This Month
Quadrant goes trans-Tasman with cyber play Bastion; inks acquisition
Street Talk understands Quadrant-backed Bastion has acquired hot Melbourne-based cybersecurity business Cythera.
- Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
- Opinion
- Cyber warfare
Are businesses ready to be outed for paying ransoms to cybercrooks?
No Australian organisation has ever had to publicly discuss making payments to hackers, but new mandatory cyber reporting reforms will change this.
- Alastair MacGibbon and Jordan Newnham
November
Pressure points hackers use to get bigger payments than ever
Hackers are targeting HR, health, finance and legal data as a way of exerting maximum pressure and leveraging ever-larger ransom payments out of companies.
- Max Mason
Hackers are targeting private schools for blackmail
Private schools emerge as a new battleground in the fight against cyberattacks, as the average cost to victims jumps to $30,000.
- Andrew Tillett
October
Optus disputes ACMA’s ‘not highly sophisticated’ cyberattack claim
The hacker in Optus’ 2022 data breach had “a high degree of knowledge” of the telecommunications group’s confidential systems, Optus has claimed.
- Jenny Wiggins
Small business wants out of privacy laws as data breaches rise 215pc
The small business lobby is pushing to limit the reach of Labor’s overhaul of the Privacy Act to firms with annual turnover above $10 million, up from the current threshold of $3 million.
- Tom Burton
New laws to force business to beef up cyber protection
The federal government will give itself new powers allowing it to intervene when businesses are hit by a cyberattack or to prevent one.
- Andrew Tillett
September
- Opinion
- Opinion
Why competition laws could increase the risk of blue screen attacks
We should beware of one-size-fits-all technology policies that could open smart devices to the third-party vulnerabilities that caused the CrowdStrike outage.
- Michael Rogers and Jane M. Hardy
Legal privilege an ‘attraction’ in law firm’s consulting play
HPX Group chief executive Nick Humphrey says rolling consulting services into a legal practice means clients have a better chance of taking advantage of legal privilege.
- Maxim Shanahan
Cyber safety group Qoria in $25m cash call; UCP on ticket
The cyber safety and internet monitoring group, which was this year the subject of US private equity interest, is offering shares at 37¢ a piece.
- Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
- Opinion
- Smart Investor
SMSFs are a $1 trillion honeypot for hackers
The success of the retirement savings system has become an irresistible target for global cybercriminals.
- Tim Mackay
- Opinion
- Opinion
Australia must be wary of Beijing’s ears and hands in consumer goods
The US is banning Chinese-made EVs with internet connections for fear they will be used for surveillance or sabotage. Australia will need to step up too.
- Alastair MacGibbon
- Opinion
- The AFR View
Cybersecurity for the C-suite, not just the IT crowd
At Tuesday’s Australian Financial Review Cyber Summit, the corporate regulator warned boards and managers against “cyberwashing”.
- The AFR View
It’s tough to make an outsize return in cybersecurity, big funds say
Hack ETF, an index that tracks the performance of the global cybersecurity sector, was up 72 per cent in five years. The S&P500 rose 87 per cent in that time.
- Updated
- Cecile Lefort
- Opinion
- Cyber Summit
ASIC readies to wield a big stick against boards lax on cybersecurity
The regulator is talking about investigating directors who have been remiss in guarding against hackers. Not everyone thinks that’s the best approach.
- Paul Smith
Why John Mullen wishes he’d paid a cyber ransom
When hackers targeted Qantas chairman John Mullen’s private maritime museum, he didn’t pay the ransom out of principle.
- Tess Bennett
Cyberspies phone businesses to warn of danger but half don’t respond
The Australian Signals Directorate’s new director-general Abigail Bradshaw says there is a stigma to being attacked, but it is costly for companies.
- Max Mason
Regulators warn cyber reforms won’t provide immunity from prosecution
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has outlined changes that would provide some cover for companies to provide more information to agencies after a cyberattack.
- Tess Bennett
- Opinion
- Cyber Summit
In our world, cybersecurity is no longer guaranteed, says Burke
Cybersecurity Minister Tony Burke warns that cyberattacks are evolving so quickly the “normal methods of how government would assist just aren’t appropriate.”
- Exclusive
- Cyber Summit
ASIC pursues board directors over cyber breaches
ASIC says more investigations are underway, scrutinising how boards and directors have responded to cyberattacks.
- Tess Bennett
