Artificial intelligence: your questions answered | The life and career of Australia’s first female intelligence agency boss | The figure behind the viral 'Ukrainian biolab' conspiracy theory
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This collection of short papers developed by the Australian Institute for Machine Learning (AIML) at the University of Adelaide and the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) offers a refreshing primer into the world of artificial intelligence and the opportunities and risks this technology presents to Australia. ASPI
As a child Rachel Noble always thought her father was an engineer – the nation’s top cyber spy had no idea he was actually a spy. The Sydney Morning
The ADL Center on Extremism has, with a high degree of confidence, identified “Clandestine,” the man behind the viral biolab conspiracy theory, as Jacob Creech, a self-described former restaurant manager and Army National Guard veteran living in rural Virginia. Anti-Defamation League
ASPI ICPC
Artificial intelligence: your questions answered
ASPI
Edited by Dr Kathy Nicholson and Adam Slonim
This collection of short papers developed by the Australian Institute for Machine Learning (AIML) at the University of Adelaide and the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) offers a refreshing primer into the world of artificial intelligence and the opportunities and risks this technology presents to Australia.
How technology, both old and new, has shaped the war in Ukraine so far
Popular Science
Kelsey D. Atherton
When Russia invaded Ukraine, it did so with weapons designed and built for a future war against NATO in western Europe that never came. Analyst Nathan Ruser of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, who has been tracking progress of both Russian offensives and Ukrainian counteroffensives, tweeted on March 31 that “Now, every day for the past week, Ukraine has retaken more territory than it’s lost.”
Ukraine - Russia
Unmasking “clandestine,” the figure behind the viral “Ukrainian biolab” conspiracy theory
Anti-Defamation League
The ADL Center on Extremism has, with a high degree of confidence, identified “Clandestine,” the man behind the viral biolab conspiracy theory, as Jacob Creech, a self-described former restaurant manager and Army National Guard veteran living in rural Virginia. The discovery highlights how a fringe QAnon figure, harnessing the power of social media, sparked a viral conspiracy theory that – in just a few weeks – made its way from QAnon to the world stage, amplified by Tucker Carlson, white supremacists Nick Fuentes and Vincent James, members of the Proud Boys, and Steve Bannon – and even the Kremlin.
Inside the covert network sending arms and drones to Ukraine forces
The Washington Post
Robert Klemko
The paths these vans weave daily from the Polish border to the Lviv warehouse to places such as Kyiv, Sumy and Kharkiv illustrate a daunting reality for Russian invaders: The defense of Ukraine has mobilized citizens from every sector of life, from battle-hardened soldiers who have been at war in Donbas for almost a decade, to the people who decide the food budgets for Florence and the Machine music video shoots.
Inside the elite Ukrainian drone unit founded by volunteer IT experts: 'We are all soldiers now.'
Insider
Alia Shoaib
An elite Ukrainian drone unit founded by volunteer IT experts is becoming a crucial part of the resistance against invading Russian forces. Aerorozvidka custom-builds or modifies off-the-shelf consumer drones to work in a military context and drop bombs on Russian vehicles under the cover of night. "Now, we are all soldiers, but our roots are very different," Mykhailo, a board member and head of communications for Aerorozvidka, told Insider. "Some of us have PhDs. Some have masters. Some are from the IT industry and many other industries. The main thing which unites us is a desire to win this war."
Australia
From knitting to code breaking: The life and career of Australia’s first female intelligence agency boss
The Sydney Morning Herald
Anthony Galloway
As a child Rachel Noble always thought her father was an engineer – the nation’s top cyber spy had no idea he was actually a spy.
Why the Ukraine-Russia war is dividing the Australian Chinese community
ABC News
Dong Xing
Feng Chongyi, an associate professor in Chinese studies at the University of Technology Sydney and a democracy activist, said the views within Chinese-speaking communities in Australia were very diverse because people had different ideologies. He said some Chinese Australians with pro-Russian views could also be influenced by anti-America propaganda and censorship of anti-Russia content on popular social media platforms.
