New US strategy looks to blunt Russian and Chinese influence in cyberspace | Belgium to police Telegram under new EU tech law | Tech giants agree to build security into software products
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The US State Department on Monday plans to release an ambitious new cybersecurity strategy that seeks to curb Russia and China’s digital influence in the developing world and blunt those countries’ alleged efforts to interfere in elections. CNN
Social media app Telegram will be overseen by Belgian authorities as it seeks to comply with new rules under the European Union's law on policing content on platforms. POLITICO
A swathe of technology companies is expected to sign an agreement Tuesday to build stronger security into their software from the start of development, in a notable step forward for the Biden administration’s national cybersecurity strategy. The Wall Street Journal
ASPI
China’s hackers targeted our MPs. We need to talk about this relationship
The Strategist
Justin Bassi & Andrew Forrest
At least six Australian parliamentarians from both major parties have been targeted by Chinese state-sponsored hackers from the notorious APT31 group, the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China has announced. These cyber attacks show that this approach is not working. Our narrative is unpersuasive and we need a new approach involving clarity and resolve, backed up by strong security capabilities.
World
Police resurrect LockBit’s site and troll the ransomware gang
TechCrunch
Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai
An international coalition of police agencies have resurrected the dark web site of the notorious LockBit ransomware gang, which they had seized earlier this year, teasing new revelations about the group. On Sunday, what was once LockBit’s official dark net site reappeared online with new posts that suggest the authorities are planning to release new information about the hackers in the next 24 hours, as of this writing.
Australia
CBA beats government to start-up opportunity from data breach scandals
The Australian Financial Review
Paul Smith
Commonwealth Bank’s tech ventures division will beat the government to the punch with the launch of a new identity fraud detection product that targets Australians whose identity documents are stolen or exposed in data breaches. The government announced on Sunday it would spend $11 million in the federal budget to connect a new online register of personal credentials with a smartphone app to alert people in real time if someone is using their credentials. The government’s app will be available by the end of the year, whereas CBA’s app, which will do the same thing, is available immediately upon release on Monday.
Inside AI’s role to help keep children safe from online pornography
The Australian
Chris Griffith
Artificial intelligence could play a role in anonymous age verification checks on pornographic and social media sites being investigated by the federal government. The exposure of children and teenagers to online violence against women and violent sexual practices is a key concern, with the government saying it will announce funding for an age verification system for accessing adult content in the May budget.
PsiQuantum in talks for bipartisan support but Coalition not swayed
The Australian Financial Review
Tess Bennett
The founders of quantum computing start-up PsiQuantum are hopeful of winning over sceptical federal and Queensland Coalition politicians by spruiking the support it has received from both Democrats and Republicans in the US, where it has won multimillion-dollar defence contracts. PsiQuantum chief executive Jeremy O’Brien met Coalition frontbenchers on Friday to address their concerns about how an almost $1 billion deal was struck to build the world’s first commercially useful quantum computer in Brisbane.
USA
New US strategy looks to blunt Russian and Chinese influence in cyberspace
CNN
Sean Lyngaas
The US State Department on Monday plans to release an ambitious new cybersecurity strategy that seeks to curb Russia and China’s digital influence in the developing world and blunt those countries’ alleged efforts to interfere in elections. The new State Department strategy lays out principles that US diplomats will try to use to rally support for implementing tech policies and isolating autocratic regimes that control the flow of information. Blinken is set to announce the new strategy at the RSA Conference in San Francisco, one of the world’s biggest tech forums.
U.S. Military is using laser weapons in battle
Forbes
Jeremy Bogaisky
The United States military has invested tens of billions of dollars over a half-century in the research and development of directed energy weapons. Now, it’s actually using them in battle. The Army has used lasers to take down hostile drones in the Middle East, Doug Bush, the Army’s head of acquisitions, recently told Forbes. It’s the first time the Defense Department has acknowledged that such weapons have been used in combat.
