The week saw cyber threats shadow Black Friday’s $70B sales, AI reshaping banking, and Meta’s nuclear energy ambitions. ByteDance and Nvidia clashed in the U.S.-China tech war, while Australia pushed Big Tech to fund journalism. A turbulent digital landscape sets the stage for 2025.
The Pacific tech war intensifies as Trump's return to power amplifies U.S. export bans, targeting China’s AI progress. ByteDance, Nvidia's largest Chinese buyer, counters with bold strategies like crafting AI chips and expanding abroad. A fragmented 2025 looms, redefining tech and geopolitics.
Australia pushes tech giants to pay for local journalism with new laws as Meta faces a global outage, raising concerns over platform reliability. Meanwhile, Meta joins hyperscalers like Google and Amazon, exploring nuclear energy to power AI ambitions and unveils a $10B AI supercluster project.
CBA Partners with Telstra: Advancing the Fight Against Phone Scams
CBA, Bendigo Bank, and Satori launched NameCheck, preventing $38M in scam losses and reducing mistaken payments by $100M. As scams increase, especially during holidays, CBA boosts protection for consumers and businesses, aligning with APRA standards.
CBA Leads Innovative Anti-Scam Initiative with Bendigo Bank and Satori
The Commonwealth Bank (CBA) has recently announced a significant collaboration with Bendigo Bank and Satori, a fraud monitoring firm, to pilot its innovative NameCheck technology.
This move marks a concerted effort to safeguard Australians from the increasing threats of scams and mistaken payments.
Since its introduction in March, NameCheck has utilised CBA’s advanced technological capabilities and extensive payment data to cross-verify account details.
This innovation has successfully intercepted more than 10,000 scam payments, preventing potential losses of over $38 million and reducing mistaken payments by upwards of $100 million.
CBA’s Group Executive Business Banking, Mike Vacy-Lyle, commented on the partnership, stating,
“We are delighted to collaborate with Bendigo Bank and Satori, both of whom play an incredibly important role in the payments ecosystem.”
He emphasised the need for a “whole-of-ecosystem” national approach to effectively combat scam activities.
The integration of NameCheck into Bendigo Bank’s Up app and Satori’s monitoring systems is a strategic move to fortify defences against cyber fraud. Bendigo Bank’s Chief Transformation Officer, Ryan Brosnahan, acknowledged the potential impact of this technology, saying,
“Cyber fraud is a complex, evolving, and ongoing challenge...we are proud to work with our peers on solutions that provide our customers with additional confidence when making direct payments online.”
Mark Bookatz, Satori’s Executive Director: Growth, highlighted the significance of this integration for corporate clients, remarking,
“We are excited to work with CBA and extend the NameCheck service to our corporate customer base to complement the existing AI-driven financial controls monitoring service driving operational efficiency and preventing fraud.”
The Commonwealth Bank's proactive measures, including the rollout of NameCheck to its business customers, are especially crucial during the holiday season, which typically witnesses a surge in email scams.
Cybercriminals exploit this period by dispatching emails laced with malware, often disguised as enticing offers or delivery notifications from renowned retailers.
Moreover, phishing emails, which have become increasingly sophisticated and personalised, pose a significant threat as they seek to pilfer personal information.
These efforts by the Commonwealth Bank, complemented by introducing similar technology to Bendigo Bank and collaborations with other organisations, form a robust defence against the risks of email scams and phishing.
This multi-faceted approach is vital in safeguarding consumers, particularly during the holiday seasons, when such fraudulent activities tend to escalate.
By equipping businesses with tools to counter scam threats, a significant proportion of potential vulnerabilities can be mitigated, thereby enhancing protection for both businesses and consumers against the pervasive issue of cyber scams.
This initiative is in line with CBA’s strategy to progressively roll out NameCheck to its business customers, thus covering a vast majority of payments processed through CommBiz.
However, CBA’s commissioned research indicates that 20% of Australian businesses are still unprepared for scam threats, potentially affecting up to 500,000 businesses.
Vacy-Lyle urges businesses to adopt a proactive stance against scams, advising,
“To protect your business from scams, remember three simple steps: Stop. Check. Reject.”
He further highlights the importance of collective vigilance in the business community to counteract the sophisticated tactics employed by scammers.
In line with the regulatory mandates from APRA and ACMA, Commonwealth Bank (CBA) has strategically collaborated with Telstra to introduce the Scam Indicator, targeting phone-based scams. This initiative is a key response to the heightened focus on cyber resilience in the banking and telecommunication sectors, adhering to the rigorous standards set forth by these regulatory authorities.
Additionally, in a move that further strengthens this approach, CBA has integrated its advanced NameCheck technology into Bendigo Bank’s Up app. This integration represents a significant advancement in digital banking security, directly addressing the vulnerabilities identified in APRA’s recent tripartite assessment and aligning with the enforcement priorities of ACMA.
As Black Friday scams surge, Australians face rising threats with $500K lost to fake sites. Meanwhile, Salt Typhoon targets telecom giants in a global espionage campaign. RomCom exploits zero-day vulnerabilities on Firefox and Windows, while Trump eyes an 'AI czar' to reshape US tech policy.
Hacker "UnicornLover67" claims to have data on 47,300 Telstra employees, raising concerns in Australia. The UK launches an AI Security Lab to counter Russian cyber threats. The EU's Cyber Resilience Act mandates strict digital security from December 2024, with heavy fines for non-compliance.
Australia’s push for bold social media laws to protect youth faces challenges, Bunnings sparks backlash over its facial recognition rollout, and AI fuels parliamentary security debates. These key issues underscore the growing tension between innovation, governance, and safeguarding privacy rights.
Global cyber affairs are in overdrive! Australia’s $50M social media crackdown, Nvidia’s $35B AI earnings, and claims of AI breaching parliamentary security highlight a whirlwind week. With 2025 looming, the pace of tech, trade, and policy shifts is only set to accelerate.