Amazon Begins Appeal Over Pentagon Cloud Contract | Leaked Files Expose How China Organized Mass Detentions of Muslims | Internet Disrupted in Iran Amid Fuel Protests
Follow us on Twitter. The Daily Cyber Digest focuses on the topics we work on, including cyber, critical technologies & strategic issues like foreign interference.
Amazon has filed its intention to appeal the US Department of Defense’s decision to give a major contract to Microsoft. Amazon had been considered the favourite to win the deal, worth $10bn over the next 10 years. The company, which already provides cloud computing to the US Central Intelligence Agency, said the decision was made due to political pressure. BBC
More than 400 pages of internal Chinese documents provide an unprecedented inside look at the crackdown on ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang region. New technology must be part of the solution, foreshadowing the party’s deployment of facial recognition, genetic testing and big data in Xinjiang. The leaked papers consist of 24 documents, some of which contain duplicated material. They include nearly 200 pages of internal speeches by Mr. Xi and other leaders and more than 150 pages of directives and reports on the surveillance and control of the Uighur population in Xinjiang. There are also references to plans to extend restrictions on Islam to other parts of China. NYT
Internet disrupted in Iran amid fuel protests in multiple cities. The outages have near-total impact affecting multiple cities including Tehran. Net Blocks
ASPI ICPC
2019 Annual Report To Congress
US Government
In an annual report released Thursday, the influential U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission advised Congress to restrict some Chinese companies’ access to U.S. stock markets, heighten oversight of university research to prevent academic espionage and pass legislation to discourage mainland China’s military or police from engaging in an armed intervention in Hong Kong. ASPI ICPC was heavily cited in the report, including research from Alex Joske, Samantha Hoffman and Tom Uren.
The World
Global tech could be regulated like global banks
Irish Times
These digital platforms are a ready and often primary source of information for many people and firms, which can improve consumer choice and market functioning. Yet this information may be inaccurate, by design or not, and used to influence the actions of individuals – and recently the outcomes of elections. Their operations are global in scope, but regulation, the little that exists, is domestic in nature.
Australia
Australia struggling to contain increasing Chinese political interference, US warns
ABC
@andrewbgreene
Australia is having limited success in countering Chinese political interference, a US Congressional report has said, suggesting new joint military training bases could be set up across the Indo-Pacific to thwart Beijing.
Higher education must stand for Australia
AFR
A set of guidelines to deal with the foreign interference risk is being developed to assure the public that our universities can maintain academic freedom and freedom of speech while protecting the intellectual and cultural assets of the institutions. Australia must be attuned to the national security dimension of our international student cohort, particularly in postgraduate research. Sensitive fields such as quantum computing, hypersonic and robotics have been identified for their dual uses in industry and defence. We must be vigilant about whom we collaborate within these fields to ensure that our national security interests are not compromised.
Flaws found in NSW iVote system yet again
ZDNet
Analysis of source code published at the request of the NSW Electoral Commission shows that the state's election system software was still vulnerable to attack.
China
‘Absolutely No Mercy’: Leaked Files Expose How China Organized Mass Detentions of Muslims
NYT
More than 400 pages of internal Chinese documents provide an unprecedented inside look at the crackdown on ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang region.. The leaked papers consist of 24 documents, some of which contain duplicated material. They include nearly 200 pages of internal speeches by Mr. Xi and other leaders, and more than 150 pages of directives and reports on the surveillance and control of the Uighur population in Xinjiang. There are also references to plans to extend restrictions on Islam to other parts of China.
Chinese Internet users are fascinated by a mysterious Web browser promising legal access to banned sites. They’re also very skeptical.
Washington Post
Many international social media websites are banned in China, and using special software called a virtual private network (VPN) to access them can sometimes lead to jail time. So when a little-known Chinese company announced this week that it was releasing the first Web browser that lets Chinese users legally access Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, more than 200,000 users scrambled to register, clogging up its servers within hours. Soon after, China’s tech-savvy circles lit up with a mix of curiosity and suspicion. But mostly suspicion.
Ghost ships, crop circles, and soft gold: A GPS mystery in Shanghai
Technology Review
@meharris
A sophisticated new electronic warfare system is being used at the world’s busiest port. But is it sand thieves or the Chinese state behind it?
