Philip Branch

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Having trouble remembering all your passwords? Don’t expect respite any time soon. Jonno Witts

Passwords: how to choose one and why we need them

Philip Branch, Swinburne University of Technology

I just did a count of the systems I use that require a password and gave up at 40. I know I’m not alone; for many of us, it often seems we have too many passwords to manage. They are, however, required…
Basic tenets of internet security are being ignored by some users and website developers. dustball

The ABC’s website has been hacked … but how?

Philip Branch, Swinburne University of Technology

Yesterday the ABC was attacked, supposedly in response to the network giving coverage to an Australian visit by the controversial Dutch politician Geert Wilders. A Twitter user, “Phr0zenMyst”, claimed…
Australia’s multi-billion-dollar spectrum auctions will take place on April 16. sidkid

Wireless spectrum is for sale … but what is it?

Philip Branch, Swinburne University of Technology

The sale of wireless spectrum has been very much in the news lately. Interesting phrases such as “red underpants” and “waterfront property” have been thrown around as government, businesses and the media…
“Cloning” suggests more than one version of the same thing – but is that really what’s happening? Arty Smokes (deaf mute)

Phone cloning and Craig Thomson – how plausible are his claims?

Philip Branch, Swinburne University of Technology

How plausible is the claim, by independent MP Craig Thomson, that union rivals may have “cloned” his phone? On Monday, he told Parliament his phone could have been cloned as part of an elaborate conspiracy…
Hackers with a commercial eye seem intent on destroying Apple’s reputation as a “malware-free” PC alternative. Mike Poresky

Think your Mac’s beyond malware attack? Alas, those days are gone

Philip Branch, Swinburne University of Technology

For a long time Mac users would look at all the malware (malicious software) that infects Windows PCs and think how fortunate they were that such attacks did not happen to MAcs. But now, it would seem…
Stopping the internet isn’t impossible, but it’s unlikely any time soon. iNKMan

Could Anonymous really shut down the internet?

Philip Branch, Swinburne University of Technology

In a statement posted online last month, hacker collective Anonymous announced plans to shut down the internet. Yes, you read that right. Operation Global Blackout, planned for March 31, is apparently…
Has TeaMp0isoN missed the point with its latest hacking stunt? Kerim Okten/AAP

Hackers squeeze BlackBerry for spilling juice on London riots

Philip Branch, Swinburne University of Technology

The hacking of BlackBerry’s official blog by the mysterious collective TeaMp0isoN raises serious questions. This black-hat hacking group, founded in 2009, has so far claimed responsibility for more than…
Great headlines … shame about the reality. Australian Federal Police/AAP

Evil descends on the NBN? Erm, not quite

Philip Branch, Swinburne University of Technology

Another day, another hacking exploit makes headlines. This time it’s a “self-taught, lone hacker”, David Cecil, apparently known online as “Evil”, who allegedly broke into Platform Networks’ site, one…
f a b d z. Elizabeth The Queen Of All Things

LulzSec takes down CIA website in the name of fun, fun, fun

Philip Branch, Swinburne University of Technology

Computer hacker group LulzSec are in the news again. The team has carried out successful hacks on the PlayStation Network, PBS and the US Senate but the latest – which took down the CIA website for several…

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