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Kim Dotcom's MegaNet a 'preposterous pipe dream'
Entrepreneur's ' private internet' is 'brittle, unforgiving and only applicable to very unusual people', security expert says.
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The globe-trotting journey of an Aussie hackathon troupe
Team Australia took away much more than a prize: friendships and stories to last a lifetime.
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Five hundred tax file numbers hacked every day
Identity thieves can now get into employers' payroll systems, but ATO says it's systems are safe.
Top stories
Bureau of Meteorology computers breached, ABC reports
![Weathering BoM: Rob Vertessy steps down as chief executive of the Bureau of Meteorology.](/web/20160708151605im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/j/x/7/s/q/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gldc9j.zqqaf.png/1461993157181.jpg)
Ben Grubb Australia's Bureau of Meteorology has reportedly had its computer systems breached.
ATO boosts service access via app and voice authentication
![The ATO's voice identification system can be used with its app.](/web/20160708151605im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/1/0/f/c/7/p/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glcc1i.zqqaf.png/1448945920408.jpg)
Claire Connelly The ATO has announced it will extend its voice authentication system to its mobile app
Phoenix rises from the ashes to battle Aussie bushfires
![Called Phoenix, this software is proving to be indispensable for fighting bushfires.](/web/20160708151605im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/b/4/2/d/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glb3xd.zqqaf.png/1448848962321.jpg)
Bennett Ring Firefighters and planners are using an Australian-made bushfire simulator to help them do their job.
Security
Marie's mission to highlight fatal flaws in medical devices
![Security researcher Marie Moe.](/web/20160708151605im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/9/e/y/p/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gl9dwp.zqqaf.png/1448586795873.jpg)
Liam Tung Marie Moe's heart could be affected by a software flaw or attacked remotely by a hacker, but regulations and restrictions make it difficult to prevent.
Education
Code Club gets $1 million birthday present
![Code Club Australia says new funding will help it extend its reach into rural and regional areas.](/web/20160708151605im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/c/7/f/z/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glc6j3.zqqaf.png/1448935467375.jpg)
Claire Connelly On the eve of its first birthday, an Australian non-for-profit facilitating digital literacy in school-aged children just received a million present from the federal government and the Telstra Foundation.
Marketing
Big brands brave Periscope stumbles to reach millennials
![Periscope, which Twitter bought earlier this year, allows anyone to live-stream an event through a mobile phone.](/web/20160708151605im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/1/m/8/w/p/2/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gl89o4.zqqaf.png/1448492197661.jpg)
Jessica Toonkel Despite the risks, big brands are going ahead with plans to use live-streaming video to attract some of the most finicky consumers.
Security
Retailers hunt for attacks after warning on stealthy malware
![Point of sales systems like the one pictured are being compromised by hackers.](/web/20160708151605im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/7/d/n/q/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gl7dfc.zqqaf.png/1448411117405.jpg)
Jim Finkle Retailers hunt for new credut card breaches after warning about malware that evades almost all security software.
FBI probes 'mr.grey' and 1.2b stolen web credentials
![Adel Nafady used online dating sites to meet his alleged victims.](/web/20160708151605im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/h/v/u/v/5/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gl7chr.zqqaf.png/1457326520762.jpg)
Nate Raymond ​Hacker linked through a Russian email address to the theft of a record 1.2b credentials, the FBI court documents show.
Hilton payment systems hit by malware
![Hilton has advised customers to check their bank statements after a malware incident.](/web/20160708151605im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/h/i/z/r/g/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gl7caw.zqqaf.png/1448430718827.jpg)
Keegan Thomson Hilton advises customers to check their bank statements after malware incident.
Business
Algorithms and the death of the recruiter
![<p></p>](/web/20160708151605im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/1/m/x/w/j/8/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gl5boz.zqqaf.png/1448328097366.jpg)
Beverley Head ​There are 11.8 million employees in Australia – and the internet is coming to get them.