Report shows CBP expanding mass surveillance system along Mexican border
The Record by Recorded Future
Suzanne Smalley
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is installing and in some cases rapidly expanding existing visible and disguised surveillance technologies along the U.S. border with Mexico, turning vast swathes of the borderlands into a virtual surveillance state, according to a new report. Much of the surveillance technology was originally developed for military use, says the report from the Electronic Frontier Foundation, asserting that CBP is planning to “drastically expand its surveillance capabilities with new towers, artificial intelligence, drones, and even four-legged robots.”
Wichita government shuts down systems after ransomware incident
The Record by Recorded Future
Jonathan Greig
Government officials in Wichita, Kansas, warned the public that services would be limited following a ransomware attack that began on Sunday morning. In an alert, the city said several of its systems were encrypted with malware, forcing officials to disconnect and shut down some as a way to prevent it from spreading.
North Asia
Intel assembles Japan team for chipmaking automation
Nikkei Asia
Ryo Mukano & Riho Nagao
Intel will partner with 14 Japanese companies to develop technology to automate "back-end" chipmaking processes like packaging, Nikkei learned Monday, as the U.S. and Japan look to cut geopolitical risks to their semiconductor supply chains. The group is expected to invest tens of billions of yen (10 billion yen equals $65 million) in the effort, aiming to achieve working technology by 2028.
Global crypto firms turn to Hong Kong for refuge — and opportunity
TechCrunch
Rita Liao
With U.S. regulators continuing to ramp up their scrutiny of crypto, startups and founders in the space are looking overseas to find friendlier climates to support their growth. One such destination is Hong Kong, which, seeking to restore its status as a financial hub, is banking on favorable crypto regulations to draw a fresh raft of entrepreneurs, technologists and investors. So far, its strategy seems to be working.
South & Central Asia
Fake videos of Modi aides trigger political showdown in India election
Reuters
Munsif Vengattil, Saurabh Sharma & Rishika Sadam
Manipulated videos are taking centre stage as campaigning heats up in India's election, with fake clips involving two top aides of Prime Minister Narendra Modi triggering police investigations and the arrest of some workers of his rival Congress party. In what has been dubbed as India's first AI election, Modi said last week fake voices were being used to purportedly show leaders making "statements that we have never even thought of", calling it a conspiracy "to create tension in society."
India BJP's election videos targeting Muslims and opposition spark outrage
Reuters
Animated videos shared by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party targeting opposition Congress and the Muslim community have evoked complaints and outrage, as the political climate in India heats up midway through its six-week long election. The videos, shared by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party on social media platforms Instagram and X over the last ten days, depict the Congress giving disproportionate benefits to India's minority Muslim community, at the cost of certain disadvantaged tribal and Hindu caste groups.
Indian politicians are bringing the dead on the campaign trail, with help from AI
Rest of World
Barkha Dutt
As elections in India get in full swing, the country’s leading politicians and their brand gurus have gone all in on artificial intelligence to resurrect the past and manage the future. Digital rights activists have questioned the ethics of using a deceased politician’s voice or form in elections.
Europe
Belgium to police Telegram under new EU tech law
POLITICO
Pieter Haeck
Social media app Telegram will be overseen by Belgian authorities as it seeks to comply with new rules under the European Union's law on policing content on platforms. The Dubai-based platform has selected a Brussels-based company as its legal representative in the EU, a spokesperson for the Belgian telecoms authority BIPT told POLITICO. The news was first reported by local paper De Standaard. Platforms that operate in Europe are required to appoint a local representative under the bloc's new content moderation rulebook, the Digital Services Act.
Council denies French request for legal opinion on cyber certificate
Euronews
Cynthia Kroet
France’s request for legal clarification on the pending cybersecurity certification for cloud services has been rebuffed by the EU Council, a spokesperson told Euronews. The request by the French, sent mid-April, blocked a deal among the national governments on the certification scheme drafted by EU cyber agency ENISA which would allow companies to demonstrate that certified ICT solutions offer the right level of cybersecurity protection for the EU market.
