By Cameron Abbott and Allison Wallace
The Australian Federal Police are investigating two members of the Bureau of Meteorology’s IT team for allegedly running an operation in which they made use of the Bureau’s powerful computers to “mine” cryptocurrencies.
It was revealed late last week that the AFP raided the Bureau’s Melbourne CBD offices on February 28, and questioned the two employees. No charges have been laid, or arrests made.
By Cameron Abbott and Allison Wallace
Smart home devices like the Google Home and Amazon Echo were popular gifts this past Christmas – just like Fitbits have been the Christmases past.
But could these smart devices that we rely on to seek out and relay information to us, turn on our favourite music, or count our calories and steps, be used to produce evidence against us, if we were to commit a crime? Read More
By Cameron Abbott and Allison Wallace
Since the introduction of self-serve checkouts in Australian supermarkets nearly ten years ago, customers have been engaging in the simplest of hacks to outsmart the supermarket technology. Mum and Dad cyber criminals? Not so much– mostly it is just by putting through more expensive items as much cheaper ones (think a kilo of lemons as a kilo of potatoes).
But thanks to an Aussie start-up, new AI technology will put an end to customer’s criminal careers. Read More
By Cameron Abbott, Allison Wallace and Olivia Coburn
The personal details of almost 50,000 Australians have been published online by a third party government contractor, who is yet to be identified. And I guess you would feel a little shy about owning up to this one!
By Cameron Abbott, Rob Pulham and Olivia Coburn
A Belgian researcher has discovered a weakness in WPA-2, the security protocol used in the majority of routers and devices including computers, mobile phones and connected household appliances, to secure internet and wireless network connections.
The researcher, Mathy Vanhoef, has named the flaw KRACK, for Key Reinstallation Attack.
Any device that supports Wi-Fi is likely to be affected by KRACK, albeit devices will have different levels of vulnerability depending on their operating systems. Linux and Android are believed to be more susceptible than Windows and iOS, and devices running Android 6.0 are reportedly particularly vulnerable.
By Cameron Abbott and Olivia Coburn
A hacker has breached the computer system of an unnamed defence contractor and stolen 30 gigabytes of data, including information on Australia’s $17 billion Joint Strike Fighter program.
The data breach, which the Australian Government publicly disclosed last week, also includes information about Australia’s $4 billion P-8 surveillance plane project, Collins Class submarines and the warships HMAS Canberra and HMAS Adelaide. The Government has emphasised that the stolen data is commercially sensitive but not classified.
The announcement coincides with the release of the Australian Cyber Security Centre’s 2017 Threat Report, available here, which reveals that the hack is among 734 cyber incidents affecting private sector systems of national interest and critical infrastructure providers.
By Cameron Abbott and Olivia Coburn
Global spending on information security products and services will reach $86.4 billion this year, according to US-based technology research and advisory firm Gartner, Inc.
This figure is an increase of 7 per cent over 2016, and is expected to grow to $93 billion in 2018.
By Cameron Abbott and Olivia Coburn
Charities are increasingly employing commercial approaches to funding, lobbying and fundraising to fuel their invaluable work. In doing so, charities need to be cautious of mishandling the donor’s personal information that they collect together with the donation.
Donors are frequently being asked to provide information such as home address, email address and their mobile phone number. In some instances charities will not accept money unless this personal information is also provided.
By Cameron Abbott and Allison Wallace
A freshly inked Memorandum of Understanding between Australia and Singapore will see the two countries strengthen their cybersecurity through a joint effort to build a secure and resilient cyber space.
The two-year partnership which was signed last week, will see Singapore’s Cyber Security Agency work with the Australian government to conduct regular information exchanges on cyber threats, share best practices to promote innovation in cyber security, and build cyber security capabilities. Read More
By Cameron Abbott and Allison Wallace
While health institutions around the world work to secure patients’ personal information and prevent the hacking or leaking of data from their systems, one Melbourne hospital is being investigated after medical records were found lying in a gutter in a nearby street.
Fairfax Media reports Australia’s Privacy Commissioner Timothy Pilgrim is investigating how the paper records of 31 patients of the John Fawkner Private Hospital were removed from the premises last month.
The documents, which were found by a local resident, were sent to both the Privacy Commissioner, and Victoria’s Health Complaints Commissioner.
Under current legislation, there is no obligation for the hospital to notify the affected patients that their privacy has been breached. All this will change under the new data breach notification laws, which were passed by the Australian government last month, and are expected to come into force within the next 12 months.
This breach is a timely reminder for all businesses, government agencies and other organisations covered by Australia’s privacy laws to take stock of how they store personal information – whether it be in a filing cabinet, on a hard-drive, or in a cloud – and ensure it is secure.
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