INSTITUTE FOR INFORMATION MANAGEMENT - Newsletters & Blogs

National Archives of Australia Building Trust In The Public Record Policy Launch

18/1/2021

The National Archives of Australia advises our new policy Building trust in the public record: managing information and data for government and community was released on 25 November 2020.

The new policy takes effect from 1 January 2021 and will replace our current Digital Continuity 2020 policy (DC2020) which concludes at the end of this year. The new policy supports a holistic approach to information and asset management. It will continue to improve information management capability within the Australian Government (Cwth) to meet current and future needs for trusted, authentic and reliable records, information and data for government and community.

National Archives is committed to engaging with agencies, government and industry more broadly to ensure the policy’s successful implementation. A range of supporting advice is available now, with further advice to be provided throughout the policy period to help Australian Government agencies implement the policy.

If you have any queries about the policy or if you work in an Australian Government (Cwth) agency and would like assistance planning for its implementation, please email National Archives at information.management@naa.gov.au.

A policy launch event in May 2021 as part of Information Awareness Month.

IIM Newsletter - Trust In Information

3/12/2020

Dear fellow information doyens
As we continue our journey across the digital world, we explore some of the fundamental processes relevant to a democratic society, which rely on the trusted information.
From the very early days of demokratia (Greek: δημοκρατία - “rule by the people”) in ancient Greece more than 25 centuries ago, democratic societies were founded on the principle of a free, equal and fair election of representatives to govern on behalf of people.
A fair election is an important factor in building the trust of citizens in their government, its competency, responsiveness and reliability. However, trust is a very interesting phenomenon. Recent political and health crises sparked renewed questioning of existing models for building and measuring the public trust. According to the results of a recent OECD research, less than 45% of citizens around the world trust their government (source: https://www.oecd.org/gov/trust-in-government.htm).
Misinformation is often cited as one of the key reasons for this mistrust. Earlier this year, we have had a considerable focus on managing information, disinformation and misinformation in critical situations. Lately, the US election showed another example how disinformation, fake stories and false accusations can influence selective messaging, create chaos and even split the nation. In this issue of your Digital Transformation Edition, we offer a selection of articles and papers that explore further the topic of building a trust in the digital world.
Enjoy the read and feel free to share your thoughts and ideas with us.
Sincerely
Vladimir Videnovic
IIM President

Trust - essential part of the Digital Transformation Agenda

US ABC News “Why millions don't trust the election results, despite no evidence of widespread fraud”
https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/millions-trust-election-results-evidence-widespread-fraud-experts/story?id=74258192

Forbes “Why trust and transparency will drive success in our big data and AI fuelled world”
https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2018/11/28/why-trust-and-transparency-will-drive-success-in-our-big-data-and-ai-fuelled-world/?sh=2183351f4a3b

Open Access Government “Five steps to a successful digital transformation transition in 2020”
https://www.openaccessgovernment.org/successful-digital-transformation-transition/81448/

TED Talk “David Bismark – E-voting without fraud”
https://www.ted.com/talks/david_bismark_e_voting_without_fraud#t-135994

Cointelegraph “MIT cybersecurity experts do not trust blockchain-based voting systems”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/mit-cybersecurity-experts-do-not-trust-blockchain-based-voting-systems

itnews “Defence wants to become better at using data”
https://www.itnews.com.au/news/defence-wants-to-become-better-at-using-data-558392

The Economist “Covid-19 is spurring the digitisation of government”
https://www.economist.com/international/2020/09/01/covid-19-is-spurring-the-digitisation-of-government

Third Stage Consulting Group “Digital Transformation Failure Lessons from the 2020 US Election”
https://www.thirdstage-consulting.com/digital-transformation-failure-lessons-from-the-2020-us-election/

CGTN “I-voting: What can the U.S. learn from Estonia's online elections?”
https://newseu.cgtn.com/news/2020-11-07/I-voting-What-can-the-U-S-learn-from-Estonia-s-online-elections--VcTflh3pdu/index.html

