Managed Security articles

Lining up. Queueing. Waiting. Call it whatever you want.  But queuing must surely be one of the frustrating things we must do. 9/11 brought enhanced airport screening, which is now commonplace across Melbourne at significant events.  Think the footy, Formula 1, tennis and even, at times, conferences.  And the pandemic only aggravated it more with QR codes and a Covid marshall needing to check it. For many, they are just going through the motions. You're ...

What do Lygon Street, Toorak Road and Barkly Street all have in common? How are these Melbourne communities tied together?  No matter where you find yourself, each of these villages is a thriving and bustling local community.  Ask any Melbourian where the best place to eat a roast pork Bahn-mi with crispy fried crackling is.  They'll say Footscray. (Actually, some locals will challenge that. Instead, they will suggest you head southeast to Springvale.) What about ...

The Optus data breach has highlighted to the general public the importance of cybersecurity blah blah blah "here he goes again talking about cybersecurity..." Yes, I am. With a cybersecurity attack occurring every 39 seconds, we need to continue to talk about this because have you considered what data you hold on your customers? However, I'm not discussing this breach with you as the victim. Instead, I want to highlight some questions about how you stop ...

Things that were once staples of our lives continue to change. For example, take food. Melbourne is the foodie capital of Australia.  And you have to look no further than the MCG to see how Melbourians have changed their food habits. Even at the footy.  Once, you would sit in the Ponsford Stand eating a Four'N Twenty pie with tomato sauce, watching the Dees take on the Hawks (Go Hawks!). Now, your hunger competes with ...

You're sitting in a taxi, frantically checking your pockets, your bag…where did you put it? Then, suddenly, it dawns on you. As your plane levelled at 35,000 feet, you slid your smartphone into the seatback pocket.  But now you are cruising home along the Monash Freeway (sorry, crawling along the Monash). And you can't believe you have left it onboard. It's 2022, and no one wants to go to an airport. Tullamarine is no different. The ...

Phishing training is a critical component of cybersecurity awareness in businesses across Melbourne. But the following scenario is unfortunately all too common. Your staff have completed their annual phishing training, which teaches employees how to spot phishing emails. As a result, you're feeling good about it and expect your people to be extra vigilant. That is until about 5-6 months later… when your company suffers a costly ransomware infection due to an errant click on ...

Phishing is usually the number one topic to cover when it comes to cyber security training for your staff… and for a good reason.  Over the past few decades, phishing has been the primary method for cyber attacks on businesses and individuals in Melbourne and the wider world. For example, phishing emails often launch ransomware attacks, credential theft, and database breaches. Phishing has remained an ever-present threat simply because it is effective - scammers continually ...

How many random text messages do you receive today, as opposed to a couple of years ago? For most Melbournians, these text messages are much more frequent in 2022. This SMS increase is because retailers and similar businesses have decided it's more effective to bypass your crowded email inbox and text you directly! They probably urge you to sign up for SMS alerts for shipment tracking and sale news. The medical industry is doing something ...

Did you know that the typical home now contains an average of 10.37 devices connected to the internet? The number of internet-connected devices in the house has been growing enormously over the past decade. Homes across Melbourne contain a wide range of phones, laptops and tablets… but half of that average figure consists of IoT devices. IoT stands for Internet of Things. Essentially, that means any other type of 'smart device' which connects to your home ...

After a whirlwind July, we’ve entered the last month of winter. The days are noticeably longer, and the idea of spring doesn’t seem like a pipe dream. If you’re one of the five people that didn’t travel to Europe during July, then you’ll be like me, hanging out for the warmer weather! One of my favourite new technologies is Dall-e-2 (pronounced Dali). You provide a text prompt, and the AI behind the scenes will generate four ...