Stories by Tim Lohman

E-Health Records marred by project, governance failures: APF

The Australian Government’s approach to managing personally controlled electronic health records (PCEHRs) has resulted in poor governance and repeated project failure, a Senate committee hearing into the PCEHR Bill 2011 has heard.

Commercial e-prescribing systems a script for better health

Commercial electronic prescribing, or e-prescribing, systems have the potential to dramatically reduce prescribing error rates, a new University of New South Wales study has found.

iiNet concludes Internode acquistion

iiNet has confirmed the completion of its acquisition of Internode, some five weeks after it first announced its intention to acquire the South Australia-based internet service provider.

Megaupload takedown won't kill Cloud storage

The closure of file storage site Megaupload should not be read as a failure of the Cloud computing model, according to University of Sydney’s Chair of High Performance Computing and Networking, Professor Albert Zomaya.

Govt ICT spending tops $5b annually

New figures released by the Department of Finance and Deregulation show the Australian government is a major supporter of the ICT industry, spending on average $5 billion per year on technology products, services and skills.

Nokia to pay $55k for spam SMS

Nokia has copped a $55,000 wrist-slapping from the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), accepting an enforceable undertaking for infringing the Spam Act 2003.

Anonymous kicks off anti-SOPA DDoS rampage -- updated

Anonymous appears to be currently carrying what is one of its largest DDoS attacks in what it claims is a response to the proposed SOPA and PIPA anti-piracy measures in the US and recent charges laid against the backers of file sharing site MegaUpload.

ASIC ups its market surveillance

The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) is looking to make significant changes to the ICT underpinning its white collar crime fighting abilities in response to faster trading speeds and high trading volumes.

Bank tech job futures uncertain

Reports that Australia’s banking sector is prepping to shed some 7000 jobs in the next two years future should be met with unease by the sector’s hundreds of information and communications technology workers.

Australia ranked third for Cyber Power

Australia has been ranked third behind the UK and US and ahead of 17 other G-20 nations for its ability to withstand cyber attacks and to deploy the digital infrastructure needed for a productive and secure economy.

Brands prep for gTLD digital land grab

Generic top-level domains (gTLDs) may well prompt a digital land grab by the world’s biggest multinational brands when applications open this week, but new gTLDs such as .food, .health and .sport may also open up the internet to more consumer choice and small business opportunity.

Feature: Remote working renovation

As if the presence of iPads in every meeting and throughput the workplace wasn’t sign enough, the expected explosion of Android-based tablets in early 2012 means that now is well and truly the time to make sure your remote working policies and security are rock-solid.

Feature: Social networking security

Like its close relative BYO IT, social media was once seen as a consumerisation fad that IT departments could afford to ignore. But if 2011 has shown us anything, it is that Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are now viewed as essential business tools and not the productivity-sapping employee distractions they once were.

New regulator to handle digital economy

Australia should establish a new independent content and communications authority with the authority to encourage competition and compliance, a new government report has urged.

Queensland Ambulance Service to get new patient transport system

Growing demand from an ageing population has prompted to Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) to begin the search for a new ambulance transport request and scheduling system.