IIM Newsletter - Digital Transformation Edition # 3

11/11/2020

Vladimir Videnovic
National President

Dear fellow Information Connoisseurs
November for all of us in Australia was always a “rivalry” month, when we traditionally stop the nation to remember our heroes and their sacrifices, wear funny hats, grow a moustache (Movember), play silly games, and watch a horse race (Melbourne Cup). But there is nothing traditional about this year, and this November is by no means an exception. We have witnessed quite a few races recently, from the election over the ditch in New Zealand, as well as on our own soil with a few state elections and the one that has dominated the airwaves, the long anticipated presidential race in the nowadays very distant continent of America. To bring a bit of humour that we all need these days, I share with you a brief but colourful vision of the President’s Cup by the comedian Sammy J, presented by ABC on iView (https://iview.abc.net.au/video/LE1906V040S00).
We are looking closely at another aspect of the election process through our digital transformation lens. Once the dust settles, in following issues of our newsletter, we will take a closer look at how the centuries old process of voting has morphed into a race that is digitally-supported – making it more democratic, accurate and cost-friendly.
In November we present a selection of articles around Digital Transformation and Our New Reality. We also include an opinion piece from Rainer Krause, one of our IIM Board members, , about the current information management trends, which he recently expressed in an interview for the IDM Magazine.
As usual, we welcome your feedback and stories, especially this month, about races and rivalries on your own digital battlefields.
Wishing you a happy Movember.
Vladimir Videnovic
IIM President

Rainer Krause,
IIM Board Member &
Managing Director,
ELO Digital Office AU/NZ

IDM Interview with Rainer Krause
Celebrating 15 years of activity in the ANZ market, IDM asked MD Rainer Krause to reflect on the evolution of ELO Digital Office in the ANZ ECM and records management marketplace.
In the interview Rainer said "I don’t believe that ECM per see will ever disappear, although the term itself may be out of fashion. For example: if you are a small or medium company/entity and you want to streamline your business processes, you may be deterred by the word ‘enterprise’. That sounds expensive and you may think that you’ll buy something that is far too big for what you want to achieve. I think, the word enterprise is hindering it."

Read the full interview in IDM October-November 2020 Edition

Is Your Technology Ready for the New Digital Reality?
For today’s businesses, the only thing that is certain is uncertainty. COVID-19 has cast a clear and somber spotlight on the urgent need for resilience and digital capabilities. More than ever, businesses must be able to react to sudden and dramatic changes - in their supply chains, in their customer interactions, in how and where their employees work. But many companies simply aren’t there yet.
That's a problem not only for immediate responses to COVID-19 but also for the longer-term future. Expectations for businesses, employees, and consumers have shifted with remarkable speed. Although the situation is evolving very differently across geographies and industries, one common theme recurs: the need to sense and shape the new reality. What will it take to compete going forward? Three elements are key: a relentless focus on the outcomes that matter; new ways of working; and savvy use of digital and technology.

Read Report

Adapt Your Business to the New Reality
Companies seeking to emerge from the crisis in a stronger position must develop a systematic understanding of changing habits. For many firms, that will require a new process for detecting and assessing shifts before they become obvious to all. The first step is to map the potential ramifications of behavioral trends to identify specific products or business opportunities that will most likely grow or contract as a result. Consider how the pandemic has caused people to stay at home more... Unless we sensitize ourselves to new habits and their cascading indirect effects, we will fail to spot weak signals and miss opportunities to shape markets.

