Telstra has named Services Australia’s chief information security officer Narelle Devine as its new CISO for Asia Pacific.

Devine will start the new role on July 27, and replaces Berin Lautenbach, who left earlier this month.

She is currently with the Department of Human Services - now called Services Australia - where she was appointed security chief in late 2016.

At the agency, Devine was “responsible for protecting the personal and financial security of 26 million Australians, managing 280,000 authentications every day and protecting the $190 billion in payments the department makes every year.”

“As Telstra’s CISO Asia Pacific, Narelle will help shape the cyber security landscape and drive Telstra’s policy, governance and incident response for cyber security across the organisation,” Telstra said in a statement.

“Most importantly, she will play a leading role in protecting the privacy and security of Telstra, its customers, and the services it provides.”

Devine, who will be based in Canberra, will report to Craig Hancock, Telstra’s operations, security and enablement executive and global CISO.