Sarah Young - 2025 - Nerds on a plane: what we can learn from the aviation industry

Speaker Framing

Microsoft principal security advocate Sarah Young opens CrikeyCon X comparing aviation safety concepts to cyber risk management, with trigger warnings about fatal accidents discussed at a high level.

Swiss Cheese Model

She explains Reason's "Swiss cheese" model used in aviation, healthcare, and mining: layered controls between hazards and accidents. COVID-era border closures, distancing, and tracing illustrate how removing layers increases residual risk.

Aviation Safety Management Systems

Aviation SMS mirrors enterprise risk assessment with policy, hazard identification, control monitoring, and training. She argues security teams face similar complexity and should not pretend risk is unique to cyber.

Safety Culture Lessons

Australian aviation guidance emphasizes positive safety culture, including "just culture" for honest mistakes versus blame. She parallels mandatory phishing simulations at a bank, noting security teams almost pranked their boss by deliberately failing the exercise.