China could have ordered Huawei to shut down Australia’s 5G | CNA Financial paid $40m in ransom after March cyberattack | Irish hospitals are latest to be hit by ransomware attacks
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The federal government’s cyber spies advised Australia would have had to put 300 separate security measures on Huawei’s equipment to make it safe for the nation’s 5G system but the network could still have been shut down on Beijing’s orders. The Sydney Morning Herald
CNA Financial Corp., among the largest insurance companies in the U.S., paid $40 million in late March to regain control of its network after a ransomware attack, according to people with knowledge of the attack. Bloomberg
A cyberattack on Ireland’s health system has paralyzed the country’s health services for a week, cutting off access to patient records, delaying Covid-19 testing, and forcing cancellations of medical appointments. The New York Times
ASPI ICPC
Chinese authorities order video denials by Uyghurs of abuses
Associated Press
@dakekang
China has highlighted an unlikely series of videos this year in which Uyghur men and women deny U.S. charges that Beijing is committing human rights violations against their ethnic group. In fact, a text obtained by the AP shows that the videos are part of a government campaign that raises questions about the willingness of those filmed..“There’s something instinctive about these videos which feels ingenuine, but the significance is that there’s hard evidence here that the Chinese government is requesting these kinds of videos,” said Albert Zhang, a researcher at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute who recently coauthored a report on Beijing’s disinformation campaign on Xinjiang..Dozens of new Twitter and Tiktok accounts promoting those policies have cropped up. Some purport to be run by Uyghurs from Xinjiang, even though merely downloading those apps has landed others in detention. The accounts share videos promoting Xinjiang’s lush landscapes and snow-capped mountains, depicting an idyllic, carefree life at total odds with accounts from hundreds of Uyghurs and Kazakhs who have fled the region in recent years. Zhang’s Australian Strategic Policy Institute report traced some of the social media videos to a company funded by the Xinjiang government. It found that many of the accounts were likely to be inauthentic and state-linked, though it could not prove so definitively. “I think it’s interesting, the amount of resources the Chinese government is willing to use to produce this content and disseminate it,” Zhang said. “The scale and the persistence of it is new and sort of concerning.”
Read ASPI ICPC's report Strange bedfellows on Xinjiang: The CCP, fringe media and US social media platforms ASPI
Australia
China could have ordered Huawei to shut down Australia’s 5G
The Sydney Morning Herald
The federal government’s cyber spies advised Australia would have had to put 300 separate security measures on Huawei’s equipment to make it safe for the nation’s 5G system but the network could still have been shut down on Beijing’s orders. The Australian Signals Directorate spent more than eight months trying to find a way to make the Chinese company’s telecommunications equipment acceptably safe but ultimately told the Turnbull government the risk could not be contained satisfactorily..A senior Australian spy said the main risk was not Chinese spying but that Beijing could order Huawei to disconnect the Australian 5G network altogether. “Here’s the thing that most commentators get confused about with 5G, including some of our American friends,” the spy told this correspondent for the new book Red Zone, extracted in Saturday’s Good Weekend magazine. “It’s not about the interception of telephone calls. We’ve got that problem with 4G, we had it with 3G.”
Domain cyber attack: Renters targeted with deposit scam
Sydney Morning Herald
@zoesam93
Real estate listings portal Domain is warning users to be careful when trying to secure rental properties on its website after a cyber attack allowed an unauthorised third party to access personal information and demand deposits.
Meet the conspiracy-theory-touting, far-right YouTubers helping Craig Kelly
Crikey News
@cameronwilson
Independent federal MP Craig Kelly has been working with a couple of young YouTubers who’ve previously promoted conspiracy and fringe theories — including accusing Australian politicians of running a paedophile ring and calling COVID-19 a “scamdemic”.
Call for ransom reporting framework to tackle cyber criminals
The Australian Financial Review
@Maxepmason
Shadow minister for cyber security Tim Watts says a mandatory reporting regime for businesses that feel they have no choice but to pay cyber criminals extorting them would help smoke out and target crypto-currency exchanges being used to launder funds and hit ransomware groups financially.
Australia needs a chief technologist to become a leading digital nation
Smart Company
@shannjenkins7
The Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) has proposed that the federal government appoint a chief technologist to support stronger stewardship of Australia’s technology agenda. The recommendation has been put forward in a new research report that outlines ways that Australia can become a leading digital nation. It comes a week after the government announced a $1.2 billion digital economy strategy.
CEDA - Technology and trust: Priorities for a reimagined economy led by technology
CEDA
@ceda_news
Australia can no longer afford to be a follower in the digital and technology sphere. In this report on Public Interest Technology priorities for government, CEDA shows how appointing a Chief Technologist and committing to transparent and independent technology assessments could help Australia become a leading digital nation.
Here’s what the government’s $1.2 billion digital economy plan means for SMEs
Smart Company
@LoisMaskiell
Small businesses are set to benefit from a $1.2 billion boost to the government’s digital economy strategy that will include changes to the tax treatment of intangible assets, access to digital technology advice and funding to accelerate the take up of e-invoicing.
Violent extremism: The ghost or the machine?
