China accused of hacking Ukraine days before Russian invasion | Tech workers urge companies to join digital blockade of Russia | UK ministers quietly approve Chinese microchip factory takeover
China accused of hacking Ukraine days before Russian invasion | Tech workers urge companies to join digital blockade of Russia | UK ministers quietly approve Chinese microchip factory takeover
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Intelligence suggests China staged a huge cyberattack on Ukraine’s military and nuclear facilities in the build-up to Russia’s invasion. The Times
Microsoft Corp. President Brad Smith wrote to Ukraine's leader this month with a clear message: despite calls to sever all ties with Russia, the U.S. software behemoth would continue doing business in the country. Reuters
The U.K. government has quietly approved the controversial sale of a Welsh microchip factory to a Chinese-owned firm. POLITICO
ASPI ICPC
Why Putin — and the rest of us — are obsessed with maps
The Sunday Times
Tom Calver
Yet other mapmakers have taken a different approach. Nathan Ruser, a cyberpolicy researcher, has been publishing maps showing Russian advances as skinny arteries spreading through the country. This minimises the invaders’ control
Ukraine - Russia
Russian, Chinese, Belarusian hackers increasingly using Ukraine-themed lures in attacks, Google observes
Cyberscoop
Aj Vicens
Within the last two weeks, a Russia-based hacking group has targeted several U.S. nongovernmental organizations and think tanks, the military of a Balkans country and a Ukrainian defense contractor, Google reported Wednesday.
Ukrainian software engineers see lives upended by war
Thomson Reuters Foundation
Avi Asher-Schapiro
A dispute involving a U.S. fintech company and a group of sacked Ukrainian software engineers highlights the difficulties a prolonged war in Ukraine could pose to the country's hefty IT sector and its almost 300,000 workers.
Russia aims Ukraine disinformation at Spanish speakers
AP News
David Klepper and Amanda Seitz
As [the] war rages, Russia is launching falsehoods into the feeds of Spanish-speaking social media users in nations that already have long records of distrusting the U.S.
Five ways to fight the information war
Financial Times
Tim Harford
For those of us fortunate enough to be a safe distance from the horrors of war, the Russian invasion of Ukraine is providing a crash-course in how to think both about accidental misinformation and deliberate disinformation. I draw five lessons.
Australia
‘Completely joined up’: How Australia united the regulatory world against Big Tech
The Sydney Morning Herald
Laurel Henning and James Panichi
The closer relationship between the FTC, which is one of two government agencies enforcing competition in the US, and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is already paying dividends.
China
China accused of hacking Ukraine days before Russian invasion
The Sunday Times
Maxim Tucker
China staged a huge cyberattack on Ukraine’s military and nuclear facilities in the build-up to Russia’s invasion, according to intelligence memos obtained by The Times.
Close ties allow Russian propaganda to spread swiftly through China, report claims
The Guardian
Helen Davidson
Close ties between Russian and Chinese state media along with strict government control of information have allowed Russian propaganda to spread swiftly throughout China.
US-China tech war: top Chinese chip makers push ahead with expansion plans despite political tensions, talk of supply glut
South China Morning Post
Che Pan
US-China tech war: top Chinese chip makers push ahead with expansion plans despite political tensions, talk of supply glut.
USA
DNC recommendations for combatting online misinformation
Democratic National Committee
Despite huge numbers of Americans turning to social media for news, major social media companies haven’t done enough to take responsibility for information quality on their sites.
North Asia
South Korean regulator to rule on Google’s new billing policy
The Siasat Daily
South Korea’s telecommunications regulator on Friday said it was looking into whether Google’s new payment system violates the law that bans app store operators from forcing developers to use their in-app payment systems.
Southeast Asia
Sri Lanka minister on social media ban asks authorities ‘to think progressively’
Hindustan Times
Swati Bhasin
A Sri Lanka minister on Sunday urged authorities to "think progressively" after the country faced a social media blackout ahead of what has been called an 'Arab Spring' style protest .
UK
UK ministers quietly approve Chinese microchip factory takeover
POLITICO
Eleni Courea
The U.K. government has quietly approved the controversial sale of a Welsh microchip factory to a Chinese-owned firm.
Some Russian oligarchs are using U.K. data privacy law to sue
The Washington Post
Reed Albergotti
The U.K.’s data privacy laws, which were intended to prevent ads from tracking consumers too closely around the Internet, are now being used to sue anyone holding undesirable information on their devices.
Europe
EU Parliament committees vote against crypto privacy
Axios
Brady Dale
Two committees of the European Union Parliament today voted to move forward draft legislation to take all privacy out of cryptocurrency transactions.
Americas
Canadian intelligence agency calls out false Russian claim that Ukraine is harvesting organs
CBC
Catharine Tunney
Russia has been spreading false claims that Ukraine has been harvesting the organs of fallen soldiers and children as Moscow tries to build support for its invasion, according to a rare public warning from Canada's foreign signals intelligence agency.
Big Tech
Tech workers urge companies to join Ukraine's digital blockade of Russia
Reuters
Paresh Dave and Jeffrey Dastin
Microsoft Corp. President Brad Smith wrote to Ukraine's leader this month with a clear message: despite Kyiv's calls for it to sever all ties with Russia, the U.S. software behemoth would continue doing business in the country.
Doctors turn to imperfect AI to spend more quality time with patients
Protocol
Kate Kaye
Amid pandemic burnout and increased demand for documentation, doctors are recording patient conversations and giving note-writing work to an AI-based tool, even if that risks privacy or medical errors.
Apple wields its lobbying might against LGBTQ laws
POLITICO
Emily Birnbaum
The tech giant is lobbying, filing court briefs and recruiting allies from other big companies to oppose bills targeting gay and transgender people in states like Iowa, Texas and Florida.
Facebook fails to label 80% of posts promoting bioweapons conspiracy theory
The Guardian
Kari Paul
As social media companies promise to crack down on Russian disinformation about the war in Ukraine, studies show they continue to fall short, allowing disproven narratives to reach millions.
Misc
Why users are pushing back against the world’s largest crypto exchange
The Washington Post
Ben McKenzie and Jacob Silverman
Binance is not just an exchange where people can buy and sell crypto. The company… is practically its own vertically integrated crypto economy, offering crypto loans and the widest selection of tokens.
Behind the crypto hype is an ideology of social change
Japan Today
Rick Wash
Hardcore enthusiasts argue that crypto will get people to trust in technology rather than government, which they see as inherently untrustworthy. This ideology leads people to encourage its use while downplaying its risks.
Events
360/Open Summit: Contested Realities | Connected Futures
Atlantic Council
The Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab) presents the fifth annual 360/Open Summit on June 6 and 7 at the Square, in-person in Brussels and online around the world.
Research
Understanding Southeast Asia’s Digital Landscape, Calculus, and Agency
Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
Elina Noor
As geopolitical tensions threaten a decoupling that will ripple through all aspects of technology including the rule-making frameworks that underpin the functionality of technology (tech), the viability of Southeast Asia’s preference for interconnected and interoperable infrastructure may increasingly be tested.
Jobs
The Sydney Dialogue - Director
ASPI ICPC
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) is currently recruiting for a Director to lead the second iteration of ASPI’s Sydney Dialogue - the world’s premier summit on emerging, critical and cyber technologies.
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.
JAPAC Public Policy Fellowship
Twitter
The Public Policy Fellowship is a program that strives to prepare new professionals for policy careers at Twitter. It provides an opportunity to learn about, help with, and influence Twitter’s approach to public policy challenges and opportunities across the world.
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