Computer Daily News 
The public will probably not see a Federal Government report on what’s been labelled a state-sponsored cyberattack against the parliamentary computing network earlier this year. Senate president Scott Ryan yesterday told a Senate estimates hearing that, after reading the “rather technical” report for the first time on Friday, he is now awaiting a “plain language … Read more
Australia’s retail banking sector and payment systems operators will have nowhere to hide as they face up to reveal public outage severity figures or manipulate up-time performance stats as regulators attempt to arrest crippling software glitches. The Payment Systems Board – whose members include the chairs of the Reserve Bank of Australia and the Australian … Read more
Japanese cloud security multinational outfit Trend Micro has snapped up three-year-old Sydney-based start-up Cloud Conformity for US$70 million (A$101 million). Cloud Conformity is a cloud security posture management (CSPM) company and the acquisition by Trend Micro is seen as a strategic move to quickly close the enterprise’s security gaps. Trend Micro is making Cloud Conformity … Read more
At a time when Australian companies are facing increased security problems – with no fewer than 242 data breaches recorded in the three months to June 30 (CDN, Aug. 1) – the nation appears to be falling well behind world trends in its spending on security, new figures from market research firm Gartner suggest. Gartner’s … Read more
Federal Communications Minister Mitch Fifield has set limits to the amount of 5G spectrum that each operator will be able hold in the 3.4Gz – 3.7GHz band. The new limits of 60MHz in metropolitan areas and 80MHz in regional areas come ahead of an auction of 125MHz of 5G spectrum in the 3.6GHz band, to be … Read more
The Service NSW government agency for dealing with the public is dumping its Microsoft Windows computers in favor of Google’s lightweight – and relatively inexpensive – ChromeBooks. It has already purchased some 1200 Chrome OS devices to replace Windows computers in Service NSW self-service kiosks. Service NSW has calculated that the Chrome desktops require only … Read more
Twitter has suspended more than one million accounts a day in recent months to reduce the flow of misinformation on the platform. The company suspended more than 70 million accounts in May and June and the pace is reportedly continuing. Twitter confirmed the rout, saying it was removing 214 percent more accounts on a year-on-year basis … Read more
Australia led the world in the total power of solar-powered storage batteries in 2017, according to the nation’s chief scientist Alan Finkel. Finkel bases his claim on a report by Greentech Media, a US-based company that generates daily reports and market research on electricity systems and green technology. The report estimates the combined power of … Read more
Infrastructure Australia has proposed a user-paid roads system under which Australian motorists would be billed for every kilometre they drive on major roads and highways. This would replace current fuel excise and registration fees. But motorists would also be hit with current toll fees. The government agency says the current system for funding roads is unsustainable … Read more
HealthEngine, a Telstra-backed online appointment-booking service, has been sharing medical information with personal-injury law firm Slater and Gordon, according to an ABC report. The information has reportedly been used for targeted advertising, seeking clients for personal injury claims. The news has brought strong condemnation from Electronic Frontiers Australia and other groups with an interest in … Read more