News & Thoughts
Unlike every other security podcast, we don’t get stuck down in the technical weeds. Our remit is to speak with experts around the globe at the strategic level – how security technology can improve the experience and risk optimisation for every organisation.
New Articles
Goodix Pushes Boundaries in IoT Innovations with Next-Generation Sensing & Connectivity Solutions
SHENZHEN, China , May 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Goodix Technology showcased its expanded product portfolio with major breakthroughs in sensing and connectivity solutions at the 2022 Goodix Tech Seminar in Shenzhen, China . Based on the company's strategic layout, ... read more
Gigamon strengthens APAC and ASEAN senior management team with key hires
With the announcement, Gigamon reinforces its commitment to regional channel partners and the strengthening of customer relationships SINGAPORE , May 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ ... read more
Article Archive
The Collateral Damage of Carpet Bombing
HISTORY The attention of consumers has always been an arms race. Historically you needed the biggest papyrus on the wall in the forum, or TV spots, or billboards, or postal campaigns to reach consumers – a prohibitively costly exercise for most. This saw a concentration of high-value and (hopefully) well produced advertising. It was designed to not be objectionable (even if irrelevant), and though a broadcast, it was easy to behaviourally avoid on TV or cognitively ignore if traditional print. We all made peace with it and got on with our lives. CHANGE The early days of digital were not much of a departure with banner ads and the like just digital facsimiles of the analogue world. Then the ubiquity of email and spam saga that lead to ‘peak spam’ being 80% of email traffic saw filters come into play and legislation passed to relegate much of the deluge. With Google and ... READ MORE
Burgers and Privacy – Interview with Jon Lawrence
Since I got in the middle of the privacy community in Sydney, I am particularly interested the challenges both vulnerable individuals and organisations face. Just a few weeks ago, I had an unpleasant experience at the doctor whereby my sensitive health details got mixed up with someone else's. Various organisations work hard in Australia to not let things like this happen to anyone. One of the groups I have been following recently is Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA). It grabbed my attention recently as a fresh new board got elected just last month and since then, the community around the organisation seems to be revitalised. EFA is not only one of the biggest privacy and digital rights group in Australia, but it is working for the community for more than 2 years. What I found personally interesting is that the EFA chair is a woman for the first time ever, and there are a ... READ MORE
The Home Of The Free*
*Terms and Conditions apply. SITUATION Cambridge Analytica was involved in a firestorm recently following reports spearheaded by The New York Times that it'd obtained and used data on over 50 million Facebook consumers with the goal to promote the presidential campaign of Donald Trump. Part of its pitch to brands and candidates has been its expertise in ‘psychographic profiling’, meaning it could build models of users with nearly mythic ability to hyper-target messaging on social networks. This work is based not just on traditional demographics like age, gender, and location, but they tout they can map people's habits, values, political inclinations, and the best way to manipulate each individual segment all extrapolated from their data with astounding accuracy. Naughty. The revelation obliterated users’ perceptions of privacy and vulnerability, triggering debate as to how ... READ MORE
ISACA ANZ | Cyber-safe Christmas
Introduction: It’s that time of year, again; Christmas! This isn’t always a happy and joyous time for everyone, especially with what we've all been through to one degree or tuther in 2020. We wanted to ensure that retailers are improving their security posture to help better protect their customers from any further difficulties when looking to find the perfect gift for their partner, Mother-In Law, or for their little ones. We spoke with Greg Touhill from ISACA to capture some pointers for retailers in the lead-up to this Christmas. - KB Top Seven Tips For Retailers To Sell Safely This Christmas The Christmas season is an important time for retailers as it represents the peak buying period for consumers, with 71% of retailers in Australia identifying that online sales are expected to exceed the same period last year, according to Deloitte Consulting. It is also a ... READ MORE
How AI is Improving Value Perception within the Retail Sector
AI for Retail I have been attending a few events within the retail sector and a lot of touched on artificial intelligence. Knowing Jo and his background, I wanted him to share his thoughts and luckily enough it was an area he was heavily involved in already. Have a read of what Jo had to say and don't forget to follow him on LinkedIn. The impending market entry by Amazon into the Australian market and deep price discounting strategies from challenger brands are sending shock waves in most boardrooms. The battle to win-back and retain customers continues to intensify with most traditional retailers in Australia actively participating in price wars to remain competitive. These myopic ‘red ocean’ strategies are knee-jerk reactions to stimulate short-term sales momentum, however, eroding long-term profitability. Pricing is not just about pricing. Customers don’t evaluate ... READ MORE
Phishing Is the Top Reason Behind Australian Data Breaches
