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This weekly blog is to explore the news around the larger issues
around Digital Health, data security, data privacy, AI / ML. technology, social
media and related matters.
I will also try to highlight ADHA
Propaganda when I come upon it.
Just so we keep count, the latest Notes from the ADHA Board were dated
6 December, 2018 and we have seen none since! Its pretty sad!
Note: Appearance here is not to suggest I see any credibility or
value in what follows. I will leave it to the reader to decide what is
worthwhile and what is not! The point is to let people know what is being said
/ published that I have come upon.
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https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/criminals-targeted-for-encrypted-phones/news-story/a80d60c9913a1622255d5730a7a9eb13
Criminals targeted for encrypted phones
David
Murray
·
5:20AM January 9, 2021
Law enforcement agencies are examining ways to fight back
against specially modified encrypted mobile phones that have become central to
organised crime.
The most dominant encrypted phone service in the Australian
underworld, Ciphr, has in recent months alone been connected to massive drug
importations, multimillion-dollar cash seizures, kidnappings and torture.
As many as 10,000 encrypted Ciphr phones are estimated to be in
use nationwide, law enforcement sources say.
It’s a lucrative business in its own right, with users paying
$2500 every six months to be able to communicate securely with other criminals.
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https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/fears-anti-vaxxers-could-derail-vaccination-rollout-20210107-p56sbp.html
Fears anti-vaxxers could derail vaccination rollout
By Jennifer Duke
January 8, 2021 — 5.00am
A
new code tackling disinformation on Facebook, Twitter and Google could be
introduced within weeks, as urgency to limit the risk from online falsehoods
and propaganda grows ahead of the coronavirus vaccination rollout in Australia.
The
social media behemoths have been grappling with how to deal with fake news and
misleading posts on their services during turbulent events over the past year
including the outcome of the US Presidential election and the COVID-19
pandemic.
Twitter
suspended Donald Trump's account on Thursday (local time) after he posted a
video inaccurately saying the election had been stolen from him, while his
supporters stormed Capitol Hill. The attempted coup prompted President Barack
Obama to criticise the Republican party "and its accompanying media
ecosystem" for being unwilling to tell their followers the truth and
creating a "fantasy narrative [that] has spiralled further and further
from reality".
Keeping
misinformation under control has become a major focus of the social media
giants and a voluntary local code to stop the spread of falsehoods online is
expected to be introduced quickly in 2021.
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https://spectrum.ieee.org/riskfactor/telecom/security/2021-cybersecurity-roundup
06 Jan 2021 |
13:00 GMT
2021 Cybersecurity and IT Failures Roundup
Lessons learned from the many failures, interruptions,
crimes and other IT-related setbacks that made the news in 2020
By Robert N. Charette
The
pandemic year just passed once again demonstrates that
IT-related failures are universally unprejudiced. Companies large and small,
sectors private and public, reputations stellar and scorned: none are exempt.
Herewith, the failures, interruptions, crimes and other IT-related
setbacks that made the news in 2020.
Aviation: The Year Without Airline Grinches (Almost)
Over
the past several years, airline
flight delays and cancellations [PDF] related to IT issues have
averaged about one per month. The year 2020 kicked off with “technical
issues” affecting British
Airways’ computerized check-in at London’s Heathrow Airport, which
caused more than 100 flight cancellations with numerous others being
delayed. The outage impacted at least 10,000 passengers’ travel plans over
two days in February. Then in March, as Covid-19 related government travel bans
started to take hold, Delta Air Lines reported, “intermittent
technical difficulties” for bookings and ticket changes.
Once
the travel bans firmly took hold and flying trimmed back to a minimum, however,
there has not been a major IT outage reported since Delta’s. I suspect this
hiatus will not last long, as airline flight schedules start returning closer
to some semblance of “normal,” perhaps (here’s hoping!) later this year.
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https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/technology/facebook-twittter-youtube-block-us-president-donald-trump-amid-washington-violence/news-story/d57511b05f34144029cdd0b94e1752ee
Facebook, Twittter, YouTube block US President Donald
Trump amid Washington violence
David Swan
·
January 7, 2021
Social media giants Twitter and Facebook have suspended US
President Donald Trump’s accounts, after he repeated disputed claims of
election fraud and professed “love” for the mob of protesters who stormed the
Capitol.
Twitter removed three tweets from the President, and warned that
further rule violations would result in a “permanent suspension” of his Twitter
account. It suspended him for 12 hours and threatened to ban his account
altogether.
The company tweeted that the President had committed “repeated and
severe violations of our civic integrity policy”.
“This means the account of @realDonaldTrump will be locked for 12
hours following the removal of these tweets. If the tweets are not removed, the
account will remain locked,” Twitter tweeted.
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https://www.smh.com.au/technology/twitter-suspends-trump-amid-capitol-violence-20210107-p56sde.html
Twitter suspends Trump amid Capitol violence
By Barbara
Ortutay and David Klepper
January 7, 2021 — 12.10pm
Twitter
has suspended the account of President Donald Trump for 12 hours after he
repeatedly posted false accusations about the election after his supporters
stormed the Capitol following a Trump rally.
Twitter
said that future violations by Trump would result in a permanent suspension.
Earlier
in the day, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube all removed a short video from Trump
in which he urged those supporters Wednesday to “go home” while also repeating
falsehoods about the integrity of the presidential election.
Trump
posted that video more than two hours after protesters entered the Capitol,
interrupting lawmakers meeting in an extraordinary joint session to confirm the
Electoral College results and President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.
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https://www.afr.com/companies/media-and-marketing/google-doubles-down-on-claims-news-bargaining-code-will-break-search-20210106-p56s5w
Google doubles down on claims news bargaining code will
'break' search
Miranda Ward Reporter
Jan 6, 2021 –
5.31pm
Google
Australia has doubled down on disputed claims that a new bargaining code will
affect its search function and asserted the government's proposed laws will advantage
some media businesses over others.
