Parliament's poor porn probe exposed
Accusations of NSW government resources being used to watch porn abounded last week, even ending in one minister's resignation. However, parliament's audit process was deeply flawed.
The Full Tilt
Stilgherrian delivers an undiluted dose of criticism and analysis of the ways digital technology is changing our world and the spin that goes with it. Mostly in words -- sometimes in audio or video formats -- always cynical. Incorporating the Patch Monday podcast.
Stilgherrian
Stilgherrian is a freelance journalist, commentator and podcaster interested in big-picture internet issues, especially security, cybercrime and hoovering up bulldust. He studied computing science and linguistics before a wide-ranging media career and a stint at running an IT business. He can write iptables firewall rules, set a rabbit trap, clear a jam in an IBM model 026 card punch and mix a mean whiskey sour.
Latest Posts
BYO computers: cloud security risk?
Allowing staff to choose their own computer and smartphone rather than using the standard company roll-out will, in theory, help attract talented staff rather than corporate droids. But what about the security risks once the IT department loses control?
Broadband election's harsh come-down
Last week it was the broadband election. This week it still is. But the future of Australia's national broadband policy and, indeed, the future of the government itself now depends on a handful of independent members in a hung parliament.
Understanding the broadband election
High-speed broadband has now become an important election issue, with the two major parties offering vastly different policies. How do they compare?
Media laws dying for digital update
Do Australia's media laws need updating for the age of digital convergence? Communications Minister Senator Stephen Conroy thinks so. In his recent keynote address to the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) he said that a re-elected Labor government would conduct a complete review.
Data breaches: it's criminals again
The majority of data breaches and almost all data stolen (98 per cent) is the work of criminals outside the victim organisation. That's according to the 2010 Data Breach Investigations Report published by Verizon Business last week.
Security lessons from Adobe Reader
Adobe announced another security improvement to Adobe Reader last week: a "sandbox" for the Windows version that will help prevent malicious PDFs taking over users' computers.
The software patent controversy explained
Software patents have been controversial for decades. They're now back in the news thanks to New Zealand's plan to make software "unpatentable". But what's it all about?
Conroy's filter masterstroke
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy's Friday filter announcement was obviously designed to get the toxic topic of internet filtering out of the news before the election, giving an impression of progress without a real policy change. Clever, but will the strategy work?
Is Australia's data retention idea that scary?
Is the government really talking about recording all your web browsing? Is the European Directive on Data Retention, which the government is using as an example of what it could adopt, really benign?