French lawmakers targeted by Chinese cyberattack demand sanctions, amid Xi visit
POLITICO
Paul de Villepin
A group of seven French lawmakers targeted by cyberattacks attributed to Chinese hackers have called for a judicial investigation by the authorities. The move, announced the day Xi Jinping kicked off a two-day state visit to France, comes after the U.S. Department of Justice issued an indictment in March saying that Chinese hackers with links to its national spy agency, the Ministry of State Security, in 2021 targeted “every European Union member” of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, a coalition of lawmakers critical of Beijing.
Europe is nowhere close to banning TikTok
POLITICO
Pieter Haeck
Of all the shots Europe is firing at China, the threat of a blanket TikTok ban is likely to only scuff Beijing. European officials are increasingly throwing up walls and investigations into Chinese technology. EU investigators last week swooped in on the Dutch and Polish offices of Nuctech, a maker of security scanners, investigating state subsidies that would have helped it undercut European rivals. That raid came on top of recent scrutiny of China's state support of electric vehicles, wind turbines and hospital equipment. China's Huawei has been on the chopping block of security officials for years. But recent suggestions that Europe could slap a blanket ban on video-sharing platform TikTok are unlikely to materialise.
Commission floats EU-wide sanctions against Voice of Europe
POLITICO
Pieter Haeck & Jacopo Barigazzi
The European Commission is moving to widen Czech sanctions against Voice of Europe, an alleged pro-Russian propaganda network, to be enforced across the European Union. Voice of Europe is listed as one of four entities to be added to the sanctions list as part of the bloc's 14th sanctions package against Russia, according to a document dated May 3 and seen by POLITICO. The three others are Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti and Russian news outlets Izvestija and Rossiyskaya Gazeta.
Germany recalls ambassador to Russia over cyberattacks
The Record by Recorded Future
Daryna Antoniuk
Germany has recalled its ambassador to Russia following alleged Moscow-backed cyberattacks targeting the country’s defense, aerospace, and IT companies, as well as the German Social Democratic Party. Last week, Germany and its allies accused the Kremlin of conducting a series of cyberattacks on critical infrastructure. In a press conference, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock attributed a cyberattack against the Social Democratic Party to the hacker group APT28, also known as Fancy Bear, which is tied to Russia’s military intelligence.
Paris 2024 gearing up to face unprecedented cybersecurity threat
Reuters
Julien Pretot
Paris 2024 is getting ready to face an unprecedented challenge in terms of cybersecurity, with organisers expecting a huge pressure on the Games this summer. Organised crime, activists and states will be the main threats during the July 26-Aug. 11 Olympics and the Aug. 28-Sept. 8 Paralympics. Paris 2024, who have been working hand in hand with the French national agency for information security, and cybersecurity companies Cisco and Eviden are looking to limit the impact of cyber attacks.
Middle East
Iran's cyber police step up online crackdown on un-Islamic activities
Iran International
The head of the Iranian cyber police unit has introduced new measures to crack down on online activities that reportedly contravene Islamic, social, and cultural norms. The latest measure will monitor the behavior of Iranian people in the digital realm, singling out anything that may be viewed as "moral and cultural offenses" by the regime.
Big Tech
Tech giants agree to build security into software products
The Wall Street Journal
James Rundle
A swathe of technology companies is expected to sign an agreement Tuesday to build stronger security into their software from the start of development, in a notable step forward for the Biden administration’s national cybersecurity strategy. Under the pledge, companies commit to incorporate seven cybersecurity best practices into the development cycle of their products.
With dueling approaches, the US and EU hit the tech giants hard
POLITICO
Edith Hancock & Josh Sisco
After two decades of nearly unrestricted, unregulated growth, the world’s largest tech platforms are now under active legal attack by governments on both continents at once. The Justice Department’s March suit against Apple officially put the U.S. in court against all five of the biggest online platforms. The EU launched enforcement of its sweeping new digital antitrust law on March 7, promptly naming Google, Apple and Meta as targets under investigation.
