Samira Sarraf
Regional Editor for Australia and New Zealand
With years of experience covering technology and business across the IT channel, Samira Sarraf managed the enterprise IT content at and wrote for the CIO.com, CSO Online, and Computerworld editions in Australia and New Zealand. She is now an editor with CSO Online global.
What the new cybersecurity minister can bring to Australian businesses
To have cybersecurity as a standalone ministerial function is good, but whether it brings big changes depends on what Clare O’Neil does in her new role.
Helping Australian school kids and teachers learn cybersecurity
Grok Academy’s CyberSteps program has helped train 170,000 Australian students already.
NSW agencies fear cyberattacks after report finds ‘significant weaknesses’
The nine state government agencies audited asked the auditor general to not report the findings to Parliament, fearing it would expose weaknesses to cyberattackers.
How the skills shortage puts Australia at risk of cyberattacks
The skills shortage in cybersecurity means professionals in the area have less time to spend on configuring systems properly, increasing the chances of cybersecurity incidents. Here’s what can be done.
How Imdex got control of its logs
The Australian mining-tech firm wanted to look at its logs collectively rather than try to correlate instances manually. So it turned to SIEM.
How Superloop reduced false positives with behavioural threat detection
The security team at the Australian telco got its network detection response down from four hours down to one hour a day.
CISO vs. CIO: Who runs Australian and NZ cybersecurity better?
New data suggest that both types of IT executives can manage the information security function, but there are differences that suggest the CISO is the better route, if organisations can afford the separate role.
Previously undocumented backdoor targets Microsoft’s Equation Editor
RoyalRoad backdoor delivered via spear phishing was identified in an attack on a Russian-based defense contractor.
Cybersecurity is Australia’s No. 1 hiring priority
A recent study from IDC found cybersecurity to be top of mind for Australian organisations, driven by the pandemic-induced remote-work changes.
AustCyber creates centralised cybersecurity online shop
The not-for-profit advisory introduces AUCyberscape, where providers can list their products and services and customers can look for help.
AustCyber’s merger into Stone & Chalk gets positive reaction
Australia’s cybersecurity industry likes the combination of the cybersecurity and startup advisories, in hopes for greater impact on homegrown technologies.
The world according to Eugene Kaspersky
The colourful cyber security expert survived blacklisting by the US government, fears IoT security weaknesses, wants to secure voting, and doesn’t believe in AI.
ASD names new ACSC boss
The recently appointed Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) director-general Rachel Noble has appointed Abigail Bradshaw as the new head of the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC)
ACSC shuts down cloud services certification program
A review recommended the closure of CSCP and creation of new cloud security guidelines co-designed with industry
Biometrics encryption, SOC service among AustCyber-backed projects
AustCyber has revealed 13 out of 17 cyber projects to receive the second round of funding through AustCyber’s Projects Fund, first announced in June 2019.
Former PM Turnbull defends decision to ban Huawei from Australia’s 5G
In an interview at BBC's Radio 4 World at One, the former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the real question around choosing or not to use Huawei's 5G was ”whether this is a loaded gun and if you want to have that risk“....
Australian cyber security skills shortage more severe than previously thought
Skills shortage in the cyber security sector is more severe than initially estimated in Australia and already taking an economic hit according to AustCyber report.
Australian initiative seeks to boost Asia-Pacific cyber security
A group formed of the collaboration between eight Victoria universities is helping Pacific nations to assess and improve their cyber policies.
Government’s cyber security strategy panel ’missing a bit of diversity‘: AustCyber CEO
An advisory panel that will guide the Australian government’s new security strategy “does not reflect the full breadth of challenges facing the country,” according to AustCyber CEO, Michelle Price.