Army of fake fans boosts China’s messaging on Twitter | Facebook observing 'steady growth' in disinformation-for-hire services | Myanmar’s coup threatens vloggers, influencers and tech entrepreneurs
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A seven-month investigation by the Associated Press and the Oxford Internet Institute, a department at Oxford University, found that China’s rise on Twitter has been powered by an army of fake accounts that have retweeted Chinese diplomats and state media tens of thousands of times, covertly amplifying propaganda that can reach hundreds of millions of people -- often without disclosing the fact that the content is government-sponsored. Associated Press
Last week Facebook said it removed dozens of inauthentic accounts and pages that sought to boost the reelection campaign of Julián Zacarías, the current mayor of the Mexican city of Progreso, and denigrate his opponent, Lila Frías Castillo...In recent months, though, Facebook says it has seen an uptick in campaigns outsourcing operations to public relations firms and commercial entities to further distance operators from their influence campaigns. The effort in Mexico is only the latest example. CyberScoop
Yangon’s digital community of activists, entrepreneurs, and tech workers has been traumatized by the recent coup and the ensuing violence. Many of its members have been thrust into literal firing lines as soldiers turn guns and grenades on peaceful protests. After sweeping up opposition politicians and dissidents, the junta began actively targeting young, connected people, snatching them from the streets and their homes, and rewriting laws to criminalize their online activities. Rest of World
ASPI ICPC
Army of fake fans boosts China’s messaging on Twitter
Associated Press
@ekinetz
A seven-month investigation by the Associated Press and the Oxford Internet Institute, a department at Oxford University, found that China’s rise on Twitter has been powered by an army of fake accounts that have retweeted Chinese diplomats and state media tens of thousands of times, covertly amplifying propaganda that can reach hundreds of millions of people -- often without disclosing the fact that the content is government-sponsored… “It’s creating a significant challenge for Western democracies. We don’t have the same capacity to influence international audiences given that China has walled off its internet,” said Jacob Wallis, a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s International Cyber Policy Centre. “That creates a significant asymmetric advantage.”
Track our work on information operations and disinformation here, including our report on a large-scale influence campaign linked to the Chinese state on Twitter and Facebook, 'Retweeting through the Great Firewall.'
L'occhio del Dragone [The Eye of the Dragon]
Rai Report
@reportrai3
In this documentary aired on Italian national television channel Rai 3, Daria Impiombato from ASPI's International Cyber Policy Center presents findings from ASPI's report 'Uyghurs for Sale', on links between Xinjiang forced labor and global supply chains.
Read our report ‘Uyghurs for Sale’ here.
The World
Facebook is observing a 'steady growth' in disinformation-for-hire services
CyberScoop
@shanvav
Last week Facebook said it removed dozens of inauthentic accounts and pages that sought to boost the reelection campaign of Julián Zacarías, the current mayor of the Mexican city of Progreso, and denigrate his opponent, Lila Frías Castillo...In recent months, though, Facebook says it has seen an uptick in campaigns outsourcing operations to public relations firms and commercial entities to further distance operators from their influence campaigns. The effort in Mexico is only the latest example.
Australia
Reliable cyber security needs continuous work
Australian Financial Review
Mark Eggleton
With the federal government announcing a raft of cyber security initiatives in the last week as part of its annual pre-Budget drop, the question is whether enough is being done to enable “businesses and consumers to actively engage in the digital economy with confidence” as the Digital Economy Strategy announcement suggests.
China
Tesla puts brake on Shanghai land buy as U.S.-China tensions weigh - sources
Reuters
U.S. electric car maker Tesla Inc has halted plans to buy land to expand its Shanghai plant and make it a global export hub, people familiar with the matter said, due to uncertainty created by U.S.-China tensions.
Internet Security Apps Called Out for Personal Data Abuse
Caixin Global
Matthew Walsh
Some 36 security apps, including those developed by internet titans Tencent Holdings Ltd., Baidu Inc. and Qihoo 360 Technology Co. Ltd., are guilty of illegally obtaining data without users’ consent, collecting more information than they need to operate, and demanding excessive numbers of permissions, according to the notice, which was published Monday. The document singled out a further 48 online lending apps for similar violations, including those developed by the personal finance arms of ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s e-commerce site Taobao, Ping An Insurance Group Co. of China Ltd. and several national banks. Data privacy is a long-running problem in China, which lacks robust laws and regulations governing the collection and use of personal information.
