Blog – Page 79 – Stilgherrian

26 August 201826 August 2018

Weekly Wrap 430: Winter illnesses, but interesting words

What an “interesting” fortnight. I was ill for most of Monday 13 to Sunday 26 August 2018, though some articles did emerge before the lurgi struck. At least I had an excuse for taking the week off to watch the downfall of prime minister Malcolm Turnbull.

Articles

How brand new science will manage the fourth industrial revolution, ZDNet Australia, 13 August 2018. Some fascinating stuff on the work of Distinguished Professor Genevieve Bell.
Flaws in ACT election systems could reveal voters’ votes, ZDNet Australia, 13 August 2018.
No backdoors for Australian encryption, just a riddling of ratholes, ZDNet Australia, 14 August 2018. This column was translated for ZDNet France as Chiffrement : pas de backdoor, mais des égratignures tout de même.
Cyber defence goes missing in Australian Cabinet reshuffle, ZDNet Australia, 26 August 2018.

Media Appearances

I was cited in a journal article, Virtual Neighbors: Russia and the EU in Cyberspace by André Barrinha in Insight Turkey. The article cited was my Blaming Russia for NotPetya was coordinated diplomatic action of 12 April.

Podcasts, Media Appearances, Corporate Largesse

None, but I will finally have the next podcast done in the next ten days. Promise.

The Week Ahead

The first half of the week will be spent in Sydney. Monday is about writing, with one or possibly even two columns emerging for ZDNet. On Tuesday I’m covering CLOUDSEC Australia 2018. And on Wednesday I’ve got a mix of writing and meetings.

Thursday is a take-it-easy day. Friday should be about writing again, though I want to spend a day in Cronulla for podcast-related reasons.

Further Ahead

I’ve pencilled in:

D61+ LIVE, Brisbane, 18–19 September. (TBC, but looking unlikely at this stage)
Australian Cyber Conference, formerly the Australian Information Security Association (AISA) National Conference, Melbourne, 9–11 October.
International Association of Privacy Professionals ANZ (iappANZ) Annual Summit, Privacy: Handling the Seismic Shift, Melbourne, 1 November. (TBC)

Update 2120 AEST: Edited to add tonight’s article on Australia’s cabinet reshuffle.

[Photo: Sydney Central station, as seen from the Veriu Sydney Central Hotel on 6 August 2018.]

13 August 201813 August 2018

Weekly Wrap 428: Did anything even happen?

My week of Monday 6 to Sunday 12 August 2018 looks strangely empty. I’m not sure why, because it felt quite busy. As this brief Weekly Wrap reveals.

Articles, Podcasts, Media Appearances, Corporate Largesse

None of any of these things appeared, which is odd. And yes, I must get those podcasts sorted.

The Week Ahead

Monday and Tuesday are Sydney days, with a medical appointment, writing for ZDNet, and some geekery for clients, before returning to Wentworth Falls on Tuesday evening.

The rest of the week is a mix of writing for ZDNet, looking at this dire podcast situation, and maybe some more geekery.

Further Ahead

I’ve pencilled in:

Gartner Security & Risk Management Summit, Sydney, 21–21 August.
CLOUDSEC Australia 2018, Sydney, 28 August.
D61+ LIVE, Brisbane, 18–19 September. (TBC)
Australian Cyber Conference, formerly the Australian Information Security Association (AISA) National Conference, Melbourne, 9–11 October.
International Association of Privacy Professionals ANZ (iappANZ) Annual Summit, Privacy: Handling the Seismic Shift, Melbourne, 1 November. (TBC)

Update 1255 AEST: Edited to reflect schedule change.

[Photo: Sydney Central station, with fauna. Two seagulls and a bin chicken in the usual places, photographed on 10 August 2018.]

05 August 201805 August 2018

Weekly Wrap 427: Cybers, and Melbourne in winter

It was a busy fortnight from Monday 23 July to Sunday 5 August 2018, and this pleases me. So much written, across two cities. And I had a lovely time in Melbourne.

Articles

The My Health Record story no politician should miss, ZDNet Australia, 23 July 2018. The controversy around Australia’s digital health records system is, if anything, growing.
Poor cybersecurity could destabilise increasingly complex energy grids, ZDNet Australia, 26 July 2018.
Canberra still in denial over My Health Record concerns, ZDNet Australia, 30 July 2018.
Avoid distractions to focus on the long cyber game: ASD chief, ZDNet Australia, 31 July 2018.
AI can deliver ‘faster better cheaper’ cybersecurity, ZDNet Australia, 1 August 2018.
Startups going global should go GDPR: Lawyer, ZDNet Australia, 2 August 2018.
My Health Record: Canberra is still missing the point, ZDNet Australia, 3 August 2018.

