Nansen.io

Rose MacDonald and I are honoured to be panellists at a luncheon marking International Women's Day 2026.

The official IWD 2026 theme, Balance the Scales, is more than a message. It's a promise, that every woman and girl deserves to be safe, heard, and free to shape her own future. That together, we have the power to dismantle discriminatory systems and deliver justice, safety, and dignity for all.

Rose and I will be joining the extraordinary Genevieve Jacobs AM, CEO of Hands Across Canberra, on the panel to explore what that promise looks like in practice.

For us, it's deeply personal, our work building ACORN, a digital safety platform for those experiencing family violence, exists precisely because the scales have been unbalanced for too long. We're proud to be launching ACORN globally in New York in March 2026 in partnership with UN Women.

And we're incredibly fortunate to be hosted by Gladys Berejiklian, Managing Director Enterprise and Business at Optus and former Premier of New South Wales, who will share her leadership journey in what promises to be a candid and inspiring fireside chat.

You can purchase tickets at:

Nansen had the privilege of participating in the Australasian Conference on Information Systems 2025, an event that brought together some of the foremost minds in information technology from around the world.

We were invited by Deakin University and the University of Canberra to join an expert panel examining emerging threats in the technology abuse landscape.

Our discussion explored how perpetrators behaviours and tool sets are evolving at speed, the growing complexity facing frontline responders, and the urgent need for advanced detection and prevention capabilities.

The University of Canberra and Deakin University remain at the forefront globally in understanding technology facilitated abuse. Their research programs and cross sector partnerships continue to shape the evidence base and drive innovation that supports victim survivors and strengthens national capability.

It was an honour for Nansen to contribute our practical insights from the domestic and family violence sector and to share our work in developing advanced tools and forensic methods to detect and disrupt technology abuse.

Thank you to everyone who reached out after the session to connect, share perspectives and explore future collaboration. The depth of international engagement underscores the scale of this issue and the importance of working together.

We want to thank The Age and journalist Wendy Tuohy for a compassionate story that highlights the many ways women are monitored and controlled through technology. The article features the work of Nansen and our partnership with Once Blue. It reflects what we see every week. Technology facilitated abuse rarely involves one device. It is a web of compromised accounts, malicious settings, hidden access points, and the misuse of everyday tools that allow a perpetrator to watch, listen or interfere without being seen.

Our partnership with Once Blue brings together two distinct strengths. Their focus is real world safety and the home environment. Ours is digital forensics, online risk and the complexities of cloud platforms, social media accounts and device ecosystems. Together we support women in a way that is safe, practical and trauma informed. It avoids the one size fits all models that can miss critical threats. Instead, it ensures that every woman receives support shaped to her situation and her needs.

The story also touches on a milestone for us. In March we will release ACORN, a world first detection and prevention toolkit designed over five years in Canberra. ACORN helps uncover hidden digital abuse, identify compromised accounts, highlight unsafe configurations and support reliable evidence capture.

Thank you to Wendy Tuohy and The Age for bringing attention to this issue and for recognising the people working across Australia to keep women and families safe.

Andy

Links to the article

https://www.theage.com.au/national/perpetrators-are-using-vacuums-and-photo-frames-to-spy-on-women-connie-and-other-ex-policewomen-are-fighting-back-20251127-p5nizy.html

Perpetrators are using vacuums and photo frames to spy on women. Connie and other ex-policewomen are fighting back Perpetrators of domestic violence often want their victims to know they are being watched, but never know how.