Last week, two secure email providers - Lavabit and Silent Circle - announced the closure of their services, citing pressures on them to reveal user information as the key reason for the decision. The…
Many internet users don’t know what they’re clicking on.
drubuntu
The Internet Watch Foundation, an organisation that aims to eliminate access to indecent images of children online, says it has received 227 reports in the past six weeks of business websites being compromised…
China’s foreign minister has advocated a system of cyber rules in response to accusations regarding online operations. The US echoed the call, with National Security Advisor Tom Donilon saying that dialogue…
Hacker to mastercrook by way of HMP Pentonville.
DFectuoso
Following an agreement in the European Parliament on the 4th July, EU countries are to strengthen their domestic laws against the more serious forms of cyber-crime. We can now expect to see prison sentences…
Cyber-snooping is a threat to knowledge as well as privacy.
EPA/Guardian/Glenn Greenwald
While Edward Snowden sits in a Russian airport, the repercussions of the NSA scandal are being felt far and wide. But while headlines warn us about personal data and privacy, an even more sinister threat…
The aftermath of the Bali bombing in 2002 that killed dozens of Australians. Do our intelligence services need further investment to prevent such tragedies from occurring again?
AAP/Dean Lewins
The Coalition has promised it will “rebuild” Australia’s frontline national security agencies if it wins government at the upcoming election. Shadow attorney general spokesman George Brandis has laid out…
There is hope that Xi Jinping could help usher in a new era of cyber-collaboration.
PA
US President Barack Obama hopes to lay the foundations for a long-term relationship when he meets Xi Jinping, China’s new president, for a two-day summit in Southern California on Friday. Obama has a difficult…
You’ve got a message. Hackers knew that before you.
Akshat Rathi
There are now more mobile devices than people on our planet. The amount of personal data we share through mobile devices is also increasing. So it is not surprising that cyber-criminals want a piece of…
The blanket term “hack” can encompass a whole range of attacks – but what are they?
Anant N S
Last week, we woke to news that the largest cyber attack ever was underway in Europe, with reports of global internet speeds falling as a result of an assault on the anti-spamming company Spamhaus. In…
The RBA has been the subject of hacking attacks – but that is not unusual.
AAP/Sergio Dionisio
You’ll have seen the fallout this week regarding a so-called “spearphishing” attack on the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) in 2011. As with most media reports on cyber-attacks, this one appears to have…
Basic tenets of internet security are being ignored by some users and website developers.
dustball
Yesterday the ABC was attacked, supposedly in response to the network giving coverage to an Australian visit by the controversial Dutch politician Geert Wilders. A Twitter user, “Phr0zenMyst”, claimed…
Julia Gillard has presented a coherent plan for an uncertain future.
AAP/Lukas Coch
The central problem for defence and security planners right now is uncertainty. The clarity of the Cold War is gone, new threats such as terrorism have come, and seemingly peaked, and what the rise of…
Prime Minister Julia Gillard delivers a speech outlining Australia’s new National Security Strategy.
AAP
“The internet must remain open but also secure,” Prime Minister Julia Gillard said today, flagging plans for the development of a new Cyber Security Centre by the end of the year. Ms Gillard said with…
Students at the Matraville Soldiers Settlement Public School are part of a program designed to teach them cyber safety and security.
McAfee
Prime Minister Julia Gillard has called on Twitter to join other social media companies that have agreed to a protocol to help deal with cyber bullying. The Prime Minister was speaking after the launch…
A Pandora’s box may have been opened, without a clear idea of how best to proceed.
smithi1
Good news. A decision made earlier this month by Australia’s Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy Senator Stephen Conroy may have inadvertently opened the door for unlimited government…
If someone got access to your personal information, wouldn’t you want to know?
subcircle/Flickr
In an age of Facebook, eBay and online banking, data privacy is becoming more important than ever before. The majority of Australians have personal information stored online with a range of organisations…
Online stalking gets far too much attention, but it’s worth making some changes to prevent it happening to you.
Flickr/Ed Yourdon
Recent cases of online abuse against Charlotte Dawson and NRL player Robbie Farah have attracted considerable media attention and triggered public debate about how to respond to this issue. But how big…
The Origin Smart portal provides customers with an estimate of future electricity bills.
fudj
Early last week, Origin Energy, Australia’s pre-eminent energy retailer, launched an online energy-use monitoring portal Origin Smart to much fanfare. All good – but what about the the privacy and security…
Australia’s place in the online world is changing, with significant consequences.
lintmachine
Yesterday afternoon the Australian Senate passed the Cybercrime Legislation Amendment Bill 2011 following amendments suggested by the Labor Party. It’s been more than a year since the bill was first introduced…
Time and money spent spying on Australians could be better spent on protecting them.
Truthout.org
Earlier this week Greens Senator Scott Ludlam asked the Federal Government to reveal whether the TrapWire video surveillance system is being used in Australia or if it has been used in the past. Senator…