Six physical IT and information security companies from Australia and New Zealand have merged into the new Optic Security Group.

A $10 million cybersecurity initiative has just been launched by the federal government. [ + ]

Cybercriminals seeking to capitalise on the spike in online sales activity during Black Friday and Cyber Monday held their own version of the shopping event. [ + ]

nbn co is futureproofing the fibre-to-the-curb component of its network by deploying distribution point units capable of supporting G.fast technology. [ + ]

New Zealand's Ultrafast Broadband network now passes roughly 1.4m premises and has just under 669,000 subscribers. [ + ]

Key drivers for 5G deployment include increased network capacity, lower cost per gigabyte and new use case requirements. [ + ]

The funding round was led by Silicon Valley venture capital firm IVP, known for its investments in Dropbox, Snap, Slack and Twitter. [ + ]

A new data sharing framework developed by the ACS proposes the introduction of a standardised method of sharing and properly anonymising personal data. [ + ]

The federal government has released two new reports that aim to make Australia a world leader in cybersecurity. [ + ]

Australian scientists have overcome another hurdle for building a silicon-based quantum computer. [ + ]

The hub is poised to position SA as a world-leading start-up state where entrepreneurs with bright ideas can establish their business. [ + ]

The Commonwealth Government's Joint Cyber Security Centre (JCSC) has now opened in Adelaide. [ + ]

Reports of business email compromise (BEC) to Scamwatch have grown by one-third this year. [ + ]

The ACCC has decided to extend the declaration of Telstra's wholesale copper-based fixed line services until at least mid-2024. [ + ]

New Zealand's Commerce Commission has proposed new rules governing Chorus's transition of copper customers in the UFB network rollout footprint to fibre. [ + ]