China slaps retaliatory sanctions on EU officials | TikTok is repeating Facebook’s mistakes in Myanmar | Discord and Microsoft said to discuss deal that could top $10 billion
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Beijing immediately hit back against EU sanctions imposed [yesterday] over its abuses against the Muslim minority in Xinjiang and slapped retaliatory measures on a host of EU officials, potentially including 27 ambassadors as well as and other political targets. Politico
Activists and experts told Rest of World that TikTok’s failures were distressingly familiar to anyone acquainted with how Facebook was used to help drive an ethnic-cleansing campaign in Myanmar in the 2010s. Members of the Myanmar military, known as the Tatmadaw, spread misinformation across the platform, stoking division, hatred, and, eventually, violence. Rest of World
Discord, a social media company popular with gamers, has held deal talks with Microsoft for a transaction that could top $10 billion, according to people briefed on the situation. The New York Times
ASPI ICPC
As digital trade grows, so does western distrust of Beijing
Financial Times
“The world is definitely moving towards a type of technology bifurcation and this bifurcation will be more obvious in critical, strategic and military technology areas,” says Danielle Cave, deputy director of the international cyber policy centre at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. “The bifurcation is likely to be messy. We won’t always see a straight line that divides countries or technologies into two clear and obvious camps,” Cave added. “Major powers like the US and China, which are not just strategic competitors but, importantly, also intelligence adversaries, will be the key architects of how this new world pans out.” Several events in recent weeks show the tensions at play. In the UK, intelligence agencies are pushing for new curbs on local authorities’ use of Chinese “smart cities” technology over concerns Beijing could use it for espionage, surveillance or collection of sensitive data. Such technology includes surveillance cameras and systems enabling traffic management and energy supply.
Why Australia and New Zealand issued their own statement on US-led China sanctions
South China Morning Post
@John_F_Power
Nathan Attrill, a researcher at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said Canberra and Wellington’s decision to issue a separate statement was “more likely technical than strategic” given the lack of Magnitsky legislation, although Canberra might have been “happy to not have to be the lead on policies to push back against China for a change”.
The World
China slaps retaliatory sanctions on EU officials
Politico
@stuartklau
Beijing immediately hit back against EU sanctions imposed today over its abuses against the Muslim minority in Xinjiang and slapped retaliatory measures on a host of EU officials, potentially including 27 ambassadors as well as and other political targets.
US and EU to revive joint effort to handle more assertive China
Financial Times
@Dimi @Mikepeeljourno
The US and EU are poised to reboot a joint effort on how to handle an increasingly assertive China, days after working with the UK and Canada to impose sanctions on officials over human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
Facebook guidelines allow users to call for death of public figures
The Guardian
@alexhern
Facebook’s bullying and harassment policy explicitly allows for “public figures” to be targeted in ways otherwise banned on the site, including “calls for [their] death”, according to a tranche of internal moderator guidelines leaked to the Guardian.
Australia
Quantum computing leap puts ANU spin-off on $1b track
Australian Financial Review
An Australian National University spin-off has created a quantum computer the size of a lunch box that can function at room temperature, in a world-first development its founder says puts the venture on track to become a $1 billion company.
Sensitive NSW documents posted on dark web after Accellion hack
News.com.au
Anton Nilsson
Massive amounts of sensitive NSW government documents have been published online by hackers attempting to extort the authorities for cash.
China
China's Tencent faces concessions to win green light for giant videogaming merger: sources
Reuters
@teamlipei @GeniusWu @yingzhi_yang
Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd is having to offer concessions in a plan to merge the country’s top two videogame live-streaming sites in order to resolve antitrust concerns, two people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
USA
A Better Path to Tech Reform? Felony Charges
Wired
@Moonalice
On March 25, the CEOs of Google, Facebook, and Twitter will once again testify before a committee of the House of Representatives, this time about the spread of disinformation on their platforms.
IT consultant sentenced to 2 years in revenge-hacking case
CyberScoop
@timstarks
A U.S. judge has sentenced a man to two years in prison for hacking into a company and deleting 1,200 Microsoft user accounts as part of a revenge plot.