Read Report

COVID-19 has made our world more virtual.
Here are three reasons why this is a good thing:

The pandemic has accelerated the adoption of digital technologies at a faster speed than we could have imagined.
As business undergoes change, companies are realizing the power of technology to unify dispersed, global talent.
Virtual learning and telehealth are also becoming more advanced and could deliver benefits throughout the world

Read Report

The digital-led recovery from COVID-19: Five questions for CEOs
A digital future lies ahead. By acting early and being bold and decisive, CEOs can accelerate their digital transformation and reach the next normal sooner.
For many companies, the only option is to accelerate their digital transformation. That means moving from active experimentation to active scale-up supported by ongoing testing and continuous improvement. These moves should happen across two dimensions: at the core of the company and through the development of new businesses. Top-performing digital companies take this twin approach.

Read Report

Accelerating digital transformation on the road to a new reality
COVID-19 has been a catalyst for tactical digital transformation. Organisations had to react quickly to enable remote working, shift to digital channels and transform products and services to meet the changing demands of customers. The pandemic has forced organisations to urgently leverage new technologies and ways of working, implementing digital projects in mere weeks that would previously have taken months, if not years. However, there are concerns that these rushed, reactive initiatives addressed a short-term need at the risk of long-term success.

Read Report

Image & Data Manager Magazine

30/10/2020

IDM October-November 2020 Edition

Features:
Industry Profile: Rainer Krause, ELO Digital Office Au/NZ & IIM Board Member
Most Complex Places For Rules And Regulations In APAC
Automating Web Form Capture At City Of Kingston
Pdf And Digital Signatures

Download HERE

Study finds digital transformation in government still a work in progress.
A survey of 40 Australian federal government decision-makers has found one quarter state their agency did not have an approved digital transformation strategy, while 50% are implementing transformation programmes now.

Key findings include:

88 per cent of respondents stated that IT systems would have to change and 45 per cent stated that new systems or major changes to existing systems would be required to accommodate Data Availability and Transparency legislation.
52 per cent believed it would have a significant impact on their agency’s data governance practices.
38 per cent of respondents stated that their agency had no plans to implement AI.
84 per cent have current or planned implementations for intelligent automation technology, mainly targeted at internal improvements to the back-office process, data usage and data quality.

IIM Newsletter - Digital Transformation Edition # 2

30/9/2020

Dear fellow information professionals,
Recently there has been considerable commentary about the impacts on the 'way we work' from business leaders and academics. For instance, Assoc Prof Anya Johnson (Deputy Head of Discipline in Work & Organisational Studies at University of Sydney's Business School) said "If we'd just had the first lockdown and then the bounce back to normal working patterns, then it [Covid-19] might not have had any long-lasting effects. But, in fact, the disruption is big enough that I think it will change culture: it will recraft what work means, and how we work."
Because of all the complexities and changes facing business, IIM is continuing with our focus on Digital Transformation in this newsletter.
I would to take the opportunity to congratulate all the IDC Digital Transformation Award Finalists but, in particular, the DX Leader Finalists, for playing a determining role in setting the vision and being responsible for the execution of the Digital Transformation initiative.
If you have any Digital Transformation stories that you would like to share with the IIM community, please contact IIM's Secretariat at iim@iim.org.au.

Vladimir Videnovic
National President

How CIOs and CTOs can accelerate digital transformations through cloud platforms
Only 14 percent of companies launching digital transformations have seen sustained and material performance improvements. Why? Technology execution capabilities are often not up to the task. Outdated technology environments make change expensive. Quarterly release cycles make it hard to tune digital capabilities to changing market demands. Rigid and brittle infrastructures choke on the data required for sophisticated analytics.

Read article

IDC Digital Transformation Award Finalists Announced for Australia and New Zealand
IDC has announced this year’s finalists in the Digital Transformation (DX) Awards for Australia and New Zealand. The Awards recognise the achievements of organisations that have successfully digitised one or multiple areas of their business through the application of digital and disruptive technologies.

