My career has been more like a series of small paper cuts inflicted on by naked swimmers and children living in a Canberra bubble …
I’m alarmed to hear that ATO has been referred to Taronga Zoo’s integrity division for breaching a fence while taking his children for a walk (“Lions on the lam prompt zoo inquiry”, November 3). According to a close friend of his, ATO’s mane point of contention is that the “integrity issue” was more about “situational awareness”. He was aware that the enclosure was not secured while the other adults around were not. Shane Joseph, Marsfield
The lions escape because of “integrity issue with a containment fence”. Was the issue the fact that it was there? Anna Searls, Randwick
The award for obscurantist English must surely go to Taronga Zoo, with the announcement that they had “an integrity issue with a containment fence”. There seem to be a lot of integrity issues lately. Robert Niven, Aranda (ACT)
A Disordered World – Part 3: Pathways
Satyajit Das’ final post on where the world order is headed
Cybercrime in Australia has been on the rise for years, but Optus and
Medibank have been wake-up calls
It
might seem like data breaches are occurring more frequently than ever in the
wake of the Optus cyber-attack, but while cybercrime incidents are constantly
on the rise, Australia isn’t really a hot new target.
Since
Optus first disclosed its massive data breach at the end of September, breaches
or attacks have been reported by Medibank, Woolworths’ MyDeal, EnergyAustralia,
Vinomofo and Medlab.
And
those are just the ones that we’ve heard about.
But
cybersecurity experts say it’s just that companies have been more forthcoming
in announcing data breaches since Optus – and the media has been more focused
on reporting them.
Gilbert Doctorow: “The West is run by corrupt
cowards!” Algérie Résistance II
The Kepke (Brockman and Smith Lawyer Enabler) Prosecution - Developments
Regular readers know that I have posted several times on the criminal prosecution of Carlos E. Kepke, a Houston attorney who was allegedly the enabler for two alleged massive tax evasion (and related crime) tax schemes involving offshore trusts. Readers will recall that Brockman died before his criminal case went to trial, and Smith achieved an NPA requiring him to testify in the Kepke prosecution. By order dated 10/20/22 (CL here), Judge Donato addressed certain pending motions. The ones that I thought might be interesting to readers are
Late last month, Marcus Thompson, who was Australia’s first head of information warfare, was musing about the Optus hack at the end of an interview. He wasn’t shocked that such a breach had happened, Thompson said, but he was surprised the public had suddenly started to care.
“If large-scale cyberattacks are still generating surprise within the Australian community, then we’re in more trouble than I thought,” he wrote later.
There’s a reason you’re hearing about so many hacks
High commodity prices were the key drivers of the increase in corporate tax payments, the ATO said, noting that Australia had one of the highest levels of tax compliance of large business in the world with 93% of tax paid voluntarily, and 96% after the ATO’s compliance activities.
Almost a third of Australia’s large companies pay no income tax
NEWS YOU CAN USE: Particularly if you’re in the corporate boardroom and letting Twitter flamewars dictate company policy.
NEWS YOU CAN USE: 6 Reasons Why ‘Starship Troopers’ Is the New ‘The Art of War.’ “Wall Street raiders and business tycoons still cite Sun Tzu’s classic military treatise to explain preparation and tactical prowess. But if you really want an insight into 21st century warfare, you need to read Robert Heinlein’s Starship Troopers. Here’s why.”
Why everyone I know thinks my former employer is a joke …
