Australia has a new cybersecurity agenda. Two key questions lie at its heart

Jeffrey Foster, Macquarie University The federal government is pursuing a new cybersecurity agenda in the wake of last year’s major cyber breaches with Optus and Medibank. “For businesses these days, cybersecurity is as important as having a lock on the door”, said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in opening the government’s cybersecurity roundtable in Sydney on… Continue reading Australia has a new cybersecurity agenda. Two key questions lie at its heart

19 years of personal data was stolen from ANU. It could show up on the dark web

Nicholas Patterson, Deakin University Today it was revealed the Australian National University (ANU) fell victim to a cyber security attack in late 2018, but only detected two weeks ago*. Stolen was a substantial amount of data dating back 19 years relating to staff, students and visitors. We don’t know for sure how long the cyber… Continue reading 19 years of personal data was stolen from ANU. It could show up on the dark web

Albanese government to appoint Coordinator for Cyber Security, amid increasing threat to systems and data

Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra The federal government is further stepping up its efforts to improve Australia’s protection against increasing cyber threats, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday announcing the establishment of a Coordinator for Cyber Security. The aim is to “ensure a centrally coordinated approach” to the government’s cyber security responsibilities. This would… Continue reading Albanese government to appoint Coordinator for Cyber Security, amid increasing threat to systems and data

How to avoid falling victim to an online scam – research says slow down

Yaniv Hanoch, University of Southampton and Nicholas J. Kelley, University of Southampton Keeping up with the latest digital cons is exhausting. Fraudsters always seem to be one step ahead. But our study found there is one simple thing you can do to drastically reduce your chances of losing money to web scams: slow down. In… Continue reading How to avoid falling victim to an online scam – research says slow down

Why we need to improve cloud computing’s security

Robert Deng, Singapore Management University Do you often use Facebook? How about Snapchat, Gmail, Dropbox, Slack, Google Drive, Spotify or Minecraft? Perhaps all of them? Bottom line, if you use an online social network, e-mail program, data storage service or a music platform, you are almost certainly using cloud computing. Cloud computing is way of… Continue reading Why we need to improve cloud computing’s security

North Korea’s growing criminal cyberthreat

Dorothy Denning, Naval Postgraduate School The countries posing the greatest cyberthreats to the United States are Russia, China, Iran and North Korea. Like its counterparts, Kim Jong Un’s regime engages in substantial cyber espionage. And like Russia and Iran, it launches damaging cyberattacks that wipe data from computer disks and shut down online services. But… Continue reading North Korea’s growing criminal cyberthreat

Using blockchain to secure the ‘internet of things’

Nir Kshetri, University of North Carolina – Greensboro The world is full of connected devices – and more are coming. In 2017, there were an estimated 8.4 billion internet-enabled thermostats, cameras, streetlights and other electronics. By 2020 that number could exceed 20 billion, and by 2030 there could be 500 billion or more. Because they’ll… Continue reading Using blockchain to secure the ‘internet of things’

Deterring cyber attacks: old problems, new solutions

Joe Burton, University of Waikato As the investigation into Russia’s interference in the US election deepens, it is becoming obvious that the events in 2016 are just the tip of an iceberg. Ever since the Russian cyber assault on Estonia in 2007, policymakers and cyber security scholars have debated how best to deter cyber attacks… Continue reading Deterring cyber attacks: old problems, new solutions

The public has a vital role to play in preventing future cyber attacks

Sandeep Gopalan, Deakin University Up to 400 Australian organisations may have been snared in a massive hacking incident detailed today. The attack, allegedly engineered by the Russian government, targeted millions of government and private sector machines globally via devices such as routers, switches, and firewalls. This follows a cyber attack orchestrated by Iranian hackers revealed… Continue reading The public has a vital role to play in preventing future cyber attacks

Fax machines and coffee pots – the surprising ways you could be hacked

Keith Martin, Royal Holloway University of London Hopefully you protect your computers from cyber attacks. You might have anti-virus software on your phone, tablet, laptop or desktop. You might avoid using them to visit suspicious websites and carefully protect your various login details. But it’s no longer just what we typically think of as computers… Continue reading Fax machines and coffee pots – the surprising ways you could be hacked