Cyber Security 101

Long-time lurker, first-time participant "ipsa   scientia   potestas   est" (' knowledge  itself is  power ') Bacon's Meditationes Sacrae (1597). Having only existed as a digital citizen in the cyber world as a professional researcher and  lurker  with a paranoia bordering on obsessive compulsive about the   protection of my personal details and identity  this subject was as confronting as it was enlightening. My enrolment into a Bachelor of Cyber Security and Behaviour came after several years of devouring online courses related to open source intelligence (OSINT) gathering, cyber and social media investigations. I see this Degree as an extension of my existing knowledge base and advancement into an industry sector growing exponentially (O’Connell 2012) My work within this field changes on almost a daily basis as I gather and learn new methods of trawling through what may be defined by people as “dirty Laundry” ...

Once there was time when getting married, buying a house with a white picket fence and starting a family were all part of life’s stages, nowadays the reality is bleaker. Getting married and having family are relatively easy but purchasing a property for Sydney-siders is slipping further from their reach. In 2017 house prices are forecast by analyst SQM Research's Louis Christopher to  grow by 18%  and whilst the talk of the property bubble bursting and interest rates rising, for prospective purchasers there is not much light at the end of the tunnel. To compound the pain of property prices, the NSW Government levies further hurt by slugging purchasers stamp duty on average 4% stamp duty.. Whilst this “parasitic tax” has been extremely successful at filling the State government coffers by  $7b in 2015  according to the Sydney Morning Herald. In the past 18 months the issues of stamp duty and property affordability have now become a hot political top...