The Department of Home Affairs has come up with a Ransomware Action Plan "aimed at countering the rise in ransomware incidents". Under the plan, there will be a "specific mandatory ransomware incident reporting" program where businesses with over $10m in turnover will need to report if they've been hit by ransomware - but the report leaves out if the government needs to do the same if they're hit. They're also going to come up with a "standalone aggravated offence for cybercriminals seeking to target critical infrastructure" and will allow the cops to "track and seize or freeze" cryptocurrency. The 10-page plan is available as a PDF and Justin Warren has tweeted his insightful thoughts in a neat little thread.
Eftpos is rolling out a QR code payment system "before Christmas" it calls eQR. You get your phone, open an app, scan the QR code and boom, you've sent money. Eftpos CEO reckons "eQR will quickly become the QR equivalent of eftpos Tap & Pay on debit cards". Coles and Woolworths will be rolling it out soon. There's fuck all detail around the implementation, but I'm guessing eQR will be a very niche product for the small amount of people that either don't have an NFC enabled card on them or a smartphone with NFC enabled. The other features like loyalty schemes and digital receipts aren't that exciting. I reckon Eftpos should really be working with Stripe or whatever so eftpos cards can be used online for wayyy lower fees (like a 20c flat fee or something) compared to the status quo. That would be awesome.
My friend Derek is the man when it comes to Apple accessories. He's been selling stuff for well over a decade now to various stores, including Apple themselves, but has gone more direct lately by making his own YouTube videos highlighting the latest gear to go with your Apple products. He only deals in quality stuff though, not the janky Aliexpress specials like I typically enjoy digging into. Derek's a classier guy than me. His most recent video shows off Nomad's fancy leather iPhone case with a built-in digital NFC business card. I kinda want that!
📻 Are Friends Electric? - The Dead Weather
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The Sizzle is created on Wathaurong land and acknowledges the traditional owners of country throughout Australia, recognising their continuing connection to land, water and community. I pay my respect to them and their cultures and to elders both past and present.