If you want your business to recover quickly following a data disaster, it's not enough to simply have backups - you need a complete disaster recovery plan that is regularly tested and audited. [ + ]

The US postal service has disclosed a major theft of customer and employee data from one of its computer systems in a hacking attack that may have originated from China. [ + ]

Telstra to pay $18,000 for not giving a judge "reasonable notice" that he would be listed in the White Pages; ATO's Bill Gibson becomes the second senior CIO to resign in a matter of weeks; and WireLurker marks "new era" of iOS malware. [ + ]

Three in four security professionals agree that cybersecurity needs have changed in the last year and nearly as many expect needs to change again next year, a survey shows. [ + ]

Organisations are beginning to understand the benefits of data lakes, but careful implementation of an effective metadata layer is needed to prevent those lakes from turning into swamps. [ + ]

Scientists from the QUT will use geotagged tweets and Instagram photos to build an interactive map of Brisbane residents' reactions to the weekend's G20 Leaders' Summit. [ + ]

How many Internet of Things devices do you have under your control? If your answer is 'none', you're probably wrong. Here's how to find out, and three golden rules to follow for an IoT deployment. [ + ]

This week: Heathrow's infamous baggage system fails again, Virgin Galactic was likely brought low by a simple lever, naughty 'CHAPS' to blame for Britain's banking breakdown, the Japanese don't like the idea of self-driving cars, and tiny robots shaped like scallops could soon be invading your body. [ + ]

Telstra will host VMware's vCloud Air platform on its Australian data centres in a bid to make it easier for companies to adopt dedicated and hybrid cloud services. [ + ]

Responding to recent price cuts from rivals AWS and Microsoft, Google has announced sweeping price reductions to its own cloud services while also introducing new features and enhancements. [ + ]

Software defined storage (SDS) promises many benefits in architectural simplicity, costs, scaling and mobility, but there are significant challenges to overcome as well. [ + ]

The government has been criticised for sending mixed signals on whether its proposed metadata retention bill would be used for purposes that include pursuing online pirates. [ + ]

Hackers have breached unclassified White House networks in an attack that was reportedly discovered in October; Telstra's CIO Patrick Eltridge has resigned after four years in the role; and Australians' personal health information was potentially exposed in two separate data breaches during the 2013-14 financial year. [ + ]

Less than 20% of company boards worldwide have technology-capable members, leaving them at risk of losing out in the digital era, according to QUT doctoral student Elizabeth Valentine. [ + ]

Australian finance managers generally agree that their department's information management and analytics processes can be improved, but have so far been slow to turn to the cloud for a solution. [ + ]