I was recently invited to participate in a panel discussion for CISO A/NZ, which including touching on the subject of this article. Wearing my hat as the Vice President of the Information Technology Professionals Association (ITPA), I joined other seasoned experts to provide input on how to best address strengthening culture around IT and cybersecurity. With the ever-increasing cyber footprint, as well as new technology evolving at pace, we need to ensure professionals in our industry maintain a high level of standards and implement best practices.
Is the news media bargaining code a victory for all Australian news content producers, or is it just big tech versus big news media? Over the past few months, the Australian Government and ‘tech giants’ have been at odds over the (soon to be implemented) News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code. The stated motivation for this code is “… to address a bargaining power imbalance that exists between digital platforms and Australian news businesses which was identified in the Final Report of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s Digital Platforms Inquiry.” Essentially, the Australian Government decided that Australian news content providers were not being compensated adequately, which sounds reasonable on face value.
In education IT we have a phrase — ‘technical solution to a people problem’ — to describe the use of technology to solve a behavioural problem that would be better solved simply by having people behave more sensibly or by following existing rules… rather than trying to implement increasingly baroque limits with technology, which are invariably bypassed because the problem is that the user isn’t respecting the rules in the first place. When it comes to COVID-19 contact tracing, it has become clear that Bluetooth-based contact tracing is a technical solution to a public health problem. This applies to both the COVIDSafe app, which is technically deficient in multiple ways, as well the Google/Apple Exposure Notification, which is conceptually deficient.
Before I get on my soapbox and discuss the problem of old technology versus security in today’s world, I’d like to share a bit of history of my experiences on internet, security and internet security. Like a lot of technology enthusiasts around my age, I started my life on the internet with dial-up and Windows 98SE. (Others would have used Windows 95–ME.) I’ve seen the transitions from dial-up to DSL to speeds that we used to only dream of. I was around when Microsoft ‘enforced’ (I’ll use the term loosely here) the use of the built-in firewall for Windows XP with Service Pack 2. I saw the attacks coming through for Wannacry, ILOVEYOU, Mydoom.
What a year. COVID-19 has left barely any aspect of our lives untouched, but in IT the change and acceleration it has wrought led to the pandemic being called ‘CIO of the year’ back in April. And it deserves that title, having shown businesses the value and necessity of investment in IT for working from home and without physical contact. Most of these technologies have been around for a while, and often employees were asking to use them but being refused by recalcitrant IT departments. Let’s go through some of them.
The COVID-19 pandemic that began sweeping the globe in early 2020 has resulted in several effects that have significantly changed many people’s lives. One of these changes is in how and where people work. Although it could be (rightfully) argued that many employers had already understood and embraced the advantages of true workplace flexibility, it was not until the realities of the pandemic set in that the shift took place in earnest.
I would like to pose some questions to you regarding recruitment and the current marketplace. This topic came up in discussion with a couple of friends who are looking for new jobs; specifically the pros and cons of short-term contracts, job hopping and trying to find a place that fits for both the employee and the employer. I would be interested in hearing your opinion on this — either as an employee or an employer/recruiter — and what you think the solution(s) might be.
The education sector has had a rapid infusion of technology thanks to COVID-19, but it hasn’t gone smoothly or equally at all schools. As someone who works for a school, I was on the frontline of this, and I’ve also read a lot about how other schools approached the challenge. Here’s what I’ve observed.
After months of disruption and unease, we seem to be entering a new phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, what exactly that phase is depends on who you ask, and where you are in the world… or indeed, within Australia. This uncertainty is perhaps as damaging to the economy as the actual lockdown. I don’t think anyone can accurately state that they know what will happen next. Questions such as Will there be another outbreak in NSW?, When will they develop a vaccine?, Is it actually safe to send my kids with medical condition (x) to school? and What’s up with geopolitics? really won’t be answerable for some time yet.
It’s been a very busy year for the IT industry in Australia, with a number of significant developments during the past 12 months.