Media Appearances

On Monday 23 July, I spoke about My Health Record on ABC Adelaide, and on ABC Darwin. I won’t be posting recordings, because I’ve pretty much said it all in the articles.
On Tuesday 24 June, I spoke about My Health Record on Leigh Stark’s podcast The Wrap.
On Thursday 26 July, I spoke about Google’s €4.3 billion fine for anti-competitive behaviour on ABC Radio’s The World Today.
On Wednesday 1 August, I was one of the people interviewed for a story on ABC Radio’s The World Today, ‘Australia needs to be concerned’: Facebook and cyber security. There’s also a text version at ABC News, Cyber security experts warn Australia not immune from election meddling via Facebook.

Podcasts

None. I really must catch up on the podcast production.

Corporate Largesse

On Tuesday 24 July, the lunchtime briefing held at the excellent Bentley Restaurant and Bar in Sydney was paid for by Frost & Sullivan, CQR Consulting, Indra Australia, and Zscaler.
There was plenty of good food and drink at the SINET 61 cybersecurity innovation conference, held at The Langham, Melbourne on 31 July and 1 August. Note that I paid for my own flights and accommodation.

The Week Ahead

I’ll be back in New South Wales this week, starting off with the errands and medical appointments in Sydney on Monday before taking the train back to Wentworth Falls. I may well do some writing as well. The writing continues Tuesday through Thursday.

On Friday I’m back in Sydney for another medical appointment, a lunchtime meeting in Pyrmont, and a visit to the National Archives of Australia’s premises at Chester Hill. I hope that last errand will produce a fascinating document for you.

Further Ahead

I’ve pencilled in:

CLOUDSEC Australia 2018, Sydney, 28 August.
D61+ LIVE, Brisbane, 18–19 September. (TBC)
Australian Cyber Conference, formerly the Australian Information Security Association (AISA) National Conference, Melbourne, 9–11 October.
International Association of Privacy Professionals ANZ (iappANZ) Annual Summit, Privacy: Handling the Seismic Shift, Melbourne, 1 November. (TBC)

[Photo: Kill me now bro. Graffiti on a concrete anti-terrorist block at Melbourne’s Southern Cross station, photographed on 5 August 2018.]

22 July 2018

Weekly Wrap 425: A winter of health records and privacy

Monday 16 to Sunday 22 July 2018 was another very productive week. So much of it seems to depend on the weather.

Articles

The third and final tranche of the Crikey Prying Eyes series was released, that thing with me as series editor. I had one story this week, my series wrap, which I’m quite pleased with.

Prying Eyes: The mess we’re in, Crikey, 16 July 2018.

Plus I wrote four stories about My Health Record, Australia’s “new” centralised digital health record system, for ZDNet.

My Health Record systems collapse under more opt-outs than expected, ZDNet Australia, 16 July 2018. As the third story reports, however, the Australian Digital Health Authority says the systems were not overloaded.
Tens of thousands opt out of My Health Record, but can Immigration and local councils view the rest?, ZDNet Australia, 17 July 2018.
ADHA pins My Health Record opt-out issues on users with incorrect information, ZDNet Australia, 18 July 2018.
My Health Record opt-out debate is getting silly but government is at fault, ZDNet Australia, 20 July 2018.

Media Appearances

On Monday, I spoke about My Health Record on ABC Adelaide, and on ABC Darwin. I won’t be posting recordings, because I’ve pretty much said it all in the articles.
On Thursday, I spoke about Google’s €4.3 billion fine for anti-competitive behaviour on ABC Radio’s The World Today.

Podcasts, Corporate Largesse

None.

The Week Ahead

It’s going to be a busy one, because there will be at least two more stories on My Health Record for ZDNet. One will be written on Monday, before I definitely watch the first episode of the Australian edition of Pointless starting at 1800 on TEN.

On Tuesday, it’s the long commute to Sydney for a lunchtime briefing on the cybersecurity of the energy industry and other utilities. As usual, I’ll probably add some appointments around that.

On Thursday, I’ll be talking about the Crikey Prying Eyes series on Melbourne radio 3CR’s Communication Mixdown at 1800 AEDT.

Further Ahead

The following week I’ll be in Melbourne, from 30 July to 5 August. Primarily it’s for the SINET 61 conference on Tuesday and Wednesday. I’ll certainly be doing other things while I’m there, though, perhaps even recording a podcast or two.