'DX Leader Finalists', for playing a determining role in setting the vision and being responsible for the execution of the DX initiative. Sets strategy for continuous transition from old to new tech and experimental to operational in the context of digital transformation, empowering employees, and enabling innovations that have been integrated into the organisation are:
Sally Copland, General Manager Digital, Countdown (New Zealand)
Mark Denvir, Director ICT, Auckland Council (New Zealand)
Michael Snell, ‎Service Strategy General Manager, Airservices Australia (Australia)
Josh Teichman, GM Digital, Monash University (Australia)

See finalists in all categories

How To Commence Digital Transformation
As an introduction to Digital Transformation this short video highlights the essential requirements for an organisations journey.

Link to video

Working from home: An Experiment
A virus is turning the world’s business world upside down. Karl Heinz Mosbach, CEO of ELO Digital Office GmbH, explains that the degree of digitization at companies is ultimately the deciding factor when it comes to productive remote work.
Businesses where digitization didn't play a large role up to now – they are having trouble with remote working or aren't even able to offer the option at all.

Read the full interview

AEC Case Study - Digitisation of Ballot Papers
Prior to the 2016 Federal Election parliament passed new legislation to change the senate voting system. Before that time most electors were required to put just 1 mark above the line, which meant the AEC were able to manually count the vast majority of ballot papers in the senate. The subsequent change to the legislation meant that electors were now required to mark 6 above the line and at least 12 below the line. This meant that the AEC had significant challenges as to how these votes were counted.
For the 2019 Federal Election, Fuji Xerox DMS in partnership with the AEC developed an inbound management plan that handled over 15 million ballot papers across multiple Fuji Xerox DMS processing sites and a digitisation solution that included scanning the ballot papers and captured over 100 million fields. To meet the 27 day deadline Fuji Xerox DMS set up 8 processing sites and had 1500 dedicated employees Australia wide.
The 2019 Federal Election success was attributed to adopting the highly successful components of the 2016 Senate Scanning Solution along with improvements from the joint Project Improvement Review between the AEC and Fuji Xerox DMS. This lead to an accurate result, capturing data from 15,184,085 ballot papers in less than a 4 week period.

Link to video case study

Western Australia Police to Undergo Digital Transformation
Police Minister Michelle Roberts has announced a AU$ 39 million deal with a company, which connects people via reliable communication infrastructure, to upgrade the digital infrastructure at Western Australia Police stations around the State.. According to a recent press release, the improved infrastructure will form the backbone for the digital transformation of the WA Police Force.

Read article

IIM Newsletter - Digital Transformation Edition # 1

10/8/2020

Dear fellow information professionals,
In our present setting, transformation and adoptability to change are among the key topics for people everywhere. IIM supported our media partner Information & Data Magazine (IDM) with a survey of over 100 senior information management practitioners across a broad range of industry sectors in Australia and New Zealand. For the survey results, please visit idm.net.au/digital-transformation-survey-2020-results.
Aligned with this endeavour, IIM will focus on the range of topics related to Digital Transformation. The term ‘Digital Transformation’ is still often misinterpreted and misused. We will work with you, our members and readers, to demystify some of the common preconceptions and myths that are too often reducing its potential to create value.

