David Braue

David is an award-winning technology journalist who has covered Australia’s technology industry since 1995. A lifelong technophile, he has written and edited content for a broad range of audiences across myriad topics, with a particular focus on the intersection of technological innovation and business transformation.

Muster farm, cattle
AI/Machine Learning

The Productivity Commission wants a light touch on AI regulation

- February 8, 2024 3 MIN READ

The government should avoid “overzealous lawmaking” and lead by example with a “stepped, gradual approach” to regulating artificial intelligence (AI), the Productivity Commission (PC) has advised in an analysis that flags AI’s potential to resolve Australia’s productivity slump. Aiming to guide the understanding of AI’s productivity benefits, regulatory challenges and implications for data policy, the trilogy of… Read more »

Mark Zuckerberg
Social Media

‘Blood on their hands’: US politicians rip into social media bosses over child sexual abuse concerns

- February 1, 2024 3 MIN READ

Social media firms are offering “a product that’s killing people” and their CEOs have “blood on their hands” for failing to protect children from online predators, a US senator has told five tech executives during vitriolic hearings in which Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg was forced to apologise to angry families of victims of online child grooming.… Read more »

Kepler Exploration Robot Co
Other tech

It all Generative AI and robots – sometimes together – at CES in Las Vegas

- January 12, 2024 3 MIN READ

As car manufacturers have demonstrated for years, there is no functional reason why robots require a head, face, or personality – but with Generative AI (GenAI) now offering irresistible possibilities for designers, humanoid robots were out in force at the 2024 Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Chinese firm Kepler Exploration Robot Co, for one, used the… Read more »

robot typing
Politics

myGov is getting rid of passwords as part of its upgrade

- January 1, 2024 3 MIN READ

MyGov will be modernised with passwordless logins and a new Digital Inclusion Standard, the federal government has announced in responding to a scathing audit that warned current legislation “impedes service delivery” through the underfunded platform. The government’s response to the myGov user audit – an election promise that began in September 2022 as a “myGov revolution” and handed down its findings in… Read more »

FTX Sam Bankman-Fried
Cryptocurrency

Sam Bankman-Fried’s fraud trial hears how a simple tweak to the data allowed him to syphon off $12 billion from investors

- October 11, 2023 3 MIN READ

A simple database flag enabled cryptocurrency magnate Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) to siphon billions of customer dollars into a lavish lifestyle that ultimately left failed exchange FTX over $12 billion ($US8 billion) in debt, a US court has heard as SBF’s trial nears its conclusion. Once the second largest cryptocurrency exchange with a valuation of $47 billion, the… Read more »

Maid eavesdropping on telephone call
AI/Machine Learning

AI is now being used by cybercriminals to listen to your typing for passwords

- August 10, 2023 3 MIN READ

Be careful who you type your passwords in front of: cyber criminals can figure out which keys you’re pressing simply by getting a carefully trained AI model to listen to you type – and the technique even works over phone calls and Zoom sessions. Documented in a newly published paper, the acoustic side channel attack (ASCA) involves recording… Read more »

Business woman prepare writing a check
Politics

CHEQUE OUT TIME: the Australian government’s payments strategy plan goes digital, ending cheques by 2030

- June 9, 2023 3 MIN READ

Buoyed by dramatic changes in the way consumers pay for goods and services, Australia’s payments processing ecosystem will be overhauled based on a new strategic plan that includes the phasing out of cheques and full transition to the New Payments Platform (NPP). The newly launched Strategic Plan for Australia’s Payments System – developed through consultation with regulators,… Read more »

Tom Cruise Minority Report
Politics

The Australian government is going to force Big Tech to scan your photos and emails for illegal things

- June 7, 2023 3 MIN READ

Tech giants will be forced to scan Australians’ emails, online photo libraries, cloud storage accounts and dating sites for illegal content or face fines of nearly $700,000 per day, the eSafety Commissioner has said after rejecting two proposed industry codes as inadequate. Developed by key service providers and delivered to eSafety in February for review, the problematic… Read more »

dog under blanket
Cyber security

Cybersecurity people are so stressed out, they’re bailing from their jobs after breaches

- April 27, 2023 3 MIN READ

The lack of skilled cyber security talent is a bigger challenge for companies in Australia than overseas, according to new research that also found high stress levels and inadequate supporting technologies are causing many workers to bolt after a data breach. Fully 45% of the Australian CISOs surveyed for Trellix’s newly released global study, The… Read more »

Binance
Cryptocurrency

Coporate cop ASIC cancels Binance Australia’s licence after it misclassified retail investors, leaving them without consumer protections

- April 11, 2023 3 MIN READ

The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange can no longer legally operate within Australia after financial regulator ASIC cancelled the firm’s financial services license due to policy breaches that left consumers financially exposed. Although it was licensed to sell financial derivatives to wholesale customers, Binance Australia Derivatives – the trading name of Oztures Trading Pty Ltd –… Read more »

Ai
AI/Machine Learning

The AI race is ‘out of control’ & starting to freak out tech titans, with Musk, Woz and others wanting a 6-month freeze

- March 31, 2023 3 MIN READ

Elon Musk, Steve Wozniak, and over 1300 academics, tech and business luminaries have signed a Future of Life Institute (FLI) open letter calling for a 6-month freeze on “out-of-control” AI development that, they say, poses “profound risks to society and humanity.” That development has accelerated at a furious rate since last November’s release of GPT-3… Read more »

NBN Layoffs
People

NBN Co surfs layoff wave, cutting 500 staff to ‘simplify’ as competition grows

- March 23, 2023 2 MIN READ

The ongoing wave of tech layoffs is buffeting NBN Co, which announced this month it will lay off 500 people as the company adjusts its operational and funding strategies to accommodate a climate of increasing competition and intensifying borrowing pressure. The company, which has built and operated the National Broadband Network (NBN) since 2009, will… Read more »

ACCC
AI/Machine Learning

ACCC warns of ‘dark patterns’ used by tech giants to lock in consumers

- March 9, 2023 3 MIN READ

The five largest tech giants may be using ‘dark patterns’ to prevent consumers from adopting online services from competitors, the ACCC has warned as it solicits feedback on a new issues paper exploring the companies’ entrance into a diverse range of markets. Recent years have seen Amazon, Apple, Facebook parent company Meta, Microsoft, and Google… Read more »

IT staff
Workplace

New research reveals that a key way to retain IT staff is paying for their training

- February 8, 2023 3 MIN READ

Tech workers are less likely to explore other job opportunities when their current employer covers the cost of their training and certification, according to a new global study that found cloud computing, cyber security, and networking to be the most common certifications. Although 83% of respondents who paid for their own training said they were… Read more »