The Australian game development sector is enjoying rapid growth on the back of unprecedented government support, with almost 800 new jobs created in the last year alone. The Interactive Games and Entertainment Association (IGEA) released its sixth annual Australian Game Development Survey this week, revealing that the sector has more than doubled in size over the last… Read more »
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) remains sceptical about the need to introduce a fully digital dollar as it looks to begin an eAUD trial early next year. In a speech to a banking conference last week, Assistant RBA Governor Brad Jones said it remained unclear exactly what purpose a central bank digital currency (CBDC)… Read more »
Police in the Bahamas have arrested the founder of collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX after criminal charges were filed in the US. Sam Bankman-Fried, who goes by the name SBF, was head of the company that was valued at $47 billion before speculation FTX was running insolvent led to a liquidity crunch that ultimately brought down the exchange… Read more »
The federal government has begun the formation of its flagship $15 billion manufacturing fund, with legislation introduced to Parliament and discussions with industry to kick off next week. The National Reconstruction Fund, a key election pledge from Labor, will provide funding to tech areas including medical science, renewables and low-emission technologies, and critical technologies such… Read more »
The Australian Stock Exchange has pulled the pin on its much-vaunted blockchain project after seven years of work and at a loss of about $250 million. The ASX has been working with tech firm Digital Asset (DA) to develop a replacement for its Clearing House Electronic Subregister System (CHESS) based on distributed ledger technology since the… Read more »
More than 25,000 jobs are set to be cut at three of the biggest tech companies in the world, as rapid growth during the pandemic slows and broader economic headwinds pick up speed. Reports emerged this week that Amazon is planning to lay off about 10,000 people, on the back of Facebook parent company Meta’s… Read more »
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 »
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