The Australian Tax Office (ATO) paid out more than half a billion dollars to cyber criminals between July 2021 and February 2023, according to an ABC report. Most of the payments were for small amounts (less than A$5,000) and were not flagged by the ATO’s own monitoring systems. The fraudsters exploited a weakness in the… Read more »
Sydney cloud-based cybersecurity startup Plerion has raised US$10 million (A$15m) in a Seed round led by Prosus Ventures, a South African-owned, Netherlands-listed global consumer internet investor. The round was supported by US investment firm Cercano and Atlassian Ventures. The funds will be used on accelerated product development, talent acquisition, and go-to-market strategies. Plerion was founded… Read more »
Cybersecurity startup Nullify, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to help software developers and security teams detect and fix potential vulnerabilities in code as it’s being written, has raised $1.1 million in a pre-Seed round led by OIF Ventures. Former XM Cyber founding team Adi Ashkenazy and Zini Shahar, now running the security advisory firm Skylight… Read more »
The federal government has backed AustCyber to launch of the AustCyber Innovation Network to help bolster the sector as it become front and centre of both the political and business response to online threats. The network, part of the Stone & Chalk Group, is designed to nurture commercial relationships, provide thought leadership, and help companies… Read more »
Data strategy veteran Lisa Byrne from Notitia expects to see increased investment in cyber security investment in the federal budget next Tuesday, saying the move is a ‘”no brainer” for the government. Byrne argues it’s critical for small business to be incentivised to implement cyber security systems and upskill their workforce to deal with the… Read more »
Cybersecurity accelerator CyRise, which has programs in Sydney and Melbourne, will close next month after five years. The program has backed 39 startups across Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, India and the US since it launched in 2017, with the backing of British IT services and consulting firm NTT and Deakin University. The program pioneered support… Read more »
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 »
As a victim of data breaches from well-known Australian companies, I have come to realise the importance of cybersecurity. It is alarming to see that even after such data breaches, banks and utilities still ask for personal information that is publicly available and already compromised. This makes one wonder if these companies are doing enough… Read more »
Australians lost a record $3.1 billion to financial scammers in 2022. However, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) suggests the real figure is likely much higher, with an estimated 30% of scams going unreported. The findings come from the watchdog’s Targeting Scams report, which combines data from Scamwatch, ReportCyber, the Australian Financial Crimes Exchange… Read more »
Australia has joined other countries in announcing a ban on the use of TikTok on government devices, with some states and territories following suit. The rationale was based on security fears and, in particular, the risk the platform will be used for foreign interference operations by China. TikTok is a video-sharing platform operated by ByteDance,… Read more »
It’s not news that artificial intelligence (AI) can be biased, and since AI-powered tools are used for almost everything now, including recruiting, there is unconscious bias in hiring processes. ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr has launched a new cyber workforce program to address the issue. The Cyber National Assessment Program for Skills and Employment (CYNAPSE)… Read more »
New NSW Labor premier Chris Minns has deleted his TikTok account as the state follows in the footsteps of federal Labor in banning the Chinese-owned social media app on government-issued devices. Minns said the decision follows advice from the Commonwealth. On Tuesday federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus issued a directive to remove the TikTok app from… Read more »
The Australian government has banned TikTok from all public service devices, claiming the app poses “significant protective security risk” to the Commonwealth. Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus announced on Tuesday he had authorised a mandatory direction to ban the TikTok social media app from any device issued by a Commonwealth department or agency. State and territory governments… Read more »
The Australian government’s ambition to “become the most cyber secure nation by 2030” is destined to fail unless customers demand “security certifications” from businesses, according to a leading data security expert. Lisa Byrne, from data strategy firm Notitia, said customers will be the catalyst for businesses to “wake up” to their responsibility to provide effective… Read more »
The Australian government is launching an offensive against cybercriminals, following a data breach that has exposed millions of people’s personal information. On November 12, Minister for Cyber Security Clare O’Neil announced a taskforce to “hack the hackers” behind the recent Medibank data breach. The taskforce will be a first-of-its-kind permanent, joint collaboration between Australian Federal… Read more »
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