China loosens internet restrictions for Aussie students | New charges for Huawei | Russia demands continuous access to ISPs
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China has agreed to relax its internet restrictions, after lobbying from the higher education sector, so international students can study online while they are banned from Australia during the coronavirus outbreak. The Guardian
The U.S. government on Thursday added fresh charges to its case against Chinese smartphone maker Huawei Technologies Co that has angered China and hurt U.S.-Chinese diplomatic relations. The superseding indictment charges Huawei with conspiring to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and to steal trade secrets from U.S. technology companies in order to grow the company. It also contains new allegations about the company's involvement in countries subject to sanctions. The New York Times
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has ordered some of the country's major internet companies to give it continuous access to their systems, The Bell investigative website reported late on Tuesday, citing three sources at the firms. It said the measure would affect a string of Russian internet services that have been added to a list of entities obliged to hand over user data and messages to Russian law enforcement agencies on request. The Moscow Times
ASPI ICPC
“Closing the Gap” Conference
EU Cyber Direct
As part of the European Cyber Diplomacy Initiative, the EU Cyber Direct project, Egmont Institute, and the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in partnership with other research institutions such as ASPI's ICPC organise an international conference for scholars, policy analysts and practitioners working on cyber-related issues.
The World
When It Comes To Digital Authoritarianism, China Is A Challenge — But Not The Only Challenge
War on the Rocks
@SteveJFeldstein
China’s proliferation of digital authoritarian tools presents serious challenges. Its technology is used by repressive regimes to quell mass protests, monitor political opponents, and keep autocratic leaders in power. However, China is not the only actor responsible for supplying repressive technology. Other countries, such as Israel, France, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Russia, also supply advanced capabilities to repressive regimes.
The Dangers of Manipulated Media in the Midst of a Crisis
Council for Foreign Relations
@megan_lamberth
The digital information environment is infused with a near constant stream of disinformation. Advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning are simultaneously making manipulated content more advanced and easier to create.
Australia
China to relax its internet restrictions for 100,000 students hit by Australia's coronavirus travel ban
The Guardian
@naamanzhou
China has agreed to relax its internet restrictions, after lobbying from the higher education sector, so international students can study online while they are banned from Australia during the coronavirus outbreak.
National Press Club Address: The orderly transition to the electric planet
Australia's Chief Scientist
@ScienceChiefAu
Dr Finkel spoke to the National Press Club on 12 February 2020 on a path towards his vision of an 'electric planet' - one powered by low carbon generation, with a reliable, efficient and robust electricity system available to all.
China
The coronavirus is the first true social-media “infodemic”
MIT Technology Review
@_KarenHao @tanyabasu
“Honestly, it’s really hard to describe what happened during these 14 days,” he says. “There’s nothing to do but read the news, and the news gets worse every day. That’s the hardest part for the people outside.”
The Age Of Cooptation: The High Cost Of Doing Business In Xi’s China
Sup China
My own view: There is no free lunch for doing business in Xi’s China — especially for technology companies. China will get its pound of flesh as the cost of operating there: you get to operate here and gain access to the the most innovative supply chain in the world and world’s largest marketplace; and China gets what it wants in terms of benefits to Chinese economy and society (as defined by the Chinese Government).
China has launched an app so people can check their risk of catching the coronavirus
MIT Technology Review
@charlottejee
China has launched a new “close contact detector” app that lets people check their level of risk for catching the coronavirus. It tells users if they have been near someone who has been confirmed or suspected of having the virus.
USA
U.S. Adds New Charges to Its Case Against Huawei
The New York Times
The U.S. government on Thursday added fresh charges to its case against Chinese smartphone maker Huawei Technologies Co that has angered China and hurt U.S.-Chinese diplomatic relations. The superseding indictment, which was filed in the federal court in Brooklyn, New York, charges Huawei with conspiring to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and to steal trade secrets from six U.S. technology companies in order to grow the company. It also contains new allegations about the company's involvement in countries subject to sanctions, such as Iran and North Korea.
