The Internet of Things (IoT) technology paradigm will have an even greater effect on enterprise IT security programs than the BYOD, cloud and mobility trends, Gartner analyst Earl Perkins believes. [ + ]

The Victorian government has allocated $9.5m over the next four years for a project to create a central government ICT procurement marketplace. [ + ]

Optus has announced plans to cut around 350 back-office jobs, in the latest example of Australian telcos' focus on improving efficiency in preparation for an NBN world. [ + ]

Australia's business intelligence and analytics market increased 9.5% in 2013, outpacing the global growth rate of 8%, according to Gartner. [ + ]

Startup Victoria, a non-profit organisation designed to support the state's high-technology startups, has launched with $100,000 in state government seed funding. [ + ]

Monash University researchers have designed a 'spaser' made of carbon, and the technology could eventually replace transistors in devices such as memory and displays. [ + ]

Queensland public sector ICT staff numbers have fallen by almost 25 per cent in less than two years, with further shake-ups likely to come. [ + ]

Who should take responsibility for a business process management (BPM) initiative - management or IT? An ostensibly simple question with a complex answer. [ + ]

Due to the popularity and anonymity of online gambling sites, cybercriminals have started using them to launder money and pay for services on the black market, according to McAfee. [ + ]

Toyota Motor Corporation has consolidated its disparate backup platforms into a single enterprise-wide system, using a cloud-based backup-as-a-service (BaaS) offering from Logicalis. [ + ]

Chinese spies that accessed Australia's parliamentary computer network in 2011 may have been in there for a whole year. Meanwhile, a US judge has ruled Microsoft must hand over customer data even though that data is stored outside the US. [ + ]

Apple, Google, Intel and Adobe will together pay just US$324m to settle a class-action lawsuit over bilateral agreements not to poach each other's staff, avoiding potential damages of up to US$9 billion. [ + ]

Kaspersky, Emisoft, Avira and BitDefender all blocked 99.8% of malware from live malicious URLs during a comparative test, and Kaspersky also scored highest on detecting malicious files. [ + ]

Some organisations are allowing employees to bring their own PCs onto the network, as part of formal BYOPC programs. But these schemes can carry hidden licensing costs. [ + ]

UXC and Senetas have formed a partnership to offer tailored encryption products for government and enterprise customers. [ + ]