A Sydney, Australia-based journalist, Michael Lee covers a gamut of news in the technology space including information security, state Government initiatives, and local startups.
The next time you're buying antivirus software, don't go direct to Symantec or McAfee. Don't download free antivirus. And definitely don't see Harvey Norman. Ask your bank — they're quite literally giving the stuff away.
Everything from cleaning to IT development work is outsourced by governments these days, but should security clearance processes, which dictate what access a person has to government information systems, be included in that bundle?
If you're heading to the Beijing Olympics to cut deals, schmooze and booze, don't leave your laptop and mobile with your hosts for a second and watch your gadgets very, very carefully. Of course, it might cost you a deal because you're acting weird, but your data will be safe.
Last week's blog on why consumers might be confused by contradictory messages on computer security from banks drew a few objections from interested parties — ones that I thought would be worth responding to this week.
Banks obviously have an interest in making consumers feel safe. They are there to protect the customers' money. They want customers to use their online services, too, because the channel offers a lower cost per transaction than a branch. But giving away free security software to make customers feel safe is probably doing more harm than good.
It's official: Australia is an easy target for Russian crime gangs — some are even turning Aussie lonely hearts into money mules. But are those "victims" actually guilty?
Are Australia's privacy laws slowly killing Australians by preventing medical professionals gaining access to patient information?
If Australia is going to take information security seriously, we need more people like the ATO's CIO, Bill Gibson.
According to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner's 2007 annual report, Australian consumers should feel pretty safe — but that's because it's full of crap.
When creating a secure, locked down IT system — for something that is directly responsible for handling cash transactions — would you choose the most popular, most targeted operating system?