Australia considers world-first laws to stop China attack | Another Facebook whistleblower just testified in British parliament | Hacker steals government ID database for Argentina’s entire population
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Legislation is being fast-tracked to give the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) the power to take over the computer systems of any critical infrastructure business which is unable or unwilling to defend itself against a crippling cyber attack. Herald Sun
While appearing before a committee of lawmakers in the British parliament on Monday, Facebook whistleblower Sophie Zhang, a former data scientist for the company, testified that the social media site is allowing authoritarian governments to manipulate political discourse. Time
A hacker has breached the Argentinian government’s IT network and stolen ID card details for the country’s entire population, data that is now being sold in private circles. The Record
ASPI ICPC
Australia considers world-first laws to stop China attack
Herald Sun
@ellenwhinnett
Director of think tank ASPI’s International Cyber Policy Centre, Fergus Hanson, said the powers contained within the bill were “a big deal’’. “It gives the Government the ability to send people into an organisation and demand, under pain of a sizeable penalty, that they must run a piece of software or do a certain thing to protect their systems,’’ he said. “In practise, I don’t think it means you’re going to be seeing ASD ordering major technology companies around about what they should and shouldn’t be doing with their very complicated systems. “But for sectors that haven’t really thought about cyber security but are really vulnerable to cyber risks and will be increasingly vulnerable, I think it’s really useful. Australia will be in the vanguard of a small group of countries that are really at the forefront of creating these sorts of powers for critical infrastructure.’’ Mr Hanson said he believed cyber criminals such as ransomware gangs were the most urgent threat to Australia’s critical infrastructure network, but said “several states are certainly burrowing into critical infrastructure systems around the world and laying in wait basically to deploy and exploit if needed.’’
World
Nato to expand focus to counter rising China
Financial Times
@khalafroula @HenryJFoy
Countering the security threat from the rise of China will be an important part of Nato’s future rationale, the alliance’s chief has said, marking a significant rethink of the western alliance’s objectives that reflects the US’s geostrategic pivot to Asia.
Australia
Australia signs up to White House counter ransomware agenda
The Mandarin
@Coadem
A virtual government-to-government event attended by Australia’s home affairs secretary has underscored the escalating threat ransomware poses to the global community.
Facebook says Craig Kelly’s content on United Australia party page OK after banning MP
The Guardian
@murpharoo
Social media giant says Craig Kelly was banned for ‘violations’ on his page, but the UAP account differs as it covers the ‘party more generally’.
China
West eyes China’s playbook as Big Tech revs up finance ambitions
POLITICO
@bsmithmey
It’s not often that the West looks to Beijing for policy solutions, especially since diplomatic ties have soured amid alleged human rights abuses among China's Uyghur Muslims, trade dumping and a military build-up in the South China Sea. But a looming monetary crisis at the hands of Big Tech has made strange bedfellows.
LinkedIn's unsustainable compromise in China
Financial Times
There is something inevitable about the decision by LinkedIn to “sunset” its global site in China. As the last of the large western social media sites to operate there, a tension would always exist for a US tech company that espoused free speech and yet censored the content of journalists and activists critical of the Chinese Communist party. Despite this inevitability — and the lamentable corporate guff and mixed messages used by LinkedIn to describe it — the professional-networking site’s departure from the Chinese market, in its current form at least, is a significant moment.
Chinese military newspaper calls for ‘people’s war’ to counter US spies after CIA sets up new China unit
South China Morning Post
Shi Jiangtao
A Chinese military newspaper has called for a “people’s war” to defeat American espionage after the CIA set up a new unit dedicated to China. The launch of China Mission Centre on October 7, which CIA Director William Burns said was aimed at countering “the most important geopolitical threat” of the century, has gone viral on Chinese social media.
