As bushfire smoke engulfed the Sydney region, giving the city the worst air quality in the world, my week of Monday 18 to Sunday 24 November plodded along in a satisfactory manner.
Continue reading “Weekly Wrap 495: Bushfire smoke, cybers, and a random magpie”Weekly Wrap 409: Four cities, surveillance, and podcasts
This is yet another Fortnightly Wrap, covering Monday 19 March to Sunday 1 April 2018, and it was dominated by domestic travel, nostalgia, and soju.
Podcasts
- “The 9pm Public House Forum 6 / Hometown Forum”, being The 9pm Edict episode 75, was recorded and streamed live from Adelaide on Saturday 24 March. It’s also on SoundCloud and Speaker.
- I also recorded a bonus extra podcast with Dr Alice Gorman, a space archaeologist at Flinders University. That episode will be posted by the end of the coming week.
Articles
- The sad old-but-true joke of IoT security, ZDNet Australia, 19 March 2018.
- I edited all the material in DirectorTech Advisory 003, which went live on Saturday 31 March.
- I’ve also written a piece for ZDNet which will appear in the next few days.
Media Appearances
- On Monday 26 March, I spoke about the continuing Facebook / Cambridge Analytica debacle on ABC Adelaide.
Corporate Largesse
- This doesn’t really count as largesse, because it was work, but my recent road trip — more accurate a flying trip — to Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Sydney was for tech distributor Alloys, who were introducing their customers to products from Chinese video surveillance hardware manufacturer Zhejiang Uniview Technologies Co Ltd. I didn’t do anything sales-related. I gave a 20-minute presentation on the future of video surveillance in the age of artificial intelligence. That said, at the end of the project, Uniview shouted me a soju-sodden meal at Myeongdong Korean Restaurant in North Strathfield. I seem to recall that it was very good.
The Week Ahead
It’s Easter Monday, but I’m still doing work, such as writing this for you.
Tuesday through Friday will be dominated by two things. One, I’m series editor on a new investigative journalism project for Crikey, which I’ll tell you about in due course. And two, I’ve got a queue of stuff to write for ZDNet. Those two threads of work will be woven around the need to be in Sydney on Wednesday for medical and other appointments, and finishing that production on that extra podcast.
The weekend is unplanned.
Further Ahead
The only definite commitments are a couple of cybersecurity conferences.
- Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) Conference, Canberra, 10–12 April.
- Australian Cyber Conference, formerly the Australian Information Security Association (AISA) National Conference, Melbourne, 9–11 October.
[Photo: Dawn over Queensland. The view from Virgin Australia flight VA1384 from BNE to ADL, somewhere over Queensland, on 22 March 2018.]
Weekly Wrap 391: Figs, cheese, and crowdfunding
As with last week, I won’t say much about the week of Monday 20 to Sunday 26 November 2017 either, except to say that things are, more or less, wonderful. At least by comparison, etc.
In The 9pm Edict Summer Series we reached Target One. Thank you everyone. So now there’ll be two extra episodes of The 9pm Edict podcast over summer:
- Sunday 17 December: “The 9pm Edict Public House Forum 5”, recorded live at the West Ryde Hotel and streamed live from 1400 AEDT via stilgherrian.com/edict/live/ and Spreaker apps. Book a free audience spot.
- Tuesday 19 December: A regular episode, as always streamed live from stilgherrian.com/edict/live/ and Spreaker apps from 2100 AEDT.
But, to what happened this week…
Podcasts
- “The 9pm The Earth is Flat and So’s Your Mum”, being The 9pm Edict episode 70. You can also listen on SoundCloud and Spreaker.
Articles
- How many must be killed in the Internet of Deadly Things train wrecks?, ZDNet Australia, 20 November 2017.
Media Appearances
- On Wednesday, I was interviewed for ABC Radio’s PM, Fears for internet freedom as Trump targets ‘net neutrality’.
Corporate Largesse
None.
The Week Ahead
Monday through Wednesday I’m concentrating on DirectorTech. Also on Wednesday I’m heading down to Sydney for medical appointments, the ones I’d originally planned to do last Friday, as well as recording a spot for ABC Melbourne. I’ll be answering the question “What is the cloud?” some time after 1900 AEDT.
The rest of the week is unplanned, but I’m sure it’ll include some writing for ZDNet.
[Photo: Dried figs with blue cheese, part of the lovely cheese platter at the West Ryde Hotel. Photographed on 25 November 2017.]
Weekly Wrap 379: Six weeks at winter’s end
This Weekly Wrap covers six weeks, Monday 24 July to Sunday 3 September 2017, because it was a Bad Time. Quite a bad time, clearly. But let’s focus on the good bits.
Articles
- Australia’s inside-out digital health strategy, ZDNet Australia, 7 August 2017.
- Cybercrime in China is the same, but different, ZDNet Australia, 10 August 2017.
- Australia to try taming unruly cyber words, ZDNet Australia, 14 August 2017.
- Australian businesses targeted in Cisco switch and router attacks: ACSC, ZDNet Australia, 17 August 2017.
- Gartner sets fire to all the cyber things, ZDNet Australia, 21 August 2017.
