To pay or not to pay
When Medibank were cyber attacked last year millions of customers were affected but the financial fall out and punishment is not commensurate with the distress and loss faced by individuals grappling with identity fraud.
government
TikTok on the sly
TikTok is facing severe scrutiny from it’s biggest market. Does the Chinese government have unfettered access to TikTok data and is the government influencing content. Can we trust that the software does not have vulnerabilities that could pose a risk to content creators and users from opportunistic hackers.
Hacksville
We have witnessed the relentless ease with which data is being compromised, stolen, held to ransom, we are also trying to legislate digital theft, not from the dirty, baseless criminals stealing it but from the companies that allow it to happen. A long read in The Guardian titled Ransomware hunters: the self-taught tech geniuses fighting cybercrime discusses how ransomware is an efficient crime with little accountability. Even if you pinpoint and arrest the criminal, the damage is far-reaching and ubiquitous and can be traumatising to those that have had their identity stolen.
Telco incommunicado
Optus is deeply apologetic over the latest threat to their customers’ details following a significant cyberattack. The fallout to their customer base and to the security of private data is one of confusion and distrust. Customers were put on high alert early, to note any suspicious activity on their accounts and any notifications that could be asking for information from a source unknown or a fake account. Account holders were told to stay informed, complete a credit check, change Medicare details and apply for a new licence.
Fake Politics
The ASIO chief, Mike Burgess, stood up in Canberra last week at ASIO headquarters and spoke of a thwarted attempt at election interference, calling out a scam of a foreign entity (that he would not name) to insert unknowing election candidates to campaign in the upcoming federal election. And then, choose the electoral staff for that candidate with a view to “secretly shaping the jurisdiction’s political scene to benefit the foreign power”.
