Security News

Brisbane Hackathon Gives Students Hands-On Experience Fighting Cybercrime

Australian Cyber Security Magazine · 19 Oct 2026

Key Takeaway Small businesses can benefit from the growing local cyber talent pipeline by exploring partnerships with universities, such as internships or student projects, to build security capability.

More than 100 students, academics and industry experts are gathering in Brisbane on 19 and 20 October for the second ANZ Cybercrime Hackathon. The event is designed to give participants practical experience in cyber and financial crime scenarios. It is delivered by ANZ in partnership with Griffith University and Google Cloud, with mentors also drawn from the Queensland Police Service.

Organisers said students will work in a simulated financial crime task force. They will investigate suspicious financial and digital activity, analyse cyber and fraud intelligence, and develop potential solutions aimed at improving cyber resilience. Winners will be eligible for internship opportunities with ANZ. According to the organisers, Griffith University student Radhika Agarwal, the 2025 winner, secured a paid internship after taking part as a first-year student.

ANZ Managing Director Queensland Bruce Rush said the hackathon is intended to support Queensland talent and build capability to respond to cybercrime and financial crime. Agarwal said working alongside industry experts on a realistic investigation gave her a new perspective on how university skills are applied to complex problems affecting millions of people worldwide.

Cybercrime Hackathon Cyber Skills Queensland ANZ

Summarised by CISO AI from Australian Cyber Security Magazine, written with Claude Sonnet 5.5. We link back to every original so you can read it yourself.