Real estate agents in Australia using apps that leave millions of lease documents at risk, digital researcher says

Australian platforms used by real estate agents to upload documentation for renters and landlords are leaving people’s personal information exposed in hyperlinks accessible online.An analysis of seven rent platforms provided to Guardian Australia by a researcher, who wished to remain anonymous, revealed millions of leasing documents could be accessed by threat actors.Sign up: AU Breaking News emailReal estate agents manage sensitive tenant and landlord data on a daily basis, including lease agreements, identification documents, payslips and personal references. Online platforms enable agents to store these documents in the cloud and make them accessible via hyperlinks.The researcher found these links can be scanned by web crawlers and cached

Price of consumer goods could surge as shipping costs soar, industry body says

The price of consumer goods including computers, electrical machinery and transport equipment could surge this year as a result of soaring shipping costs, an industry body has said, adding that “cracks [are] forming in the global trading system”.The cost of transport, energy and raw materials continues to rise and prices remain volatile, which could feed through to businesses and consumers during 2026, according to a study by the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS).Concerns about disruption to supply chains during the next three months reached the highest level in two years, suggesting growing worries among procurement teams. The concerns were reported in a survey conducted in late 2025 by CIPS, an international trade body that represents 64,000 member organisations in procurement and supply chains across 180 countries.Bosses responsible for procurement said they were often the first within companies to notice rising prices or problems getting hold of goods

US authorities reportedly investigate claims that Meta can read encrypted WhatsApp messages

US authorities have reportedly investigated claims that Meta can read users’ encrypted chats on the WhatsApp messaging platform, which it owns.The reports follow a lawsuit filed last week, which claimed Meta “can access virtually all of WhatsApp users’ purportedly ‘private’ communications”.Meta has denied the allegation, reported by Bloomberg, calling the lawsuit’s claim “categorically false and absurd”. It suggested the claim was a tactic to support the NSO Group, an Israeli firm that develops spyware used against activists and journalists, and which recently lost a lawsuit brought by WhatsApp.The firm that filed last week’s lawsuit against Meta, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, attributes the allegation to unnamed “courageous” whistleblowers from Australia, Brazil, India, Mexico and South Africa

We have lost so much of ourselves to smartphones: can we get it back?

In 2003, the Stanford social scientist BJ Fogg published an extraordinarily prescient book. Persuasive Technology: Using Computers to Change What We Think and Do predicted a future in which a student “sits in a college library and removes an electronic device from her purse”. It serves as her “mobile phone, information portal, entertainment platform, and personal organiser. She takes this device almost everywhere and feels lost without it.”Such devices, Fogg argued, would be “persuasive technology systems … the device can suggest, encourage, and reward

Nel Metcalfe hat-trick puts Gloucester-Hartpury top as World Cup bounce goes on

The English top flight returned from a six-week break with impressive crowds continuing to benefit from the post-Rugby World Cup bounce and the battle for top four spots as tight as ever. While only six points separate third from sixth in the Women’s Premiership, the reigning champions, Gloucester-Hartpury, once again proved their superiority with a seven-try 45-26 win over Loughborough that lifted them above Saracens at the top of the table.Gloucester are now five points clear of Saracens, who did not play like weekend, and 12 of the chasing pack as they continued their unbeaten run with their last league defeat coming in November 2024. The defending champions underlined their intent for a fourth consecutive title with a stunning home display. The Wales international Nel Metcalfe was the star for the hosts with a 24-minute first-half hat-trick

Harry Brook blocks out the noise to lead England to T20 series win in Sri Lanka

Numerous apologies, serious scrutiny and, still, he goes and does that. Harry Brook’s 12-ball 36 helped England chase down a revised target of 168 in the second Twenty20 international against Sri Lanka, securing a series victory.England had initially been set 190, but a rain break changed the equation; when Brook emerged England needed 87 from 7.5 overs. He put on an exhibition over the off side to turn the chase his team’s way