Happy Friday.
1. ASIC gets scammer takedown powers
Starting with The Australian today and it’s reporting that ASIC has gained new powers to shut down fraudulent and malicious websites, with the idea being to protect us from scams and cyber crime. The launch of the “take down service” follows a three-week trial last year, and has been developed alongside British third-party cybercrime detection provider Netcraft. Per the report, the solution “removes or limits access to fraudulent and malicious websites”.
2. Concerns over greenwashing litigation freeze
Over to the ABC now, which is reporting that legal groups and environmental law firms have opposed a federal government proposal that would protect corporations from private litigation over misleading climate claims for three years. The moratorium, the ABC explains, is all part of a shift in corporate reporting planned to take place from July 2024, which will make it mandatory for large Australian companies to outline climate-related risks in their financial disclosures, with smaller businesses to follow in later years. Read more here.
3. Aussie Broadband makes $262M purchase
iTnews is reporting that Aussie Broadband has acquired unified communications-as-a-service (UCaaS) provider Symbio for $262 million. The acquisition ends a competitive and drawn-out sales process. Aussie tried to buy Symbio at the end of September, but so did Superloop. Superloop offered $243 million, but Aussie offered $250 million. Here we are now, at $262 million.
4. HTC is sending VR headsets to the ISS
Not the bonus item, but actual news. Per Engadget, HTC is sending VR headsets to the ISS as part of an ongoing effort to improve mental health during lengthy space missions. The idea is for astronauts to pop on the headsets and feel less lonely. The headsets feature new camera tracking tech that was specially developed and adapted to work in microgravity, including eye-tracking sensors to better assess the mental health status of astronauts. These sensors are coupled with software intended to “maintain mental health while in orbit”.
5. Okta says employee data exposed in breach
Ending today with a report from BleepingComputer that Okta is warning nearly 5,000 current and former employees that their personal information was exposed after a third-party vendor was breached. As the report explains, Okta is a San Fransisco-based cloud identity and access management solutions provider whose Single Sign-On (SSO), multi-factor authentication (MFA), and API access management services are used by thousands of organisations worldwide.
BONUS ITEM: They actually did it. John Lennon meets AI.
Have a great weekend!
Image: Mogensen during VR training at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Credit: NASA