Good morning. The bad news is it’s Monday and the weekend is over; the good news is we have a few bits of tech news to start your week off.
1. Telstra, Optus, TPG all fined millions
Australia’s three largest telcos have been fined a total of $33.5 million for making ‘misleading statements about NBN speeds’. Telstra, Optus and TPG Telecom all admitted to making false or misleading representations to consumers when promoting NBN 50Mbps or 100Mbps fibre to the node (FTTN) plans. While all three telcos were remorseful, Telstra took the opportunity to highlight the urgent need for Australia to fix NBN pricing and service quality “once and for all”, given the country’s three largest NBN providers were all caught up in the issue.
2. In-app shopping with TikTok
It’s not enough to just be giving your data away to social media apps anymore – TikTok is now looking for ways to take your money, too. Select businesses in the U.S. are being asked to participate in TikTok’s new shopping experience just as the world tilts ever more toward the economic black hole that is the holiday shopping season. Ugh.
3. AFP points the finger after Medibank attack
In the days since Medibank first went public with details of a ‘cyber incident’, there has been no shortage of updates. On Friday, however, one of the biggest was made. The Australian Federal Police made a bold statement, one that attributed the attack to Russia. “We believe we know which individuals are responsible, but I will not be naming them,” AFP commissioner Reece Kershaw said, adding: “What I will say is that we will be holding talks with Russian law enforcement about these individuals.”
AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw provides an update on the Medibank Private data breach. https://t.co/Rj1b80R1QJ
— AFP (@AusFedPolice) November 11, 2022
4. New cyber operation for Australia
Still on cybersecurity and iTnews is reporting Australia will set up a permanent operation comprising around 100 police and defence personnel to “hack the hackers”, with an immediate priority to target ransomware groups. The operation will comprise those from the AFP and Australian Signals Directorate, with two federal ministers on Saturday it will “collect intelligence and identify ring-leaders, networks and infrastructure in order to disrupt and stop their operation”.
5. Tesla shares EV connector design
Tesla over the weekend announced it was opening its EV connector design to the world. In a blog post, the other passion project of Elon Musk said it was sharing its EV charging connector design in an effort to encourage network operators and automakers to adopt the technology and help make it the new standard in North America. design and specification files are available for download.
BONUS ITEM: they definitely got me at first with this headline. But then I was fixated. I blame Monday.
Have a great week.