AI finds huge internet flaw; rates hit builders, retailers; basketball meets Wall Street
Published: October 22, 2026
AI finds huge internet flaw; rates hit builders, retailers; basketball meets Wall Street
News in brief
Australia’s super super: Australia's retirement system has received an A-grade for the first time in the annual Marsh CFA Institute Global Pension Index, ranking sixth among 55 systems. Improvements in retirement benefit adequacy helped lift Australia's score, while superannuation assets have reached a record $4.77 trillion.
Higher rates hit builders, retailers: Property developer Mirvac reported a 31 per cent fall in September quarter home sales, with buyer inquiries also weakening sharply. Higher borrowing costs and changes to property tax concessions are hurting demand, particularly in NSW and Victoria. Meanwhile, furniture retailer Nick Scali has warned half-year profits could fall as Australian and New Zealand sales orders fell 15 per cent, reflecting weaker consumer spending.
Fortescue warning amid China dispute: Fortescue could cut iron ore production if a pricing dispute with China's central buying agency remains unresolved. The miner expects to stockpile around five million tonnes of October production as negotiations continue.
Trump signals renewed action: Donald Trump says US action against Iran could begin fairly soon, raising doubts about prospects for peace in the Middle East. Meanwhile, Russia and Ukraine have continued exchanging attacks despite American mediation efforts, while North Korea is threatening to resume propaganda broadcasts towards South Korea.
Knicks prepare for Wall Street debut: One of basketball's most famous teams is heading for the sharemarket. The New York Knicks are expected to become separately listed on Wall Street as Madison Square Garden Sports splits its basketball and ice hockey businesses. The Knicks are valued at close to $US12 billion, highlighting the extraordinary sums now attached to major sporting franchises.
Fear-o-meter
Do Australians support nuclear power?
Almost two-thirds of Australians believe nuclear power should be part of the nation's energy future, as new polling reveals growing concerns about Australia's ability to meet its electricity needs.
New YouGov research commissioned by Nuclear for Australia has found that 63% of Australians believe nuclear power should be considered, while 60% believe it will form part of Australia's future energy mix.
The findings come as both the demand for and cost of electricity grows, driven by AI, data centres and electrification, while the ongoing conflict in the Middle East contributes to uncertainty in global energy markets.
Key findings from the poll of 1,550 eligible Australian voters, undertaken 6-12 October 2026, include:
- 63% believe Australia should consider nuclear power, including almost half (48%) of Labor voters.
- 60% believe nuclear power will be part of Australia's future energy mix, including 54% of Labor voters, 70% of Coalition voters and 50% of Greens voters.
- 57% are not confident Australia's existing electricity options can meet growing demand from artificial intelligence, data centres and electrification.
Fear & Greed Q+A today
On the lessons for Australian businesses after OpenAI breached the Medicare websites - including why the old approach to cyber security may not be fit for the AI age:
"When organisations are making investments in AI, in a lot of ways what they're saying is, hey, we want to be more productive. And they're instructing the digital teams within their organisations to go fast and invest.
And so what that means is you've got these organisations going very fast towards adopting AI and not really thinking about the cybersecurity mechanisms to put in place and make sure that they're secure.
And so the challenge with that is that you're gonna have AI agents or AI identities which are what we call sanctioned, which means we want the good AI agents to perform their functions because that's what we're making investments into.
At the same time, the question here is how do you quickly identify the good ones versus the bad ones?
And here's the thing, I could just replace the word AI agent with human threat actors or sanctioned workers or humans or unsanctioned non-humans. It's pretty much the same concept. The challenge we have here is it's all now happening at machine speed."
AI uncovers major internet security flaw, triggering global scramble
Australian government agencies and businesses are racing to secure their websites after artificial intelligence helped uncover a major vulnerability in software used across much of the internet.
Researchers led by OpenAI discovered flaws in PHP, a programming language used by around 70 per cent of websites, including many built with WordPress.
The weaknesses had reportedly remained undetected for more than a decade, potentially allowing hackers to take control of vulnerable web servers without needing passwords and steal sensitive information.
Australia's Cyber Security Centre has issued an urgent warning for organisations to update their systems, with some government websites temporarily taken offline.
Overseas, governments and major organisations have also taken precautionary action. Finland has shut down public web services, the Dutch cybersecurity agency went offline, and Wikipedia temporarily disabled parts of its website.
The discovery highlights a growing challenge for cybersecurity. Artificial intelligence can identify weaknesses that humans have missed for years, but the same technology could help criminals exploit them.
Greed-o-meter
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Australian farmland prices are rising in some states, but falling in others. New figures from Ray White show Western Australia and Queensland recorded the biggest gains over the past year, with prices up more than 12 per cent in both states, helped by strong cattle prices. Tasmania remains the most expensive state, at almost $25,000 a hectare, despite prices falling 6.4 per cent. NSW also recorded its first annual decline in more than a decade, as dry conditions and rising costs made buyers more cautious.