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Australian IT and cybersecurity professionals are calling for increased government funding to better address evolving cyber threats, with a focus on proactive measures like access controls, software updates, and employee training, which could also reduce cyber insurance premiums.

Call for More Australian Government Cybersecurity Funding - Australian Cyber Security Magazine A recent poll conducted by exposure management business Tenable shows that 79% of Australian IT and cybersecurity professionals think the Australian government could do more, including boosting funding, to reduce cybersecurity risks.

Microsoft and Qualcomm release new Copilot Plus PCs with Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite and Plus chips, enhancing battery life and performance to rival MacBook Air, putting pressure on Intel to innovate. Business owners should explore these advancements for better efficiency.

Windows on Arm puts Intel on notice Laptops are suddenly exciting again.

Google is rolling out new Gemini AI features, including an email summarization sidebar in Gmail, exclusively to paying Google Workspace and Google One AI Premium users, with a recommendation to double-check AI-generated content due to potential inaccuracies.

Gmail’s Gemini AI sidebar and email summaries are rolling out now Gmail can help you with that thread you keep ignoring.

Brennan’s Head of Digital, Mal Shafi, discusses with Chief Customer Officer, Nick Sone, how rising public cloud spending presents challenges, emphasizing strategies for managing cloud costs and creating business value from cloud investments.

Losing faith in your cloud solutions? Rising public cloud spending brings challenges

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) files a lawsuit against Optus over a 2022 data breach exposing personal information of about ten million customers; businesses should prioritize data protection and compliance to avoid similar legal actions.

ACMA to Prosecute Optus over 2022 Data Breach - Australian Cyber Security Magazine The Australia Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has filed proceedings in the Federal Court against Optus Mobile Pty Ltd (Optus).

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) announces its latest efforts to combat scammers, highlighting ongoing investigations, enforcement actions, and increased penalties, and emphasizing the need for businesses to ensure compliance with SMS and email unsubscribe regulations.

ACMA Update Reveals the Ongoing Fight to Disrupt Scammers - Australian Cyber Security Magazine The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has released a telemarketing and spam update detailing its efforts to disrupt scammers in the January - March 2024 quarter. It says that it has two anti-scam investigations in progress, three ongoing spam investigations, and 20 court-enforceab...

Instagram is working on enabling cross-posting of Stories to WhatsApp, which could expand content reach for businesses and should be watched for its potential impact on social media strategy.

Instagram May Soon Enable You to Cross-Post Stories to WhatsApp This could be a new opportunity to reach a wider audience with the same amount of content.

Luke Wroblewski discusses how established companies like Microsoft face challenges integrating new AI features due to existing competing interests, while new companies can build AI into their core offerings for better user value; business owners should consider the impact of feature competition.

LukeW Ideation + Design | Digital Product Strategy & Design Resources for mobile and Web product design and strategy including presentations, workshops, articles, books and more on usability, interaction design and visual design.

McKinsey reports that organizations are rapidly adopting generative AI, with 65% now using it regularly, yet emphasize the need for clear governance, robust training, and responsible AI practices to manage inherent risks and ensure value creation.

McKinsey: Gen AI adoption rockets, generates value for enterprises 65% of organizations are regularly using gen AI, McKinsey found, and respondents predict it will lead to “significant or disruptive” change.

Google will shut down the Google Business Profile chat and call history features on July 31, 2024; businesses should download their history by then to preserve important data.

Google Business Profile chat and call history going away July 31, 2024 Google will shut down call history and chat - you can download your history now.

Google is rolling out new profile pages displaying your reviews and notes across Google Search, and starting June 24, these may be public; ensure you manage and review your profiles at profile.google.com.

Google Search Profiles With Reviews & Notes Google is rolling out new profile pages that shows you the reviews and notes you left across Google Search. And starting on June 24 your reviews and notes may be public to other Google users.

Google Analytics introduces a direct export feature to Google Sheets, enhancing data analysis and team collaboration; users should utilize this to streamline their reporting process for better insights and efficiency.

Google Analytics Adds Direct Export To Google Sheets Google Analytics introduces direct export to Google Sheets, streamlining data analysis and collaboration.

UniSuper's online account deletion due to a Google Cloud "misconfiguration" leaves members without access for over a week, prompting both organizations to apologize and implement measures to prevent future occurrences.

Google Cloud accidentally deletes UniSuper’s online account due to ‘unprecedented misconfiguration’ Super fund boss and Google Cloud global CEO issue joint statement apologising for ‘extremely frustrating and disappointing’ outage

Google is improving accessibility by enhancing Android’s Lookout app with AI-driven object detection and introducing new features to help users with low vision, cognitive differences, and physical disabilities navigate their environment and communicate more effectively.

Google’s making it easier for people with low vision to find objects using their phone Plus a handful of other AI-powered accessibility upgrades.