Digital Transformation is a roadmap for using digital technologies to establish modern business processes, information management practices, and customer experiences, in order to address the continuous transformations of market demands as well as changes in cultural, social, technological, and business aspects of our environment. IDM has provided a new working definition of Digital Transformation in their recent issue (idm.net.au/article/0013079-revised-working-definition-digital-transformation).
In its early days (coinciding with the rise of personal computers and the internet), Digital Transformation was confined to the notion of converting analogue information into digital form, commonly cloning the traditional paper-based processes on the computer screen. This process failed to digitise and improve any associated business processes and practices. Digital Transformation is a complex and uncertain venture. Conversely, when it is done right, Digital Transformation leads to significant optimisations of performance and extraordinary results.
Commonly cited as the ‘Apple of Toys’, LEGO is a prime example of leveraging digital technologies to fundamentally transform thier business model. After facing bankruptcy in 2004, they implemented a new digital strategy. LEGO’s digital strategy included: LEGO Ideas (crowdsourcing products’ design), LEGO Boost (using mechatronics to bridge the physical and digital divide), LEGO Life (a social network community), LEGO Dimensions (LEGO-themed video games), and LEGO Movies.
By fostering and sustaining radical innovation, in addition to embracing disruptions without disturbing the healthy existing business, LEGO has reached new heights and success.
For a brief overview report on the LEGO’s digital journey see: reports.weforum.org/digital-transformation/lego-group.
Several successful Australian Digital Transformation experiences, covering organisations such as Commonwealth Bank, Telstra, and WebJet, have been analysed in Microsoft’s study of Digital Transformation experiences (info.microsoft.com/rs/157-GQE-382/images/Embracing-Digital-Transformation_Experiences-from-Australian-Organisations.pdf). But not all Digital Transformations turn into happy tales. According to Forbes more than 80% of Digital Transformation projects fail to deliver expected benefits, frequently bringing lasting damages to their market value, business strategy, and team morale.
A famous example of Digital Transformation going wrong is General Electric Digital, which aimed to centralise its information environment and offer a business version of internet. Implementing a Digital Transformation project at a massive scale without a clear vision combined with a lack of cohesion between the business needs, readiness, and capabilities, are cited as the key reason for the failure of GE’s digital strategy. GE Digital story featured in this 2018 Harvard Business Review article (hbr.org/2018/03/why-so-many-high-profile-digital-transformations-fail).
The current COVID-19 pandemic is ‘blamed’ for a rapid digital transformation in many organisations, described by Financial Review article “COVID-19 Accelerates Digital Transformation Agenda” (www.afr.com/technology/how-covid-19-pushed-the-digital-transformation-agenda-ahead-20200601-p54yh3).
This newsletter includes a few articles that provide definitions, guides, discussions, and interesting case studies. In the coming months IIM plans to dive deeper into the key elements of Digital Transformation. Exploring digital maturity, strategies, case studies, as well as revisiting related themes such as governance and information science to information consumer experience.
In the coming weeks IIM will be inviting you to share your thoughts and experiences of Digital Transformation. Keep your eyes peeled for how you can inform and contribute. Additionally, if you would like more information please feel free to contact us.
With regards and wishes for a safe transformation,
Vladimir Videnovic
IIM National President
Read pdf version

2020 A/NZ Digital Transformation Survey
Executive Summary
We found that Digital Transformation is failing to deliver eagerly anticipated advances in intelligent document processing.
While over 60% expressed a desire to implement AI-based Automatic Classification of Unstructured Data, only 23% say this is being delivered. There was a similar gap for Content/Text Analytics (45% DX Desire vs 28% DX Delivery).
Our survey also identified a huge opportunity that still exists in this region, with almost half having yet to commence their Digital Transformation (DX) journey.
Click HERE to obtain Survey Results

A Revised Working Definition of Digital Transformation
Digital Transformation is a roadmap for using digital technologies to establish modern business processes, customer experiences and information management practices, in order to address continuous transformations of market demands and changes in cultural, social, technological and business aspects of our environment. IDM magazine has provided a new working definition of Digital Transformation in their recent issue.

Digital Transformation - Lego Group
The digital transformation of industries represents an immense opportunity to create value for both industry and society.

Microsoft: Embracing digital transformation - Australian Success Stories
Digital transformation opens up many possibilities, but what is it and can every organisation reap the benefits? In this report, leaders from 30 Australian organisations share their experiences – the drivers, challenges and gains – to show you what’s possible and to help you on your own digital transformation journey.

Why So Many High-Profile Digital Transformations Fail
In 2011, GE embarked upon an ambitious attempt to digitally transform its product and service offerings. The company created impressive digital capabilities, labeling itself a “digital industrial” company, embedding sensors into many products, building a huge new software platform for the Internet of Things, and transforming business models for its industrial offerings.
However, investors didn’t seem to acknowledge its transformation.

