In other public sector ICT and digital news for 2 November:
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The federal government has awarded US consulting firm McKinsey over $6 million across two contracts for key modelling work on Scott Morrison’s net-zero plan.
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The Department of Defence is running a $3.5 million trial to develop a fleet of autonomous cargo trucks to give the ADF a ‘marked advantage’ on the battlefield. The project is being developed by Deakin University’s Institute for Intelligent Systems Research and Innovation (IISRI) and the Army’s Robotic and Autonomous Systems Implementation and Coordination Office (RICO).
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The Federal Government has launched an initiative to prevent text messages from scammers posing as government officials. The initiative was developed by the Australian Cyber Security Centre, Services Australia, and the telecommunications sector after a year-long pilot.
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Five years after its first go, the Federal Government is attempting to pass legislation that will criminalise illegitimate re-identification of public sector data. Under the bill, government data will be anonymised entirely, rather than just de-identified.
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Victoria has passed a new pandemic bill to prevent law enforcement from accessing citizen QR check-in data and contact tracing information. This change comes after Victoria Police tried to access state app tracing data on three occasions but were refused by the Department of Health.
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The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has launched the $7 million Geoscience Drill Core Research Laboratory in Perth to analyse underground samples of critical minerals. It will host the CSIRO’s world-first mineral imaging tool adapted for drill core samples.
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Innovation projects that help boost the nation’s cyber security workforce are the focus of a $60.1 million dollar funding round announced by Karen Andrews (Minister for Home Affairs ) and Melissa Price (Minister for Science and Technology) in a joint statement. The funding is part of Round Two of the Cyber Security Skills Partnership Innovation Fund.
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The federal government has unveiled privacy legislation that will increase penalties for privacy breaches by social media companies and tech firms. These companies will also be required to verify users’ ages and obtain parental consent from users under 16.