Two sacked after Army security breach

Kim Scott, director of BAE Systems land and integrated systems unit, said the Defence Department alerted the company of the security breach in October. Picture: Greg Higgs Source: The Advertiser

A $500 MILLION Army communications contract will be retendered after a BAE Systems employee leaked sensitive internal Defence information.

The BAE Systems employee, who had access to the Defence Department's computer network, informed a colleague of material that gave the company an unfair advantage over its competitors in the bid for the Army communications project.

Both employees were sacked after Defence officials discovered the leak.

The company this week walked away from its tender for the contract, which could have given it 20 years' work.

Kim Scott, director of BAE Systems land and integrated systems unit, said the Defence Department alerted the company of the security breach in October.

He said the company sacked the employees after a review and then decided to withdraw its tender.

"For us to take this decision was a pretty tough one, but we have a strict code of conduct," he said.

"It not only breached our code of conduct from an internal perspective, but we felt it may have breached aspects of the tender protocols."

Mr Scott said BAE Systems would not put forward a bid when the project was retendered in January.

The contract for the Army's communications services covers internet and telecommunications access for soldiers on the ground in Afghanistan and those based in Australia.

The employees were based in BAE Systems Communications, Command, Control, Computers and Intelligence, or C4I unit.

The company runs the Army's Parakeet communications system and was believed to be a frontrunner to replace it with a new Battlespace communications system.

That system was already used by the British Army and BAE Systems were confident they could replicate the successful program here.

Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, and Boeing Australia were the other three bidders for the work.

stephen.drill@news.com.au

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Parents turn to apps for missing kids

A new breed of techology tools and apps are helping parents who have children who go missing. Picture: AFP Source: AFP

FOR parents of children who wander off, a new breed of technology tools could be the difference between life and death.

Some tools are designed to beep when your toddler wanders away in a shopping mall or falls into a pool.

Others are being used to track special need children who can disappear from home as soon as their parents look away.

Elizabeth Smart, who in 2002 was a 14-year-old Utah girl kidnapped and help captive for 9 months, recently launched the iPhone app Hero for parents to use in those first vital moments after a child goes missing.

If a child is lost in a crowded area, a parent with the free Hero app sends out an instant notification that appears on every phone with that app within 8km, using the power of social media to sound the alarm.

Elizabeth Smart, who was held captive for nine months in 2002, has made an app to help parents when their child goes missing. Picture: AP

There are privacy concerns about the misuse of Apple's Find My Friends app but it can be used to help family members stay in touch.

If it's loaded on an iPhone or iPod Touch, you can find a person's location, or at least the location of their phone.

This app can help for parents wanting to know their teenagers have arrived somewhere safely, or help friends find which end of the beach they should head to so they can meet up.

But that sort of device will not help every parent.

Melbourne-based financial planner Kathy Havers became the Australian distributor for the British company Lok8u and their GPS watch nu.m8+ after buying one herself to monitor her autistic teenager who had a history of wandering off.

She said many of the tracking devices were removable, which was a problem for parents of special needs children.

To the child wearing a nu.m8+, it seems just to be a digital watch.

But to a parent, it's a locator tool. They can type a request in to a password-protected website or send a text using a mobile phone and, assuming the phone is line-of-sight to GPS satellites, will find their child's location within three minutes.

It can be programmed to set off a warning to the parent if a child goes to a particular location, or if the child removes the wristband.

Because the watch uses GPS, it won't help locate them if they're inside a building, like a mall. But it will help parents find their child as soon as they leave a building.

The nu.m8+ comes in a range of price packages, starting at $250 for the watch and a monthly fee of $22.90.
Ms Havers says the majority of the people who make the purchases are parents of special needs kids with a habit of walking off.

"People don't tend to spend that sort of money until their child has done it once and then you have this awful thing in your heart and your head that you can never have it happen again" she said.

Independent Living Centres Australia sells a range of gadgets that, unlike GPS sensors, can help parents find a child lost inside a building such as a shopping mall.

The Angel Alert is a high-tech necklace for the child that wirelessly connects to a receiver for a parent. If the two devices become more than 9m apart, the child's device sounds a signal.

The Giggle Bug uses technology similar to wireless gadgets to help you find your car keys.

If you can't see your child in a crowd, you hit a button on a hand-held unit and the click on lady bug on the child starts beeping. It is designed to work at a range up to 30m indoors.

The "Mommy I'm here" teddy bear is a similar gadget, and works up to 50m. The advanced model can be programmed to set off an alarm if the child goes more than 10m from the monitor carried by the parent.