The Interpreter
@arcanakhalil
The Australian parliament’s Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security is currently holding an inquiry into extremist movements and radicalism in Australia. It is only the second issues-based inquiry that this particular committee has conducted; the first was into the politically charged question of foreign interference. The hearings indicate the importance that parliament has placed on addressing concerns around violent extremism, an issue that is challenging many democracies around the world.
China
‘I'm not very social': ByteDance founder to hand CEO reins to college roommate
Reuters
@deer_echo_ @yingzhi_yang
Zhang Yiming announced he will step down as CEO of TikTok-owner ByteDance, saying he lacked the social skills to be an ideal manager and naming his college roommate Liang Rubo as his successor to navigate a rising tide of Big Tech regulations.
TikTok Parent’s Founder Zhang Yiming to Step Down as CEO
The Wall Street Journal
@lizalinwsj @Kubota_Yoko
The resignation of Mr. Zhang, 38 years old, follows those in March at financial-tech giant Ant Group Co. and e-commerce company Pinduoduo Inc. ByteDance had an executive shake-up in April, when Shou Zi Chew was named CEO of TikTok.
China Deepens Fintech Dominance With New Digital Currency
The Diplomat
@drfarls
Chinese firms have begun to dominate the fintech sector, and there’s every reason to believe that the stand up of China’s new digital currency will extend and deepen that dominance. Indeed, the prominence of many Chinese firms in the fintech sector has helped lay the necessary foundation for China’s digital leap. This represents an important step in China’s effort to throw off the U.S. dollar’s dominance, as fintech innovation has the potential to become a node of “weaponized interdependence,” the idea that states can exert power through control of multilateral regulatory regimes.
China Is Set to Rule Electric Car Production
The New York Times
@KeithBradsher
Fueled with money from Wall Street and local officials, automakers plan to build eight million electric cars a year there, more than Europe and North America combined.
USA
CNA Financial Paid $40 Million in Ransom After March Cyberattack
Bloomberg
@KartikayM @WilliamTurton
CNA Financial Corp., among the largest insurance companies in the U.S., paid $40 million in late March to regain control of its network after a ransomware attack, according to people with knowledge of the attack.
The Full Story of the Stunning RSA Hack Can Finally Be Told
WIRED
@a_greenberg
In 2011, Chinese spies stole the crown jewels of cybersecurity—stripping protections from firms and government agencies worldwide. Here’s how it happened.
Social Media DATA Act would give researchers more data
Protocol
@issielapowsky @BenBrodyDC
The Social Media DATA Act would give academics access to detailed ad targeting information to help researchers root out problematic ads.
U.S. Treasury calls for stricter cryptocurrency compliance with IRS, says they pose tax evasion risk
CNBC
@tomwfranck
The Treasury Department on Thursday announced that it is taking steps to crack down on cryptocurrency markets and transactions, and said it will require any transfer worth $10,000 or more to be reported to the Internal Revenue Service.
Europe
Irish Hospitals Are Latest to Be Hit by Ransomware Attacks
The New York Times
@nicoleperlroth @satariano
A cyberattack on Ireland’s health system has paralyzed the country’s health services for a week, cutting off access to patient records, delaying Covid-19 testing, and forcing cancellations of medical appointments.
Middle East
Israel Is a Cyber Superpower But Chooses Bombs to Fight Hackers in Gaza
VICE News
@lorenzofb @emanuelmaiberg
Israel doesn't need sophisticated cyber attacks against Hamas because it doesn't face consequences for bombing civilians in Gaza.
Misc
Twitter is letting anyone apply for verification for the first time since 2017
The Verge
@JonPorty @jaypeters
Twitter is relaunching its public verification program, allowing anyone to apply for a coveted blue check mark. The company also previewed potential changes coming to profiles and the upcoming label for automated accounts.
TikTok Content Moderation: Users Are Still Frustrated With the Site
Daily Dot
@violastefanello
TikTok's black-box content moderation sparks creator activism.
Events
Special Event: Australian and U.S. Approaches to Cyber and Critical Technologies
Center for a New American Security
To discuss Australian and U.S. approaches to these threats and opportunities, CNAS will host Ambassador Tobias Feakin, Australia’s inaugural Ambassador for Cyber Affairs and Critical Technology, Lauren Zabierek, Executive Director of the Cyber Project at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center, and a speaker from The White House on Tuesday, May 25, at 6:00PM ET.
Jobs
ICPC Analyst or Senior Analyst - Cyber & technology
ASPI ICPC
ASPI’s International Cyber Policy Centre (ICPC) has a unique opportunity for an exceptional cyber-security or technology focused analyst or senior analyst to join its centre in 2021. Please note that interviews have commended for this position and will continue until the end of June. This role will focus on policy relevant cybersecurity analysis, informed public commentary and either original data-heavy research and/or technical analysis. Analysts usually have around 7-15 years work experience. Senior analysts usually have a minimum of 15 years relevant work experience and tend to be involved in staff and project management, fundraising and stakeholder engagement. The successful candidate will be offered a remuneration package at a level aligned with their demonstrated skills and expertise.