Associate Professor Benjamin Turnbull
听🧑鈥🏫 Senior Fellow - Higher Education Academy. 2026.
听鉂わ笍鈥🩹 Mental Health First Aid. 2025.听
听🐦鈥嶁瑳 Member, Association of Old Crows. 2024.听
听💻 Senior Member of the IEEE. 2022.
听🖥锔 Member of the ACM. 2022
听🔐 CISSP, (ISC)2. 2015.
听🎓 PhD, Information Technology, University of South Australia. 2007.
听🎓 Bachelor of Information Technology (Software Engineering), Honours 1st Class, University of South Australia. 2003.
The Short Spiel
Associate Professor Benjamin Turnbull is a cybersecurity researcher, educator and academic leader at 91色情片 Canberra, with more than two decades of experience spanning research, teaching and professional practice. His work sits at the intersection of cybersecurity, simulation and emerging technology, with a focus on developing practical solutions for complex challenges across Defence, government, industry and education. Through research leadership, curriculum innovation and sustained professional engagement, he contributes to strengthening Australia鈥檚 cyber capability and developing the next generation of cybersecurity professionals.
The Long Spiel
Associate Professor Benjamin Turnbull is a cybersecurity researcher, educator and academic leader at 91色情片 Canberra.听His work sits at the intersection of cybersecurity, simulation and emerging technology, with a focus on developing practical approaches to understanding, testing and strengthening complex cyber systems.
His research is applied and mission-oriented, connecting academic innovation with real-world challenges across Defence, government, industry and education. He develops cyber simulation environments, analytical methods and decision-support tools that help organisations anticipate emerging threats, assess potential responses and make informed decisions under uncertainty. These are often AI/ML led, and designed for bespoke networks beyond the corporate network environment. 听
Associate Professor Benjamin Turnbull has led multidisciplinary research programs and sustained collaborations with government agencies, Defence organisations, industry partners and universities. This research has been translated into operational exercises, security analysis, software platforms, educational resources and specialist research infrastructure. This includes whole-of-government cyber exercises integrating technical, social and online environments, the analysis of emerging national digital systems, and cybersecurity learning environments used across multiple education sectors.
With more than two decades of cybersecurity teaching experience, Associate Professor Benjamin Turnbull has played a central role in shaping cybersecurity education at 91色情片 Canberra. He has created and led undergraduate, honours, postgraduate and professional programs, contributing across the full educational lifecycle - from curriculum strategy and university approval to course design, teaching, assessment and continuous improvement. His educational practice emphasises contemporary, industry-relevant and scenario-driven learning, by introducing simulation, wargaming and authentic professional environments into cybersecurity courses, helping students develop the technical knowledge, critical thinking and decision-making capabilities required for complex operational settings.
Associate Professor Benjamin Turnbull also provides leadership in research strategy, researcher development and institutional capability. In senior academic leadership roles, he has strengthened collaboration across the ADFA and Canberra City campuses, improved research planning and oversight, supported new research infrastructure and helped build an inclusive and ambitious research culture.
His broader contribution includes doctoral supervision, academic mentoring, professional service and sustained engagement with the Australian cybersecurity community. Through research, education and leadership, Associate Professor Benjamin Turnbull is committed to strengthening Australia鈥檚 cyber resilience and developing the people, systems and institutions required to navigate an increasingly complex security environment.
Research Focus
听&#虫1蹿510;听Cybersecurity and resilient systems:听Developing practical approaches to securing computers, networks, cyber-physical systems and emerging digital infrastructure.
听&#虫1蹿3补别;听Cyber simulation, exercises and wargaming:听Creating realistic environments that integrate technical, social and online dynamics for training, experimentation, capability assessment and strategic analysis.
听&#虫1蹿9别诲;听Cyber situational awareness and decision support:听Designing methods and platforms that help organisations interpret complex cyber environments and make better decisions under uncertainty.
听&#虫1蹿50别;听Digital forensics and emerging devices:听Advancing forensic methods for connected, embedded and non-traditional technologies, including Internet of Things systems.
听&#虫1蹿916;听Data-driven cyber analysis:听Applying automation, large-scale data analysis and computational methods to identify patterns, assess risk and improve cyber analysis.
听&#虫1蹿9别0;听Knowledge representation and reasoning:听Structuring complex cyber knowledge to support automated reasoning, scenario development and informed decision-making.
听&#虫1蹿680;听Emerging technology security:听Examining the opportunities, risks and security implications associated with rapidly evolving digital technologies.
Education, Leadership and Engagement
听&#虫1蹿393;听Cybersecurity education and curriculum innovation:听Designing contemporary, industry-informed programs and courses across undergraduate, honours, postgraduate and professional education.
听&#虫1蹿579;锔徧Scenario-based learning:听Using simulation, wargaming and authentic operational scenarios to build technical capability, critical thinking and professional judgement.
