September
How CrowdStrike’s outage became Australia’s big cyberattack rehearsal
Qantas chairman John Mullen got the “blue screen of death” while Telstra’s cyber chief Narelle Devine was in the pool sipping cocktails when she got the call that something was seriously wrong.
- Tess Bennett and Paul Smith
Cyberspies phone businesses to warn of danger but half don’t respond
The Australian Signals Directorate’s new director-general Abigail Bradshaw says there is a stigma to being attacked, but it is costly for companies.
- Max Mason
August
Labor’s silence is TikTok’s boon
The federal government may have banned TikTok on government-issued devices, but the Australian public has been left to its own devices.
- Max Mason
July
- Analysis
- Government Observed
Tech meltdown revealed a fundamental flaw in plain sight
The global CrowdStrike breakdown revealed just how much of the global IT system is built on inherently unsafe code.
- Tom Burton
The unmasking of Chinese hacking group APT40
The group that hit the headlines this week is just one part of a vast hacking machine that operates far beyond China.
- Jessica Sier
Labor under pressure to confront China over hacking
The government is under pressure to confront Beijing after its main counterintelligence agency named a hacking group linked to China’s Ministry of State Security.
- Updated
- Tom McIlroy and Nick Bonyhady
June
Rare earths miner hacked after Chinese investors ordered out
A ransomware group has posted CEO emails and sensitive commercial data from miner Northern Minerals on the dark web after Chinese investors were ordered to sell.
- Paul Smith, Elouise Fowler and Andrew Tillett
March
Inside Australia’s turbocharged battle against hackers
Australian Signals Directorate boss Rachel Noble says the agency’s $5 billion threat-sharing partnership with Microsoft is a “force multiplier”.
- Max Mason
November 2023
Cyber spy agency wants lawyers ‘out of the room’ when crisis strikes
The Albanese government looks set to address a call for US-style “limited use” co-operation rules, to help Australia’s top cyber spy agency assist companies facing cybercrime.
- Jacob Greber
A top spy shares her best career advice for success
The woman running one of Australia’s key intelligence agencies is not a morning person, schedules meetings after 9.30am, and most fears the threat from within.
- Tom Burton
October 2023
- Opinion
- AI
New data centres mean surging power needs
The rush is on build new data centres, but their massive energy requirements are adding to strain on the power grid.
- Jennifer Hewett
Microsoft alliance opens door to private spending on national security
Former national cybersecurity adviser Alastair MacGibbon says the government cannot hope to fight off cyber threats without big-money private operators.
- Tess Bennett
PM unveils $5b big tech spend as he arrives in US
Microsoft will invest billions of dollars as it partners with Australia’s cyber spy agency and provides digital skills training for 300,000 people.
- Andrew Tillett
September 2023
‘Transparency can be challenging’: firm delayed contacting hack victims
Cybersecurity co-ordinator Air Marshal Darren Goldie says there are times that being transparent about hacks needs to be balanced against causing harm and anxiety.
- Max Mason
- Opinion
- Cyber Summit
Labor’s throwing six cybersecurity shields around Australia
Co-ordinated national action to make the whole more protective than the sum of the parts is the best defence against digital attacks.
- Clare O'Neil
August 2023
Strong practical help for firms hit by cyberattack
Firms and public agencies hit by cyberattacks are being promised a quick, compassionate and discreet response, aimed at minimising harms, says cyber defence leader, Abigail Bradshaw
- Tom Burton
Law firms ‘choosing to pay ransoms’ to cybercriminals
Law firms “tick every box” for hackers, and more than 20 local firms have been targeted, according to a data security expert.
- Michael Pelly
May 2023
- Analysis
- Government Observed
Why Australia needs a single digital regulator
Just as a new approach was needed to modify the excesses of 19th-century US railway titans, governments need to rethink how they ensure the internet benefits all.
- Tom Burton
- Exclusive
- Cybersecurity
Hackers turn up the heat on HWL Ebsworth
The criminals are attempting to make Australia’s largest legal partnership pay a ransom as the law firm deals with the fallout of a big breach.
- Max Mason and Michael Pelly
March 2023
Company directors playing cyber ‘whack-a-mole’
Corrs Chambers Westgarth technology head James North says breach reporting is “incredibly difficult” and wants it streamlined.
- Lucas Baird