China
Shanghai residents warned about online posts over Covid lockdown
Financial Times
Eleanor Olcott and Andy Lin
Chinese officials have warned Shanghai residents about what they say online regarding the city’s Covid outbreak, after many complained about conditions and food shortages almost two weeks after the city of 25mn was locked down.
Weibo removes hashtag about food shortages in Shanghai as locked-down residents go hungry
SupChina
Greg James
“If we can’t solve the problem, we need to solve the person who raised the problem,” said one cynical social media user as Weibo censored a popular hashtag about the ongoing crisis of people stuck in their apartments without enough food.
China uses AI software to improve its surveillance capabilities
Reuters
Eduardo Baptista
According to more than 50 publicly available documents examined by Reuters, dozens of entities in China have over the past four years bought such software, known as "one person, one file". The technology improves on existing software, which simply collects data but leaves it to people to organise.
China ‘Decodes’ An Orbiting US Satellite; Claims Expertise In Automatically Detecting & Fixing Security Flaws In Outer Space
Eurasian times
Sakshi Tiwari
To protect its space assets, China has devised a new cyber defense. China has developed a new cyber defense infrastructure that can automatically detect security flaws in orbiting satellites, according to military experts participating in the project.
Can China compromise America’s undersea Cables?
The National Interest
Sean Durns
The wars of today and tomorrow are no less dependent on industry and infrastructure. But for the United States and its allies, critical defense infrastructure is alarmingly vulnerable.
With COVID-19 and ecommerce, high-end malls thrive while older shopping centers die
SupChina
Barry van Wyk
The CCAGM data illustrates that while older malls with aging management, homogenous product offerings, and less fashionable facilities are disappearing fast, high-end shopping malls are growing fast.
USA
Kansas researcher convicted of illegal secret China work
Associated Press
Hollingsworth Heather
Jurors found him guilty of three counts of wire fraud and one count of false statements for not disclosing on conflict of interest forms that he had been named to a Chinese talent program, the Changjiang Professorship, on grant applications. As part of that program he traveled to China to set up a laboratory and recruit staff for Fuzhou University, telling the University of Kansas he was in Germany instead.
US Space Force to test experimental navigation satellite in upcoming Army exercise
Defense News
Courtney Albon
The Air Force Research Laboratory and L3Harris will begin integrated testing this summer of an experimental satellite with implications for a future hybrid precision, navigation and timing architecture.
SpaceX starlink terminals sent to Ukraine cost US taxpayers $3M, report says
Cnet
Corinne Reichert
SpaceX's contribution of Starlink internet terminals and service to Ukraine may be subsidized in part by the US government, according to a report, even though SpaceX, Elon Musk's rocket company, has suggested it hasn't received any money from the government.
US defense department wants to fund open, interoperable 5G
The Register
Brandon Vigliarolo
The US Department of Defense is encouraging companies to build open and interoperable 5G, and it's willing to shell out a portion of $3 million to anyone who provides a solution. That's the gist of the DoD and National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Institute for Telecommunication Sciences' (ITS) 5G Challenge Preliminary Event.
Washington debates cryptocurrency rules, with sights set on stablecoins
The Wall Street Journal
Andrew Duehren
Both Democrats and Republicans want to create new safeguards to help ensure that one stablecoin is quickly redeemable for one dollar, while at the same time warding off broader risk to financial markets. But despite bipartisan agreement about the need for new federal action on stablecoins, policy makers remain at odds about how and when to take it.
The manifold effects of partisan media on viewers’ beliefs and attitudes: A field experiment with Fox News viewers
OSF Preprints
David E. Broockman and Joshua L. Kalla
Partisan media impacts voting behavior, yet what changes in viewers’ beliefs or attitudesmay underlie these impacts is poorly understood. We recruited a sample of regular Fox Newsviewers using data on actual TV viewership from a media company, and incentivized themto watch CNN instead for a month using real-time viewership quizzes.
Fox News isn't news
NBC News
Dan Froomkin
The problem with Fox “News,” the cable TV channel, isn’t just what it is — it’s also what it isn’t. It is often a purveyor of propaganda and misinformation. What it’s not is a source of “news” — at least not by any normal definition.
