Blinged-up trucks converge on South Bank for Brisbane Truck Show's heavy vehicle bonanza
'Each one has an owner that's poured money – probably too much money if we're honest – into making them look absolutely fantastic.'
Just ask Kenny 'Jo Jo' Easter, general manager of Queensland's K.S. Easter Transport. The company's 'Pegasus Volvo' features custom airbrushed art by renowned late US painter Mike Lavallee.
In 2015, Lavallee was flown out by the Viking Trucks company on the Sunshine Coast to complete the job at considerable cost, with the help of East Coast Airbrushing.
'When I spoke to Mike he said this would be an expensive project, but he said 'this will be something that will be a showstopper everywhere you go'.
'And sure enough, every show that it's been in, it's taken out first place.'
While K.S. Easter is a large operation, Hacking said 75 per cent of Australia's fleet was made up of companies with just one truck.
'You're talking about mostly regionally based people who have probably mortgaged their house to buy a piece of equipment to have a profession as a truck driver, so it becomes almost an extension of the family.'
Brisbane Truck Show began as an industry-only event held in Rocklea in 1968, with 21 exhibitors.
Now, 57 years later, it's the biggest automotive exhibition in the southern hemisphere and the second-largest trade show in Australia.
According to the Brisbane Economic Development Agency, 2023's show attracted more than 43,000 visitors and injected $31.5 million into the local economy.
Hacking said that since 2019 the event had focused on involving the general public with activations and sister events.
The Heavy Equipment and Machinery Show at the RNA Showgrounds and the Heritage Truck Show at the Rocklea Showgrounds are taking place concurrently, while a careers hub in South Bank will introduce 1400 school students to the heavy vehicle industry.
'The whole surrounds of the Convention Centre will be alive and have a festival-like atmosphere,' he said.
The show would coincide with National Road Safety Week, and Hacking said exhibits shone a light on new safety technologies on the market, such as cameras that made it easier for truck drivers to see cyclists in blind spots.
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'There's all manner of low and zero-emissions technology, from just improving the aerodynamics of the vehicles right through to full-battery electric vehicles and alternative fuels like HVO, which is hydrotreated vegetable oil.
'This is the Australian industry's biggest event, so this is where you're going to see it first.'
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ABC News
28-07-2025
- ABC News
Pro-Ukraine hackers launch massive cyber attack on Russia's Aeroflot airline, forcing dozens of delays
Russia's national airline Aeroflot has been forced to cancel dozens of flights, disrupting travel across the world's biggest country, after two pro-Ukraine hacking groups claimed to have inflicted a crippling cyber attack on the carrier. The Kremlin said on Monday that the situation was worrying, and Russian politicians have called it a wake-up call for the country. Prosecutors also confirmed the disruption was caused by a hack and opened a criminal investigation, while senior politician Anton Gorelkin said Russia was under digital attack. "I do not rule out that the 'hacktivists' who claimed responsibility for the incident are in the service of unfriendly states." Another member of parliament, Anton Nemkin, said investigators must identify not only the attackers but "those who allowed systemic failures in protection". Aeroflot did not say how long the problems would take to resolve, but departure boards at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport turned red as flights were cancelled at a time when many Russians take their holidays. The company's shares were down by 3.9 per cent on Monday, underperforming the wider market, which was 1.4 per cent lower. A statement purporting to be from a hacking group called Silent Crow said it had carried out the operation together with Belarusian Cyber Partisans, a self-styled hacktivist group that opposes president Alexander Lukashenko and says it wants to liberate Belarus from dictatorship. "Glory to Ukraine! Long live Belarus!" said the statement using the Silent Crow name. Cyber Partisans said on its website: "We are helping Ukrainians in their fight with the occupier, carrying out a cyber strike on Aeroflot and paralysing the largest airline in Russia." There was no immediate comment from Ukraine. Silent Crow has previously claimed responsibility for attacks this year on a Russian real estate database, a state telecoms company, a large insurance firm, the Moscow government's IT department and the Russian office of South Korean car manufacturer KIA. Some of those incidents resulted in big data leaks. "The information that we are reading in the public domain is quite alarming. The hacker threat is a threat that remains for all large companies providing services to the population," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said. Aeroflot said it had cancelled more than 40 flights — mostly within Russia but also including routes to the Belarusian capital Minsk and the Armenian capital Yerevan — after