How COVID-19 pushed the digital transformation agenda ahead
The COVID-19 pandemic is tipped to create a fresh productivity boost for the country, thanks to the accelerated digital transformation of all industries and the opportunity for a new generation of entrepreneurs to build solutions for the modern workplace.
The boom in cloud, communication and workplace collaboration software has let businesses weather the COVID-19 outbreak in ways that would not have been possible even a decade ago.

Digital transformation: online guide to digital business transformation
Digital transformation is not just about disruption or technology. It’s about value, people, optimization and the capability to rapidly adapt when such is needed through an intelligent use of technologies and information.

Where Businesses Go Wrong With Digital Transformation
Across all industries, digital transformation is not a choice but a necessity. But the brutal truth is that at the outset of a digital transformation program, the odds are stacked against successful delivery.
Up to 84% of digital transformation projects fail to deliver their expected benefits equating to colossal missing ROI, as well as the collateral damage to business strategy, shareholder value and team morale.
Why do so many businesses struggle with digital transformation?

UTS launches Australian Artificial Intelligence Institute
The University of Technology Sydney launched a new research institute to develop the nation’s use of artificial intelligence for economic and social advancement.
The Australian Artificial Intelligence Institute (AAII) is a world leading research institute in artificial intelligence, with a vision to develop theoretical foundations and advanced algorithms for artificial intelligence and to drive significant progress in related areas like computational intelligence, business intelligence, computer vision, data science, machine learning, brain computer interface, social robotics and information systems.
https://www.uts.edu.au/research-and-teaching/our-research/australian-artificial-intelligence-institute

IIM Newsletter July 2020

24/7/2020

President's Message
Dear fellow Information Professionals,
Our world is going through unprecedented changes. There are no manuals, standards, or playbooks to guide us through the present challenges and ambiguities. Your IIM is also going through a fundamental transformation that will change the ways we research, socialise, evangelise and lead information professionals through the new crusades that emerging technologies, novel approaches and changing circumstances are bringing upon us.
In the coming months, we plan to engage with you, our members and affiliates and develop a map of business capabilities that an organisation need to have, in order to survive and prepare for new norms and normalities in a very different world.
We hope that you will choose to join us on this uncertain, but exciting journey.
Vladimir Videnovic
National President

IIM Survey
In a Covid-19 world, webinars and video-conferencing is rife. The Institute for Information Management (IIM) is looking to provide our members, and the wider information management community, with targeted information that is important to them in this time of uncertainty.
Your response to the main survey question will provide an insight as to what is relevant to you and need to be addressed in our forthcoming webinars.
Survey Link

2020 Cyber Security Strategy – Industry Advisory Panel Report 2020 Cyber Security Strategy – Industry Advisory Panel Report
Sponsored by: Department of Home Affairs

After broad consultation and careful deliberation, the 2020 Cyber Security Strategy Industry Advisory Panel has developed a series of recommendations that the Australian Government believes strike the right balance between increasing our cyber defences, promoting the development of a digital economy and countering threats to our economy, safety, sovereignty and national security.

Download 2020 Cyber Security Strategy Report

National Archives of Australia's Draft Exposure Document
National Archives of Australia is pleased to advise the exposure draft of their new policy Building Trust in the Public Record: Managing Information and Data for Government and Community is now available for comment until 10th August 2020. They have also released a list of supporting advice that exists, or will be developed or updated, to support the policy.
The new policy will take effect from 1 January 2021 and will follow their current Digital Continuity 2020 policy (DC2020) which concludes at the end of this year. The policy seeks to improve information management capability within the Australian Government to meet current and future needs for authentic and reliable information and data by government and community.
The National Archives of Australia welcome feedback from IIM's community on the exposure draft and supporting products.

Women & Leadership Australia (WLA) Scholarships

9/7/2020

Scholarships of up to $5,000 for current and aspiring female leaders

Scholarships of $1,000 to $5,000 are currently available to women working in the information management sector to help support their participation in a range of online career building leadership development programs.

