australia Archives - IT Security Guru

Australian Home Affairs Leaks Sensitive Information Of Cybersecurity Survey Respondents

The Gurus — Wed, 26 Jul 2023 14:14:29 +0000

The Australian Home Affairs department may want to bury their heads in the sand after accidentally exposing sensitive information of more than 50 small business survey participants. Why were they being surveyed? Ironically, to get their thoughts on cybersecurity.

It is believed the names, business names, phone numbers and emails of the participants in the survey were released on the parliament website in response to a question for a government cybersecurity report.

The report is part of a wider initiative that was launched in the wake of last year’s Optus and Medibank cyber attacks – two high-profiled attacks that impacted Australia significantly. Australia’s Cyber Wardens program – which went on to receive $23.4m in the May budget – is aimed at training small businesses and the workforce to be “cyber smart” and aware of possible cyber threats.

The following cybersecurity experts offered their insights on the incident:

Erfan Shadabi, cybersecurity expert at comforte AG:

The incident highlights the importance of adopting robust data-centric security measures to safeguard sensitive information effectively. As cyber threats continue to evolve, it is crucial for government agencies and businesses alike to prioritize data-centric security as a fundamental aspect of their cybersecurity strategy. Proactive measures are vital to safeguarding personal information, fostering a secure digital ecosystem for individuals and organizations alike.Data-centric security revolves around securing the data itself rather than solely focusing on perimeter defence. It involves implementing encryption, access controls, and data masking techniques, ensuring that even if a breach occurs, the data remains encrypted and indecipherable to unauthorized individuals.

Erich Kron, Security Awareness Advocate at KnowBe4:

The irony that data was leaked in response to a survey about cybersecurity should not be lost here. This simply illustrates how easy it is for organisations to accidentally become a party to an accidental disclosure of sensitive information. It goes without saying that collecting private information is a task that must be taken seriously at any time, however, when the topic related to the information collection is something like cybersecurity, it looks very bad indeed when the information is not protected.

Organisations often find that accidental information leakage or data breaches can significantly harm an organisation’s reputation, even if it is not at a large scale. The old adage that any press is good press, can certainly be proven false in this case.

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Apple says banks can't touch iPhone NFC without harming security

The Gurus — Wed, 10 Aug 2016 11:55:40 +0000

Apple has argued that allowing banks to use iPhone NFC chips independently of Apple Pay would compromise the phones’ security. The argument has been aired in Apple’s response to the four Australia Banks who have requested permission to negotiate with Apple as a bloc rather than join Apple Pay. The banks want their own apps to be able to use iPhones’ wireless payment parts and to get a slice of the cut Apple takes on each Apple Pay transaction, and asked regulator the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) if they could negotiate as a bloc.

Original Source: The Register
View the full story here.

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Australia sets up specialist cyber unit to trace terrorism payments

The Gurus — Tue, 09 Aug 2016 09:46:47 +0000

Australia has set up a cyber-intelligence unit to identify terrorism financing, money laundering and financial fraud online, the government said on Tuesday, because of “unprecedented” threats to national security.
The measure expands on a major platform of conservative Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who narrowly won re-election last month after promising to improve Australia’s cybersecurity and transform the economy into a tech-savvy business hub.
Justice Minister Michael Keenan said the new unit, set up under money-tracking agency the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC), would investigate online payment platforms and financial cybercrime to crack down on money-laundering and criminal networks.
Original Source: Reuters
Read full story here

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Telekom Austria says mobile service was hit by cyber attack

The Gurus — Wed, 03 Feb 2016 10:44:16 +0000

Telekom Austria’s mobile internet service was hit by a cyber attack that caused temporary access outages for millions of users in its home market from Friday until late Monday, it said on Tuesday.
The company also repelled an attack on its Austrian fixed-line internet infrastructure on Tuesday, a spokesman said.
No personal data was stolen, the spokesman said.

Original Source: Reuters
View the full story here

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20KB trojan turns on banks in Singapore, Indonesia

The Gurus — Tue, 19 Jan 2016 10:22:41 +0000

The infamous Tinba financial trojan has been updated and is now targeting banks in the Asia Pacific region.
Malware bods from security company F5 refer to the fifth iteration of the trojan as Tinbapore since it began moving 70 percent of its infection base to the region.
About 30 percent of infections are located Singapore and 20 percent in Indonesia. Only five percent are in Australia.

Original source: The Register
View the full story here

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