South Asia
India claims it foiled Chinese cyber-attack on disputed border
The Defense Post
India on Thursday claimed it foiled an attempted cyber-attack by Chinese hackers targeting its power distribution system near a disputed frontier where the two countries are engaged in a military stand-off.
Europe
China makes semi-secret delivery of missiles to Serbia
Associated Press
Dusan Stojanovic
Russian ally Serbia has taken delivery of a sophisticated Chinese anti-aircraft system in a semi-secret operation this weekend, amid Western concerns that an arms buildup in the Balkans at the time of the war in Ukraine could threaten the fragile peace in the region.
Middle East
The rise of high-tech despotism
The Record by Recorded Future
Dina Temple-Raston
When Al-Jizawi finally left Syria, she assumed she’d be able to put this kind of heavy-handed repression behind her. Instead, she became the target of a new kind of high-tech despotism at the hands of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad regime.
Africa
Thales launches its sixth cyber security cperations center in Morocco to serve the African continent
Africa.com
Thales strengthens its status as a cybersecurity leader with the creation of a new Security Operations Center on the African continent, based in Morocco. This operations center provides Moroccan and African administrations and businesses with effective supervision resources in the field of cybersecurity.
Big Tech
YouTube blocks Russian parliament channel, drawing ire from officials
Reuters
YouTube has blocked Duma TV which broadcasts from Russia's lower house of parliament, drawing an angry response from officials who said the world's most popular streaming service could face restrictions in response.
Facebook cracks down on covert influence networks targeting Ukraine
The Washington Post
Naomi Nix
Facebook said Thursday it disrupted several covert influence operations targeting Ukrainians, as the company intensifies its fight against covert influence campaigns seeking to influence public opinion about the war.
Microsoft seized Russian domains targeting Ukrainian media organizations
The Verge
Emma Roth
Microsoft seized seven domains belonging to Strontium, also known as Fancy Bear or APT28, a Russian hacking group with ties to the country’s military intelligence agency, the company announced in a blog post (via TechCrunch). According to Microsoft, Russian spies used these sites to target Ukrainian media outlets, as well as foreign policy think tanks and government institutions located in the US and the European Union.
Twitter reverts change that left blank spaces in place of deleted embedded tweets
The Verge
Emma Roth
Twitter has confirmed it reversed a change that altered the appearance of deleted tweets embedded on websites outside of Twitter. Instead of leaving a blank gap in place of the deleted tweets, the site will go back to displaying the tweet’s original text.
Elon Musk suggests changes to Twitter, takes barbs at company
The Wall Street Journal
Ginger Adams Otis and Salvador Rodriguez
In a series of provocative tweets, the chief executive of Tesla Inc. and SpaceX said Twitter Blue should ban ads, lower its $2.99-a-month price and consider accepting dogecoin cryptocurrency as payment for the subscription service. He also said subscribers should get an authentication checkmark.
Research
Events
Leveling economic opportunities through online safety for women
Join us for a conversation between Australian eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman - Grant and LinkedIn Public Policy VP, Sue Duke discussing the impact of online abuse on women in their professional lives, and hear about LinkedIn's commitment to keeping our members safe.
Jobs
The Sydney Dialogue - Senior Events Coordinator
ASPI ICPC
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) is currently recruiting for an experienced events professional to coordinate the planning and logistics of the second iteration of ASPI’s Sydney Dialogue - the world’s premier summit on emerging, critical and cyber technologies.
ICPC Senior Analyst or Analyst - China
ASPI ICPC
ASPI’s International Cyber Policy Centre (ICPC) has a unique opportunity for exceptional and experienced China-focused senior analysts or analysts to join its centre. This role will focus on original research and analysis centred around the (growing) range of topics which our ICPC China team work on. Our China team produces some of the most impactful and well-read policy-relevant research in the world, with our experts often being called upon by politicians, governments, corporates and civil society actors to provide briefings and advice.
Important disclaimer: This digest is a daily collation of material designed to provide authoritative information and commentary in relation to the subject matters covered. The views expressed in this material are those of the authors only. To provide feedback please contact: icpc@aspi.org.au