Melanie has two decades of experience across the Australian Federal Government, working in the Departments of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, Defence, Prime Minister and Cabinet, and Foreign Affairs and Trade. Melanie has worked across policy, analysis, and capability areas, including large scale legislative reform and major policy shifts. Melanie’s defence and national security experience contributed to her passion for protecting Australia’s strategic interests from non-traditional security threats.

Melanie’s doctoral research used a qualitative approach to examine the practical applications of the principles of deterrence on cyber security from 2008-2018. Her study investigated the policies and relative success of the United States of America and the State of Israel. Melanie's work identified principles that may be appropriate for the Australian strategic context and contributed to a global understanding of the efficacy of cyber deterrence policies for governments.

After completing her PhD, Melanie worked as the cyber adviser for the Minister for Home Affairs and Cyber Security. Melanie has also worked on the practical delivery of secure tech transformation for Government for global tech firm Accenture. She is a passionate advocate for advancing and promoting diverse viewpoints in national security, and offers mentoring for any women wishing to break into the cyber field.

Supervisor: Emeritus Professor Roger Bradbury

Publications

• Broder M (2019) ‘Cyberdiplomacy: managing security and governance online’. Global Change, Peace & Security, 32(1):107-108.
• Broder M (2021) Rhetoric over reality? Assessing the success of deterrence in cyberspace: Israeli and US cyber security approaches between 2008 and 2018 [PhD Thesis], The Australian National University, Canberra.