- The IoT-based threat of Cyber Chocolatocalypse, and worse, ZDNet Australia, 22 August 2017.
Podcasts
None, but I’ll announce my latest alleged plans in the next few days. Heh. Yeah, right.
Media Appearances
- On Monday 24 July, I spoke about exploding batteries on ABC Melbourne.
- On Wednesday 16 August, I speculated about Australia’s new cyberwar unit on ABC Adelaide.
- On Tuesday 22 August, I spoke about a bunch of things on ABC Melbourne.
I probably won’t get around to posting the audio from these, but we’ll see.
Corporate Largesse
- My flights from Sydney to Canberra and return on 11–12 August were provided by Australian consulting firm IBRS.
- There was plenty of free food and drink at the Gartner Security & Risk Management Summit on 21–22 August, as well as vendor swag. Crowdstrike: Branded webcam privacy covers. Cylance: Branded USB-to-various recharge cable. Thales: A branded lens kit for mobile devices, with macro and fisheye lenses; another of the excellent Thales pens. Trustwave: One of those credit card sized multi-purpose tools.
The Week Ahead
All I’ll say for now is that I’ll definitely be down in Sydney on Thursday for a couple of medical things. The rest I’ll make up as I go along. As always, watch for the details on Twitter.
Further Ahead
Events I’m covering or speaking at include:
- SINET61 on 26 to 27 September.
- I’m speaking at Digital Manipulation of Democracy, part of the Victorian Fabians’ Spring Series of events on “Digitisation and Democracy”, on 27 September in Melbourne.
- The iappANZ Summit 2017 on 3 October.
- The Australian Information Security Association (AISA) in Sydney from 10 to 12 October.
- Ruxcon in Melbourne on 21 to 22 October.
If there’s anything I should add in there, please let me know.
[Photo: Dawn at Wentworth Falls, looking east from Wentworth Falls railway station on the chilly morning of 21 August 2017.]
Weekly Wrap 341: Cows, Canberra, and the Cyber Kangaroo
My week of Monday 5 to Sunday 11 December 2016 was dominatedby my trip to Canberra to take part in the “360° Cyber Security Game” being convened by RAND Corporation and the National Security College (NSC) at The Australian National University (ANU).
In the background I did quite a bit of work on the SEKRIT editorial project. I promise to tell you more about that before Christmas.
Articles
- The flowering of voice control leads to a crop of security holes, ZDNet Australia, 5 December 2016.
- How the Cyber Kangaroo can help defend the Internet of Things, ZDNet Australia, 9 December 2016. This is the piece that came out of the Cyber Security Game.
Podcasts, Media Appearances, Corporate Largesse
None.
[Photo: Cows on the Move. Cattle run from the Canberra-Sydney train as it passed at full speed on 9 December 2016.]
Weekly Wrap 327: Spring is far more painful than planned
My week of Monday 29 August to Sunday 4 September 2016 was full of pain. I didn’t realise how seriously I’d been injured last weekend. Somehow, however, there’s plenty of things to report.
The injury I mentioned last week turned out to be a severe contusion — that’s bruising — of the ribs. It was just short of a fracture, but oddly enough the bruising is usually more painful, and that pain will be with me for several weeks. It’s strong painkillers, anti-inflammatories, and rest for me.
I strongly recommend never getting severe rib contusions.
All last week’s planned events were cancelled. It’s a good thing, therefore, that things emerged from the pipeline.
Articles
- Four Corners points to critical gap in our cybersecurity, Crikey, 30 August 2016.
- Why Dropbox’s data breach response is still wrong, ZDNet Australia, 31 August 2016.
Media Appearances
- The highlight of my week was the start of series two of ABC TV’s award-winning drama series The Code, because I was the technology consultant for this series. That meant I was part of the scripting process, something I’ll write about another time. The six-part series is currently screening on ABC1 on Thursday nights at 2030, and is on ABC iView.
- Also on Thursday, ZDNet posted two short videos in their Security TV series, The impending cybersecurity disaster of industrial control systems and The Internet of Insecure Things, and why we’re still in denial. They’re part of a feature on Cyberwar and the Future of Cybersecurity.
Podcasts
None, but next episode of The 9pm Edict podcast will be recorded and streamed live on Tuesday 6 September at 2100 AEST.
Corporate Largesse
None.
The Week Ahead
Monday is a relatively quiet day. I’m being interviewed about The Code at 1430, but apart from that it’s production planning and administrivia, I think.
On Tuesday, it’s an episode of The 9pm Edict podcast.
Past that, well, it depends on the pain levels and the mood. This much pain doesn’t exactly cheer one up. But I’d like to get down to Sydney for at least one day. Stay tuned.
Further Ahead
I’m going to the Palo Alto Networks Cyber Security Summit in Sydney on 22 September, the AISA National Conference in Sydney on 18-20 October, the Ruxcon Security Conference in Melbourne on 22-23 October, and an event in Melbourne I can’t tell you about yet on 17 November.
[Photo: Almond Blossom at Bunjaree Cottages, Day Four, one in a series of daily photos taken of an almond tree at Bunjaree Cottages near Wentworth Falls, 100km west of Sydney — although the images are of different parts of the tree. This one was taken on 2 September 2016.]