From infrastructure first to security first: A 15-Year reflection on the changing digital landscape

From infrastructure first to security first: A 15-Year reflection on the changing digital landscape

Fifteen years ago, the digital world felt simpler.

When finao set-up our first AWS cloud platform 17 years ago, the ‘cloud’ was a relatively new concept. AWS itself had only a small handful of services (EC2,S3 and a few others). Infrastructure was the challenge to solve, making sure our applications were always available, resilient, and could scale as our user base grew. Security? Of course, it mattered, but not like it does today. Monthly patch cycles were normal, threat actors were fewer and less sophisticated, and the concept of a global-scale ransomware attack wasn’t keeping many of us awake at night. At finao, around 90% of our effort was focused on infrastructure: Server availability, redundancy, and capacity. Security accounted for maybe 10%.

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The AWS and cloud evolution

 Fast-forward to 2025 and AWS has transformed from a basic cloud platform to an ecosystem with thousands of services, features, and integrations. In 2008, setting up a cloud environment meant spinning up a few EC2 instances and configuring S3buckets. In 2025, it’s about building multi-region, highly available (HA), micro-service architectures with managed security services, automated compliance checks, and AI-driven monitoring. While the technology has evolved dramatically, the complexity has multiplied too. Every new service is both an opportunity and a new potential risk vector.

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The cybersecurity shift

 The most profound change in the last 15 years has been the inversion of priorities;

·       Then: Infrastructure availability was the front line; security was a checkbox

·       Now: Security is the front line, with infrastructure as a supporting pillar

 The pace of change in the threat landscape is relentless:

·       Patches and security updates now happen weekly or even daily

·       Vulnerability exploits are weaponised within hours of disclosure

·       The attack surface grows with every new integration, device, and API

We have gone from defending a relatively small perimeter to securing a sprawling, constantly shifting environment.

Building security into the finao DNA

At finao, this shift has meant embedding security into every stage of our development lifecycle. It is not simply an add-on, it is in the architecture, the code, and the culture.

OurTrust Centre reflects how we now operate:

·       Rigorous compliance:ISO 27001, SOC 2, the ACSC Essential Eight, and alignment with the AustralianPrivacy Principles (Privacy Act 2022)

·       Encryption everywhere (in transit and at rest)

·       AWS security stack:WAF, AWS Shield, GuardDuty, Security Hub, Control Tower, CloudTrail, andCloudWatch - All running in certified data centres with redundancy built in

·       Resilience planning:Disaster recovery objectives of RTO ≤ 3 hours and RPO ≤ 24 hours, backed by frequent testing

·       Continuous improvement:Regular vulnerability scanning, penetration testing, independent audits, and security-focused developer training.

Looking ahead

Our mission hasn’t changed: to deliver a reliable, secure, and adaptable web application platform. What’s changed is the environment in which we operate, and the skills, tools, and mindset needed to succeed in it. If the last 15 years were about moving from hardware to the cloud, moving forward it will be about defending, automating, and continuously improving in an increasingly complex digital ecosystem. The companies that will thrive are the ones who treat security as a strategic advantage, not a compliance exercise.

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