China is watching you
The Atlantic
@HillmanJE
Even if you have never set foot in China, Hikvision’s cameras have likely seen you. By 2017, Hikvision had captured 12 percent of the North American market. Its cameras watched over apartment buildings in New York City, public recreation centers in Philadelphia, and hotels in Los Angeles. Police departments used them to monitor streets in Memphis, Tennessee, and in Lawrence, Massachusetts. London and more than half of Britain’s 20 next-largest cities have deployed them.
Axis rise and fall inside PRC China
IPVM
@CharlesRollet1
Today, Axis' PRC China sales are tiny, but for years Axis considered the PRC the "market with the greatest potential" due to its strong growth and supplied many high-profile PRC enterprise projects, including police.
Windows 10, Linux, iOS, Chrome and many others at hacked Tianfu Cup 2021
The Hacker News
Ravie Lakshmanan
Windows 10, iOS 15, Google Chrome, Apple Safari, Microsoft Exchange Server, and Ubuntu 20 were successfully broken into using original, never-before-seen exploits at the Tianfu Cup 2021, the fourth edition of the international cybersecurity contest held in the city of Chengdu, China.
China ‘fires hypersonic missile that circles globe to hit target’
The Independent
@emily_yilena
China tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile that flew round the earth before speeding towards its target, catching US intelligence services by surprise, it was reported.The technology demonstrates an advanced space capability showing China’s progress on hypersonic weaponry to be far more developed than US officials realised, according to the Financial Times.
China’s claim that its fractional orbital bombardment system was a spaceplane test doesn’t add up
The Drive
@FranticGoat
The system could give China the ability to strike any target on Earth unpredictably, but so far Beijing is acting like the test didn't happen.
USA
Five U.S. lawmakers accuse Amazon of possibly lying to Congress following Reuters report
Reuters
@stecklow @adityakalra @JLDastin
Five members of the U.S. House Judiciary committee wrote to Amazon.com Inc's chief executive Sunday, and accused the company's top executives, including founder Jeff Bezos, of either misleading Congress or possibly lying to it about Amazon's business practices.
Washington hears echoes of the ’50s and worries: is this a Cold War with China?
The New York Times
@SangerNYT
The constant background din of cyberconflict and technology theft was one factor behind the Central Intelligence Agency’s announcement this month that it had created a new China mission center to position the United States, in the words of its director, William J. Burns, to confront “the most important geopolitical threat we face in the 21st century, an increasingly adversarial Chinese government.”..The deep links between the two economies — the mutual dependencies on technology, trade and data that leaps the Pacific in milliseconds on American and Chinese-dominated networks — never existed in the more familiar Cold War.
Sinclair TV stations disrupted across the US in apparent ransomware attack
The Record
@campuscodi
TV broadcasts for Sinclair-owned channels have gone down today across the US in what the stations have described as technical issues, but which sources told The Record to be a ransomware attack.
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai calls for federal tech regulation, investments in cybersecurity
TechCrunch
@sarahintampa
In a wide-ranging interview at the WSJ Tech Live conference that touched on topics like the future of remote work, A.I. innovation, employee activism, and even misinformation on YouTube, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai also shared his thoughts on the state of tech innovation in the U.S. and the need for new regulations. Specifically, Pichai argued for the creation of a federal privacy standard in the U.S., similar to the GDPR in Europe. He also suggested it was important for the U.S. to stay ahead in areas like A.I., quantum computing, and cybersecurity, particularly as China’s tech ecosystem further separates itself from Western markets.
North-East Asia
Foxconn bullish on electric vehicle prospects as it shows off three prototypes
Reuters
@YimouLee
Taiwan’s Foxconn unveiled its first three electric vehicle prototypes on Monday, underscoring ambitious plans to diversify away from its role of building consumer electronics for Apple Inc (AAPL.O) and other tech firms. The vehicles - an SUV, a sedan and a bus - were made by Foxtron, a venture between Foxconn and Taiwanese car maker Yulon Motor Co Ltd.