Beyond that, I’ve pencilled in:

D61+ LIVE, Brisbane, 18–19 September. (TBC)
Australian Cyber Conference, formerly the Australian Information Security Association (AISA) National Conference, Melbourne, 9–11 October.
International Association of Privacy Professionals ANZ (iappANZ) Annual Summit, Privacy: Handling the Seismic Shift, Melbourne, 1 November. (TBC)

[Photo: Skyscraper Sunset. Sunset lighting strikes the side of an office tower near Central Station in Sydney on 25 June 2018.]

15 July 201815 July 2018

Weekly Wrap 424: The writing plods through winter, hurrah!

Monday 9 to Sunday 15 July 2018 was a productive week for me, party because I had my computer back, and partly because I’d dealt with certain stresses. Joy.

I’ve kinda fallen out of the habit of discussing the week in more detail. Long gone are actual blog posts like, say, this update on the internet filtering debate from a decade ago, or art reviews, or even collections of tweets. Certainly none of the essays like I came for the gin, I stayed for the social revolution (30 April 2008), or It’s the little details which matter… (27 May 2007), or so many others which were much better than those.

I blame Twitter.

Articles

The second tranche of the Crikey Prying Eyes series was released, that thing with me as series editor. I had two stories this week.

Prying Eyes: Every word you type, every move you make, they’ll be watching you, Crikey, 9 July 2018.
Prying Eyes: Are Facebook and Google eavesdropping on your conversations? No, it’s far creepier than that, Crikey, 9 July 2018.

Plus I wrote a couple of stories about the Australian Signals Directorate for ZDNet.

ASD restructure: Trouble at t’ cyber mill?, ZDNet Australia, 12 July 2018.
ASD corporate plan leads with people and culture, ZDNet Australia, 13 July 2018.

Podcasts, Media Appearances, Corporate Largesse

None.

The Week Ahead

It’s all about writing this week, primarily for ZDNet because I’m kinda covering some staff leave.

On Monday I’m talking about the Prying Eyes series on radio Triple R in Melbourne. That’s at 0945 AEST. I’ll keep the rest of the day free, because the opt-out period starts for Australia’s new My Health Record. There’s plenty of privacy concerns, and I’m half expecting the opt-out process to fall over. If so, I’ll be ready to write about it.

Further Ahead

I’ll be in Melbourne for the week of 30 July to 5 August, primarily for the SINET 61 conference on the Tuesday and Wednesday that week. I’ll certainly be doing other things while I’m there, perhaps even recording a podcast or two.

Things I’ve pencilled in:

D61+ LIVE, Brisbane, 18–19 September. (TBC)
Australian Cyber Conference, formerly the Australian Information Security Association (AISA) National Conference, Melbourne, 9–11 October.
International Association of Privacy Professionals ANZ (iappANZ) Annual Summit, Privacy: Handling the Seismic Shift, Melbourne, 1 November. (TBC)

[Photo: Sunrise at Wentworth Falls. Not from this year, but from last year, 5 July 2017.]

08 July 201814 July 2018

Weekly Wrap 423: Beyond the winter fog

I’m hoping that Monday 2 to Sunday 8 July 2018 will have been the last of a series of less-productive weeks, now that I’ve probably throw out all the intestinal bugs, and that I’ve got my computer back.

I’m very happy to finally present these first few items.

Podcasts

“The 9pm Probe: John Birmingham, author and columnist”, being The 9pm Edict episode 77. You can also listen to it on SoundCloud and Spreaker.

Articles

The first tranche of the Crikey Prying Eyes series has been released. I was the series editor, and my first two stories are now out there.

Prying Eyes: Welcome to a world where your privacy is being sold for billions, Crikey, 2 July 2018. This is the free-to-read intro to the series.
Dark patterns: the tricks and traps used to lure you into handing over personal data, Crikey, 2 July 2018.

Media Appearances, Corporate Largesse

None.

The Week Ahead

It’s all about writing this week. On Monday I need to finish a piece for Crikey, then it’s the start of several weeks in July and August when I’m writing primarily for ZDNet, covering for staff who are taking leave. That’ll keep me busy.

I hope to get a magazine-style episode of The 9pm Edict done some time this week too, but I haven’t set a date yet.

Further Ahead

Things I’ve pencilled in, none of which have been confirmed yet:

SINET 61, Melbourne, 31 July – 1 August. (TBC)
D61+ LIVE, Brisbane, 18–19 September. (TBC)
Australian Cyber Conference, formerly the Australian Information Security Association (AISA) National Conference, Melbourne, 9–11 October.
International Association of Privacy Professionals ANZ (iappANZ) Annual Summit, Privacy: Handling the Seismic Shift, Melbourne, 1 November. (TBC)

[Photo: Foggy morning in Werrington. The view south from a train passing through the western Sydney suburb of Werrington on a foggy winter morning, 4 July 2018.]