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Security Breaches Sweep Oz Business: 63pc hit, Report Says

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Some 63 percent of Australian organisations have experienced at least one security breach or incident in the past year, according to a report by CompTIA, a non-profit trade association based in Illinois, USA.More than 1500 business and technology executives in

12 countries were surveyed, with respondents in Brazil, Canada, Germany, India,

Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, South Africa, Thailand, the UAE, and the UK, as well

as Australia, where 125 respondents were involved.

While Australia’s 63 percent breach rate was serious enough, it was left in the

dust by experiences in India (94 percent), Malaysia (89 percent), Thailand (88

per cent), Brazil (87 percent) and Mexico (87 percent). Japan had the lowest

break-in rate at 39 percent.

The survey found that mobile security incidents – as opposed to those occurring

via connected  networks – are increasing, with 71 percent of Australian

organisations reporting a mobile-related security incident such as lost device,

data policy violation, or staff disabling security features.

Some 72 percent of Australian organisations expect security to become a higher

priority over the next two years.

And the survey found human error is becoming more of a cyber-security factor for

Down Under companies, with 61 percent reporting it as a major contributor to

security risk, compared with 58 percent internationally.

Commented Moheb Moses, CompTIA’s Down Under community director: “Due to

the evolving nature of IT, most organisations have had to change the way their

company approaches security. In Australia, as in many other countries, the

greatest change has been in IT operations, especially as ?rms move to cloud or

implement new mobility strategies.”

The report can be downloaded from www.comptia.org/resources/international-trends-in-cybersecurity.

Telstra Next G Set To Be Blocked

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The European Aeromobile group, controlled by Norway’s Telenor, has won the right to supply what appears to be a less than thrilling service for Australians who want to use mobile devices to access the Internet while on passenger aircraft. As part of the contract they will be allowed to block other carriers.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority late last week approved radiocommunications licensing arrangements that permit the use of mobile phones “and PDAs” (remember them?) on aircraft flying in Australian airspace.
The system will involve the use of onboard jammers to prevent connections to terrestrial services like Telstra’s Next G. The preferred option – currently offered only by Aeromobile – is for an onboard pico-cell connecting to an Inmarsat satellite.
That means international roaming charges – even though passengers never leave Australian airspace – on top of anything the airlines decide to charge for the service.
The Aeromobile service offers connections at GPRS speeds, hardly likely to appeal to laptop and iPad owners. In effect, any services will be largely limited to SMS and text messages – Australia’s airlines have, it’s understood, decided to ban voice calls, due to the understandable desire of fellow passengers for a bit of peace and quiet.
International airlines will have to abide by the Australian rules once they enter our airspace. Thus passengers on Emirates, and other airlines now adopting more sophisticated inflight broadband connections, seem likely to be told to switch off once they cross the coast.

PC Market Pumping 20% Growth Tipped

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Continued strength of the portable PC sector will see worldwide PC shipment growth leap almost 20 percent in 2010, according to a new IDC report. This compares with overall growth of just 3 percent in 2009, the market research firm says.

This follows exceptional growth of 27 percent in Q1, IDC says, reflecting a “sometimes bumpy” economic recovery with strong buying in both the commercial and consumer sectors.
And – unlike 2009 – the recent market recovery has also seen a small rebound in higher priced models as netbooks become less of a driver of volume. IDC tips this trend to pick up steam.
Although low to mid-range portable PCs still dominate the market, desktop PC sales also recovered with their first yearly growth since Q2 2008, IDC says.
However main growth in 2010 is expected to come from mainstream notebooks – tipped to rise 26.6 percent over the full year.
IDC tips PC market growth to continue in coming years, with worldwide shipments reaching 569.6 million units in 2014, made up of 142.7 million desktops and 426.9 million portables.
However notions of what makes a portable PC may change. “New devices such as e-readers and media tablets will pose disruptive challenges to conventional usage models while opening up intriguing possibilities in consumer and mobile business spaces,” IDC says.

New Limited Name Dropped After 88 Years, Welcome News…

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The Murdoch press is reported to be abandoning its News Ltd moniker, in use in Australia since 1923. The local arm of News Corp will be rebranded “News Australia” from early next year, according to a Crikey.com report.

The new name will be adopted in February after the publisher starts charging for access to its Web sites from November, Crikey says. The Australian is expected to be the first to attract a fee to use its Web site.

The change will usher in a paid Web site subscription model, which eventually will include multiple titles, while improving how it sells advertising across the group.

Crikey said it had seen a memo on the planned change – part of a program dubbed Project Darwin – from News Ltd’s director of marketing strategy, Michael Nearhos.

Jobs To Go, Software Key As IAG Standardises On ClaimCentre

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Insurer IAG has announced plans to slash its headcount and consolidate its core claims and policy handing units from 32 platforms to two, as it seeks to cut costs by at least $250 million a year.“The world has got tougher but we still see

considerable opportunities,” CEO Peter Harmer told investors meeting in

Sydney. “All of this combined will generate significant savings,”

Harmer said.

The planned “digital transformation” would see the company

consolidate its core claims and policy handing units from 32 platforms to two,

and standardise on the GuideWire ClaimCentre software for its core claims

platform, Harmer said.

