Mike Cannon-Brookes is rich, politically active and keen to share his views on Twitter. It makes the software billionaire an ideal target for those putting together a database of influential Australians.

But it is not Mr Cannon-Brookes' presence on the Overseas Key Individuals Database which is noteworthy, but how an algorithm written in Shenzhen, by a programmer who may not even speak English, has so comprehensively found the pressure points.