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Information security

October

Zac Midalia, managing director at Alceon Private Equity with EFEX CEO Nick Sheehan.

Advent buys stake in Alceon’s IT services business Efex

The deal valued Efex at $100 million to $200 million, implying a big payday for Alceon’s backers who bought in when it was worth $54.4 million less in late 2021.

Frequent flyer details are among the Qantas data stolen by hackers.

Qantas frequent flyer details, meal choices among 5.7m records leaked

The airline confirmed hackers have carried out their threat of releasing stolen data on the dark web after software supplier Salesforce refused to pay a ransom.

September

Fortescue’s Vannessa Van Beek.

‘Whole attack surface has changed’: Fake financials are a thing

The scam economy now includes fake information, fake executive profiles and fake jobs programs. Imagine if algorithms wreaking havoc on the ASX got involved.

Facial recognition easily passes the public safety test because of the recent rise in verbal and violent attacks on staff and customers.

Faceless bureaucrats are opposing facial recognition in stores

To not allow the technology would be equivalent to the failures of regulators and governments on the safety of children in childcare centres.

August

In Pictures: August 2025

August is reporting season. Among the numbers and chief executives, Australian Financial Review photographers have captured art, fashion and culture.

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June

AI is fuelling demand for cloud computing and data centres.

Move over industry, data centres are rolling in

What does it say about Australia’s future when energy-hungry data centre owners replace old-fashioned industrial manufacturers?

The superannuation breach occurred using a technique called “credential stuffing”, which cybersecurity firms warn were likely harvested using malware.

APRA threatens to fine superannuation executives

APRA has written to superannuation funds with a deadline to fix a key cybersecurity flaw in the $4.2 trillion sector.

April

Your iPhone is a target for thieves. Do this to help protect your data

Taking a few precautions, you can dramatically reduce the fallout that comes with a lost or stolen handset.

Donald Trump also levelled his strongest criticism to date against Vladimir Putin.

UK names Russia as a top-level foreign influence threat

The move means that anyone who does business with Russian agencies must register their activity with British authorities.

March

The companies have agreed to a breakup fee of about 10 per cent of the deal value if the deal doesn’t close,.

Google just agreed to its biggest acquisition ever

The whopping $50 billion deal provides its cloud business with new cybersecurity products to offer customers as it works to catch up with Microsoft and Amazon.

February

Greg Boorer, CEO and founder of CDC Data Centres, has built a hugely valuable and fast-growing company from scratch.

Canberra Data Centres worth $17b after $2b share sale

The founder expects the company to triple in the next five years after the Future Fund and Infratil increased their holdings.

January

Michael Gianarakis is the co-founder and chief executive of Assetnote.

Brisbane ‘ethical hackers’ bank $100m payday from UK buyer

Assetnote was founded in 2018 and counts major companies including Qantas and Atlassian as clients, helping them find weaknesses in their cybersecurity.

December 2024

Alceon Private Equity co-head Zac Midalia and Efex CEO Nick Sheehan.

Alceon’s IT biz Efex acquires specialist Medihost Solutions

Medihost marks Efex’s fourth bolt-on acquisition this year, as it aims to become the No.1 IT services provider to small-to-medium enterprises.

November 2024

Atturra CEO Stephen Kowal and Cirrus Networks boss Chris McLaughlin.

IT group Atturra on M&A trail; upsizes raise to $76.5m

The company’s brokers, Barrenjoey Capital Partners and Unified Capital Partners, have split the cash call into a $60.5 million placement and a $6 million share purchase plan.

IMG boss Dennison Hambling.

Intelligent Monitoring to acquire WA’s Dataline; raising $20m

In tandem with the $20 million raise, IMG’s largest shareholder, Hong Kong-based PE firm Black Crane Capital, was also seeking buyers for its 11 per cent stake.

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October 2024

Small business want protection from Labor’s proposed overhaul of privacy laws.

Small business wants out of privacy laws as data breaches rise 215pc

The small business lobby is pushing to limit the reach of Labor’s overhaul of the Privacy Act to firms with annual turnover above $10 million, up from the current threshold of $3 million.

September 2024

Jon Waldron outside the Downing Centre District Court last month.

Ex CBA banker Jon Waldron jailed for bribery

The former CBA technology executive was sentenced to a maximum of six years and eight months prison on Friday, following a conviction in May.

Privacy Commissioner Carly Kind.

Labor’s plan for protecting your privacy: hope the internet disappears

The Albanese government has squibbed at nearly 40 key privacy reforms and given in to an outdated argument that Australia is a nation of shopkeepers.

AirTrunk’s deals have been themed around Star Wars, with the company’s chief financial officer a fan of the sci-fi series.

Inside Project Amidala: AirTrunk’s $24b deal

Four years ago, Blackstone missed its chance to buy up the data centre giant. It wasn’t about to make the same mistake twice, even if it cost $24 billion.

July 2024

Long queues of passengers at the check-in counters at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila, amid the global IT disruption caused by the  Microsoft outage.

What caused the huge global IT outage?

Friday’s international meltdown is an example of how a minor technical change, made by a company unknown to most outside the IT industry, can wreak havoc.

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/information-security-5ym