UK
Another Facebook whistleblower just testified in British parliament. Here’s what to know about her allegations
TIME
@eloise_barry
While appearing before a committee of lawmakers in the British parliament on Monday, Facebook whistleblower Sophie Zhang, a former data scientist for the company, testified that the social media site is allowing authoritarian governments to manipulate political discourse.
PM urged to enact ‘David’s law’ against social media abuse after Amess’s death
The Guardian
@jessicaelgot
Boris Johnson is facing calls to enact “David’s law” to crack down on social media abuse of public figures and end online anonymity in the wake of the killing of Sir David Amess. Dozens of MPs paid tribute in the House of Commons on Monday to the veteran Conservative backbencher who was stabbed to death on Friday, shedding tears, sharing uproarious anecdotes and venting anger over his death.
UK emerges as Europe's top crypto hub with $170bn of deals
Yahoo
@latoyakharding
The UK has become the leading country in Europe for cryptocurrency transactions, with $170bn (£123bn) worth of deals.
Europe
Facebook plans to hire 10,000 in EU to build 'metaverse'
Reuters
Facebook Inc plans to create 10,000 jobs in the European Union over the next five years, the social media giant said on Monday, to help build the so-called metaverse - an online world where people can use different devices to move and communicate in a virtual environment. Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg has been talking up metaverse since July and the buzzy word, first coined in a dystopian novel three decades earlier, has been referenced by other tech firms such as Microsoft.
Pope calls for tech and media reforms
Tech Policy
@justinhendrix
Speaking from the Vatican to the World Meeting of Popular Movements, which according to Reuters is “a grouping of grassroots organizations and social movements which bring attention to inequality in labour, land ownership, health care and other social issues in the developing world,” Pope Francis called on tech firms and the media to make reforms in the name of human rights.
The Americas
Hacker steals government ID database for Argentina’s entire population
The Record
@campuscodi
A hacker has breached the Argentinian government’s IT network and stolen ID card details for the country’s entire population, data that is now being sold in private circles.
Middle East
Hacker defaces Donald Trump's website
VICE
@josephfcox
Hackers allegedly from Turkey have defaced a section of Donald Trump's website.
Misc
I get abuse and threats online - why can't it be stopped?
BBC
@mariannaspring
I'm the BBC's first specialist disinformation reporter - and I receive abusive messages on social media daily. Most are too offensive to share unedited. The trigger? My coverage of the impact of online conspiracies and fake news. I expect to be challenged and criticised - but misogynistic hate directed at me has become a very regular occurrence.
A hacker warns: Give up trying to keep me out — and focus on your data
Financial Times
@angus_tx
Adversaries have found ammunition in the complex mazes organisations have built around security
Automating data analysis is a must for mid-sized businesses
Harvard Business Review
@RobertSher
As midsize companies grow, they develop data flows and data lakes (repositories for both structured and unstructured data) that are too big for one person, or even a team, to manipulate and use effectively. And even if a company is currently deriving value from its data, the people doing the work might move on, leaving the business tasked with having to find, attract, and hire expensive data analysts in a hurry.
Events
Research
‘Climate Lockdown’ and the culture wars: How COVID-19 sparked a new narrative against climate action
Institute for Strategic Dialogue
Eisha Maharasingam-Shah Pierre Vaux
This report details the chronological growth and evolution of the ‘climate lockdown’ conspiracy narrative. The report is divided into two sections: the first outlines how the narrative emerged and was repurposed by malign actors, making its way onto different social media platforms. The second illustrates how liberal media missteps in early 2021 reignited the narrative, causing it to merge with other, pre-existing conspiracies and ultimately become centred in wider anti-elite discourse.
Jobs
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. Analysts usually have at least 5 years, often 7-10 years’ of work experience. Senior analysts usually have a minimum of 15 years relevant work experience and, in addition to research, they take on a leadership role in the centre and tend to be involved in staff and project management, fundraising and stakeholder engagement.