RemoteNews and analysis
Know the threats before they hit you.
Cyber security alerts, vulnerability news and practical IT advice for Australian businesses, gathered from CISA, the NVD, ASD's ACSC and trusted researchers, with analysis from our own engineers.
Updated several times a day. Search it, filter it by topic, or get it by email.
- Updated daily
- Tagged by topic
- Analysis from Brisbane engineers
What we cover
The news that matters to Australian businesses.
Every post is tagged by topic so you can filter to what matters to you. These are the areas we follow most closely, and the guides that go deeper on each.
Threats and alerts
Ransomware, phishing, zero-days and actively exploited vulnerabilities, from CISA, the NVD and ASD's ACSC, with what to do about each one.
- Known exploited vulnerabilities
- ACSC alerts and advisories
- Ransomware and phishing campaigns
Compliance and regulation
Essential Eight, SMB1001, the Privacy Act and the wider Australian regulatory picture, including what changes and when.
- Essential Eight updates
- Privacy Act changes, including 10 December 2026
- SMB1001 and CyberCert
Microsoft 365 and cloud
Changes to Microsoft 365, Entra ID, Intune, Azure and Google Workspace that affect how your business signs in, shares files and stays secure.
- Licensing and price changes
- Security defaults and retirements
- Exchange, Teams and SharePoint news
Identity and access
MFA, passkeys, Conditional Access and the account takeovers that get around weak setups.
- Passkey rollouts
- MFA bypass techniques
- Token theft and session hijacking
Backup and recovery
Backup, disaster recovery and continuity, and the attacks that go after backups first.
- Immutable backup
- Restore testing
- Business continuity planning
AI and automation
Copilot, ChatGPT and agents at work, the governance around them, and how attackers are using AI.
- Copilot and AI assistant news
- AI governance and regulation
- Deepfakes and AI phishing
The feed
Search the news, or filter by topic.
Type a product or threat name, or pick a topic. Posts from our own team are shown first, then the wider feed, newest at the top.
CISA: CVE-2026-76418 - Active Ransomware
CVE CVE-2026-76418: Cisco Secure Firewall ASA Software and Cisco Secure FTD Software Unchecked Return Value to NULL Pointer Dereference Vulnerability
Read Full AlertFilter by Topic
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Our analysis and advice
Written by our engineers, not auto-aggregated. These stay here permanently.
Australian cyber security news and insights
Threat intelligence and practical guidance, written for Australian business.
The Real Bytes blog brings together cyber security alerts, vulnerability news and practical IT and security guidance for Australian businesses. We gather alerts from CISA, the NVD vulnerability database, Australian and international security researchers and industry sources, then add our own analysis and recommended actions for local IT teams and business owners.
Every alert and article is tagged by topic, so you can filter to what matters: ransomware, phishing, Essential Eight, SMB1001, MFA, backup and recovery, and the wider Australian regulatory picture. Posts written by our engineering team cover managed IT, Microsoft 365 hardening, cloud migration, identity security and the practical work of running a business through a cyber incident.
If you look after IT or cyber security at an Australian business and want to stay ahead of the threats that actually target small and mid-sized organisations here, this is the feed for you. For depth, use the guides. For this week's patching list, use the live Threat Landscape page. For anything you read here, you can talk to our Brisbane engineers.
From the Real Bytes desk
Long reads that go deeper than the daily alerts.
Written by our engineers for owners, IT managers and compliance leads who need practical answers, not vendor spin. No fluff, no scare tactics.
- Ransomware guide
What happens during an attack, how attackers move through your network, and the steps for the first 24 hours, including when to contact the ACSC. About 12 minutes.
Read the guide - Essential Eight in plain English
The eight mitigation strategies broken down control by control: what each does, why it matters and how to implement it without grinding the business to a halt. About 10 minutes.
Read the guide - ISO 27001 vs SMB1001 vs Essential Eight
The three frameworks Australian businesses ask about most, side by side: which suits your size and sector, and what each costs in time and effort. About 8 minutes.
Read the guide - Multi-factor authentication guide
Authenticator apps, hardware keys and passkeys, and how to roll MFA out across Microsoft 365 without locking your team out. About 7 minutes.
Read the guide - Backup and disaster recovery guide
Backup versus real disaster recovery: immutable backup, the 3-2-1 rule, restore testing, and what cyber insurers want to see. About 9 minutes.