ByteDance lifestyle app Lemon8 sees popularity surge in the US as TikTok faces sell-or-ban ultimatum
South China Morning Post
Coco Feng
Chinese social media giant ByteDance is seeing a rise in popularity for its four-year-old Lemon8 lifestyle app in the United States, as the company’s flagship short video platform TikTok faces a potential ban in the world’s largest economy. It has been the most downloaded lifestyle app on Apple’s App Store in the US since April 7, ahead of Pinterest and dating platform Tinder. It was briefly unseated by Pinterest on April 26 and 27, according to app analytics provider Data.ai.
How TikTok is wiring Gen Z’s money brain
The Australian
Julia Jargon & Ann-Mare Alcántara
Americans under 30 get much of their news on TikTok. They hear about money there, too, and that’s shaping the way they save, spend and view their financial prospects, young adults and economists say. Even as the platform faces a potential ban in the US, it remains a massive cultural force that shapes young adults’ decisions and views. TikTok is creating a disconnect between how well off young adults actually are and how they think they’re doing, according to economists and 20-somethings themselves.
Artificial Intelligence
AI start-ups face a rough financial reality check
Financial Times
Cade Metz, Karen Weise & Tripp Mickle
Since mid-March, the financial pressure on several signature artificial intelligence start-ups has taken a toll. The AI revolution, it is becoming clear in Silicon Valley, is going to come with a very big price tag. And the tech companies that have bet their futures on it are scrambling to figure out how to close the gap between those expenses and the profits they hope to make somewhere down the line.
Covid-19 vaccine maker Moderna teams up with OpenAI to fast-track drug development
The Australian
Jared Lynch
Biotechnology titan Moderna – known for its Covid-19 vaccines – has joined forces with artificial intelligence heavyweight OpenAI to accelerate drug development, including using the technology to determine correct dosages during clinical trials. The $US47bn ($71bn) company says the deal with the maker of ChatGPT aims to automate nearly every business department from legal to research and development and manufacturing.
Events & Podcasts
The Sydney Dialogue
ASPI
The Sydney Dialogue was created to help bring together governments, businesses and civil society to discuss and progress policy options. We will forecast the technologies of the next decade that will change our societies, economies and national security, prioritising speakers and delegates who are willing to push the envelope. We will promote diverse views that stimulate real conversations about the best ways to seize opportunities and minimise risks.
JoiningFORCES
ASPI
The JoiningFORCES conference will explore ways to bridge national and international boundaries to deliver more joint, collective and effective defence. It will bring together government ministers, senior defence officials, leading industry figures, and international experts across the two-day event and formal dinner. We will also use collaborative wargaming and scenario exercise techniques to generate insights on enhancing regional deterrence. Our focus will be on strategic and operational level challenges and will consider the vital role of industry in delivering capability at the speed needed to meet the strategic threats Australia faces.
Gen AI, you started work yet?
The Straits Times
Krist Boo
It has been 18 months since ChatGPT’s public debut. Has the technology touted to change our work lives been helpful, but underwhelming? Or is it us? Of course, we had to ask gen AI Claude to produce our synopsis: This podcast goes beyond AI hype to explore surprising realities. Executives anticipate huge productivity gains, but the real disruption may lie in automating mundane tasks.
Jobs
China Analyst or Senior Analyst
ASPI
ASPI has an exciting opportunity for an analyst or senior analyst to explore China's evolving foreign and security policy, political economy and impact on the Indo-Pacific and the world. ASPI’s China analysts conduct rigorous data-driven research, publish impactful reports that shape the public policy discourse and contribute to the wide catalogue of influential China work published by ASPI. The difference between the analyst and senior analyst levels will depend on experience level and demonstration of past work. The closing date for applications is 10 May 2024– an early application is advised as we reserve the right to close the vacancy early if suitable applications are received.
The Daily Cyber & Tech Digest is brought to you by the Cyber, Technology & Security team at ASPI.