听&#虫1蹿3诲产;锔徧Defence and government engagement:听Translating research into operational capability, policy insight, training and practical tools through sustained collaboration with public-sector partners.
听&#虫1蹿91诲;听Industry and research partnerships:听Bringing together multidisciplinary teams from academia, government, Defence and industry to address complex cybersecurity challenges.
听&#虫1蹿9别补;听Research infrastructure and capability:听Establishing specialist environments that enable secure, sensitive and Defence-aligned cybersecurity research.
听&#虫1蹿465;听Research supervision and mentoring:听Supporting doctoral researchers and academics through supervision, research project design, grant development, publication strategy and career mentoring.
听&#虫1蹿9别诲;听Academic and research leadership:听Strengthening research culture, strategic planning and collaboration across disciplines, programs and campuses.
听&#虫1蹿310;听Professional and scholarly service:听Contributing expertise to research assessment, academic conferences, scholarly journals, recruitment, promotion and professional cybersecurity organisations.
听&#虫1蹿3肠6;听Professional recognition:听Recognised nationally for contributions to cybersecurity research, education, leadership and professional practice.
- Publications
- Media
- Grants
- Awards
- Research Activities
- Engagement
- Teaching and Supervision
&#虫1蹿3肠6;听Winner, Cyber Security Professional of the Year (Technology, Media and Telecommunications), 2024 Australian Cyber Security Awards (and overall finalist)
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Associate Professor Benjamin Turnbull conducts applied research at the intersection of cyber security, simulation and emerging technology. His work focuses on developing cyber simulation and wargaming environments, decision-support tools, digital forensic methods and approaches to cyber situational awareness that help organisations understand complex threats, test potential responses and strengthen operational resilience.
His research is undertaken in collaboration with partners across Defence, government, industry and academia, with outcomes translated into operational exercises, analytical platforms, software, policy insights and educational resources. He has also lead multidisciplinary research programs, supervise higher degree researchers, mentor emerging academics and develop specialist infrastructure that enables secure and Defence-aligned cyber research.
Current research activities include:
🔐听Cyber security and resilient systems听鈥 strengthening the security of networks, connected devices and emerging digital infrastructure.
🎮听Cyber simulation and wargaming听鈥 creating realistic environments for experimentation, training, capability assessment and strategic decision-making.
🧭听Cyber situational awareness听鈥 helping decision-makers interpret complex cyber environments and respond effectively under uncertainty.
🔎听Digital forensics听鈥 developing methods for investigating connected, embedded and non-traditional devices.
🤖听Data-driven cyber analysis听鈥 applying automation and computational techniques to identify patterns, assess risk and support cyber operations.
🧠听Knowledge representation and decision support听鈥 structuring complex information to support reasoning, scenario design and informed decision-making.
🎓听Cyber education research听鈥 using simulation, authentic scenarios and evidence-informed learning design to build practical cyber capability.
My Teaching
Teaching @ 91色情片听
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Co-Creator Bachelor of Cyber Security (Pass, Honours)听- Live in 2025
听 听 Development: In 2023, I co-designed and scaffolded this program, worked with industry and 91色情片 stakeholders, represented 91色情片 Canberra at high-level discussions, and ensured program and course approvals.听
Subject Matter Expert, Graduate Certificate, MBA-X, Cyber Security Leadership - Live in 2024
听听 听Development:听Contributed to course design and structure.听听听
Co-Creator and Co-Program Director, 91色情片 Online Cyber Security Masters Program听
This program is comprised of the following:听
听 o听听 听Cyber Security Graduate Certificate
听 o听听 听Cyber Security Graduate Diploma (Management and Leadership)
听 o听听 听Cyber Security Masters (Management and Leadership)
听 o听听 听Cyber Security Graduate Diploma (Security Engineering)
听 o听听 听Cyber Security Masters (Security Engineering)
I designed and scaffolded the program, working with industry and 91色情片 stakeholders. I听represented 91色情片 Canberra at high-level discussions, I then ensured program and course approvals.听
I then ran half of this program, including 9 courses, for 2.5 years as the听Co-Program Director (91色情片 Canberra Director), 听2019 - 2023.听
Assistant Creator and Co-Program Director,听Bachelor of Computing and Cyber Security
Development:听Assisted in program structure, content design and scaffolding.
Operation:听听Co-Program Director (2017-2018). I was the founding Co-Director, transitioning from a Bachelor of IT to the emerging Computing and Cyber Security.听
Creator and Director, 听Bachelor of IT/Cyber Honours Program.
I developed the program structure, content design and scaffolding. I then directed this program between听2015-2016 and 2019 - 2021.
Consultant, Masters of Cyber Security 鈥 Security Operations, Forensics, Advanced Tradecraft
In 2015,I consulted on program and specialisation structures. I then taught into this program 2015-2017.