- Pick & Scroll News by The Aussie Corporate
- Posts
- 🗞️ Lockdown mode
🗞️ Lockdown mode
Apple has sent out a fresh round of alerts warning users across 110 countries that their devices may have been targeted by mercenary spyware, the kind typically deployed by governments against journalists, activists and political opponents.
Pick & Scroll News
August 14, 2026
Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here
Good morning. Apple has sent out a fresh round of alerts warning users across 110 countries that their devices may have been targeted by mercenary spyware, the kind typically deployed by governments against journalists, activists and political opponents.
If you get one, it lands as a notification on your lock screen telling you your iPhone has been targeted and to take action immediately.
The advice is to take it seriously and switch on Lockdown Mode, a built-in feature Apple says has never been beaten while active.
All the headlines and more below...
NEW DATA CENTRES BARRED FROM USING DRINKING WATER TO COOL SERVERS
New data centres in Australia will be barred from using large volumes of drinking water to cool their servers under proposed federal rules aimed at protecting household supply and limiting bill impacts.
The government plan, to be presented to state environment ministers on Friday, will require data centres to prioritise recycled water and fund any new public infrastructure needed to meet their own water demand.
The servers generate enormous heat and require constant cooling, typically through water-intensive evaporative systems. Under the proposed framework, new centres would need to source recycled or non-potable water rather than drawing from drinking water networks.
The plan is expected to face resistance from Queensland and the Northern Territory, which last month vetoed separate federal energy efficiency rules for data centres.
AUSTRALIAN AND GLOBAL NEWS
Australian workers are seeing real wages fall as ABS data shows average full-time earnings rose 3.7% to $2,083 while inflation hit 3.8% and wage growth slowed. LINK
The government faces a potential US$10.1B annual budget cost if it subsidises weight-loss drugs for 6.5 million obese Australians, with current PBS spending at US$19B. AFR
ANZ reported a 12% fall in home loan application values since the May budget tax changes as quarterly cash profit rose 1% to US$1.9B and mortgages grew 2%. LINK
A new national taskforce has launched to improve financial literacy rates among small business owners. LINK
A sharp property downturn and reduced real estate tax concessions have driven a record US$6.8B into Australian ETFs last month. AFR
The Federal Court of Australia has admitted a payroll error underpaid 248 casual staff a total of $77,000 since 2018 and has pledged to repay them by 30 September. LINK
Australia’s BNPL sector has shifted from rapid disruption to slower growth as annual BNPL spending growth halves to $1.5B in 2025. LINK
Japanese companies are adopting AI slowly compared with the US and UK as cultural caution persists despite acute labour shortages, an ageing population and chronic productivity challenges. LINK
VERIFONE LAUNCHING FACE AND PALM PAYMENT TERMINALS IN AUSTRALIA LATER THIS YEAR
Verifone announced Thursday it will launch Android-based biometric terminals in Australia later in 2025. The hardware allows customers to pay using facial recognition or palm scans instead of cards or phones.
The terminals also function as age verification tools for alcohol and tobacco sales and integrate with loyalty programs to automatically load points at checkout. Verifone head of product Ben Hughes said interest has come from sectors beyond retail, including GP clinics and cafes.
The system converts face or palm scans into one-way encrypted tokens that cannot be reversed into the original image. No photos are stored on the terminals. The cameras include liveness detection to prevent spoofing with pictures or videos. Biometric profiles are managed by the service provider, with traditional card, phone and PIN payments remaining available at every terminal.
Hughes predicted biometric payments would become as common as contactless within 10 to 15 years. The technology is strictly opt-in under Australia's Privacy Act. Verifone launched the same terminals in New Zealand last month.
COMPANY NEWS
Leaders from Macquarie Group, Westpac, Optus and Dexus will testify at a day-long parliamentary hearing on Friday probing KPMG Australia's alleged misuse of client data to win audit contracts. LINK
Big W has launched same-day delivery with DoorDash for thousands of products including Book Week costumes ordered before 12pm, targeting busy Australian families across select postcodes. LINK
Nick Scali has taken parts of its $1.43B furniture network offline after an offshore cyberattack and ransom demand, causing delivery delays as it investigates potential customer address exposure. LINK
Anthropic investors expect the AI start-up to float in October at a valuation of about US$2T, as booming demand could lift annualised revenue to US$100B-US$120B by 2026. LINK
Twitch has faced backlash after revealing it has been using creator and audience content to train Amazon AI models through a default-on setting that users must actively opt out of. LINK
Foxtel has agreed to pay $520M a year for 7 years to retain NRL rights as the pay TV group faces plateauing Kayo growth and a declining cable business. LINK
Corporate Travel Management has been revealed to have overcharged the UK government by about US$100M for refugee accommodation. LINK
Treasury Wine Estates reported a FY26 loss of about $1.1B blamed largely on sluggish performance and writedowns in the US while Penfolds wine sales recorded a 7% drop over the same period. LINK
IAG reported statutory net profit after tax of $1.02B for the year ended 30 June, representing a 24.8% decline year-on-year. LINK
Transurban reported a FY26 net profit after tax of $432M, which is up 143.5% year-on-year. LINK
Telstra has reported a 2.7% rise in full-year profit to $2.41B as it plans a new share buyback of up to $1B in FY27 and guides FY27 EBITDA AL at $8.5B-$8.8B. LINK
Origin Energy reported a 6.3% rise in full-year statutory net profit as new battery earnings offset lower electricity prices and highlight the resilience of its flexible assets. LINK
One idea shouldn't take six rewrites to post.
Posting everywhere means rewriting one idea six times, so you post to one, or none. SureThing turns one idea into native posts for every platform.
ONE MORE SCROLL
Editor’s Pick: Stanford researchers create viruses not found in nature using genomes designed by artificial intelligence.
Draft Pick: Australian swimmer Lani Pallister has won 200m freestyle gold ahead of Summer McIntosh and 1,500m freestyle silver behind Katie Ledecky as Australia’s Dolphins claimed 4 of 11 opening-night golds at the Pan Pacific championships.
Doctor’s Pick: 5 ways to prevent mould in your home and the best ways to clean it.
BRAINTEASER
Which four letter word can go after "up", "back" and "play" to make three other words?
Answer below
OUR SOCIALS
 |
ANSWER
Up + DATE = Update
Back + DATE = Backdate
Play + DATE = Playdate
Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here