reporting a failure in its information systems. An online departure board for Sheremetyevo airport also showed dozens of others were delayed. "Specialists are currently working to minimise the impact on the flight schedule and to restore normal service operations," Aeroflot said. The statements from Silent Crow and Belarusian Cyber Partisans said the cyber attack was the result of a year-long operation which had deeply penetrated Aeroflot's network, destroyed 7,000 servers and gained control over the personal computers of employees, including senior managers. They published screenshots of file directories purportedly from inside Aeroflot's network and threatened to soon start releasing "the personal data of all Russians who have ever flown Aeroflot", as well as intercepted conversations and emails of Aeroflot staff. Since Moscow launched its war in Ukraine in February 2022, travellers in Russia have become used to flight disruptions, usually caused by temporary airport closures during drone attacks. Russian companies and government websites have been subjected to sporadic hacking attacks, but Monday's incident was potentially the most damaging because of the widespread disruption and the high profile of Aeroflot. Former Aeroflot pilot and aviation expert Andrei Litvinov told Reuters: "This is a serious disaster. Okay, flight delays — you can survive that. But these are losses, huge losses for a state-owned company." Passengers vented their anger on social network VK, complaining about a lack of clear information from the airline. One traveller, Malena Ashi wrote: "I've been sitting at Volgograd airport since 3:30!!!!! The flight has been rescheduled for the third time!!!!!! This time it was rescheduled for approximately 14:50, and it was supposed to depart at 5:00!!!" Another woman, Yulia Pakhota, said: "The call centre is unavailable, the website is unavailable, the app is unavailable. "How can I return a ticket or exchange it for the next flight, as Aeroflot suggests?" Aeroflot said affected passengers could get a refund or re-book as soon as its systems were back and it was trying to get some passengers seats on other airlines. Despite Western sanctions on Russia that have drastically limited travel and routes, Aeroflot remains among the top 20 airlines worldwide by passenger numbers, which last year hit 55.3 million people, according to its website. Reuters
ABC News
02-07-2025
- ABC News
What we know about Scattered Spider, the hacker group targeting airlines
Alarm bells were being sounded that Scattered Spider, a notoriously aggressive and prolific hacking group, had a new favourite target — the airline sector. The FBI and tech companies Google and Palo Alto Networks put out alerts over the weekend. They warned of multiple incidents in the airline and travel industry that resembled the group's operations. Now it is believed Australia might have fallen victim to the cybercriminals. Qantas has announced that 6 million customer accounts had been exposed in a "significant" cyber attack. The airline would not confirm if it was the target of Scattered Spider, but experts said the attack appeared to have its signature moves. Scattered Spider, or UNC3944, is a loose-knit but aggressive hacking group. The "scattered" gang of affiliates goes by various names and aliases, such as Octo Tempest, Star Fraud, Scatter Swine and Muddled Libra. The members are believed to be mainly young native English speakers from the US and the UK. Some have reportedly been as young as 16 years old. Since emerging in 2022, together the gangs have been accused of breaking into and stealing data from some of the world's largest companies. They are alleged to be behind more than 100 targeted attacks across industries including telecommunications, finance, retail and gaming. The group goes from sector to sector, often targeting sectors that face significant customer pressure. And they aim for the big fish. In 2023, hackers tied to Scattered Spider broke into gaming companies MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment, partially paralysing casinos and knocking slot machines out of commission. The $US14 billion ($21 billion) gaming giant MGM Resorts operates over 30 hotels and casinos around the world, including in Macau and Las Vegas. The group has also caused mayhem across the UK, hitting some of the largest retail brands, including Harrods, Co-Op and Marks & Spencer (M&S). 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Daswin De Silva, a professor of AI and analytics and director of AI strategy at La Trobe University, said the tactics were "really manipulative". "Help desks want to resolve issues as quickly as possible," Professor De Silva told the ABC. "With a large organisation that has outsourced some of their business functions, they tend to be removed from the day-to-day operations of the main business. "When there is a disconnect like this … the security can be compromised." Another tactic the group is known to use is called multi-factor authentication (MFA) bombing or MFA fatigue. It involves attackers repeatedly sending MFA requests, such as notifications to a user's device, in an attempt to overwhelm them and trick them into approving a login. This could enable them to gain access to the data warehousing