Business
Food disruptors aim for big bite of startup pie
![Liz Kaelin of food-tech startup You Chews.](/web/20160708151605im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/5/9/y/p/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gl59xw.zqqaf.png/1448246011361.jpg)
Beverley Head Liz Kaelin was tired of eating sad sandwiches at corporate events. A trained dietician, Kaelin knew it was a waste of her day's calories, especially in a city flooded with food options.
Business
Facebook's Zuckerberg to take two months paternity leave
![Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.](/web/20160708151605im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/j/i/9/u/i/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gl56vp.zqqaf.png/1449007969777.jpg)
Yasmeen Abutaleb A strong statement from one of the busiest and most powerful US executives on the importance of family time.
Security
Kim Dotcom's MegaNet a 'preposterous pipe dream'
![Members of the security community have not been as positive about Kim Dotcom's plans as he'd hoped.](/web/20160708151605im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/j/r/a/e/v/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gl3l5z.zqqaf.png/1447977474346.jpg)
Claire Connelly Eccentric entrepreneur's 'new private internet' is 'brittle, unforgiving and only applicable to very unusual people', security expert says.
Robot farmers, holograms and more receive $8.5m boost
![Elders is pumping in funds to help SwarmFarm Robotics bring its prototype unmanned machines, which work 24 hours a day ...](/web/20160708151605im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/3/3/2/v/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gl30b4.zqqaf.png/1457260232614.jpg)
Claire Connelly Ten Australian companies receive grants from federal fund to commercialise innovative ideas.
Hackathon
The globe-trotting journey of an Aussie hackathon troupe
![John Lyons and Team Melbourne at their work space.](/web/20160708151605im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/1/j/i/g/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gl1hi9.zqqaf.png/1447960476978.jpg)
Mahesh Sharma Team Australia took away much more than a prize: friendships and stories to last a lifetime.
Online payment providers duel for supremacy
![Shopping online could get more expensive, but it's not as easy as it sounds.](/web/20160708151605im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/1/2/d/x/e/9/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gl01fb.zqqaf.png/1447781258124.jpg)
Mahesh Sharma The proliferation of smartphones is presenting a once-in-a-generation opportunity to introduce a new paradigm.
'It will get worse before it gets better'
![Chris Pogue from US Secret Service Electronic Crimes Task Force](/web/20160708151605im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/k/y/e/f/a/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gkycpp.zqqaf.png/1447516467363.jpg)
Rachel Olding Australian government agencies and organisations are increasingly vulnerable to a major cyber attack yet security has not evolved in more than 20 years, according to an international cybercrime expert.
Attacks
Officials picked up 'chatter' on possible France assault, then were blocked by encryption
![encryption](/web/20160708151605im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/0/k/c/a/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gl0jde.zqqaf.png/1447710968672.jpg)
Henry Chu, Richard A. Serrano, Patrick J. McDonnell Intelligence officials in Europe and the US were picking up 'chatter' as early as September about a potential Islamic State-related attack on France but lost the ability to track the exchanges when the militants switched to encrypted communications.
Security
Inside NSA's secret school
![NSA app](/web/20160708151605im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/k/z/o/x/b/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gkuv1b.zqqaf.png/1447623855052.jpg)
Susan Svrluga Leonard Reinsfelder's wife found a note on her car as she was leaving a shopping centre one day: 'Have your husband give us a call. We think we could use him.'
Business
Atlassian finally goes public, filing for IPO in the US
![Atlassian'€™s Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar have filed for an initial public offering in the United States.](/web/20160708151605im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/k/n/5/i/f/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gkutew.zqqaf.png/1447161522740.jpg)
Micheal J. de la Merced Atlassian, the Australian maker of development and collaboration software for companies, has filed to go public in the US.
Start-ups
From AFL star to Big Apple start-up, Swift's Joel MacDonald is kicking goals
![Swift co-founder and chief executive Joel MacDonald.](/web/20160708151605im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/k/q/5/x/m/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gkq5y0.zqqaf.png/1447393882701.jpg)
Hannah Francis Two years ago Joel MacDonald was in Melbourne playing in the AFL; now he's kicking goals in New York.