Sandra Rossi

Australia is one of 20 countries that must have a biometric passport in place by October 2004 to maintain its visa-waiver status with the U.S. With the deadline looming, the federal government has made available a further A$3 million (US$1.98 million)to pilot the facial recognition project which is in addition to an initial A$3 million made available the year before.

A tight-fisted approach to IT security spending by Australian companies is making the battle against the escalating problem of computer crime even tougher. This comes despite significant new initiatives such as a special New South Wales Police task force that has been set up with the support of financial institutions and credit card providers.

A tight-fisted approach to IT security spending by Australian companies is making the battle against the escalating problem of computer crime even tougher. This comes despite significant new initiatives such as a special New South Wales Police task force that has been set up with the support of financial institutions and credit card providers.

Cybersecurity will be a priority under the prime minister's new National Security Division which has been dubbed Australia's equivalent of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Australia's high-tech crime centre is set to open officially in July following a meeting of police commissioners in Melbourne last week.

Australia's high-tech crime center is set to open officially in July following a meeting of police commissioners in Melbourne last week.

There is very little good news in the 2003 Australian Computer Crime and Security Survey released Monday, which shows a rise in attacks and that the impact on business is more costly and damaging.

IT managers are the first to admit they need to be more assertive and that they often let other business managers off the hook too easily when an IT project falls apart.