platform, or manipulate password resets. Qantas has released a statement saying that it detected unusual activity on Monday, on a third-party platform used by a contact centre. The airline said 6 million customers had service records in the platform, and it believed the proportion of stolen data would be "significant". An initial review confirmed the data included some customers' names, email addresses, phone numbers, birth dates and frequent flyer numbers, the airline said. "Importantly, credit card details, personal financial information and passport details are not held in this system," the statement read. "No frequent flyer accounts were compromised nor have passwords, PIN numbers or login details been accessed." The breach comes as the FBI has sent out a notification saying it has recently observed Scattered Spider "expanding its targeting to include the airline sector". "They target large corporations and their third-party IT providers, which means anyone in the airline ecosystem, including trusted vendors and contractors, could be at risk," the FBI said in a statement posted on X. "The FBI is actively working with aviation and industry partners to address this activity and assist victims." Alaska Air Group-owned Hawaiian Airlines and Canada's WestJet have both recently reported being struck by unspecified cyber incidents. Qantas said it had notified the Australian Cyber Security Centre and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. A spokesperson for CyberCX told ABC News the incident had all the hallmarks of an attack from the Scattered Spider hacker group. Professor Tuffley said he "wouldn't be too surprised" if the group was behind the attack. "Qantas are actually pretty good as far as cybersecurity goes, but obviously their call centre in the Philippines or wherever it was wasn't quite so good," he said. Previous breaches on major Australian companies including Medibank and Optus have highlighted how cyber attacks can see people's data used as a bargaining threat to make companies pay a ransom. 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The Advertiser
01-07-2025
- The Advertiser
A long haul: electric trucks still face speed bumps
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Regional areas could serve as recharging hubs for the vehicles, Narrandera Shire Council general manager George Cowan said, although only with the right industry and government support. The town has been in discussions to test battery-swapping technology that could support trucks travelling from Brisbane to Melbourne. "We have thousands of heavy vehicles that go through our patch every day and we're trying to make sure we've got some capacity for those businesses to move into this electric market," he said. Several Australian companies have trialled electric trucks including Linfox, which announced plans to order 30 electric prime movers from Volvo earlier in 2025. Replacing diesel with electric trucks could significantly cut emissions, according to a report from the Climateworks Centre, as freight movements account for 40 per cent of all Australian transport pollution. 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"If you're driving in South Australia, where they have a trial, and you cross the border ... the regulations (may) say you're not legally allowed to drive that on our roads here," she said. Dr Lausberg said guidelines on truck charging stations were also yet to be issued with the Road Freight NSW calling for locations every 100 kilometres along major highways. The inquiry was told many transport companies would need financial help from governments to invest in the technology, as electric trucks could command double the up-front cost of their diesel equivalents. "Our operators sometimes struggle to make these investments because there's a two-to-three per cent margin by which they're operating and at the moment that's probably less," Road Freight NSW chief executive Simon O'Hara said. "We have to make this as attractive as possible for road freight operators to be able to look at purchasing that next generation of heavy vehicle tractor." Regional areas could serve as recharging hubs for the vehicles, Narrandera Shire Council general manager George Cowan said, although only with the right industry and government support. The town has been in discussions to test battery-swapping technology that could support trucks travelling from Brisbane to Melbourne. "We have thousands of heavy vehicles that go through our patch every day and we're trying to make sure we've got some capacity for those businesses to move into this electric market," he said. Several Australian companies have trialled electric trucks including Linfox, which announced plans to order 30 electric prime movers from Volvo earlier in 2025. Replacing diesel with electric trucks could significantly cut emissions, according to a report from the Climateworks Centre, as freight movements account for 40 per cent of all Australian transport pollution. Ongoing uncertainty about electric trucks is preventing the transport industry making big cuts to pollution and progress may be tricky without significant changes, an inquiry has been told. Questions about where heavier prime-movers can be used remain unresolved, experts say, as well