EY sacks staff for allegedly accessing Australian Prime Minister’s bank account is attracting attention across the tech world. Analysts, enthusiasts, and industry observers are watching closely to see how this story develops.
This update adds another signal to a fast-moving sector where product decisions, platform changes, and competition can quickly shape the market.
PLUS: India attacks Uber; South Korea warned AI boom is dangerous; Scuba-diving cyborg cockroach; and more!
ASIA IN BRIEF The Down Under outpost of consultancy EY has fired two staff after they allegedly accessed details about bank accounts held by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Local media report that the pair were employees of the artist formerly known as Ernst and Young, which used them to work on a contract for Australia’s Commonwealth Bank where they allegedly accessed details of the PM’s bank account.
The Bank isn’t commenting on the matter, so isn’t saying how a pair of contractors were able to access such sensitive information.
The incident means all four members of the so-called Big Four consultancies are in the doghouse down under. KPMG Australia’s chair recently left the organization after a whistleblower revealed it inappropriately used a client’s confidential data and Deloitte last year repaid consultancy fees after it submitted a report partly created with AI. PWC’s scandal is the worst of the lot as the company was asked to consult on tax policy and then used the knowledge gained during that engagement to advise tech companies on how to pay less tax.
South Korea last week announced record monthly exports of over $100 billion, thanks largely to inflated memory prices meaning huge sales for Samsung and SK Hynix.
News of that record was quickly followed by a warning from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and advancement, which in its annual Economic Survey [PDF] of South Korea warned “increasing dependence on semiconductor exports boosts growth and tax revenues but may also increase exposure to external shocks and cyclical volatility.”
In Australia, meanwhile, the nation’s central bank revealed it has debated whether the local datacenter construction boom spurs inflation – which remains unpleasantly high.
In minutes of its most recent board meeting, the Reserve Bank stated “Members noted that, while much investment in data centre requires imported components, it also requires some domestic inputs. They discussed the potential for continued strength in such activity to exacerbate capacity pressures and skills shortages in other parts of the economy.”
India’s government last week advanced its plan to create a national rideshare platform that charges no commission to drivers.
Home Minister Amit Shah last week announced the service, called “Bharat Taxi,” will operate in seven cities by the end of July – then expand to 500 cities in the next 18 months to two years.
India launched the service last year and said it would mean drivers earn more and reduce dependence on foreign platforms.
The government statement announcing the service’s commencement alleges that rival private operators have dropped fares in “an attempt to block the entry of ‘Bharat Taxi’ so that they can again resort to arbitrary practices.”
The minister resolved that Bharat Taxi will be around for the long haul.
Also in Australia last week, the nation’s Competition & Consumer Commission launched a lawsuit in which it claimed that Amazon may have breached consumer protection laws by using unfair contract terms in its Prime subscription contracts, then relying on those terms to introduce advertising to its Prime Video streaming service.
Researchers from Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University and Japan’s Waseda University have developed a diving suit for cyborg cockroaches.
As described in a Nature paper titled “Underwater Suit-Wearing Cyborg Insect Capable of Hours-Long Diving and Terra-Aqua Travel,” the researchers implant electronic controllers in living insects and use them to induce movements.
Not content with re-wiring cockroach brains and steering them around, the boffins built a suit that “integrates an oxygen generator and oxygen delivery tubes” so that cyborg roaches can survive underwater.
The scientists think roaches wearing the suits could be sent into small submerged spaces, such as drains filled with rubble, to help with search and rescue missions – or perform some maintenance.
The Register looks forward to robo-roaches finding a role in datacenters that employ immersion cooling. ®
Why This Matters
This development may influence user expectations, future product strategy, and the competitive balance inside the broader technology industry.
Companies in adjacent segments often react quickly to similar moves, which is why stories like this tend to matter beyond a single announcement.
Looking Ahead
The full impact will become clearer over time, but the story already highlights how quickly the modern tech landscape can evolve.
Observers will continue tracking the next steps and how they affect products, users, and the wider market.
