NAB unit Medfin target of cyber hit
A NAB unit that works with doctors has revealed it was a cyber attack victim just days before the government revealed a wider attack across the nation.
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David Swan 8.30pm: Cyber hit on NAB unit
NAB subsidiary Medfin has revealed it was the victim of an attempted cyber attack, just days before prime minister Scott Morrison warned that Australia was being hit by ongoing, widespread cyber intrusions.
In a statement on issued on Thursday, Medfin chief executive Paul Freeman said no NAB infrastructure or data had been affected by the attempt, which occurred on June 14.
“We have conducted an investigation and currently there is no evidence to suggest that personal information has been affected. However, we think it’s the right thing to do to let our customers know what has occurred and to advise them of the steps we are taking to keep them safe,” Mr Freeman said.
“Medfin strongly condemns this malicious activity and continues to focus on protecting and serving our customers.”
The wholly-owned bank subsidiary provides financial services for medical practictioners.
Mr Freeman said Medfin has been working with NAB’s cyber security team and the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) as part of its investigations.
It’s unknown who was behind the attempt.
“We’d like to thank our customers for their understanding and ongoing support. This event also demonstrates how important it is for all of us to be vigilant to the cyber security landscape due to the ever evolving and malicious intent of these types of attacks,” Mr Freeman said.
Mr Morrison said on June 19 that a “sophisticated state-based cyber actor” was “currently” attacking Australian organisations.
“This activity is targeting Australian organisations across a range of sectors, including all levels of government, industry, political organisations, education, health, essential service providers and operators of other critical infrastructure,” he said.
Chris Griffith 12.20pm: Zoom revamps video call security
Video conferencing platform Zoom has answered its critics, releasing a 90-day report on new security measures designed to eradicate issues raised as the platform’s take-up skyrocketed during virus lockdowns.
Zoom has been used for family meetings, one-to-one catch-ups, business get-togethers, social gatherings and even virtual choirs, among other uses.
Zoom Head of APAC, Michael Chetner, in an interview with The Australian today, says the Silicon Valley-based service went from 10 million participants before COVID-19 to 300 million participants now. However security issues saw Zoom suspend its general development program for three months to build extra security features into its platform.
The review was led by its CEO billionaire Eric Yuan, who more than a decade earlier worked for rival video conferencing platform WebEX, where he was corporate vice president of engineering at the time WebEx was acquired by CISCO in 2007.
Today Mr Yuan released a promised 90-days report into the review which Zoom undertook from April through to June.
After public concerns surfaced about the security of Zoom and practices such as “Zoom bombing”, where uninvited guests could raid Zoom meetings and post obscenities, Zoom has beefed up security and given meeting hosts new controls over who attends in a version newly rolled out called Zoom 5.0.
12.14pm: Dicker tips 25pc interim profit jump
Dicker Data has guided to a 25 per cent jump in half year profits as its software and cloud distribution services have been in demand during the pandemic.
The group, led by namesake David Dicker, said this morning it expected revenue for the half to June 30 to jump by 18.3pc to $1.007bn, helping profits to surge by 25pc to $40m.
It comes after a record revenue month in June, with $224m generated over the period.
DDR shares are up 8.2pc to $7.58.
Read more at our business live blog.
11.50am: ‘A bold Australia can stake its claim’
While the rest of the world slowly re-emerges from lockdown, Australia risks missing a huge opportunity to take advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic and redefine both our economy and our future.
While the immediate response to the coronavirus pandemic helped buttress the economy, we are now looking to a post COVID-19 world. Rather than see 2020 as a lost year, we should consider it a watershed, a reset button, a clean slate to seize the opportunity and reject a ‘business as usual’ resumption of the economy. Instead, Australia must develop a long-term data-led, digital economy for the future. Multiple factors push us in this direction.
After navigating COVID-19, we now have the impetus for change. The pandemic shifted our perspective on many things; it quashed myths regarding work from anywhere, increased efficiency and productivity, and accelerated our adoption of new technologies. In doing so, it highlighted how reliant we are on technology infrastructure and how adaptable we are when to forced change, writes Lee Thompson.
10.10am: Tesla becomes world’s richest car company
Tesla has engineered its latest coup, becoming the world’s richest car company while two of Detroit’s old guard, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler, reported sagging auto sales amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Led by Elon Musk, Tesla has seen ups and downs but its shares have risen steadily since late 2019 as it met key production targets for its Model 3 car, with the automaker topping Japan’s Toyota in market valuation.
The company still sells only a fraction of the autos of the Big Three, yet it has captivated investors’ imaginations as a bet on the future under charismatic leader Musk, who has challenged conventional wisdom on CEO comportment while also trying to shift the industry towards electric cars.
Chris Griffith 8.30am: CSIRO grows lungs to test virus remedies
Australian scientists are growing human airway cells to study respiratory viruses such as COVID-19.
Researchers at Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, found that lab-grown cells from the upper layer of the airway to the lungs – the human bronchial epithelium – reliably mimic a live person’s airway’s response to viruses.
Lead author CSIRO research scientist Elizabeth Pharo says clinical trials for new therapeutics can take time and money, only for researchers to frequently discover that the treatment doesn‘t work in people.
“We found that our lab-grown airway cells mimic the human airway response to viruses and can be used to quickly test whether antiviral treatments might work against a virus in a real person.
“This way we can ‘fast fail’ antivirals before they get to the clinical trial stage, helping streamline the more promising ones through to human testing.”
Dr Pharo says the airway model can potentially be used to screen up to 100 antiviral compounds within three months, and CSIRO is exploring ways to accelerate screening including the use of robotic technology.
She says scientists at the Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness in Geelong are using this model to study how the virus that causes COVID-19 infects and damages healthy donor airway cells, compared to cells from donors with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or diabetes.
“It’s hoped this work will help improve our understanding of how COVID-19 may affect people with pre-existing lung conditions,” she says.
8.15am: Tech giants to testify
The chief executives of Google parent Alphabet, Amazon, Apple and Facebook have agreed to testify before the US Congress on antitrust issues in late July.
The four companies are the subject of investigations by the US Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission into their business practices and the substantial clout they wield over the tech industry and the economy.
Amazon has previously said it would make CEO Jeff Bezos available to testify this summer. Facebook declined comment. Alphabet and Apple were not immediately available for comment.
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