Talking internet security on 2SER’s “The Wire”

The Wire logoLast week I recorded an interview on the state of internet security with The Wire, the current affairs program for Australia’s community radio network produced by 2SER in Sydney. It went to air on Monday night, 5 May.

This year has seen some major internet security breaches — from Heartbleed to iOS. But between these headline grabbing flaws there are numerous smaller bugs that pop up every day. As our devices and services become ever more ubiquitous, and flaws continue to popping to, we take a look at internet security.

I spoke with journalist Josh Nicholas for maybe 15 minutes, so this 4-minute edit is very much a condensed version. However we did manage to cover such subtleties as Apple’s secretive approach to security vulnerabilities, Heartbleed, bug bounties, and calls for better disclosure of vulnerabilities — that last link being to a story I wrote this week.

The audio is ©2014 2SER-FM 107.3. It’s also available at The Wire program website — that’s exactly the same as what you can hear here, it’s just that the audio file here has my branding — and you can also listen to the entire episode.

Weekly Wrap 204: Libertarian troll beach abortion, yeah?

Fisherman at North Cronulla Beach: click to embiggenMy week of Monday 28 April to Sunday 4 May 2014 was yet another solid performer — which, to be honest, surprises me. But here we are. Praise be.

The entire week was spent at Wentworth Falls, apart from a day trip to Sydney — but despite the rapidly dropping temperatures as winter starts to bite, and despite Mistress Insomnia’s continuing persistent calls for attention, my mood holds up.

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Podcasts

The big chunky piece of joy for me this week was resurrecting The 9pm Edict. The first episode, “The 9pm Shire” should have been appearing tonight — and the photo at the head of this post was taken during the recording expedition — but for reasons already explained that’s been postponed until this coming Tuesday 6 May or thereabouts.

Media Appearances

  • On Tuesday I was interviewed by The Wire, the daily current affairs program of Australia’s community radio stations, about internet security — but that’s being held over to the coming week.

5at5

Four out of five this week. But why don’t you subscribe to 5at5, and then I don’t need to keep telling you about it.

Corporate Largesse

  • On Thursday I had coffee with someone from LivePerson, a company that provides technology for online customer service. Their PR company paid for the coffee.
  • Also on Thursday I went to Good Technology’s Sydney Mobile Summit, all about the state of the art of mobile security — or at least as framed by their products and PR messaging. It was held at the Sheraton on the park, and lunch and afternoon tea was provided.

The Week Ahead

Next week is already completely packed out, and it also sees me heading to the United States yet again.

On Monday I’ll be heading to Sydney to complete my recordings at Cronulla and deal with a few errands.

I’ll be staying in Sydney overnight, because on Tuesday I’m going to a breakfast briefing that starts at 0730 — this is how businesses treat their staff, apparently — as well as doing a couple of interviews. I’ll head back to the Blue Mountains on Tuesday night.

On Wednesday, it’s a day trip to Sydney for a lunchtime briefing by AVG Technologies on some research they’ve done into the security of the Internet of Things (IoT). “There isn’t any,” I assume to be the answer, but with additional wine.

Thursday is a writing day. Then on Friday it’s back to Sydney again for a bunch of errands and then the Optus IT Journalism Awards, in which I am a finalist. Then I stay in Sydney overnight before flying to San Francisco on Saturday.

On Sunday I’m visiting some wineries in the Sonoma region, thanks to NetSuite, who are also paying for that US trip. But I’ll write more about that in due course.

[Photo: Fisherman at North Cronulla Beach, photographed shortly before sunset on Saturday 3 May 2014.]

Weekly Wrap 202: Doom Clown, fish heads, crowdfunding

Salmon heads on special at $1.99 per kilogram: click to embiggenMy week of Monday 14 to Sunday 20 April 2014 was a solid performer in the first half, and suitably balanced in the second half — not a time-off Easter, but at least one that wasn’t about over-work.

My own media production moved away from covering the Heartbleed bug, producing just one item — an opinion piece looking back at the way the crisis was handled, as opposed to the straight news stories produced during the previous week. But the story had moved into the mainstream, and that provided the background for a couple of media appearances.

More importantly, at least from my point of view, was that on Easter Sunday I launched “The 9 O’Clock Resurrection”, a Pozible crowdfunding project to re-establish my podcast The 9pm Edict as a regular part of my media production schedule.

I’ve already posted two progress videos onto a YouTube playlist, and we’re already nearly halfway to the initial target. I’m posting plenty of updates elsewhere, so I won’t bang on about that here.

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Media Appearances

5at5

There was one for every working day, so that went to plan. Why don’t you subscribe to 5at5, and then I don’t need to keep telling you about it.

Corporate Largesse

  • On Thursday I had a meeting with someone from Lewis PR to exchange notes on what we each had coming up. They paid for coffee and cake.

The Week Ahead

It’s a short working week here in Australia, which is partially why this Weekly Wrap is appearing on Tuesday. Monday was mostly an excursion with two friends to Dulwich Hill, Summer Hill and Ashfield. Dumplings were involved.

Today, Tuesday, is about email and planning and many minor tasks that need to be gotten out of the way, so that I can concentrate on promoting the Pozible project and plan out the next few weeks.

Wednesday and Thursday are writing days, with at least one thing to write for ZDNet Australia, plus some work to be done on sorting out my cashflows. Friday is Anzac Day. I will mark it in some way, personally, but I’m not sure how yet. The weekend is unplanned as yet.

I’m in Sydney all week, and currently plan to return to the Blue Mountains on Sunday.

[Photo: Salmon heads on special at $1.99 per kilogram, photographed at Cabramatta in Sydney’s south-west on Saturday 19 April 2014.]

Talking Heartbleed on ABC 774 Melbourne, ABC 720 Perth

ABC logoAnother day, another Heartbleed-related radio spot. This one was on ABC Radio 774 Melbourne, 720 Perth, and local stations throughout Victoria and Western Australia.

This conversation with presenter Prue Bentley was a straightforward explainer. It contains the current state of play in terms of what we believe, so if you only want to listen to one then make it this one. Unless there’s a more recent one on the site somewhere.

The audio is of course ©2014 Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Weekly Wrap 201: Heartbleed into my wallet, with cockatoo

Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo: click to embiggenMy week of Monday 7 to Sunday 13 April 2014 was astoundingly busy and productive. Yes, Heartbleed is to blame. But so is completely ignoring medical advice — which is something I’ll write about next week.

While there’s a lot on my mind that I want to tell you about, I’ve been churning out so many blog posts today, and so many articles about Heartbleed in recent days, and drinking so much wine relaxing across the weekend, that I can’t be arsed saying anything more.

So here’s the list.

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Every single thing that I wrote this week was about the Heartbleed security bug.

Media Appearances

5at5

I managed to pump out another five this week, although one of them was on the weekend. Why don’t you subscribe to 5at5, and then I don’t need to keep telling you about it.

Corporate Largesse

  • On Monday, some of the people at UTS bought me coffees and lunch. Does that count as largesse?

The Week Ahead

I have no idea. The only things that have been locked in are being in Sydney on Thursday morning so I can be a panellist on this week’s Download This Show for ABC Radio National, which is being recorded at 1100, and of course it’s Good Friday and then the Easter weekend, so in theory I shouldn’t be working.

The reality, however, is that Easter is a shitty time for freelancers, because public holidays mean a serious drop in revenue — and I’m already rather stressed about March having been a quieter month than planned.

But I’ll figure it out, just not tonight.

Oh, and there’s a lunar eclipse on Tuesday.

[Photo: Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo, photographed at dusk near Wentworth Falls on 8 April 2014.]