so it’s important to help those organisations understand what’s required and how to address the requirements effectively. It’s essential to proactively identify and address the friction points between corporate IT objectives and OT objectives, then map out an approach to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes in the cybersecurity landscape,” Murphy said.

“Fortinet brings a unique perspective to this challenge, which is what excited me about taking on this new role. I look forward to offering my strong outcome-based approach complemented by real-world, technical-backed experience and exposure to its customers in Australia. This combination is ideal for OT and CI organisations facing a sophisticated new world of threats with diverse motivations. I’m thrilled to be part of the Fortinet team and look forward to helping to drive real progress in cyber resilience.”

Murphy most recently was a solutions architect at security vendor Trellix from January 2022 to May 2022 before departing for Fortinet, and senior sales engineer at McAfee Enterprise from 2018 to 2022.

Previous stints also include practice manager at NTT Ltd’s Hong Kong office from 2016 to 2018, security consultant at HPE’s London office from 2015 to 2016, and various technical roles at Australian managed security services provider Loop Secure (now part of Tesserent) from 2011 to 2015.

Fortinet ANZ and Pacific Islands regional director Jon McGettigan said, “Cyberattacks are affecting CI operators at increasing rates and the threats come from a myriad of sources. This is a highly complex issue made even more challenging by the fact that traditional IT security methods and approaches simply don’t work for OT in a CI environment.

"Fortinet has created the role of head of operational technology and critical infrastructure in response to the changing legislative environment and threat landscape coupled with significant and rapid growth in this area at Fortinet. The aim is to help CI operators create genuine and lasting cyber resilience in the face of escalating cyberattacks.

“Fortinet is thrilled to have Michael Murphy in this role. He brings a wealth of experience in responding to cyber incidents in critical OT environments and understands clearly how to help CI operators drive their security agenda forward, which will complement Fortinet’s position as a leader in securing OT environments.”