The initiative is providing junior through to executive women managers with scholarships to support their growth and development via participation in one of three flagship courses. Participants will benefit from course content such as Emotional Intelligence and Conflict, Career and Professional Growth, Team Dynamics, Leading Innovation and Change, and Empowering Teams.

Expressions of Interest
Find out more and register your interest by completing the Expression of Interest form here prior to Friday, September 11: https://www.wla.edu.au/funding.html

IIM Newsletter June 2020 Articles

26/6/2020

Vladimir Videnovic IIM National President

Dear fellow Information Professionals,

Informed about your changing environment.

Little we knew about the scale of changes we were about to face when the theme for the Information Awareness Month (IAM) this year was amended to seek how to be well informed about our changing environment, to reflect the unprecedented global transformations that were on horizon, with the first realisations of the impacts of the new killer virus on our health and life style.
Whilst Dalai Lama is optimistic, even in the midst of the COVID pandemic lockdown, seeing people helping one another, on the other side our world is stretched between the fights against the daemons from the past, united in the fight against racism, and daemons of the future, such as cyber-attacks, biosecurity threats and economy reset. The major trends that are still shaping our environment and our future include climate change, technology progress, inequality, discrimination, conflicts, violence and global health.
So, how do we individually contribute to the massive efforts needed to change our world for better? To start with, we need to be informed about our changing environment. That was our focus for the past weeks during the IAM 2020, and is likely to be the theme for some time to come.
According to the feedback from our members, the IAM this year was successful from several perspectives, including rapid change to a delivery of events online, enabling participants from remote areas to join the conversation, larger audiences and having dialogues with experts and our peers outside of our physical borders. In this issue of your IIM newsletter, we provide you with a few snapshots of discussions, latest news and events reflecting the ever-changing world around us.
Enjoy the read and I hope to see you at one of our future forums.

Vladimir Videnovic
National President

Leveraging Artificial Intelligence to Extract Business Value from Unstructured Information
Interview with Maurizio Mencarini, Global VP of Strategic Partnerships at Expert System.

Today, with advanced tools and technologies, such as the Expert System AI platform, companies can now understand the meaning of words in context by deploying a high-performance platform that was built for processing large quantities of text with the highest levels of precision. A platform that is able to capture, store and analyse what was once uncollectable and indescribable. Through in-depth analysis of content of all types, AI technology transforms raw data into actionable insight that can be leveraged across the organisation to benefit a variety of business processes and operations.

Read The full interview

Cyber Security

arlier this month, information resources of many organisations in Australia were subject to, as described by our Prime Minister, a "sophisticated state-based" cyber-campaign.

Over the last few weeks, the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) detected an increased number of cyber-attacks using various spear-phishing techniques and sophisticated methods to hide their work, in order to steal credentials, gain unauthorised access to information, harvest intellectual property and conduct a range of malicious cyber-activities.

This is a timely reminder for organisations to reassess their cyber-security walls. ACSC have prepared "The Essential Eight" a list of recommended fundamental mitigation strategies for Australian organisations to develop a robust cyber-protection of information systems and defend their information assets.

Australian Cyber Security Centre: "Essential Eight Explained - Strategies to Mitigate Cyber Security Incidents"
https://www.cyber.gov.au/publications/essential-eight-explained

In 2019, one of the Australian most prestige universities was a victim of a massive cyber-attack. This attack was so sophisticated, that it left some of the leading security experts shocked.

