China targets rare earth export curbs to hobble US defence | North Korea accused of hacking Pfizer | China fears trigger grant knockbacks
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China is exploring whether it can hurt US defence contractors by limiting the export of rare earth minerals that are crucial for the manufacture of F-35 fighter jets and other sophisticated weaponry, according to people involved in a government consultation. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology last month proposed draft controls on the production and export of 17 rare earth minerals in China, which controls about 80 per cent of global supply. Financial Times
North Korea attempted to steal Covid-19 vaccine technology from US pharmaceutical company Pfizer, according to South Korean intelligence officials. It is currently unclear as to what, if any, data was stolen. South Korea's National Intelligence Agency privately briefed lawmakers about the alleged attack. BBC
Top scientists at Australian universities have been denied lucrative taxpayer-funded research grants on national security grounds, as the federal government cracks down on projects that could hand military or economic advantage to foreign adversaries...One of the rejected grant applications would have funded advanced wireless communications research with applications in “internet of things” devices, radar and satellite systems, and wireless power transmission. Another would have focused on nanotechnology advances with applications in miniaturised optical systems, including wearables, autonomous vehicles, and robots. The Australian
ASPI ICPC
China Slams Canada ‘Megaphone Diplomacy’ After Arrest Complaints
Bloomberg
Canada led the initiative to push back against the use of arbitrary arrests as a diplomatic tool. China’s use of coercive diplomacy, including detentions and punitive trade measures, has increased sharply since 2018, according to a report released last year by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.
Read ASPI ICPC’s report on the Chinese Communist Party’s coercive diplomacy here.
Australia
China fears trigger grant knockbacks
The Australian
Top scientists at Australian universities have been denied lucrative taxpayer-funded research grants on national security grounds, as the federal government cracks down on projects that could hand military or economic advantage to foreign adversaries.
Read ASPI ICPC’s report Hunting the Phoenix: The Chinese Communist Party’s global search for technology and talent here.
How Australia became fertile ground for misinformation and QAnon
The Guardian
@mmcgowan
Australians have proven highly capable of adapting international conspiracy theories like QAnon to the local context. And the problem is not going away.
China
China targets rare earth export curbs to hobble US defence industry
Financial Times
China is exploring whether it can hurt US defence contractors by limiting the export of rare earth minerals that are crucial for the manufacture of F-35 fighter jets and other sophisticated weaponry, according to people involved in a government consultation. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology last month proposed draft controls on the production and export of 17 rare earth minerals in China, which controls about 80 per cent of global supply.
China Blocked Jack Ma’s Ant IPO After Investigation Revealed Likely Beneficiaries
The Wall Street Journal
@Lingling_Wei
Well-connected Chinese power players, including some with links to political families that represent a potential challenge to President Xi, were behind layers of opaque investment vehicles. The information added to concerns about financial risk and anger at Ma’s outspoken criticism.
USA
Florida Water Plant Hackers Exploited Old Software And Poor Password Habits
Forbes
@leemathews
The world took notice when a cyber attacker breached a Florida city’s water treatment plant and tried to poison the water supply.
Biden looks past anger at Silicon Valley to get help on vaccines
Politico
@nancyscola @ravindranize
The Biden White House says it's consulting with Amazon and other tech giants with “logistics and technical expertise” to help get the vaccine out to Americans.
Big Tech’s Next Big Problem Could Come From People Like ‘Mr. Sweepy’
The New York Times
@David McCabe
Google is facing antitrust cases from Europe’s top competition enforcer, the Justice Department and attorneys general from more than 30 states and territories. Then there are the lawsuits from people like Mr. Sweepy.
LAPD Sought Ring Home Security Video Related to Black Lives Matter Protests
The Intercept
@samfbiddle
Emails obtained from the Los Angeles Police Department show that the department sought protest-related footage from Amazon’s Ring home camera systems in the wake of George Floyd’s killing last year, lending credence to years of warnings that pervasive private surveillance networks will enable questionable police practices.
Amazon Told Police It Has Partnered With 200 Law Enforcement Agencies
VICE
@Caroline Haskins
Ring’s partnerships with law enforcement could be far more more widespread than previously reported.
Tim Maurer takes front office DHS cybersecurity job advising Mayorkas
CyberScoop
@timstarks
Tim Maurer, director of the Cyber Policy Initiative at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, is joining the Department of Homeland Security as a senior political appointee in the role of senior counselor for cybersecurity to Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, two sources familiar with the move told CyberScoop.
North-East Asia
North Korea accused of hacking Pfizer for Covid-19 vaccine data
BBC
North Korea attempted to steal Covid-19 vaccine technology from US pharmaceutical company Pfizer, according to South Korean intelligence officials.
N. Korea attempted to steal COVID-19 vaccine, treatment technology via hacking: NIS
Yonhap News Agency
North Korea has attempted to hack the servers of a local drug manufacturer to obtain technology information on the company's coronavirus vaccine and treatment, the state intelligence agency told lawmakers Tuesday.
Europe
TikTok hit with consumer law breaches complaints across Europe
Reuters
@FooYunChee
Chinese-owned short video-sharing app TikTok was hit with multiple complaints from EU consumer groups on Tuesday for allegedly violating the bloc’s consumer laws and for failing to protect children from hidden advertising and inappropriate content.
France: Russian state hackers targeted Centreon servers in years-long campaign
ZDNet
@campuscodi
France's cyber-security agency said that a group of Russian military hackers, known as the Sandworm group, have been behind a three-years-long operation during which they breached the internal networks of several French entities running the Centreon IT monitoring software.
Misc
Fake Amazon reviews 'being sold in bulk' online
BBC
Fake reviews for products sold on Amazon's Marketplace are being sold online "in bulk”, according to Which? The consumer group found 10 websites selling fake reviews from £5 each and incentivising positive reviews in exchange for payment or free products.
On social media, vaccine misinformation mixes with extreme faith
The Washington Post
@lizzadwoskin
Even with renewed efforts by tech companies, religious-themed misinformation is among the hardest to police
Events
ASPI Webinar: TikTok & WeChat, where to now?
ASPI ICPC
Wednesday, February 24 2021 - 9:00 AM (AEDT)
ASPI's International Cyber Policy Centre is delighted to invite you to the webinar, 'TikTok & WeChat, where to now?' A change in administration in the United States has given a brief reprieve to TikTok and WeChat, two Chinese apps targeted in a series of Executive Orders by former President Trump, but questions about the national security, privacy and censorship implications of these popular apps are set to persist in 2021.
At this webinar, ASPI analyst Fergus Ryan will be joined by Lindsay Gorman from the German Marshall Fund’s Alliance for Securing Democracy; Jordan Schneider, host of the ChinaTalk podcast; Joanna Chiu, journalist and Christopher Parsons from the Munk School's Citizen Lab, to examine and debate the challenges and threats posed by apps like TikTok and WeChat. The panellists will also discuss the policy options available to lawmakers, both in the United States and around the world, that go beyond blanket bans.
Ranking Digital Rights Launches the 2020 RDR Corporate Accountability Index
New America
Wednesday, February 24 2021 - 11:00 AM (EST)
Join Ranking Digital Rights for a first look at the 2020 RDR Corporate Accountability Index and a discussion of how policymakers, advocates, and shareholders can use our data to hold tech and telecom companies accountable for upholding our fundamental rights in 2021.
Research
State of Malware
Malwarebytes
The story of 2020 is of the devastating COVID-19 pandemic, and of how the world adapted. The story of malware in 2020 then, is a story of how the tools and tactics of cybercrime and cybersecurity changed against a backdrop of enormous changes to ordinary life.