The latest Notifiable Data Breaches Quarterly Statistics Report by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) confirms that half of the reported data breaches in July to September 2018 quarter are attributable to phishing. According to the report, the top five sectors by data breach notifications in the last quarter were: Health service providers Finance Legal, accounting & management services Education Personal services Out of these top vulnerable industries, 'Legal, accounting & management services' is the most affected by a diverse range of hacking and phishing attacks (categorised as 'cyber incidents') – as the latest Notifiable Data Breaches Quarterly Statistics Report confirms. Australian businesses at risk of cybercrime The OAIC report corresponds to the often cited Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report stating that ... READ MORE
How Economists Can Help Protect Personal Data
If you are about to hand over your private details in exchange for a store loyalty card, are you confident that your data remains in safe hands? It can be difficult to predict if the supermarket manages your sensitive details securely and responsibly. The company may store them on vulnerable servers waiting for hackers to attack. Also, your data might be sold to data brokers for things like targeted advertising and political purposes. Companies are often opaque with their data management practices, and it can be difficult to understand what is happening once our private details are handed over. This article borrows a few solutions from economics and attempts to apply them to questionable data handling practices. Identity Verification in Australia One of my pet peeves is the ‘100 points check’. In Australia we rely on this personal identification system for things like job ... READ MORE
TikTok – Not a Shock?
The new app on the block; TikTok has been on our radar for a while; in a way that was questionable in terms of the value it provided, but even bigger concerns about the security and privacy side of it. READ MORE
Infoxchange, Putting The Change In People
I don't think I am the best public speaker, however, I was lucky enough to speak to these students. I presented to the students about my career so far. For any recruiter who would read my CV, they would always say that I have a "unique" background. For those who don't know me personally, I was born in Queensland, with parents who owned cane farms and I went to Agricultural College. I was also a competitive horse rider and I was inseparable from my horses. All I wanted to do was work in the Northern Territory on a cattle property, but then that all changed. I also have a fashion degree, the fact that I now work in Information Technology almost surprises me. Some might say that my "unique" background is a bad thing, but one thing it has taught me is adaptability and I see things from a different perspective through the various industries I have worked in. The one thing that I did ... READ MORE
What’s up Doc?
So I am pretty bad at going to the doctor on time, yes I am one of those people who get the overdue notifications on the weekly. I finally had enough courage to turn up to get my regular medication. Generally, when doctors release scripts it’s one of those situations where you put your script in your bag and run out. When I needed to return back to the doctor, overdue of course. I realised that when I was consulting my nurse, they asked me my date of birth, which is totally normal. But then I heard this awkward silence, “that is not correct Miss Breen”. I was actually super concerned that I couldn’t remember my date of birth…#awkward. The doctor then called me by a different name, and it wasn’t Karissa… it was some randoms name! I then took back the script to realise that the document was actually not my script… it was in fact someone else’s! I perused the document and yep ... READ MORE
Women Needed in Cyber for Australia’s Economic Prosperity
Many of you in the cybersecurity industry already know about my dedication and passion to encourage more women to enter into and remain in the cybersecurity and broader tech sector. Having spoken around the world at numerous conferences, founded ISACA’s SheLeadsTech program, and participated in the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in 2018, 2019, and 2020, I accepted KBI’s invitation to contribute monthly to the blog without hesitation. Despite the improvements made in organisations’ gender equity programs, we still have a long way to go. And KBI’s mission to be a voice in cyber and address ongoing issues for the betterment of the industry is playing a key role. So, I applaud KB and the company’s efforts and appreciate the opportunity to continue to explore and increase female representation through education and knowledge-sharing. In fact, the overwhelming ... READ MORE
Five Ways to Identify Phishing Emails
As phishing emails come in different shapes and formats, there is no silver bullet to identify a phishing email. However, there is a collection of red flags you should be looking for before clicking on a new message. Here is our up-to-date guide to help you recognise the latest email-based scams. What is phishing? Phishing is a cyber-attack typically carried out over email. In a nutshell, cybercriminals aim to trick their victims into clicking a link or attachment, giving their password away or asking for money by pretending to be a legitimate online service, client, supplier, friend or colleague. Strong indicators that an email might be deceptive Although other clues are available, the following indicators are the main methods of deciding whether an email is genuine or not: Sender Policy Framework (SPF) violations The sender’s display name and/or email address is ... READ MORE