(Chinese technology giant Alibaba makes its foray into the defence sector)
USA
Amazon begins appeal over Pentagon cloud contract
BBC
@DaveLeeBBC
Amazon has filed its intention to appeal the US Department of Defense’s decision to give a major contract to Microsoft. Amazon had been considered the favourite to win the deal, worth $10bn over the next 10 years. The company, which already provides cloud computing to the US Central Intelligence Agency, said the decision was made due to political pressure. In July, President Donald Trump threatened to intervene after what he described as “tremendous complaints”. Mr Trump had previously attacked Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos, who also owns the Washington Post.
The Science Security Threat
Inside Higher Ed
@dougledIHE
Several people in the audience said they appreciated the federal officials' collaborative nature, which they said showed a marked change from the much more confrontational approach Trump administration officials took on this issue a year ago. But it wasn't the officials' attitude that most changed the direction of the session: it was the information they presented, which, taken together, seemed to dispel any doubts anyone in the room harboured about whether there is a security threat to American science..NIH had identified " at least 120 scientists at 70 institutions " that had in some way failed to "fully disclose substantial contributions from other organizations, including foreign governments," failed to disclose financial conflicts of interest, diverted proprietary information or sent information gleaned by participating in the peer-review process to other countries.
U.S. Said to Extend Reprieve for Huawei
NYT
@AnaSwanson
The Trump administration is set to once again extend a license that will allow American companies to continue doing business with Huawei, the Chinese telecom giant, people familiar with the deliberations said. The fate of Huawei has hung in the balance for many months, as the Trump administration has deliberated over how to treat a company many American officials consider a national security risk, but the Chinese government views as central to its technology ambitions. While the company’s future is not technically a part of trade talks between the two countries, President Trump has brought Huawei up as a potential bargaining chip in a long-running trade war.
How Google Interferes With Its Search Algorithms and Changes Your Results
WSJ
The internet giant uses blacklists, algorithm tweaks and an army of contractors to shape what you see.
Twitter will run some political ads, just not from politicians. It seems well-intentioned, but might get messy.
CNN
@donie
Twitter announced details of its new policy banning political ads on Friday, saying that although politicians, political candidates and groups like SuperPACs will be banned from advertising on its platform, other groups and qualifying news organizations will be allowed to advertise on political issues. The policy, well-intentioned though it may be, will likely create confusion among campaigns and activist groups — and a headache for Twitter.
Here’s how Russia will attack the 2020 election. We’re still not ready.
Washington Post
The big tech companies have embarked on some reforms in response to Russian mischief-making, such as enhancing advertising transparency and algorithmic down-ranking of divisive political content. But such moves are of little use against intelligence professionals who are willing to conjure up fake media organizations, invent think tanks and support Kremlin-aligned conspiratorial voices. Social media platforms need to devote far more human resources to the task. The tech industry also lacks an official coordinating body to enable collaboration between companies and with democracies; creating an independent organization to do so should be a top priority.
South Asia
Pakistan has a new & dangerous peep-hole into Indian military. But New Delhi has a plan
The Print
In the pre-internet and pre-social media era, intelligence operations of hostile countries required physical contact. The Army in a recent advisory has asked its personnel to be wary of ‘spiritual gurus’ and ‘babas’ on social media who can be Pakistani intelligence operatives using fake profiles.
Chinese Sharp Power: Is Beijing influencing public opinion in India?
ORF Online
@orfonline
Perhaps more potent than the use of conventional media, these diplomats are now telling the story of “real China” to their large following of foreign social media users on Twitter — ironically, a platform banned in the PRC. These ‘twiplomats’ have been confronting prominent critics of PRC’s white-elephant projects and ‘debt-traps’ in India’s neighbourhood with bellicosity, responding to Xinjiang-related condemnation with racially charged come-backs, and threatening defenders of Taiwan’s independence with “fire”..Increasingly occupying centre stage in its foreign policy defences, Huawei has been ferrying large numbers of foreign policymakers to its “Disneyland” HQ, leaving them “dazzled”about China’s seemingly ‘harmless’ tech prowess. The company’s recent outreach to Indian telecom officials drew domestic political ire, bringing home concerns about Huawei lobbying for a favourable 5G security decision.
