New Zealand govt demands phone password
The New Zealand government has passed laws that gives customs officials the power to search selected travellers’ phones as they arrive into the country. If individuals refuse to hand over their passcode to authorities, they can face a $NZ5,000 ($AU4,600) fine. A spokesperson from New Zealand customs told Information Age that the new measures have been put in place in response to digitisation. “The shift from paper-based systems to electronic systems has meant that the majority of prohibited material and documents are now stored electronically…Customs believed that the content of electronic devices was within the scope of the examination power under the 1996 Act,” she said.
Microsoft and Google move to stream games
Both Google and Microsoft have followed PlayStation’s lead and entered into the game streaming market. Last week, Google announced it was beginning a test of its ‘Project Stream’ service, which will allow gamers to play Assassin’s Creed Odyssey in their Chrome browser, without having to download and install the file. Users can test out the service from now until January next year. Microsoft’s service, dubbed ‘Project xCloud’, will begin trials in 2019. It will work across consoles, PCs and mobile devices and make streaming games viable on 4G networks.
Stay Smart Online Week 2018 kicks off
During the week of 8 to 14 October, the Australian Government will be promoting Stay Smart Online Week. The initiative aims to “reverse the threat of cybercrime” by encouraging Australians to follow simple security measures to protect themselves online. “One in four Australians were hit by cyber crime last year – that’s over six million Australians. If we’re going to fight back, we need to work together,” said Alastair MacGibbon, head of the Australian Cyber Security Centre. To promote the initiative, major organisations such as ANZ, Facebook, NAB, Australia Post, AGL and Qantas have displayed black and white ‘reverse the threat’ imagery on their websites.
