Author: Mohiuddin Ahmed, Senior Lecturer of Computing and Security, Edith Cowan University

The Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company DeepSeek has rattled the tech industry with the release of free, cheaply made AI models that compete with the best US products such as ChatGPT. Users are rushing to check out the new chatbot, sending DeepSeek’s AI Assistant to the top of the iPhone and Android app charts in many countries. However, authorities have sounded a note of caution. US officials are examining the app’s “national security implications”. Australia’s former cybersecurity minister said national security agencies will soon issue formal guidance for users. Why are governments and security experts so concerned? The main issue…

The federal government is stepping up its fight against scams, which last year cost Australians more than A$2.7 billion. On Friday, the federal treasury released a draft scam prevention framework. The government said the plan is: an economy‑wide reform to protect the Australian community from scams. It takes a whole‑of‑ecosystem approach to reduce gaps which scammers can exploit. Many of the measures it includes are designed to put more responsibility onto social media companies, banks and telecommunications companies. This is a welcome move which favours the victims of scams. However, the increasing sophistication of scams using artificial intelligence (AI) technologies…