Elon Musk officially rebrands Twitter to X.com, redirecting all core systems and URLs to the new domain, but users should be aware that the transition may cause browser inconsistencies and potential phishing vulnerabilities.

Twitter is officially X.com now So long, Twitter.com.

Meta is shutting down its Facebook-based office communication platform Workplace by August 2025; business owners should prepare for the transition, possibly to services like Zoom's Workvivo, and take advantage of the 50% discount available from September.

Meta will shut down its Teams competitor Workplace next year Unless you work at Meta.

Google introduces a new 'Web' search option enhancing visibility for independent websites by filtering out ads and AI-generated content, offering a clearer, more traditional search experience.

Google now offers ‘web’ search — and an AI opt-out button Want 10 blue links back? This is the best we’re likely to get.

AUSCERT highlights that the 2024/25 Australian Federal Budget emphasizes increased funding to enhance cyber resilience across various government departments, with substantial investments in identity protection, fraud detection, and AI utilization.

AUSCERT Says Budget Funding Will Help Bolster Cyber Resilience Australia's computer emergency response team, AUSCERT, says the 2024/25 Federal Budget continues the government's focus on equipping its departments and agencies with the resources to strengthen their cyber-resilience.

AI-generated spam is flooding social media due to their frequent recommendations by platforms like Facebook, creating confusion among users about the authenticity of the content they encounter.

AI-generated spam is starting to fill social media. Here's why A Jesus made of vegetables, bizarre log cabins, products that don't exist. AI-generated images are creating new forms of clickbait and causing some users to doubt what's real.

Booking.com is now classified as a ‘gatekeeper’ under EU's Digital Markets Act, which sets them strict regulatory compliance norms to counter monopolistic practices; businesses must understand these changes and the consequential impacts.

Booking.com joins tech giants as ‘gatekeeper’ under EU competition rules Booking.com now falls under the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA), meaning it has to comply with a set of strict pro-competition rules.

OpenAI introduces GPT-4o, an AI model with advanced voice interaction, aiming to stay competitive by enhancing ChatGPT with realistic conversation features as live demonstrated, and also altering service offerings with a free user tier.

OpenAI unveils new AI model as competition heats up Said to be capable of realistic voice conversation.

The Australian government initiates a comprehensive social media inquiry to enhance transparency and accountability of social media companies, focusing on their influences on public behavior and mental health.

Government wants a sweeping social media inquiry Covering tech, behaviours and harms.

Google Workspace introduces an option to hide non-video tiles during Google Meet calls, aiding users in reducing screen clutter by focusing only on video-enabled participants, with a rollout starting May 2, 2024.

Hide tiles without video during Google Meet calls What’s changing We’ve added the option to hide non-video tiles, so that users can avoid clutter on their screen if they are interested to o...

Telstra delays the shutdown of its 3G network to end-August, urging customers to upgrade devices for enhanced connectivity due to 3G’s critical role in emergency calls; users can check handset compatibility via SMS.

Telstra to push back 3G switch-off Creates mechanisms to notify and encourage device upgrades.

Microsoft launches passkey support for all consumer accounts, advancing the shift towards a passwordless future by enabling simpler and secure sign-ins across Windows, Android, and iOS.

Microsoft launches passkey support for all consumer accounts Passkeys can easily be created across multiple devices.

David Pierce from The Verge reviews the Rabbit R1, revealing its failure to deliver promised AI functionalities for basic tasks and app integrations, urging consumers to wait for future AI advancements before investing in such gadgets.

Rabbit R1 review: nothing to see here This device is nowhere near the super-smart assistant we were promised.

The Arc browser is now available on Windows, offering a unique browsing experience with features like a collapsible sidebar, aiming to attract users from Chrome and Edge, and incorporates Apple’s Swift, positioning it as a safer, organized web platform.

The Arc browser arrives on Windows to take on Chrome and Edge Arc for Windows is going to get better on a weekly basis.

NBN Co proposes an exciting upgrade to 'Home Fast' NBN 100 plans, enhancing them to 500Mbps speeds at no additional cost to retailers, potentially benefiting up to 10.2 million homes by 2025; businesses must consider this for superior internet capability.

NBN Co Wants to Turn Your NBN 100 Plan into NBN 500 NBN Co has proposed a shakeup to its top three plans, including a shift to make NBN 100 capable of 500Mbps speeds.

Telstra partners with Starlink to offer a satellite internet service tailored for regional Australia, combining reliable high-speed internet and phone service to ensure connectivity and convenience in areas lacking robust internet infrastructure.

Review: Telstra Satellite Internet - Powered by Starlink. Internet and Phone anywhere When Telstra announced their partnership with Starlink in the middle of last year it was a clear move to provide a strong reliable connectivity for

Australian telcos are implementing new rules for outage disclosures and Triple Zero calls, requiring clearer communication and government reporting, in response to recent network failures.

Australian telcos face new outage disclosure and Triple Zero rules Following network issues at Optus and then Telstra.