A new dawn is lighting the divide between the boardroom and IT professionals as perceptions adjust to a "culture of compliance" to coincide with a raft of laws and legislation and set the current business agenda.
Laws are carving out the new landscape in which the boardroom will be held liable for poor IT security practices including offences under the Commonwealth Criminal Code where a "corporate culture of non-compliance" is a serious offence.
Software vendors and Internet service providers (ISPs) are supplying resources to the NSW Police computer crime unit, which has enlisted another three officers to step up e-crime investigations.
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. System administrators are feeling unloved because Australian companies are taking them for granted and they are taking action to redefine their image and address the problem.
Many organisations have used outsourcing as a universal purgative in an attempt to rid themselves of all their technological evils and woes, according to Farrell and Associates managing director John Farrell.
E-mail storage needs are spiralling out of control and growing at a rate of up to 50 per cent a year. IT shops that are unable to cope pass the buck to end users.
Qantas passengers will now be able to do their own check in for themselves and their baggage, and even allocate their own seat.
The Federal Privacy Commissioner Malcolm Crompton has criticised the use of "bundled consents" which some of Australia's largest companies including telcos, banks and airlines typically use.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is seeking to form partnerships with the private sector as part of its ambitious plans to ramp up its high-tech crime capabilities.
IT executives still find it tough to pitch projects to board-level executives with both groups struggling to find a common language.
Federal Attorney General Daryl Williams officially opened the AusCert 2002 conference on Queensland's Gold Coast on Monday pledging to tackle cyberterrorism and review information-sharing legislation to ensure confidentiality between the government and private sector.
Australia is leading the formation of an Asia-Pacific regional strategy to battle IT security with the drafting of a cooperative agreement to be signed by participating countries by the end of the year.
Increased funding will almost double e-crime fighting capabilities for the Australian Federal Police (AFP) over the next four years with funds boosting staffing levels and its computer forensics team.
Australia has outpaced the US in the volume of computer crime, and computer crime has more than doubled since 1999, according to a survey of Australia's top 300 companies.
Enterprise adoption of voice-over-IP services is growing, but at a pace much slower than expected.
Australian companies trialling the technology warn that large-scale deployments are complex and costly, but there are some local success stories.
Two Sydney councils are trialling e-mail encryption and signature certification software for the meagre cost of $500 each.