The
push-back came as Google's local boss Mel Silva claimed the company's $1.3
billion global licensing program was the best means for the search giant
to negotiate with media companies and pay for content.
In
response to the competition regulator's findings that there was a power
imbalance between digital companies and traditional media companies, the
government proposed a new law and bargaining code.
The
legislation encourages Google and Facebook to strike deals with media
publishers that would ensure the news creators were paid by the technology
giants for their journalism.
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https://www.afr.com/companies/financial-services/cyber-attacks-may-trigger-next-crisis-for-banks-20201221-p56pbd
Cyber attacks may trigger next crisis for banks
James Eyers Senior
Reporter
Jan 7, 2021 –
12.00am
As
banks continue to grapple with the pandemic crisis amid fresh outbreaks, the
prudential regulator wants the entire financial sector to fortify its defences
against the next potential threat:
a damaging cyber attack on banks or the payments system.
With
the latest outbreaks of COVID-19 in Sydney and Melbourne set to prolong remote
working, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority is concerned security
breaches may undermine confidence in the financial system. It is keen to
identify points of weakness as more banks connect with fintechs and rely on outside
technology players.
“The
risks, as we see them, are growing all the time and the sophistication of the
actors is also growing all the time,” said APRA chairman Wayne Byres, flagging
a more intense focus on “operational resilience” in 2021.
Describing
the financial system as “a piece of Australia’s critical infrastructure like
the electricity or telecommunication network,” he told The
Australian Financial Review that banks, insurers and super funds
should never consider work on cyber defence completed – even though the
challenges of 2020 were largely well managed.
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https://www.theage.com.au/world/north-america/sweeping-hack-of-us-government-likely-russian-in-origin-20210106-p56s17.html
Sweeping hack of US government 'likely Russian in
origin'
By Eric Tucker
January 6, 2021 — 8.42am
Washington:
Top national security agencies in a rare joint statement have confirmed that
Russia was likely responsible for a massive hack of US government departments
and corporations, rejecting President Donald Trump's claim that China might be
to blame.
The
statement represented the government's first formal attempt to assign responsibility
for the breaches at several agencies and to assign a possible motive for the
operation. It said the hacks appeared to be part of an
“intelligence-gathering," suggesting the evidence so far pointed to a
Russian spying effort rather than an attempt to damage or disrupt US government
operations.
“This
is a serious compromise that will require a sustained and dedicated effort to
remediate,” said the statement, distributed by a cyber working group comprised
of the FBI and other investigative agencies.
US
officials, including Attorney General William Barr and Secretary of State Mike
Pompeo, and cybersecurity experts have previously said Russia was to blame. But
Trump, in a series of tweets late last month, sought to downplay the severity
of the hack and raised the unsubstantiated idea that China could be
responsible.
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https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/another-level-insurers-chase-data-as-sector-fights-for-relevance-20201123-p56h61.html
'Another level': Insurers chase data as sector fights
for relevance
By Emma Koehn
January 5,
2021 — 12.00am
As private
health insurers battled elective surgery shutdowns, shrinking margins and
economic uncertainties throughout 2020, funds started discussing data science
in more detail — and pinning hopes on digital engagement to turn around their
fortunes.
The health
insurance sector, which research firm Ibisworld estimates was worth $25 billion
in 2020, had initially expected the COVID-19 lockdowns to translate into extra
profits. Funds had predicted restrictions on elective surgery would result in
fewer of these claims being made, putting insurers in a better financial
position throughout 2020.
However,
those expectations were dashed when a restart of allied health and surgeries
forced funds to add "deferred claims" provisions to their 2020
balance sheets.
Meanwhile,
quarterly data from the Australian Prudential and Regulatory Authority (APRA)
suggested margins for the industry were shrinking further as younger
Australians ditched the private health system in droves. As of the September 2020
quarter, the net margin across the sector sat at just over 2 per cent.
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https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/the-times/big-tech-is-only-going-to-get-a-whole-lot-bigger-bring-on-2021/news-story/3ab1e4e2d8be77095d926b59f32dc59d
Big Tech is only going to get a whole lot bigger: bring
on 2021
·
By Danny Fortson
·
The Times
·
9:33PM January 3, 2021
The world was turned upside down in 2020 with industries torn
apart and millions thrown into unemployment.
The US technology giants not only rose above the carnage but
gained from it, strengthening their positions at the heart of how we live, what
we buy, who we talk to, and what we watch, listen to and consume.
So what will 2021 bring for Big Tech? Five predictions:
Amazon will rival FedEx
The Seattle-based giant has been building towards this moment for
some time. It has ordered 100,000 delivery vans and built a giant air fleet.
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https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/technology/aicd-round-table-pandemic-puts-cybersecurity-in-the-spotlight-for-directors/news-story/cefc036f47309d6cd9118f55ff585e84
AICD round table: Pandemic puts cybersecurity in the
spotlight for directors
Glenda
Korporaal
·
4:01PM January 3, 2021
Cybersecurity
is now one of the “hot topics” of Australian boardrooms, accelerated by the big
increase in e-commerce as a result of the pandemic and having more staff
working from home.
A
round table of leading company directors organised for The Australian by the
Australian Institute of Company Directors was told that companies were
concerned that Australia had a shortage of skills when it came to dealing with
cybersecurity.
They
said companies needed to be more vigilant in dealing with suppliers to ensure
they also had high levels of cybersecurity.
“It’s
definitely at the forefront,” said Coles director Wendy Stops, who is a member
of the council of the University of Melbourne and former director of the
Commonwealth Bank.
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Comments more
than welcome!
David.
