Privacy-focused payment startup Xiippy was the big winner from the River Rival pitch competition that closed out Brisbane’s Something Tech conference last week, taking out both the judge’s award for Best in Product and tying for the Best of the Best award with diabetes medicine subscription service Stripped Supply. Xiipy is encouraging retail merchants to… Read more »
Businesses are girding corporate communications teams with cyber security specialists as executives watch the cyber security disasters at Optus and Medibank play out in front of their eyes – and consider how they would manage the public fallout from a similar incident. The impact of the recent spate of breaches is evident at the ANZ… Read more »
Medibank has reported a “distressing development” regarding its unfolding cyber incident, as “a series of additional files” received from a criminal party have been found to include detailed Medibank customer data. The health insurance provider first reported “unusual activity” on its network on 13 October – and it was initially believed no customer data had been removed… Read more »
Australian employers could resolve ICT skills shortages by winding back their expectations that candidates have university degrees, according to an extensive ACS analysis that found there are more jobs posted in ICT than any other profession except healthcare. ICT job postings increased by 14% between 2016 and 2021 and have outpaced the overall employment market… Read more »
Australians have embraced cyber security and artificial intelligence (AI) qualifications over the past five years, but the industry needs to turbo-charge recruitment to fill its skills gap, according to newly released 2021 Census figures that confirm the number of IT qualified workers in Australia has grown by 36% since 2016. The latest tranche of data… Read more »
The National Skills Commission has added 10 more IT-related occupations to its list of skills facing national shortages, once again highlighting the need to train more technology talent in Australia. Web developers, database admins, and business analysts are now among jobs on the Commission’s official skills shortage list which informs Australia’s migration and skills development policies.… Read more »
Years after launch of the Digital Platform Services Inquiry (DPSI), so-called Big Tech firms face further scrutiny after the Senate announced a second inquiry into their market share, manipulation of customers, vertical integration, and use of proprietary algorithms. The Senate Standing Committees on Economics’ Influence of International Digital Platforms inquiry has been tasked with exploring the degree… Read more »
Uber has experienced a significant cyber breach, with an 18-year-old reportedly gaining access to the tech giant’s internal systems and databases after tricking an employee. Uber on Friday confirmed it was investigating a “cyber security incident”, and that it had taken a number of its internal communications and engineering systems offline while this was taking… Read more »
Apple’s latest hardware refresh event incorporated the usual accoutrements – including a rugged smart watch, updated earbuds and next-generation iPhones – but for many users it is the release of iOS 16, and its passwordless logins, that promises to be the game-changer. Demonstrated at the company’s WorldWide Developers Conference in June, the new Passkeys are… Read more »
At the start of August, more than a dozen Australian companies began a six-month trial of a four-day working week. It’s part of a growing trend, led by tech companies, of shortening the work week without a reduction in pay, with hopes of maintaining the same level of productivity. And it’s picking up steam across… Read more »
Major cryptocurrency trading platform Crypto.com accidentally sent a woman $10.5 million instead of the $100 refund she requested – and didn’t notice until seven months later. Now the platform is trying to recover its money, $1.35 million of which the woman, Thevamanogari Manivel, used to buy her sister a home in the Melbourne suburb of Craigieburn. The… Read more »
At least 44 Australian victims have been identified after the arrest of a 24-year-old man named as the alleged author of remote access trojan (RAT) spyware, who allegedly made up to $400,000 by selling the ‘stalkerware’ to more than 14,500 people in 128 countries. Called Imminent Monitor (IM), the application allowed users to monitor and… Read more »
Kmart and Bunnings have temporarily halted their use of facial recognition in stores pending an investigation from the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC). It was last month revealed that Wesfarmers-owned Kmart and Bunnings, and whitegoods retailer the Good Guys, quietly began using facial recognition in some stores without express consent from their customers. While… Read more »
The biggest names in tech are putting the brakes on hiring as they prepare for tough economic conditions. Microsoft, Google, Apple, and Meta have all slowed the rate at which they hire new staff over the past month with some temporarily putting a stop to new hiring altogether. Google has just put a two-week pause… Read more »
Remote tech workers are paid nearly twice as much as their full-time office counterparts, a global survey from Landing.Jobs has found. Technology professionals in every region reported higher salaries if they were fully remote or had flexible working arrangements compared with people working full office jobs, according to the Global Tech Talent Trends 2022 survey. On average,… Read more »
RAZZLE DAZZLED: Tech careers platform Earlywork named Best New Idea for 2023 
Fintech tikpay pockets $1.6 million pre-Seed round to transform transport ticketing 
FLYING HIGH: Food waste management innovator Goterra wins Best Sustainability Startup 
‘A truly flexible workplace’: Melbourne insurtech Kanopi wins Best Startup Culture award 
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