How the FBI combats China's political meddling
Axios
@BethanyAllenEbr
In May 2019, the FBI's Foreign Influence Task Force quietly added a unit aimed at countering China's political influence in the United States.
Siding With Amazon, Judge Halts Work on Microsoft’s JEDI Contract
The New York Times
@kateconger
A federal judge in Washington ordered Microsoft on Thursday to halt all work on a $10 billion cloud-computing contract for the Pentagon, in a victory for Amazon, which had challenged the awarding of the contract. In a sealed opinion the judge ordered work to stop on the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure project, known as JEDI, until Amazon’s legal challenge was resolved. The 10-year contract was one of the largest tech contracts from the Pentagon.
Michael Bloomberg’s Campaign Suddenly Drops Memes Everywhere
The New York Times
@TaylorLorenz
A campaign of sponsored content for the candidate flourished suddenly on Instagram. A new outfit, called Meme 2020, is behind it.
Education Department investigating Yale and Harvard over foreign funding
CNN
@CNNPaul
The Education Department has opened investigations into Yale and Harvard universities in an ongoing review that has found American universities failed to disclose billions in funding from foreign countries like Saudi Arabia and China.
Southeast Asia
Philippines wary of Chinese state-backed hackers
Manila Standard
The Philippine government is mindful of the security risks brought about by increased Chinese control of its infrastructure and the reported Chinese state-backed hackers’ cyber attacks and other threats around the world.
The Pacific
Coral Sea Submarine Cable Nearing Activation
The National
PNG DataCo Ltd is two months behind full activation of the Coral Sea Submarine Cable (CS2), according to the company. The Coral Sea submarine cable system would provide 100 gigabytes per second (Gbps) of capacity and would improve reliability and latency as it will have less points of failure given its direct connection into Sydney.
United Kingdom
Huawei offer to fund London School of Economics 5G research
Financial Times
Huawei is in talks to pay the London School of Economics £105,000 for a three-year project to study the technology company’s “leadership” in the development of 5G technology, despite concerns among its academics about the university’s financial links to China. According to internal university documents obtained by UK website openDemocracy and seen by the Financial Times, the university’s ethics committee approved the project in September.
Russia
Russia's FSB Tells Internet Firms to Hand Over User Data – The Bell
The Moscow Times
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has ordered some of the country's major internet companies to give it continuous access to their systems, The Bell investigative website reported late on Tuesday, citing three sources at the firms. It said the measure would affect a string of Russian internet services that have been added to a list of entities obliged to hand over user data and messages to Russian law enforcement agencies on request.
Middle East
Iranian digital influence efforts: Guerrilla broadcasting for the twenty-first century
The Atlantic Council
@etbrooking @KianpourWorld
For Iran, information dominance represents a central focus of both foreign and domestic policy. Iran sees itself as engaged in a perennial information war: against Sunni Arab powers, against the forces of perceived Western neocolonialism, and particularly against the United States.
Misc
You May Not Even Know You're Spreading Lies
Wired
@wphillips49
Misinformation and disinformation are two different things. One is spread by people who genuinely believe what they're saying; the other by those who aim to sow chaos and confusion. Good luck targeting messages when you can’t be sure where misinformation ends and disinformation begins.
Why Toddlers Love Taking Selfies
The Atlantic
@AshleyFetters
Toddler selfies, sometimes taken one at a time and sometimes by the hundred, are filling up the camera rolls on parents’ smartphones. Here’s why.
Cost Cutting Algorithms Are Making Your Job Search a Living Hell
Motherboard
More companies are using automated job screening systems to vet candidates, forcing jobseekers to learn new and absurd tricks to have their résumés seen by a human.
Research
Unprecedented Facebook URLs Dataset now Available for Academic Research through Social Science One
Social Science One
We are excited to announce that Social Science One and Facebook have completed, and are now making available to academic researchers, one of the largest social science datasets ever constructed.