Read the guide - IT risk for boards and owners
How to talk about IT risk at board level without jargon: risk registers, likelihood and impact, and the questions directors should ask each quarter. About 11 minutes.
Read the guide
- Browse all guides MFA, backup, ransomware, Essential Eight and dozens more.
- Free security tools Policy generators, checklists and scans you can use today.
- Australian regulatory hub Privacy Act, CPS 230, Essential Eight and what they mean for you.
- We just got hacked. Now what? The first hour of a cyber incident, step by step.
How the feed works
From a public alert to advice you can act on.
- Step 1Gathered
Alerts and news are pulled from CISA, the NVD, ASD's ACSC, vendor blogs and trusted researchers through the day.
- Step 2Tagged
Each post is tagged by topic and type, so you can filter to what matters to you.
- Step 3Analysed
When a story matters for Australian businesses, our engineers write what it means and what to do.
- Step 4Acted on
For managed clients, we check it against your systems and contact you if it needs action.
Read, learn and connect
Free to read. Written by the people who do the work.
Everything here is free, with no email gate on the guides. If you want help putting any of it into practice, the same engineers are a phone call away.
- GuidesPlain English guides written by the engineers who do the work.
- News and blogWhat changed this week and what it means for your business.You are here
- Resource LibraryFree checklists to download and keep.
- AI Ethics and GovernanceHow we keep AI safe, explainable and accountable.
- Threat LandscapeLive threats, patches and alerts for Australian businesses.
- 2026 Threat ReportThe year's attacks on small business, read for Australia.
- Service StatusIs it you or is it Microsoft? Check here first.
- EventsWhere to meet the team in person this year.
Get help your way
Six ways to reach us. Pick whichever suits you.
Helpdesk hours are Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm AEST. On Advantage and above, emergencies get a response within 1 hour and outages within 2, with 24/7 best-effort escalation.
- Call 07 3114 2808
An engineer answers Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm AEST. After hours, weekends and public holidays, Chip, our AI receptionist, answers and logs the details for the team.
Call now - Email the helpdesk
Send it to helpdesk@realbytes.com.au and a ticket is logged straight away, with a reference number you can quote.
Email us - Client portal
Log and follow your tickets, see what we are working on and who has it.
Open the portal - Remote support
When an engineer asks to see your screen, start a secure session here. You start it, so nobody sees your screen until you do.
Start a session - Chat in Microsoft Teams
Clients can message Chip, our AI assistant, in Teams to log a request without leaving their desk.
How clients reach us - Service status
Check whether Microsoft 365 or another cloud service is down before you lose an hour troubleshooting.
See live status
Questions
What people ask about the news feed.
Where do the news posts come from?
Two places. Posts marked as from the Real Bytes team are written by our engineers. The rest are gathered from trusted public sources such as CISA, the NVD, ASD's ACSC, vendor security blogs and industry news, tagged by topic, and linked back to the original so you can read it in full.
How often is the feed updated?
Several times a day. Alerts are pulled in as they are published, and our own analysis follows when a story matters for Australian businesses. The latest alert, if there is one, sits at the top of the feed.
How do I find posts about one topic?
Use the search box, or pick a topic such as Microsoft 365, Compliance or Backup and Recovery. You can also filter by type, such as Alert or Guide, and by tag. Your search is kept in the address bar, so you can bookmark or share it.
Can I get these by email instead?
Yes. Use the sign-up box in the feed to get the important alerts and our analysis by email. We send only what matters, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
What should I do if a post affects us?
If you are a Real Bytes client, we will already be looking at it and will contact you if it needs action. If not, call 07 3114 2808 or email helpdesk@realbytes.com.au and an engineer will tell you whether it applies to your systems.
Next step
Read something that worries you?
Send us the link. An engineer will tell you whether it affects your systems and what to do about it, in plain English.
Keep reading
- Threat Landscape Live threats, patches and alerts, filtered by vendor.
- 2026 Threat Report The year's attacks on small business, read for Australia.
- Free guides Plain English guides written by our engineers.
- Resource Library Free checklists to download and keep.
- Incident playbook What to do in the first hour of an incident.
- Managed IT IT and security from one team, watched day and night.
Checked 30 October 2026. Feed sources include CISA; NVD; ASD's ACSC alerts