Men plead guilty after publishing banned reports on China’s outbreak, and other news from around the world.
The New York Times
@ChuBailiang Raphael Minder
Two Chinese men who created an online cache of banned reports on the coronavirus, defying government censorship, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” a vague charge that Chinese prosecutors often use against politically troublesome defendants.
China’s Much-Hyped Digital Yuan Fails to Impress Early Users
Bloomberg
As China moves closer to rolling out the world’s first major sovereign digital currency, speculation over the global implications has reached a fever pitch.
USA
Senior cyber official leaves Biden's NSC
POLITICO
@ericgeller
Michael Sulmeyer, a senior White House cybersecurity official, has left his position, two people familiar with the matter told POLITICO.
Biden: No evidence Russian government is involved in Colonial ransomware attack
The Record
@campuscodi
At a press conference today, President Joe Biden said the US intelligence community has no evidence that the Russian government had any kind of involvement in the ransomware attack that crippled one of the US’ largest fuel supply pipelines last week.
Meet DarkSide, the ransomware gang blamed for the Colonial Pipeline attack
CyberScoop
@snlyngaas
The cybercriminal syndicate accused of causing one of the largest U.S. pipeline operators to shut down is known for running an enterprise that vets criminal customers and avoids targeting Russian-speaking organizations, according to analysts who have tracked the group.
Kim Zetter @KimZetter
Biden declares state of emergency over pipelines - the move allows oil suppliers to transport their fuel via roadways while Colonial pipelines are down. I spoke w/ someone who works for oil company about what Colonial has told them and what they're doing https://t.co/d926t6GXVoUS opens debate over cyber ransom payments after pipeline hack
Financial Times
@JamesPoliti @KatrinaManson @derek_brower @mylesmccormick_
The White House has opened a debate over the merits of companies making ransom payments to cyber attackers after a group of hackers shut down a US oil pipeline over the weekend, highlighting the seriousness of the threat to critical infrastructure. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has long opposed such payments on the grounds that they will encourage more ransomware attacks, in which hackers take control of a target’s computers or data until their financial demands are met. Anne Neuberger, US deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technologies, on Monday said the Biden administration was “definitely looking at” its “approach to ransomware actors and ransoms overall”.
It's ok to get attacked, It's not ok to not have a plan for it': Cybersecurity expert
BNN Bloomberg
BNN Bloomberg speaks with Robert Lee, CEO of Dragos, about the Colonial Pipeline cyber attack fallout and what can be learned from it for other industries.
China increases spending 500% to influence America
Axios
@lachlan
New foreign-agent filings are finally detailing a massive Beijing propaganda operation that's fueled a sixfold increase in disclosed Chinese foreign influence efforts in the United States in recent years.
North Asia
Fake news' may breach security law: police chief
RTHK
Police Commissioner Chris Tang warned on Tuesday that publishing "fake news" could amount to a breach of the national security law, saying his officers will be forced to respond if reports "incite hatred and divide society".
Southeast Asia
“They want us to disappear”: Myanmar’s coup threatens to wipe out a generation of vloggers, influencers and tech entrepreneurs.
Rest of World
@PeterGuest
Yangon’s digital community of activists, entrepreneurs, and tech workers has been traumatized by the recent coup and the ensuing violence. Many of its members have been thrust into literal firing lines as soldiers turn guns and grenades on peaceful protests. After sweeping up opposition politicians and dissidents, the junta began actively targeting young, connected people, snatching them from the streets and their homes, and rewriting laws to criminalize their online activities.
South & Central Asia
They’re Trying to Save Lives in India. YouTube Says Their Videos Are Dangerous.
VICE
@Shazamgram
YouTube took down videos of Indians showing how to make oxygen at home. Some had close to a million views.
Jobs
International Cyber Policy Centre – Strategic engagement, program & research coordinator
ASPI ICPC
ASPI’s International Cyber Policy Centre (ICPC) has an outstanding early career role for a talented and proactive individual to support senior centre staff on strategic engagement, program and research coordination.
PROJECT COORDINATOR – CYBERSECURITY AND CIVIL SOCIETY – WESTERN BALKANS
DCAF – Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance
The Cybersecurity programme is currently looking for a highly qualified and motivated project coordinator for its civil society activities in the Western Balkans. The project coordinator would be based in one of the Western Balkan economies.
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