as who will fund the costlier vehicles and how they can be recharged quickly. Transport industry figures raised the issues at a NSW government inquiry into electric vehicle charging infrastructure on Tuesday, in its second public hearing. The inquiry follows a series of regulatory changes allowing heavier electric trucks on roads in some Australian states, such as Queensland, NSW and South Australia, although many were part of a limited trial. While the temporary rule changes helped businesses to test low-emission trucks, Heavy Vehicle Industry Australia chief advocacy officer Adele Lausberg said they did not offer the confidence needed to make long-term investments. "If you're driving in South Australia, where they have a trial, and you cross the border ... the regulations (may) say you're not legally allowed to drive that on our roads here," she said. Dr Lausberg said guidelines on truck charging stations were also yet to be issued with the Road Freight NSW calling for locations every 100 kilometres along major highways. The inquiry was told many transport companies would need financial help from governments to invest in the technology, as electric trucks could command double the up-front cost of their diesel equivalents. "Our operators sometimes struggle to make these investments because there's a two-to-three per cent margin by which they're operating and at the moment that's probably less," Road Freight NSW chief executive Simon O'Hara said. "We have to make this as attractive as possible for road freight operators to be able to look at purchasing that next generation of heavy vehicle tractor." Regional areas could serve as recharging hubs for the vehicles, Narrandera Shire Council general manager George Cowan said, although only with the right industry and government support. The town has been in discussions to test battery-swapping technology that could support trucks travelling from Brisbane to Melbourne. "We have thousands of heavy vehicles that go through our patch every day and we're trying to make sure we've got some capacity for those businesses to move into this electric market," he said. Several Australian companies have trialled electric trucks including Linfox, which announced plans to order 30 electric prime movers from Volvo earlier in 2025. Replacing diesel with electric trucks could significantly cut emissions, according to a report from the Climateworks Centre, as freight movements account for 40 per cent of all Australian transport pollution. Ongoing uncertainty about electric trucks is preventing the transport industry making big cuts to pollution and progress may be tricky without significant changes, an inquiry has been told. Questions about where heavier prime-movers can be used remain unresolved, experts say, as well as who will fund the costlier vehicles and how they can be recharged quickly. Transport industry figures raised the issues at a NSW government inquiry into electric vehicle charging infrastructure on Tuesday, in its second public hearing. The inquiry follows a series of regulatory changes allowing heavier electric trucks on roads in some Australian states, such as Queensland, NSW and South Australia, although many were part of a limited trial. While the temporary rule changes helped businesses to test low-emission trucks, Heavy Vehicle Industry Australia chief advocacy officer Adele Lausberg said they did not offer the confidence needed to make long-term investments. "If you're driving in South Australia, where they have a trial, and you cross the border ... the regulations (may) say you're not legally allowed to drive that on our roads here," she said. Dr Lausberg said guidelines on truck charging stations were also yet to be issued with the Road Freight NSW calling for locations every 100 kilometres along major highways. The inquiry was told many transport companies would need financial help from governments to invest in the technology, as electric trucks could command double the up-front cost of their diesel equivalents. "Our operators sometimes struggle to make these investments because there's a two-to-three per cent margin by which they're operating and at the moment that's probably less," Road Freight NSW chief executive Simon O'Hara said. "We have to make this as attractive as possible for road freight operators to be able to look at purchasing that next generation of heavy vehicle tractor." Regional areas could serve as recharging hubs for the vehicles, Narrandera Shire Council general manager George Cowan said, although only with the right industry and government support. The town has been in discussions to test battery-swapping technology that could support trucks travelling from Brisbane to Melbourne. "We have thousands of heavy vehicles that go through our patch every day and we're trying to make sure we've got some capacity for those businesses to move into this electric market," he said. Several Australian companies have trialled electric trucks including Linfox, which announced plans to order 30 electric prime movers from Volvo earlier in 2025. Replacing diesel with electric trucks could significantly cut emissions, according to a report from the Climateworks Centre, as freight movements account for 40 per cent of all Australian transport pollution.