Europe
NATO ally expels undercover Russian spy
Yahoo
@jennamc_laugh
GRU officers were publicly found responsible for the March 2018 nerve agent attack on former Russian intelligence officer Sergei Skripal, attempted cyberattacks directed at the Dutch Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, as well as hacking into computers belonging to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, according to a July 2018 indictment from the Justice Department... The expelled diplomat, Vladimir Anatolyevich Rusyaev is affiliated with the Russian military intelligence service, or the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, commonly known as the GRU, according to a Western intelligence source.
Merkel to Ratchet up Huawei Restrictions in Concession to Hawks
Bloomberg
@patrickjdo
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government is prepared to make a key concession to security hawks by tightening barriers aimed at Chinese equipment supplier Huawei Technologies Co., according to people familiar with the plans. A draft of security measures being rolled out by the German government aims to block Huawei components from entering the core network of the country’s ultra-high-speed fifth-generation technology, the people said on condition of anonymity.
Sweden Rejects Chinese Criticism of Press Freedom Prize
NYT
China is conducting a "large-scale public diplomacy campaign in Sweden which is unique (within) the European Union,” said Bjorn Jerden, head of the Asian Program at the Swedish Institute of international affairs. It is “the first time they directly threatened the Swedish government.”Sweden’s culture minister on Friday awarded the annual Tucholsky literary prize to a Chinese author despite a threat from the Chinese ambassador to ban her from entering the country.
Russia
The Evidence That Links Russia’s Most Brazen Hacking Efforts
Wired
@a_greenberg
Russia’s GRU has long been suspected of responsibility for the breach that leaked 9 gigabytes of emails from the campaign of French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron just before the French election in early May of 2017—nearly a year after carrying out a similar campaign against the Democratic National Committee and the Clinton Campaign in the US. Now one fresh data point from security firm FireEye ties that operation directly to Sandworm, and specifically the NotPetya malware that would hit Ukraine and spread globally just a month after the French election.
Middle East
Saudi spies hacked my phone and tried to stop my activism. I won’t stop fighting.
Washington Post
I used to work closely with Jamal Khashoggi against the Saudi troll army on Twitter. That's why I've been targeted
Internet disrupted in Iran amid fuel protests in multiple cities
Net Blocks
Network data from the NetBlocks internet observatory confirm disruptions with multiple fixed-line and mobile providers in Iran, amid protests against rising fuel prices. The outages have partial (update: now near-total, see below) impact at the time of writing affecting multiple cities including Tehran.
Africa
Huawei's pitch to African mayors: ‘Our cameras will make you safe’
Mail and Guardian
@simonallison
Liu, a senior marketing executive at Chinese tech firm Huawei, is in Mombasa, at an exclusive gathering of African mayors and local government officials. There are officials present from all over the continent, including Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Somaliland, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe. The conference — organised by the Brenthurst Foundation, a Johannesburg-based think-tank and lobby group — is academic in nature, and it is not entirely clear why Huawei has been given an exclusive slot to pitch its vision for the future of African cities. It is a vision that revolves around surveillance, artificial intelligence and 5G communication networks, creating a world where your every movement is tracked, recorded and searchable.
Misc
How WhatsApp Got Hacked (Podcast)
Slate
Private spyware companies help governments get around encryption, and business is booming.
What Reporters Should Look For in Latest Facebook Document Leak
EFF
@EFFFalcon
NBC’s latest release of 7,000 pages of leaked internal Facebook documents has revealed how Facebook treated user data as leverage with external developers and spun anti-competitive moves as privacy improvements. As members of the press and civil society continue to inspect this massive volume of information in the documents, here are the most important things to look for from an antitrust and competition policy perspective.
"Revenge Porn" Is Neither Pornography Nor Revenge
BuzzFeed
Revenge porn is everywhere. But the word revenge, many argue, puts blame on the victim — implying that they had done something wrong to provoke the perpetrator to leak these materials. Meanwhile, pornography implies consent, when the very issue at hand is the lack thereof.
Events
Launch: China Defence Universities Tracker
ASPI
ASPI's International Cyber Policy Centre invites you to attend the launch of the 'China Defence Universities Tracker’ on November 26. The tracker is a comprehensive resource on the defence and security links of over 160 Chinese universities and research institutions. The tracker will take the form of a publicly available website accompanied by a report that explains the database’s findings and recommends policies in response to them. The project aims to improve the ability of governments, universities and researchers to understand collaboration with the PRC and raise the standard of risk-management and due-diligence work carried out by universities.