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Brislen on Tech
I made my eldest daughter cry this morning. I told her about the robot on Mars, Opportunity, and how it was finally out of juice.
Only I made the mistake of telling her as I heard it - via Jacob Ma…
When is a hack not a hack?
The South Canterbury Property Investors' Association collection of the private details of renters is one thing, sharing them with members is something else but exposing them to the internet for all th…
Australian parliament hack attack
Australian politicians are being forced to change their passwords following an attempt to hack the Australian federal parliament's IT system.
Brislen on Tech
It's tough at the top, as Apple CEO Tim Cook is finding out. And another day, another Facebook travesty - this time, conning teenagers into install a VPN on their phones so they could scoop up all the…
Apple FaceTime security flaw exposed
Apple has temporarily disabled the group calling capability in its FaceTime application after discovering unscrupulous users could listen in on other users even if they didn't answer the call.
Brislen on Tech
The next phase for Huawei in New Zealand is going to be difficult.
The company, which has been told it can't build the core network assets for Spark's new 5G network (and presumably would get simil…
Google hit with record GDPR fine
GDPR is here and the first company to fall foul is Google with a fine of $NZ85 million for failing to provide clear processes for customers signing up to Android services. But Google isn't alone and q…
Social media in the spotlight for the wrong reasons
Facebook leaks yet more information - this time giving app developers access to photos they shouldn't have had - and Google is under fire for breaching New Zealand name suppression orders, something i…
Online voting delayed
Online voting will have to wait for at least another three years, after a trial planned for local elections next year was scrapped by Local Government NZ. The nine councils that formed a working group…
Brislen on Tech
Stupidity is its own reward, as the Australian tech sector is discovering...
PLUS: The second round of US vs Huawei has been awarded to the US on points... And the light at the end of the tunnel m…
Marriott hack: 500 million records exposed
The latest mega-hack suggests companies aren't all that good at protecting personal data.
Facebook comes under blistering fire from all sides
Facebook is coming under intense pressure to explain itself to a growing body of international law makers following the seizure of documents that allegedly suggest the company knew about privacy issue…
Microsoft faces privacy challenge in Europe
Dutch investigators are warning Microsoft the company could face mega-fines as it copes with the newly implemented General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) which came into effect earlier this year.
Brislen on Tech
This week I thought I'd rejoin Facebook just so I could quit again in rage. Something really needs to be done to rein in a company that has combined the utter decimation of the media landscape with th…
Can I interest you in a firewall for your toaster?
In September, the California state legislature enacted two identical bills regulating Internet-connected devices sold in California, aimed at developing minimum security standards for devices that m…
Brislen on Tech
I listed the digital divide as the single biggest issue facing the new CTO, as something that needed to be addressed immediately.
That didn't work out so well but the issue remains high on the list…
Examining digital exclusion
The digital divide is often spoken about in terms of numbers - the 2020 Trust estimate that 100,000 school-aged children don't have internet access at home, Internet NZ estimate that 16,000 rural ho…
Stats NZ seeks public input in legislation refresh
Generation X was making its first baby steps into the world, and Generations Y and Z had not even been thought of, when the Statistics Act 1975 came into being. But for 40 years the country's data has…
Focus on cyber security puts Huawei under the spotlight
Pressure is mounting on the New Zealand government to follow Australia and the United States' lead in banning Chinese equipment maker Huawei from building next generation cellphone networks in this co…