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Crims in gift card money laundering rort

CRIME syndicates are buying gift cards from major retailers to launder money in a bid to avoid seizure and prosecution. Source: The Courier-Mail

CRIME syndicates are buying gift cards from major retailers to launder money in a bid to avoid seizure and prosecution.

Law enforcement agencies say crime gangs are buying gift cards to purchase goods, which are then sold to legitimise their illegal cash.

Some of the gift cards, loaded with amounts of up to $500, are bought with stolen credit cards and have been sold at discounted rates on internet shopping sites.

A major criminal syndicate was recently dismantled when law enforcement officials were informed about gift cards being sold at discounted rates on the internet.

It is alleged the crime gang had raised $1.3 million from selling a range of goods.

A spokesman for AUSTRAC, Australia's specialist financial intelligence unit, said it was difficult to estimate how much money was being laundered using gift cards, however, the overall amount laundered in and through Australia was estimated to be at least $10 billion.

"AUSTRAC has seen examples where gift cards have been used to launder relatively small amounts of illicit cash," the spokesman said.

"Gift cards can be purchased in bulk using illicit funds, and then be used to purchase goods, which are then sold to complete the money laundering process.

"They may also be attractive to criminals because they can be purchased and used anonymously and carried or mailed to other locations.

"The disadvantage for criminals attempting to misuse gift cards is that they are issued in relatively low values and generally cannot be re-loaded with funds."

Surveys suggest one in five people this year will spend the bulk of their Christmas budget on gift cards, which are estimated to generate between $1.5 billion and $2.5 billion.

National Retail Association chief executive Trevor Evans said it had anecdotal evidence that suggested gift cards had been used in money laundering, sometimes in combination with stolen credit card details.

"Many retailers put processes in place to prevent the bulk purchasing of gift cards," Mr Evans said.

"One of the best defences against laundering through gift cards is to remind all Australians to be vigilant about their credit card details and to report stolen or missing cards to financial institutions."

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Seven cops injured at wedding brawl

SEVEN police officers have been injured trying to gain control of a brawl at a western Sydney wedding reception.

Police say they were called to the reception on Railway Parade in Guildford where a number of people were fighting on the dance floor about 9.20pm on Friday night.

One officer was struck on the head from behind by a 19-year-old man as he was trying to break up the fracas.

Police had to use capsicum spay and seek assistance after guests turned violent as the man was being arrested.

Police from Cabramatta, Green Valley, the dog squad and region enforcement squad supported local officers from Fairfield to gain control of the situation.

Seven police officers suffered minor injuries.

Police said around 300 people were at the reception.

The 19-year-old was charged with assault police occasioning actual bodily harm.

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Child-scare snake footage goes global

IT was a case of snakes alive at a childcare centre in Darwin - 24 of them to be specific.

VIDEO footage of a snake infestation which closed a childcare centre in Darwin yesterday has gone global.

Mitchell St Childcare Centre was closed yesterday thanks to, as the sign on the front door says, an "inundation" of snakes, the NT News reported.

The Aussie-flavoured scaly fright has been reported around the world, with television stations in the US and Europe broadcasting reports.

Director Louise DeBomford said 41 egg shells, 23 babies and one none-too-pleased 2.5m mum had so far been found.

Seven deadly snakes found in bedroom of boy, three

The NT carpet python had set up a cosy nest in the wall of a little side room.

Mum Stephannie Dean, 41,and her two sons Carlos, 4, and Benji, 2 have a look as wildlife ranger Steve Coulson takes hold of a 2.5 metre NT carpet python at Mitchell St Childcare Centre in Darwin. Picture: Justin Sanson

"There was a baby snake in the room yesterday morning - I thought there would have to be more than one because we had an inundation of snakes last year, about the same time," Ms DeBomford said.

"We had about 14 then.

"This morning there were seven - all babies - about 15cm to 30cm."

Deadly brown snakes on the move in the heat

Darwin council owns the building and sent two bold-hearted contractors - Michael Stefanidakis and Markis Pilatos drew the short straw - to investigate.

Check out baby pythons hatching in this timelapse.

"They made an executive decision that the best way to deal with it was pull the panels off the wall. They found the nest and mum," Ms DeBomford said.

Man bitten by snake on aeroplane

Wildlife ranger Steve Coulson was called in to do the honours.

The eggs were the size of plums, and were in clumps like grapes. The babies went in one sack, while a bigger sack had to be fetched for the snaky mum.

Parents, who were arriving at home time to pick up young tots, crowded around the doorway to the room.

