Wanted: Hackers for Telstra

Cyber attack identity theft hackers Source: Supplied

TELSTRA, the Federal Government and Microsoft have invited a bunch of university students to participate in a hacking competition to raise awareness of cyber security issues.

Their goal was to break into a company, and then figure out how to fix security flaws.

Hardware and software has been built for the imaginary company which were be used for the competition, which has been dubbed "Synergise cyber security".

Forty-three teams of students spent 24 hours trying to access the systems, in order to see whether they can penetrate areas where sensitive data is stored and find malicious code. They will be assessed on their ability to highlight and communicate vulnerabilities in the fictional company's security software.

A team from the University of NSW was named the winner.

But what's the point in creating fictional software when there are already hackers out there trying to damage real businesses with real security concerns?

Mike Burgess, Telstra's chief information security officer told news.com.au that inviting "real world hackers" to test the systems of real businesses would be too risky.

"Would it be better if all the world's systems were more secure? Absolutely," he said. "But the reason I wouldn't recommend opening yourself up to the world to come test out their systems is that you'd get lots of other people out there who choose to do malicious things in cyber space and you become a target. They could take your product offline."

"By having a fictitious company with real hardware and software is that if anything goes wrong it's not going to impact anyone."

Mr Burgess said that targeting students with hacking capabilities while they are young is an important way to incentivise them against falling in with cyber criminals.

The winners of the competition will travel to San Francisco to attend one of the world's largest hacking conferences, Black Hat.

Mr Burgess said it's also more than likely that many of the participants will walk away with a job, either with Telstra, Microsoft or the Federal Government.

"Hopefully we're instilling that this is an exciting area to work in and that the students participating will want to have careers as a security professional," he said. "If they end up working for someone else that's ok as well. We need more people in this space."

"People need to make sure their systems are secure. Telstra for example holds a lot of information for its customers. The more people in this career stream, the better it is for everyone."

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Telstra boosts mobile data spectrum

Telstra has bought $1.3 billion worth of spectrum to boost its mobile and data capabilities. Source: Supplied

TELSTRA will spend $1.3 billion to boost its mobile and data capabilities.

The telco giant announced on Tuesday it had successfully secured licences in the 700 MHz band and 2.5 GHz band in the spectrum auction held by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).

Telstra chief executive David Thodey said the auction result would mean his company would continue to deliver a superior mobile experience for its customers.

"With the 700 MHz and 2.5 GHz spectrum we will be able to deliver faster speeds, more capacity and expansive wide area coverage of 4G LTE technology on our Next G network," he said in a statement.

"The low-frequency nature of 700MHz means the mobile signal can travel relatively longer distances, which is ideal for improving the services we can offer to customers in rural and regional areas.

"It also means better in-building coverage in metro and suburban areas."

In the spectrum auction, Telstra's total package was secured at close to the reserve prices and the total investment by the company will be $1.302 billion.

The spectrum allocations will be financed predominantly through debt, the company said.

Telstra is required to pay the successful price in the third quarter of 2014, and the spectrum licences have a term of 15 years.

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Telstra drops fee for battered women

AUSTRALIA'S largest telephone carrier has bowed to pressure to drop unlisted phone number fees for domestic violence victims, but consumer groups and the Federal Government have questioned whether its exemptions go far enough.

The issue is now the subject of a Senate review, with the Telecommunications Committee asked to investigate outlawing the fee for everyone.

Telstra announced its policy change today following pressure from social media group Destroy the Joint.

One of the Facebook group's 25,000 members, a victim of domestic violence, was asked to pay $35 per year to maintain a silent phone number, despite having an apprehended violence order against her partner.

Telstra spokesman Tim O'Leary said the company was in the process of reviewing its "policy on charging silent line fees for victims of domestic violence" and would waive the $2.93 monthly fee in some circumstances.

"We're just finalising how this will work, but we'll include anyone who has a valid protection order recognising a security threat or (who) is a client of a community organisation providing services to people who are facing a security threat," Mr O'Leary said.

Telstra currently charges the monthly fee to anyone seeking to keep their phone number out of its White Pages directories, with the fee covering the cost of "managing and maintaining" the database.

But while Federal Communications Minister Stephen Conroy welcomed Telstra's decision as an "important step in protecting the privacy of some of Australia's most vulnerable people," he noted there was "still significant community interest” about the fees.

As such, Senator Conroy has asked the Senate Committee on Telecommunications to examine scrapping the unlisted number fee for all users, as recommended by the Australian Law Reform Commission.

The ALRC, in its review of the Telecommunications Act, called the fee "a financial impediment to accessing a service that will help to protect privacy".

Australian Communications Consumer Action Network communications manager Elise Davidson said Telstra's move to axe the fee in some circumstances was "a good first step" but it needed to be extended to low-income earners, pensioners and other violence victims.

"There may well be (victims of violence) who fall outside these parameters," she said. "We're also worried about the resellers because obviously Telstra charge their resellers a fee if their customers want to have a silent line. These providers should be able to offer this exemption".

Optus currently offers unlisted phone numbers without a fee, but resellers including Internode ($4), iPrimus ($3.50), iiNet ($2.93), Spintel ($2.95) and ACN ($2.93) charge monthly fees for silent numbers.

 

View the original article here

Telstra drops fee for battered women

AUSTRALIA'S largest telephone carrier has bowed to pressure to drop unlisted phone number fees for domestic violence victims, but consumer groups and the Federal Government have questioned whether its exemptions go far enough.

The issue is now the subject of a Senate review, with the Telecommunications Committee asked to investigate outlawing the fee for everyone.

Telstra announced its policy change today following pressure from social media group Destroy the Joint.

One of the Facebook group's 25,000 members, a victim of domestic violence, was asked to pay $35 per year to maintain a silent phone number, despite having an apprehended violence order against her partner.

Telstra spokesman Tim O'Leary said the company was in the process of reviewing its "policy on charging silent line fees for victims of domestic violence" and would waive the $2.93 monthly fee in some circumstances.

"We're just finalising how this will work, but we'll include anyone who has a valid protection order recognising a security threat or (who) is a client of a community organisation providing services to people who are facing a security threat," Mr O'Leary said.

Telstra currently charges the monthly fee to anyone seeking to keep their phone number out of its White Pages directories, with the fee covering the cost of "managing and maintaining" the database.

But while Federal Communications Minister Stephen Conroy welcomed Telstra's decision as an "important step in protecting the privacy of some of Australia's most vulnerable people," he noted there was "still significant community interest” about the fees.

As such, Senator Conroy has asked the Senate Committee on Telecommunications to examine scrapping the unlisted number fee for all users, as recommended by the Australian Law Reform Commission.

The ALRC, in its review of the Telecommunications Act, called the fee "a financial impediment to accessing a service that will help to protect privacy".

Australian Communications Consumer Action Network communications manager Elise Davidson said Telstra's move to axe the fee in some circumstances was "a good first step" but it needed to be extended to low-income earners, pensioners and other violence victims.

"There may well be (victims of violence) who fall outside these parameters," she said. "We're also worried about the resellers because obviously Telstra charge their resellers a fee if their customers want to have a silent line. These providers should be able to offer this exemption".

Optus currently offers unlisted phone numbers without a fee, but resellers including Internode ($4), iPrimus ($3.50), iiNet ($2.93), Spintel ($2.95) and ACN ($2.93) charge monthly fees for silent numbers.

 

View the original article here