AU Edition - Today's top story: What does the OpenAI Medicare hack reveal about Australia's cyber security? September 25, 2026 AU Edition   Given how much sensitive data is stored in Australia’s Medicare system, it’s understandable there’s been widespread indignation over the fact an OpenAI agent-in-training hacked into a Medicare website earlier this year. For a while, nobody knew – not even OpenAI. The hack happened in June, yet our government and cybersecurity agencies weren’t notified until September. It was revealed to the public only yesterday. This incident raises a slew of concerns. AI expert Andrew Cullen says someone should be held legally responsible when breaches like this happen, but our laws need to catch up. And cybersecurity expert Meena Jha explains how Australian government cyber defences are being adapted to the AI era. She highlights four steps the country must take now to ensure Australians’ most private data remains secure.   Signe Dean Science + Technology Editor   Today's newsletter supported by Canberra Writers Festival   What does the OpenAI Medicare hack reveal about Australia’s cyber security? Meena Jha, CQUniversity Australia We need to ask how ready Australian government systems are for increasingly capable AI agents. An OpenAI agent hacked Medicare. Will anyone be held responsible? Andrew Cullen, The University of Melbourne This is unlikely to be the last time an AI agent hacks a government system. Grattan on Friday: when rogue AI agent ‘scaled a fence’, it reinforced Albanese’s case for tough guardrails Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra The timing of the disclosure (and the incident itself) is fortuitous in a political sense, vindicating the government’s recent AI warnings. Trump wants a diesel export ban. Australia would be uniquely exposed Robert Monterosso, University of Sydney It’s a bid to alleviate cost-of-living pressures in the US and claw back Trump’s voter base. Swan Song: Diana’s brother flips the royal family the bird in his scathing new book Kate Cantrell, University of Southern Queensland Charles Spencer’s book is as much about him as about the sister he claims to speak for. Beneath the score-settling, it’s a story of a brother still grieving. Government hacks, rogue agents and no transparency: can we ever fully trust AI? Gemma Ware, The Conversation AI expert Nick Jennings speaks to The Conversation Weekly podcast about calls for a slowdown in the development of frontier AI models. Are Australians really overeducated? It depends what education is for Gwilym Croucher, The University of Melbourne According to a new survey, almost 50% of Australian workers say they are overeducated. But there are more reasons to study than getting a job. Card surcharges are banned from October 1. What’s changing at the checkout? Vibhu Arya, University of Technology Sydney Australians use debit and credit cards to pay for almost three out of four payments. Here’s what will soon change for shoppers and businesses. Heroin used more often, cocaine use up. What new data says about drug use today Rachel Sutherland, UNSW ; Amy Peacock, UNSW ; Jodie Grigg, Curtin University Established drugs – such as heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine – continue to demand attention. Here’s what else the latest drug trends tell us. Are AFL grand finals really the hardest game of the year? We checked the data Joel Garrett, Griffith University; Hunter Bennett, Adelaide University The old cliché about the Grand Final being the toughest test was true – for a while. Politics + Society Why David Brat, the new US ambassador to Australia, has a big in-tray Ava Kalinauskas, University of Sydney Tariffs and regulation of tech giants are already causing friction. But one of his biggest tasks may be convincing Australians the US alliance still matters. Are older Australians really safer from crime? The evidence says the harms are just harder to see Xanthe Weston, CQUniversity Australia; Elizabeth Boardman, CQUniversity Australia Following the deaths of two older women in alleged family violence incidents, it’s time to examine how crime affects older Australians – and what we can do about it. Health + Medicine Looking for #womenshealth information on Instagram? 4 out of 10 posts are ads Brooke Nickel, University of Sydney; Tessa Copp, University of Sydney If you’re looking for #womenshealth on Instagram, a new study shows you’d better be prepared for lots of adverts dressed up as health advice. 83,000 New Zealanders live with dementia. Here’s how simple design changes can help Ngaire Kerse, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau; Keisha Rawiri, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau New dementia-friendly design guidance shows how simple changes can make homes safer and easier to navigate for people living with the condition. Business + Economy NZ’s supply chains are highly exposed. Could new AI agents make them more resilient? Ilan Oshri, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau AI agents are starting to transform procurement overseas. For isolated, trade-dependent New Zealand, they could offer a powerful tool against disruption. Unemployment rises to 4.6%, but a September interest rate hike still looks likely Jeff Borland, The University of Melbourne The jobless rate hasn’t been this high since November 2021. But this is why it’s unlikely to stop the Reserve Bank from lifting interest rates next Tuesday. Education The Intergenerational Report says we need more vocational skills – but federal funding for them is set to drop Lizzie Knight, Grattan Institute; Ben Jefferson, Grattan Institute The federal government is unambiguous about the need for more nurses, builders and electricians. But the plan to find and fund these workers is less clear. Environment + Energy The space race should not endanger Australian wildlife Kirsten Parris, The University of Melbourne; Hugh Possingham, The University of Queensland The future of a proposed rocket-launch facility in South Australia is uncertain. But tensions between space exploration and conservation remain. Sharks often swim across national borders. Our conservation efforts must travel with them Diego Bezerra, The University of Queensland; Daniel Dunn, The University of Queensland; Ross Dwyer, University of the Sunshine Coast Sharks and rays have been swimming through the oceans for millions of years – but we still don’t really know where. Science + Technology An AI model has found a new ‘CRISPR-like’ biological system. Here’s what it means for science Dimitri Perrin, Queensland University of Technology After coding, mathematics and chatbots, AI companies are setting their sights on the messy world of biology. Arts + Culture The English paid off the Vikings for almost a century. But was the Danegeld such a bad idea? Matthew Firth, Flinders University It’s easy to say now that paying the Vikings to go away ‘didn’t work’. But this obscures the fact paying off one Viking band didn’t ensure another would stop coming. Books + Ideas Gentle larrikin Terry Denton, famous for his anarchy with Andy Griffiths, made reading fun Mark Macleod, Charles Sturt University Terry Denton was wickedly funny, unpretentious and won multiple awards for his illustrations – and sold millions with Andy Griffiths. He will be dreadfully missed. Your Say Michael FitzGerald’s article on banning AI in the classroom argued that one of the reasons AI should not be feared is that oral traditions were not predicated on literacy, and thus a post-literate society does not necessitate a degradation of intelligence. But I believe one of the other effects on the online generation is an undermining of memorisation skills, the very thing oral tradition relies upon. Many of my peers and students, growing up with ready access to Google, have not had to retain information for long periods – we can just ask Siri or Google it again. Increasingly, the result of such info requests is a meshing and mashing of other information, scooped up and served by AI. If young people cannot read and cannot remember what they are told, and have to blindly trust that the info produced by AI is correct as they do not have the skills or access to verify sources, how can we have hope that humanity is not indeed ‘dimming’? — Jessica Joan Graham Read the article As a former guide on the Larapinta Trail for 10 years, I feel your article about personal locator beacons has wriggled around the main issue. Rule number one: don't walk alone! As mentioned in your article, the beacon is of no use if the walker is unconscious. Also, one of the unanswered questions I have long asked is: are beacons reliable from the bottom of a gorge? They rely on satellite connection which may be impeded by the terrain. And you can't climb a hill for a signal with a broken leg. — Charlie Carter, Alice Springs NT Read the article   We'd love to hear from you. Each day we publish an edited selection of your views on our stories. Email us     Featured Events, Courses & Jobs View all