Australian Broadcasting Company: "As It Happened: Details of a Massive Cyber Attack Potentially Compromising Leaders Across the Globe"
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-10-02/anu-cyber-hack-how-personal-information-got-out/11550578

A comprehensive incident report that provides details of this attack can be found at: https://imagedepot.anu.edu.au/scapa/Website/SCAPA190209_Public_report_web_2.pdf

2020 has seen the COVID-19 pandemic drive overwhelming societal and organisational changes, such as challenges for cyber security and data theft. It has seen the continued disruption for many government agencies and enterprises, and has fundamentally changed the way they do business. As the backbone of the Australian economy, it is imperative that government agencies and enterprises not only adapt and recover, but are also set up for success in the next normal future. This will require extraordinary flexibility, coordination, adaptability and resilience during what may be a prolonged period of recovery, uncertainty and change.

In response to these challenges IIM has created the following resources:

“Data Breach Plan - Responding to a Data Breach”.

“Security, Cyber Security and Privacy Challenges Post Covid-19”

IIM Newsletter May 2020 Articles

19/5/2020

Dear fellow Information Professionals,
As we are slowly getting back to our normality, having access to the right and timely information has a new meaning and significance. The Information Awareness Month (IAM) 2020 is in a full swing, bringing many interesting topics related to the theme "Informed about Your Changing Environment".
This year's IAM started with a launch that had a record number of attendees. It featured great panellists and sparked a lot of interesting discussions (recording of the IAM 2020 Launch webinar is available). One of these dialogues will continue on Wednesday 20 May, with a seminar featuring Mr David Fricker, Director-General of National Archives of Australia, who will share with us his views on the "Preservation of Information and Misinformation in Critical Situations".
As part of our contribution to the IAM calendar, IIM and DAMA jointly organised two sessions of the "Artificial Intelligence @ Work"seminars:

Can Technology Help Us Discover and Manage Biological Threats?" on 12 May with Maurizio Mencarini from Expert System in Italy (recording of this webinar is available)
"Hybrid Models to Create Contextual Intelligence" scheduled for 28 May, featuring speakers from the World Economic Forum, who will provide an overview of the Strategic Intelligence platform, presenting the key features that enable the community of diverse stakeholders to better inform their decision making process, by highlighting the key factors of transformational changes

Following the overall IAM 2020 theme, in this issue of your IIM e-newsletter you will find several articles and resources that shed light on risks, concerns and good practices related to the public information, record-keeping and countering misinformation in situations like pandemic or natural disaster.
In closing, I would like to remind you that IAM 2020 is focused on the importance of the right information in critical situations. The IAM 2020 participating organisations prepared a range of interesting webinars and online events, which explored this theme from various perspectives. For details about upcoming events please visit www.informationawarenessmonth.org.
The IAM Organising Committee plans to finish this IAM in the same spirit. The IAM 2020 Finale scheduled for 29 May will feature the representatives from IAM affiliated organisations that will share their viewpoints on this theme, their IAM experience and how they see the future of the information management after COVID-19. The IAM 2020 Finale will include a Q&A session blended with a virtual networking End-of-IAM cocktail party with BYO food and drinks. I sincerely hope that you will be able to join us at this celebration.
Wishing you to stay healthy, COVID-smart and well-informed.

Vladimir Videnovic
National President

Countering misinformation about COVID-19
“Stop The Spread” is a global campaign which aims to raise awareness about the risks of misinformation around COVID-19, and encourages them to double check information with trusted sources such as WHO and national health authorities.
The UK government will offer a toolkit of the campaign assets to partner governments to translate and use in their countries, so there is a unified message across governments on this very important topic.

Recordkeeping during COVID-19
Queensland State Archives (QSA) recognises that usual business practices will likely be disrupted and that recordkeeping may not always be front of mind.
QSA would like to remind public authorities that their recordkeeping responsibilities under the Public Records Act 2002 remain as important as ever.
There is an ongoing need for records related to the pandemic AND as part of BAU to be created, managed and maintained.
Records created during this crisis will:

help support the success of the response
enable you to continue business as usual
ensure that there is evidence of the decisions made to support and enable this critical work
become key records for future generations to refer back to on how we all dealt with this event.

UNESCO and the International Council of Archives have released a joint statement regarding the importance of creating documentary heritage both now and for the future.