ransomware – Stilgherrian

11 November 202111 November 2021

The 9pm Extra: Keep the Bastards Honest episode 5, “The Murder on Thursday Law with Stilgherrian”

You may well have thought that a certain once-potent political party, the Australian Democrats, imploded around the turn of the 21st century, and you’d be right. But they’re back, with a podcast titled Keep the Bastards Honest. This week I became their first non-party guest.

18 July 202118 July 2021

Weekly Wrap 581: Productive, sure, but let us reflect on those tiny-headed pigeons

My week of Monday 12 to Sunday 18 July 2021 was a strange one. My mood improved, as did productivity. I did some geekery for money, wrote a story for ZDNet, produced a podcast, and appeared on another. Then the weather turned cold. And then there was bad news concerning a friend — but that bit I won’t talk about.

02 April 202102 April 2021

Talking recent hacks in Australia on ABC Melbourne

Screenshot from Nine’s news alert confirming last weekend’s cyber attack.

It’s a week since Australian media company Nine Entertainment became the victim of what’s been called a ransomware attack, one that affected TV and print operations. We still don’t know all that many facts, but on Tuesday I spoke about what we knew on ABC Melbourne.

25 October 202025 October 2020

Weekly Wrap 543: Generosity, moistness, and cybers

Monday 19 to Sunday 25 October 2020 was a happy one. A successful crowdfunding campaign. Productivity. And the start of a streak of rainy weather. Joy.

09 September 2018

Weekly Wrap 432: More cybers, with a little Cronulla

I don’t know what to make of my week from Monday 3 to Sunday 9 September 2018. It felt like I was quite busy, but there isn’t as much visible output to show for it. Oh well.

Articles

Five Eyes governments get even tougher on encryption, ZDNet Australia, 3 September 2018.
Crims not spooks dominate cybersecurity threats: Sophos CEO, ZDNet Australia, 7 September 2018. Ransomware, the volume of customised malware, and its commercialisation are the biggest factors affecting cybersecurity today, says Kris Hagerman. Nation-state actors less so, at least for most organisations.

I wrote a third piece for ZDNet that should appear on Monday.

Podcasts, Media Appearances, Corporate Largesse

None. I am very embarrassed not to have done the podcast on Wednesday as promised. I did make the journey to Cronulla the recording session, as foreshadowed last week, but it turned out that I wasn’t quite recovered from illness, and needed to rest. But see below.

The Week Ahead

It’s a Sydney-centric week. I’ll head down the hill on Monday morning for least one meeting that afternoon.

On Tuesday and Wednesday I’m covering the AI & Machine Learning Summit. Thursday and Friday will be therefore about writing.

Further Ahead

The next episode of The 9pm Edict will now be recorded on Tuesday 18 September at 2100 AEST, because that week looks less hectic. Listen on the livestream or on Spreaker apps, or listen later on the usual feeds.

Beyond that:

Flying Sydney to Adelaide in a Vans RV-6 light aircraft registration VH-SOL piloted by Mark Newton, on Friday 28 or Saturday 29 September. I’ll record things for a podcast en route.
FireEye Cyber Defense Summit, Washington DC, 1–5 October.
Australian Cyber Conference, formerly the Australian Information Security Association (AISA) National Conference, Melbourne, 9–11 October.
The Sibos global financial services conference, Sydney, 22–25 October.
International Association of Privacy Professionals ANZ (iappANZ) Annual Summit, Privacy: Handling the Seismic Shift, Melbourne, 1 November. (TBC)

[Photo: The Right to Strike. Trade union members leading a protest march through Pitt Street, Sydney on 6 September 2018. It was a big event, with the column stretching for maybe two kilometres, yet it received little media coverage. As for this photo, I wish I’d had a wider angle lens and been able to bet in closer.]