A 2.5 metre NT Carpet Phythons invaded the Mitchell St Childcare Centre in Darwin and has been having babies inside the walls. Picture: Justin Sanson

There was lots of squealing, laughing, running about and taking photos (the parents), and one offer to hold a snake (a toddler).

Mr Coulson said the baby pythons were "pretty harmless".

He said even if the snakes did bite, their bite marks would be pin pricks that only needed to be disinfected.

The big ones though, he said, could deliver a "decent sort of gash" but were non-venomous.

He said carpet pythons were common around Darwin, and often found food and shelter in roofs.

A giant spider was the winner after a showdown with a snake

"They eat possums and rats," he said.

More at the NT News

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Man faces murder charge over stabbing

A MAN has been charged with murder after another man was allegedly stabbed to death during a heated argument in a town east of Melbourne.

William Scriven, 33, faced court this afternoon charged with one count of murder.

The charges follow the death of a 32-year-old man from knife wounds at a property in Thexton Street, Traralgon, about 12.30am.

Police believe the men were in an argument.

Mr Scriven has been remanded in custody to appear at Morwell Magistrates Court on December 24.

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Scorcher brings on total fire bans

Scorching conditions have prompted total fire bans across South Australia from midnight. Source: adelaidenow

TOTAL fire bans are in place across most of the state till midnight due to expected soaring temperatures and severe or extreme weather conditions.

Bans will exist in the Northwest Pastoral, West Coast, Eastern Eyre Peninsula, Lower Eyre Peninsula, Flinders, Mid North, Mount Lofty Ranges, Yorke Peninsula, Kangaroo Island, Riverland, Murraylands, Upper South East and Lower South East fire districts until midnight.

Temperatures across the state are expected to peak in the 40s today, with Adelaide likely to reach 39C.

Cloud will increase in the south and west during the day with a milder, moderate to fresh and gusty south-west to southerly change reaching Ceduna and Port Lincoln by mid-morning.

Adelaide is expected to get relief from the heat during the afternoon while Woomera to Renmark residents will have to wait until evening.

"Where total fire bans have been declared, very hazardous fire weather conditions are predicted," a CFS spokesman said. "The CFS recommends that you implement your Bushfire Survival Plan."

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Murder fear as pair found dead in blaze

Two people have died in a suspicious house fire at a Yarraville residence in Melbourne's west.

A RESPECTED elderly couple may have been murdered before their killer torched their home, police suspect.

The bodies of the husband and wife, described by neighbours as friendly and well liked, were found after a blaze in their Yarraville home at 3am.

A neighbour called emergency services as flames rose from the Morven St home.

Homicide squad detective Insp John Potter said the incident was gruesome.

"We're treating it as a suspicious death and we believe both people could possibly have been killed by some person or persons unknown,'' he said.

Police offices on the job at a crime scene in Yarraville where two people were found dead at a house fire. Picture: Jason Sammon

Devastated family members arrived at the scene, embracing and consoling one another after learning of the pre-Christmas tragedy.

Arson chemists worked all day to determine exactly where and how the fire started.

Insp Potter said both victims, believed to be in their late 70s, had suffered injuries that did not appear to be self-inflicted.

He would not go into detail about the nature of the injuries but a post mortem will be held tomorrow.

Inspector John Potter from the Victoria Police homicide squad has spoken about the fire where the bodies of 2 people have been found

"We believe the fire was deliberately lit and we've now got to establish the cause and the circumstances surrounding this whole gruesome incident,'' Insp Potter said.

"We're totally unsure as to exactly why this has happened in their home, but clearly there's something suspicious."

Neighbours reported hearing a loud bang about 3am before seeing flames.

One neighbour, Gary Stinten, said it sounded like a "bomb".

A forensic police officer works at a crime scene in Yarraville where two people were found dead at a house fire. Picture: Jason Sammon

"We went to the back of the house and saw the house catch fire, so it was pretty full on," he said.

Mr Stinten said the couple, who are yet to be formally identified, had lived in the street for about 35 years.

Another neighbour, Trina Paskins, described them as "lovely people" and the woman had been affectionately known to local children as "Yaya".

"They always gave things to my little girl," she said.

Police offices on the job at a crime scene in Yarraville where two people were found dead at a house fire. Picture: Jason Sammon

One neighbour said the friendly couple would "have a chat and always smiled at the kids".

"I'm really sad this happened so close to Christmas,'' another neighbour, Claire Smith, said.

A bullet shell was found in a nearby park, causing police to set up a separate forensic scene.

But investigators believe that discovery is not linked to the deaths.

Anyone with information should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or crimestoppers.com.au

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