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This week
IN THE NEWS: ACCAN 2023 Grants Round to open on Monday 30 January, New ACMA powers to combat harmful online misinformation and disinformation, Flying Doctor takes on Starlink for regional access and more
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ACCAN’s Grants Round for 2023 is scheduled to open on 30 January, and close 5pm AEDT 24 February, with funded projects to begin from July. ACCAN encourages anyone interested in applying to discuss their project ideas with the Grants Team by getting in touch on grants@accan.org.au. Guidelines now available on our website. For more information about our grants scheme, or how grants applications are assessed, visit our website. [ACCAN]
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The Albanese Government will legislate to provide the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) with new powers to hold digital platforms to account and improve efforts to combat harmful misinformation and disinformation in Australia. This marks a major step forward in addressing the spread of online misinformation and disinformation which has grown rapidly in scale and speed. [Minister Rowland media release]
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The Royal Flying Doctor Service in Queensland has directly partnered with Starlink to deploy a three-site regional satellite service to remote areas. The RFDS Queensland digital infrastructure program manager Adam Carey said the satellite service is an extension to a wide area network, and extends coverage for crews delivering healthcare into the furthest corners of Queensland. [itnews]
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A man charged with scamming customers of Telstra, CBA and NAB has been jailed for two years and eight months. The Australian Federal Police said the SMS phishing scam targeted 450 victims and netted the 40-year-old Sydney man more than $100,000. [itnews]
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When I play it back in my mind, I can clearly see points where I should have twigged – but I was blind to the signals. I like to think that I am fairly savvy when it comes to online scams. I know not to click on weird links or give out my personal information, and that people can call and impersonate my bank. I also work for an organisation that is extremely proactive when it comes to cybersecurity. And I’ve even worked for a bank, so if you’d asked me two weeks ago, I would have said that I know what to look for. [The Guardian]
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An international effort to counter ransomware formally commenced operations yesterday. The International Counter Ransomware Task Force (ICRTF) is part of the 37-member Counter Ransomware Initiative (CRI), and was announced after a meeting in Washington in November last year. Australia is the first chair of the ICRTF, which will be hosted in the Department of Home Affairs’ Cyber and Critical Technology Coordination Centre. [itnews]
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A new “insidious” scam is duping honest Australian taxpayers out of cash and their personal information online. Fraudsters are impersonating the Australian Tax Office on Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms. The scam operates by scanning public conversations on social media, where taxpayers ask questions of – or make complaints about – the ATO. [news.com.au]
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Five G IoT (Internet of Things) connections will reach 116 million globally by 2026; rising from just 17 million in 2023, according to a new study. The study by Juniper Research also predicts that the healthcare sector and smart city services will drive this 1,100% growth over the next three years. [iTWire]
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Look out for text messages that appear to be from a family member claiming to have forgotten or lost their card and asking you to transfer money. It could be scam. Do not reply directly in the message stream. The ‘Hi Mum’ and similar scams that impersonate family members have been circulating for some time. However, the ACMA is aware of a new, more convincing variation, which labels the sender of the scam message as ‘Mum’ or another family member on your phone. [ACMA]
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Samsung Electronics Australia has received the Most Satisfied Customers award from Canstar Blue for its smartphone category. This follows Samsung's distinction in the TV and home theatre systems categories for the second consecutive year. Canstar Blue polled over 1,300 Australians who had purchased a smartphone in the previous two years, to rate the products on overall satisfaction. This included user-friendliness, design, durability, value for money, camera quality, and battery and charging performance. [iTWire]
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Although we take care to direct subscribers to sites with accurate and reliable content, we advise that ACCAN is not responsible for the content within external sites and has no control over the views, services or information contained therein. Information contained on external sites may not necessarily reflect ACCAN's policy, standards or beliefs.
The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network's representation of residential and other consumers' interests in relation to telecommunications issues is made possible by funding provided by the Commonwealth of Australia under section 593 of the Telecommunications Act 1997. This funding is recovered from charges on telecommunications carriers.
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