There’s a new term arising in discussions around cybersecurity that should be of concern to everyone: data breach fatigue.

And sure, it’s easy for the average person to look at the numerous stories arising on a daily basis and resort to the posture of “well, breaches are inevitable so why bother?” but this could be very dangerous.

There are so many stories about breaches … or risks of breaches … or how to prevent breaches … or the need to report breaches that we stop seeing them. We have forgotten about the importance of the data, why it is being stolen and how it could be used. And we need to remind ourselves not only just how valuable our data is, but how easily it can be used for criminal purposes.

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Watterson senior consultants Cameron Wells and Oisin O’Callaghan sit down to discuss the federal government’s opt out plan for medical records. They look into security concerns and talk about their own personal opinions on why they are opting out or staying in.

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Watterson senior consultants Oisin O’Callaghan and Cameron Wells dissect the issues that plagued the Optus streaming platform during the recent soccer World Cup. They look into the future of streaming in Australia and what will need to be done to entice consumers away from traditional broadcasting.

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After many years of discussion, FIFA has bowed down to demands and introduced a video assistant referee (VAR) and ‘new’ technology to the beautiful game on the world stage.

One of the most contentious issues in the world’s most popular sport, proponents have been calling for the use of video assistance for years. Despite its widespread use in other sports, football had long avoided its introduction, with early mock trials only getting the green light in 2012.

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The issue of recycling has been fronting headlines recently. With the shutdown of recycling shipments to China and Australia’s own failing recycling practices what can we do as consumers to cut down on producing more waste.

Hannah Watterson and Jackson Rose sit down to discuss the latest issues around recycling in particular the recent move by supermarkets away from single use plastic bags towards the reusable green bags we are all familiar with.

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There’s a word that’s been at the centre of video game culture for the last couple of years: hype.

Hype sells games; more importantly, hype can separate money from consumers before a product is even delivered.

The biggest gaming conference of the year, E3, has just been held, and I thought it was an interesting time to take a look at what is ‘hype’. In the video game space it refers to the huge expectations publishers create around new and existing franchise announcements.

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If there’s one thing you can take away from any of the now-ancient Star Wars prequels, it’s a line from the final battle between Obi-Wan Kenobi and a corrupted Anakin Skywalker. The future Darth Vader delivers the “you’re with me or against me” ultimatum to Obi-Wan, who responds with “only a Sith speaks in absolutes”.

It’s never a good sign when your opening pop-culture reference is from a reviled trilogy – but it’s the first thing I think of whenever I’m drawn into or witness a “debate” online or on TV. Because when it comes to debating, we’re all Siths nowadays. You’re either with me, or against me. There’s no middle ground; it’s gone the way of Luke Skywalker’s hand in The Empire Strikes Back (is that better?).

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Consumer interest keeps companies alive. It’s why I’ve become a little confused when organisations – specifically consumer ‘brands’ – pander to the wrong parties; predominately by forgetting the interests of their primary stakeholders in favour of quick cash grabs.

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