UPDATED: Aussie defence agencies ban Lenovo due to backdoor fears
30 July, 2013Computers from Chinese company Lenovo have been banned from “classified” networks of the intelligence and defence services of Australia, the United States, Britain, Canada and New Zealand due to concerns that the machines could easily be hacked.
Russia buying typewriters to avoid data leaks
16 July, 2013The Russian agency responsible for Kremlin security is reportedly buying typewriters in an effort to avoid digital data leaks.
A new government could rethink data breach law
09 July, 2013 by Dylan Bushell-EmblingWhile whichever party wins the next Australian Federal election is expected to pass some form of data breach notification law, a change of guard could prompt changes to the current proposed bill - including its axing.
Bad habits are worse than bad guys in IT security
05 July, 2013 by Matt Ramsay, Asia-Pacific Regional Director, Centrify | Supplied by: Centrify Asia PacificDo we only need to guard against the bad guys trying to hack our infrastructure? Or do we need to defend ourselves from the bad habits of the good guys who manage that infrastructure?
Data breach laws fail to pass Senate
02 July, 2013Legislation for mandatory data breach reporting in Australia has failed to make it through the Senate and, unless the upcoming federal election date is changed, will not be enacted into law until after the next election.
Protecting whistleblowers with secret data transfer techniques
01 July, 2013 by Dylan Bushell-EmblingGerman computer scientist Volker Roth is working on a system to allow whistleblowers to disclose confidential information without being observed or traced.
A password you can swallow? Don’t hold your breath
28 June, 2013 by James H Hamlyn-Harris, Swinburne University of TechnologyIf you believe the hype, a ‘password pill’ could save you from remembering passwords. But don’t hold your breath for this technology - better alternatives are already available.
Facebook leaks 6 million users’ contact information
25 June, 2013Facebook has revealed that it inadvertently leaked the contact information of about six million of its users since last year.
NSA spy scandal recap: Snowden disappears; Europe unhappy with surveillance; Tech companies push back
18 June, 2013The recent exposure of the US National Security Agency’s (NSA) previously secret electronic surveillance program, PRISM, has triggered a glut of news stories around the globe over the last couple of weeks. Here’s a quick guide to the last week’s events.
IF Telecom leaks customer data; Google to drop US$1.3 billion on social mapping dev Waze
11 June, 2013Australian telco IF Telecom leaks customer details via a publicly accessible server, and Google is reportedly set to buy social mapping developer Waze for more than US$1 billion.
ASIO blueprints stolen by Chinese hackers - or were they?
03 June, 2013Adding even more ambiguity to the ASIO building blueprint hack story that first surfaced last week, Australian national security officials have denied reports that building plans for ASIO’s new headquarters were stolen by Chinese hackers.
US has evidence of Apple e-book conspiracy; Privacy commish probes Telstra over data breach
28 May, 2013 by Andrew CollinsA US judge reckons that the country’s Justice Department has evidence showing that Apple conspired to raise e-book prices; and in local news, the federal privacy commissioner has launched an investigation into Telstra’s recent leak of some customers’ personal data.
Australian government caught blocking websites on the sly
21 May, 2013The federal government has been caught quietly blocking access to websites, leading some to declare that it has attempted to sneak mandatory web filtering in on the sly.
Revealed: draft Australian data breach laws
07 May, 2013Details of potential data breach notification laws in Australia were revealed last week when the Federal Attorney-General’s Department shared its Exposure Draft Privacy Amendment (Privacy Alerts) Bill 2013 with a small number of key stakeholders.
The personalisation conundrum: using website personalisation without alienating customers
07 May, 2013 by Andrew CollinsPersonalisation is one of the most polarising aspects of e-commerce today: while many website operators love the potential benefits to their bottom line, users often consider it a breach of privacy and a corruption of the levelling effect the internet has on markets around the globe.
