The air chilled in the ballroom hosting The Australian Financial Review Cyber Summit on Tuesday when the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s Simone Constant began talking about investigations underway into directors and executives at organisations deemed to have neglected their duties to guard against hackers.

Her appearance followed a string of senior cyber executives from some of Australia’s biggest companies, as well as security agencies and the new cyber minister Tony Burke, who had all advocated for a collegiate, “all in this together” approach to fighting the growing and evolving threat of cyber crime and warfare.