Industry News
Alibaba opens regional HQ in Melbourne
China's Alibaba, one of the world's largest technology companies, has opened a new office in Melbourne that will serve as the company's Australia and New Zealand headquarters. [ + ]
AISA faces member revolt
The board of AISA, the industry body for Australia's infosec sector, is resisting an attempt by a group of disgruntled members to vacate the entire board and hold a full re-election. [ + ]
NBN could boost Australia's GDP 2% by 2020
A new report finds that the completion of the NBN in 2020 has the potential to deliver significant economic and social benefits, but critics warn that the current technology mix may not be sufficient to deliver these gains. [ + ]
Global digital transformation practices showcased at symposium
The upcoming International Symposium on Digital Earth & Locate17 offers an opportunity to understand various digital transformation practices from around the world. [ + ]
Internet and social media patterns tracked worldwide
Half of the world is now connected to the internet, a new report has found. [ + ]
Privacy complaints grew 7.7% in FY16
The OAIC has released statistics indicating renewed public interest in privacy issues and accessing government information via Freedom of Information requests. [ + ]
Apple retakes crown as top smartphone vendor
Apple surpassed Samsung during the fourth quarter for the first time in five years to become the world's top smartphone vendor by unit shipments. [ + ]
IoT, M&As to be hot trends at MWC
This year's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the world's largest gathering of mobile industry representatives, is expected to be dominated by discussions of topics including the IoT as well as collaboration with other verticals. [ + ]
Victorian start-ups receive funding boost
An additional $4.9 million will be provided by LaunchVic for the Victorian start-up sector. [ + ]
180,000 servers still vulnerable to Heartbleed
Despite a fix being available for nearly two years, around 180,000 servers worldwide are still vulnerable to the Heartbleed SSL exploit, including several thousand in Australia. [ + ]
Ransomware shuts guests out of hotel rooms
In two high-profile incidents, attackers shut down an Austrian hotel's entire IT system and ransomware infected 70% of Washington DC police's public CCTV video recorders. [ + ]
Australian employers must lead the way in digital era
The majority of Australian employees believe their employers are responsible for creating innovative work cultures, according to new research by BMC. [ + ]
SMEs pessimistic about outlook for 2017
Despite high dissatisfaction with the government's economic management and a weak economic outlook, many SMEs believe that technology is the key to renewed business confidence. [ + ]
Tax Practitioners Board issues cloud services guidance
The Tax Practitioners Board has informed tax practitioners of their professional obligations covering the use of cloud computing, including seeking permission from each client to share their data with a cloud provider. [ + ]
NSW gets new Innovation Minister in reshuffle
The NSW Liberal-National government's major cabinet reshuffle will see Hornsby MP Matt Kean take over from Ryde MP Victor Dominello as Minister for Innovation and Better Regulation. [ + ]