Lina Khan is just the first step toward tougher US tech regulation
The Verge
@kellymakena
President Joe Biden picked one of tech’s most ardent critics, Lina Khan, to join the Federal Trade Commission on Monday… But even if optimism is high for the incoming FTC, Khan and other anti-tech progressives will be working against decades of inertia. Khan would only be one vote on a commission of five with a tattered history of sorry settlements and deals with companies like Facebook and Google.
Read the Pentagon’s 20-Page Report on Its Own Meme
VICE
@mjgault
According to internal Pentagon communications, it took U.S. Cyber Command 22 days to finalize and post the meme.
Amazon Delivery Drivers Forced to Sign ‘Biometric Consent’ Form or Lose Job
VICE
@LaurenKGurley
Amazon delivery drivers nationwide have to sign a "biometric consent" form this week that grants the tech behemoth permission to use AI-powered cameras to access drivers' location, movement, and biometric data.
Southeast Asia
TikTok is repeating Facebook’s mistakes in Myanmar
Rest of World
@PeterGuest @EmilyFishbein11 @NuNuLusan
Activists and experts told Rest of World that TikTok’s failures were distressingly familiar to anyone acquainted with how Facebook was used to help drive an ethnic-cleansing campaign in Myanmar in the 2010s.
Commentary: Keeping up with growing demand for data, connective technology
PhilStar
@PacoPangalangan
I had the pleasure of moderating a discussion this week on the Philippines' digital status with telecommunications industry insiders from the public and private sector. After the discussion, three things became readily apparent. The first is that our data traffic consumption has exploded over the years and only continues to grow. The second is that continued digital infrastructure development is critical to keeping pace with evolving digital demands. The third is that persistent challenges still stand in the way of this development.
NZ & Pacific Islands
UK
University of Northampton hit by cyber-attack
BBC
The University of Northampton said the attack on Wednesday interrupted services to its IT and telephone systems and servers.
Europe
Swiss Cyber Security Firm Says It Accessed Servers of a SolarWinds Hacking Group
Insurance Journal
@danielelepido
A Swiss cyber-security firm says it has accessed servers used by a hacking group tied to the SolarWinds breach, revealing details about who the attackers targeted and how they carried out their operation. The firm, PRODAFT, also said the hackers have continued with their campaign through this month.
Misc
Discord and Microsoft Said to Discuss Deal That Could Top $10 Billion
The New York Times
@eringriffith @KYWeise @Kellen_Browning
Discord, a social media company popular with gamers, has held deal talks with Microsoft for a transaction that could top $10 billion, according to people briefed on the situation.
Microsoft Exchange servers targeted by second ransomware group
The Record
@campuscodi
Microsoft Exchange email servers are under attack from a new ransomware gang. Going by the name of Black Kingdom, this ransomware gang was first spotted last year in June, when they used vulnerabilities in Pulse Secure VPN products to breach corporate networks and install their file-encrypting payload. But with the disclosure of the ProxyLogon vulnerabilities impacting Exchange email servers, the Black Kingdom group appears to have also switched operations over the weekend when they began using publicly-available proof-of-concept exploit code to take over Exchange servers.
Microsoft warns of phishing attacks bypassing email gateways
Bleeping Computer
@serghei
An ongoing phishing operation that stole an estimated 400,000 OWA and Office 365 credentials since December has now expanded to abuse new legitimate services to bypass secure email gateways (SEGs).
Encrypted Phone Firm Encrochat Used Signal Protocol
VICE
@josephfcox
Encrypted phone firm Encrochat, whose customer base was primarily serious organized criminals, used the Signal protocol as part of its encrypted messaging application, according to a law enforcement document obtained by Motherboard.
Recent Cyber Attacks Show Increased Nation State Activity, Says Former NSA Director
Yahoo Finance
Cyber attacks launched by nation states are becoming more proficient and more aggressive. This was the message from Admiral (ret.) Michael S. Rogers at the NetDiligence Cyber War Webinar Series.
Research
New partnership seeks to lift indigenous participation in tech careers
Adelaide Football Club
The Adelaide Football Club has partnered with Generation Australia and Tauondi Aboriginal College to deliver its new Junior Web Developer program and encourage the participation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the tech sector.
Events
Clubhouse with the Chancellor: Rishi Sunak talks UK tech
Clubhouse