IAG introduced ClaimCentre to its CGU division in 2010, and later inherited the

software as part of its June 2014 acquisition of Lumley Insurance. COO Michael

Milliner said IAG now plans to extend the software to the remaining parts of

its business across A/NZ in order to centralise onto a single platform by June

2018.

Microsoft OZ Cuts Vista OS Price

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Following lukewarm sales of its Vista operating system, Microsoft Australia is hoping to retrieve lost ground _ and maybe widen its horizons _ by slashing up to 40 per cent from the price of boxed retail versions. The price cut is bigger in percentage terms than those in the US (CDN, Monday), where cuts have averaged 20pc, but lower than than the 47pc UK/EU cuts.

In Australia, Vista Ultimate (full edition), previously selling for A$751, is now $302 cheaper at $449. Other full-edition prices, with the old in brackets are: Home Basic $299 ($385); Premium $349 ($455); and Business $449 ($565). There are similar cuts for upgrades, which now cost from $149-399, compared with $199-495.

The move comes one year after Vista was launched in Australia and the software giant hopes that the new prices will turn customers who had complained about pre-installed Vista PCs, which some downgraded to Windows XP.

However, Microsoft denies the major reductions are specifically targeting those users.

“Windows Vista has been on the market for more than a year now and has been doing well, with more than 100 million licences sold in its first year,” a company spokesman said.

 

He says the vast majority of Windows licenses were sold with PCs and retail stand-alone sales, in contrast, were mostly from customers who valued being early adopters. “While this is rewarding, we see an opportunity to grow our business even more with some of the new editions we introduced with Windows Vista,” he said.

“The changes to our pricing structures will allow us to reach a broader range of consumers worldwide.

“The changes will also provide greater opportunity for our retail partners to sell more standalone copies.”

Instagram Ushers Photo Changes

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In the biggest move since its inception nearly five years ago, photo sharing giant Instagram will allow other formats besides square.

One of the most distinctive design elements of the service has been the resemblance of individual posts to the square photos produced by vintage instant cameras.

Instagram has now announced that, “in addition to square posts, you can now share photos and videos in both portrait and landscape orientation”. 
  
Instagram says the move will also apply to video, which has no nostalgia-inducing historical square format

Smartwatch Flogger To List On ASX

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SYDNEY – While we’re on stockmarket matters, IoT Group, an Australian start-up which claims to be focussed on the Internet of Things (IoT), is planning to list on the ASX on December 14.This follows a reverse takeover by Sydney-based

exploration company Ardent Resources. The deal sees the remade Ardent acquire

100 percent of IoT Group for $18.5 million

The rejigged IoT Group will trade as Ardent IoT.

Its first smartwatch device, known as the Viper Phone Watch, recently went on

sale for a recommended $99 at 762 Coles supermarkets across Australia.

IoT Group said it plans to release further products including a “selfie

drone” flying camera; a GPS safety smartwatch designed for children; and a

smartwatch for tradies.

SA Green Light For Driverless Cars On State’s Highways

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ADELAIDE – South Australia’s Labor Government plans to allow driverless cars in regular traffic on the State’s public roads, under legislation to be introduced this week.Transport Minister Stephen Mullighan said that once

the legislation is passed, carmakers and technology companies will be

encouraged to test their autonomous vehicles on SA roads.

“All communities are going to go through a period of adjustment but I

think it’s absolutely critical to get this technology out in the community as

widely as possible and as quickly as possible because the benefits for the

community are extraordinary,” he said,

Mullighan told Australian IT he will be a guest of driverless car developer

Google X in California next week, along with a number of other regulators for

autonomous car technology, including reps from four US states, Britain and

France.

South Australia plans to stage a driverless car trial in November on Adelaide’s

Southern Expressway to coincide with a conference on the technology, but

Mullighan stressed that this does not require changes to the law, as the road

will be closed for that occasion.

Aussie IT Spending To Hit $80bn In 2016: Up Just 2.8pc

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Total IT spending in Australia will reach almost A$80 billion in 2016, just a 2.8 percent increase from 2015, according to market research firm Gartner. The minor rise is being largely driven by digital business and the “connected world”, senior veep Peter Sondergaard yesterday told Gartner’s Symposium/ITXpo on the Gold Coast.

He predicted digital revenue Down Under would grow from 14pc now to 32pc of total revenue in the next five years, but said Australian organisations are not putting chief digital officers (CDOs) in place as fast as expected.

Sondergaard predicted worldwide spending on Internet of Things hardware will exceed US$2.5 million every minute in 2016. 

In five years, 1 million new devices will come online every hour, Sondergaard said.

These relationships are not driven solely by data, but algorithms, he stressed. “Data is inherently dumb. It doesn’t actually do anything unless you know how to use it; how to act with it,” Sondergaard said. “Algorithms are where the real value lies. Algorithms define action. Dynamic algorithms are the core of new customer interactions.”

He gave examples including an Amazon “recommendation” algorithm claimed to keep customers engaged and buying; and Netflix’s dynamic algorithm – built through crowdsourcing – said to keep people watching.

“The algorithmic economy will power the next great leap in machine-to-machine evolution,” Sondergaard said.