Australian Tech

AI companies have plans for Australia’s economy, education system and infrastructure. They may not be in our best interest.

cross-posted from: https://infosec.pub/post/30975206

The growth of domestic solar installations opens the possibility of hackers targeting their smart inverter devices as a way to cause widespread power-system failures

By the end of this year, the experience of using search engines in Australia won’t be as simple as it has always been.

That’s thanks to a new online safety code announced yesterday by Australia’s eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant. Among other measures, it will require all Australian users to provide assurance of their age when they sign into a search engine account.

So what’s the new code about? How will it work in practice? And how exactly will it affect kids – and adults – in Australia who use search engines such as Google? [...]

We haven't decided on a provider yet. It turns out I can do my doom scrolling and other work on the city wifi until we do. Helps when I chew through my limited mobile data.

From the site:

While in Adelaide, to help you keep in touch with friends and family the Australian Government, City of Adelaide and TPG Telecom are partnering to deliver a new state-of-the-art high speed Wi-Fi service across the City of Adelaide. More than 250 outdoor, wireless access points will power the new ADLFree network with coverage available around retail, business, education and medical precincts within the city and North Adelaide.

cross-posted from: https://quokk.au/post/39513

Anyone using this?

Apple has released a scaremongering, self-serving warning aimed at the Australian government, claiming that Australians will be overrun by a parade of digital horribles if Australia follows the European Union’s lead and regulates Apple’s “walled garden.” [...]

Telstra is launching Australia's first satellite to mobile text messaging service.

It is limited to up-front paying customers with Galaxy S25 phones at this stage.

Voice calls via low earth orbit satellites are still two years away.

: Move should help government track infections and plan new legislation

Australia now requires large companies to inform the government if they have paid off ransomware perps.

The requirements, as set out in the Cyber Security Bill 2024, kicked in on Friday, May 30. Any business turning over more than AUS $3 million ($1.92 million) must report ransomware payments within 72 hours to the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD).

I'm crossposting this in case any locals know how to do this. I'm at a loss.

cross-posted from: https://aussie.zone/post/21115161

How can I reject mail that does not have a DMARC policy enabled? Using Postfix 3.6.4 and OpenDMARC 1.4.2.

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/64197087

Meanwhile, a powerful antenna in Australia — the only one capable of sending instructions to Voyager 1 now 15.5 billion miles from Earth — was about to go offline for critical upgrades.

...

As of May 4, the Australian antenna — part of NASA’s Deep Space Network, a system of three enormous radio dish arrays on Earth — is offline. It'll remain dark until February 2026, with only brief periods of operation in August and December. 

The antenna upgrades are necessary for Artemis astronaut moon landings and will increase communication capacity for deep space robotic missions, said Suzanne Dodd, who oversees Voyager and the Deep Space Network.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/29672951

In short:

Around 75,000 battery storage systems were installed last year, up 47 per cent from 2023.

Current modelling estimates the payback time on a battery system at around eight years for a typical household.

What's next?

A wide range of experts, including a former RBA deputy governor, are calling for the federal government to introduce household battery subsidies to encourage uptake.

Got a family member coming from overseas to stay. He wants to know if theres a well priced 'pay as you go' Sim available. He's very price conscious.

Does anyone have a recommendation they think we should look at?

*His handset apparently cant take an eSim though.

In short:

An Australian start-up has launched the "first commercialised biological computer" made of human brain cells at a conference in Barcelona.

The team behind it believe it could be used as a type of simple biological AI, but others are cautious about the technology's potential.

What's next?

Researchers in this space highlight the potential ethical ramifications, but say the current systems are too primitive to feel or understand.

A $1 million fine imposed by Australia's online safety regulator is "unfair and disproportionate", according to online messaging platform Telegram.

In March 2024, eSafety commissioner Julie Inman Grant gave Telegram, WhatsApp, Google, Reddit and X legally enforceable transparency reporting notices.

The notices required each platform to answer questions about measures they had in place to tackle terrorist and extremist material on their sites.

Telegram and Reddit were also specifically asked about the measures they were taking to combat child sexual abuse material, a topic other services had already been asked about in previous reporting notices.

All other platforms engaged by the May 2024 deadline, but Telegram provided a response five months later and was in turn fined $957,780. (emphasis added)

Video here (11m55s): https://youtube.com/watch?v=4rR57tXdOHQ

In short:

Australian researchers have detected more than 20 mysterious signals in space using new technology developed by CSIRO.

The technology, CRACO, examines trillions of pixels it receives by telescope to identify anomalies.

The study results have been published in the peer-reviewed Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia.