China's gene giant harvests data from millions of women | Cyber agency confirms Australian firms hit by supply chain attack | Dutch team was a day away from saving Kaseya when hackers struck
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A Chinese gene company selling prenatal tests around the world developed them in collaboration with the country's military and is using them to collect genetic data from millions of women for sweeping research on the traits of populations, a Reuters review of scientific papers and company statements found. U.S. government advisors warned in March that a vast bank of genomic data that the company, BGI Group, is amassing and analysing with artificial intelligence could give China a path to economic and military advantage. Reuters
Australian firms are among the thousands of businesses affected by the biggest global ransomware attack on record, suspected to have been executed by the same Russian-linked gang which hit Australia’s biggest meat and food processing company, JBS Foods. Australian Financial Review
A group of ethical hackers from the Netherlands was trying to prevent a cyber attack at American IT company Kaseya when the massive, international ransomware attack happened on Friday, they said to Vrij Nederland. Ransomware group REvil has claimed the attack. They want 70 million dollars in Bitcoin to publish a decryptor that will release victims' files, REvil said in its Happy Blog on the Dark Web, The Record found. NL Times
ASPI ICPC
Australia
Cyber agency confirms Australian firms hit by supply chain attack
Australian Financial Review
@Maxepmason
Australian firms are among the thousands of businesses affected by the biggest global ransomware attack on record, suspected to have been executed by the same Russian-linked gang which hit Australia’s biggest meat and food processing company, JBS Foods.
Frydenberg defends rejecting investment deals from ‘a different China’
The Sydney Morning Herald
@CroweDM @ErykBagshaw
The Treasurer did not name specific deals, nor the government’s rejection of technology from 5G supplier Huawei, but said telecommunications and foreign investment were part of the response to a more assertive China. “That has occurred in relation to foreign interference in my own space, that has recurred in relation to foreign investment where I have increasingly seen foreign investment applications that are being pursued not necessarily for commercial objectives but strategic objectives,” he said.
China
China's gene giant harvests data from millions of women
Reuters
Kirsty Needham Clare Baldwin
A Chinese gene company selling prenatal tests around the world developed them in collaboration with the country's military and is using them to collect genetic data from millions of women for sweeping research on the traits of populations, a Reuters review of scientific papers and company statements found. U.S. government advisors warned in March that a vast bank of genomic data that the company, BGI Group, is amassing and analysing with artificial intelligence could give China a path to economic and military advantage.
Read more about BGI in our re-launched Mapping China’s Technology Giants project
China’s Xi attacks calls for technology blockades
Associated Press
Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Tuesday attacked calls from some in the U.S. and its allies to limit their dependency on Chinese suppliers and block the sharing of technologies.
Huawei unit signs chip supply chain deal with China partner
Nikkei
@ChengTingFang @Lauly_Th_Li
Huawei's chip design arm has struck a deal aimed at building up its domestic supply chain, a local partner said on Tuesday, in a first public move against a U.S. clampdown aimed at cutting its access to vital technology.
WeChat deletes Chinese university LGBT accounts in fresh crackdown
Reuters
@pakwayne
Chinese tech giant Tencent's WeChat social media platform has deleted dozens of LGBT accounts run by university students, saying some had broken rules on information on the internet, sparking fear of a crackdown on gay content online.
China’s crackdown on US listings threatens $2tn market
Financial Times
@kanghexin @Tabby_Kinder
Beijing has sent shockwaves through global financial circles with plans to tighten restrictions on overseas listings of Chinese companies, in a development that could threaten more than $2tn worth of shares on Wall Street. But the vague and sprawling nature of the announcement on Tuesday, which followed a crackdown on New York-listed ride-hailing group Didi, has sown confusion among traders and investment bankers. Chinese companies are already reconsidering US listings, hitting a lucrative trade for American banks.. The guidelines make clear that data are a national security matter, a concern underlined by the launch of an investigation into Didi by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) just days after its $4.4bn initial public offering last week.
Down $831 Billion, China Tech Firm Selloff May Be Far From Over
Bloomberg
@jeannyyu Abhishek Vishnoi
China’s technology giants have seen a combined $823 billion wiped from their market value since a February peak, with Beijing’s expanding crackdown on the sector fueling investor concern that the selloff is far from over.
Explore our re-launched Mapping China’s Technology Giants Project
For China’s Business Elites, Staying Out of Politics Is No Longer an Option
The New York Times
@LiYuan6
The Chinese internet immediately savaged Didi and Ms. Liu — and then Mr. Liu. A hashtag, #Didiapppulledfromappstores, which was started by the official People’s Daily, was viewed more than one billion times over a 24-hour period on the Chinese social media platform Weibo. Weibo users called Didi a “traitor” and a “walking dog of the United States.” They urged the government to also punish Mr. Liu for selling out national interests. Beijing’s actions against Didi — and the fallout — were part of a broadening crackdown by China against its homegrown tech companies.
Read our new report Reining in China’s Technology Giants
USA
We just had another ransomware attack. It’s time Biden gave Putin an ultimatum.
The Washington Post
@DAlperovitch Matthew Rojansky
Before such devastating ransomware attacks become a routine occurrence, President Biden must deliver a quiet but forceful demand: Russian President Vladimir Putin must put an immediate stop to this activity or Washington will tighten the squeeze of sanctions on the Russian economy.
Trump says he is suing Facebook, Twitter and Google, claiming censorship
The Sydney Morning Herald
@colvinj
Washington: Former US president Donald Trump has announced he is filing suits against three of the country’s biggest tech companies: Facebook, Twitter and Google, as well as their CEOs.
Faces are the next target for fraudsters
The Wall Street Journal
@parmy
Hackers are pioneering new ways of tricking facial-recognition systems, from cutting the eyes out of photos to making a portrait ‘nod’ with artificial intelligence
Pentagon office left military designs for body armor, vehicle gear open to hackers, watchdog finds
CyberScoop
@TonyaJoRiley
The office in charge of the U.S. military’s 3D printing left designs for defense technology vulnerable to theft by hackers and adversaries, according to a watchdog report made public on Wednesday.
The July 6 Update on the January 6 Insurrection
Selected Wisdom
@selectedwisdom
For extremists, the insurrection brought a mix of acceleration and retreat... We've outlined the overall size and dynamics of a chaotic stew of domestic extremists driving violence in America based upon their average age, how they organize, and what they believe in. Six months later, here are three trends we’ve observed and some thoughts on what we might look for in the coming months to anticipate where violence might break out.
UK
Allowing the sale of Britain’s biggest chip manufacturer to China is a dangerous mistake
The Telegraph
@TomTugendhat
Under Beijing’s orders, Chinese companies started stockpiling chips in 2018 when President Trump threw down the gauntlet in the US-China tech war. But when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, the situation reached a crisis point. Supply disruption and freak accidents hampered production at a time when demand soared because of mass technology adoption during lockdown.
Europe
Dutch team was a day away from saving Kaseya when hackers struck; Ransomware demand hits $70 million
NL Times
A group of ethical hackers from the Netherlands was trying to prevent a cyber attack at American IT company Kaseya when the massive, international ransomware attack happened on Friday, they said to Vrij Nederland. Ransomware group REvil has claimed the attack. They want 70 million dollars in Bitcoin to publish a decryptor that will release victims' files, REvil said in its Happy Blog on the Dark Web, The Record found.
Holding the world to ransom: the top 5 most dangerous criminal organisations online right now
The Conversation
Kaseya provides software services to thousands of clients around the world. It’s estimated between 800 and 1,500 medium to small businesses may be impacted by the attack, with the hackers demanding US$50 million (lower than the previously reported US$70 million) in exchange for restoring access to data being held for ransom.
Russia
Putin updates Russia's National Security Strategy
NHK
Russian President Vladimir Putin has updated the country's national security guidelines for the first time in six years.. The document calls for developing comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation with China and a special strategic partnership with India.. It also called for solid cyberspace security, noting increased espionage activity in Russian cyberspace by foreign special agencies.
Code in huge ransomware attack written to avoid computers that use Russian, says new report
NBC
@KenDilanianNBC
The computer code behind the massive ransomware attack by the Russian-speaking hacking ring REvil was written so that the malware avoids systems that primarily use Russian or related languages, according to a new report by a cybersecurity firm.
Misc
Conservative social networks keep making the same mistake
Platformer
@CaseyNewton
One question I have wondered a lot over the past few years is whether the rise of a large-scale conservative social network — a Fox News of Facebook — is inevitable. Last year, during the rise of Parler, we finally got a good test case.
ProtonMail, DuckDuckGo, others ask EU & US regulators to ban surveillance-based advertising
The Record
@campuscodi
A group of privacy-first tech companies, including the likes of ProtonMail, DuckDuckGo, Vivaldi, Tutanota, and Startpage, have published an open letter today asking EU and US regulators to take action and ban surveillance-based advertising.
YouTube's recommendations still push harmful videos, crowdsourced study finds
CNBC
@BrandyZadrozny
YouTube’s recommendation algorithm suggests videos with misinformation, violence, hate speech and other content that violates its own policies, researchers say.
Research
Understanding Russia’s Cyber Strategy
Foreign Policy Research Institute
@josephinecwolff
The Russian Federation’s willingness to engage in offensive cyber operations has caused enormous harm, including massive financial losses, interruptions to the operation of critical infrastructure, and disruptions of crucial software supply chains.
We Make Mistakes': Twitter's Embrace of the Extreme Far Right
Southern Poverty Law Center
@MichaelEHayden
Twitter gave far-right extremists the platform they needed to plan an attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, and the website, if it maintains its current approach, will likely enable politically motivated violence again in the future.
Events
ASPI Webinar: In-conversation with Will Cathcart, Head of WhatsApp
ASPI
ASPI's International Cyber Policy Centre is delighted to invite you to the webinar 'In-conversation with Will Cathcart, Head of Whatsapp'. Join Fergus Hanson in a 'fireside chat' with the CEO of WhatsApp Will Cathcart as they discuss the big issues facing the world’s largest messaging service. This webinar will include Q&A with the online audience. How do we balance requirements for safety, privacy and security? Why does WhatsApp use end-to-end encryption and how has WhatsApp evolved to combat misinformation? Join us at 10am on Thursday, 8 July to take part in this important conversation.
Indigenous Cyber and Digital Skills Workshop
There remains significant under-representation of Indigenous Australians and other groups in technology and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) careers, and across the country there’s a patchwork of education initiatives that attempt to increase pathways in the vocational and higher education systems and into the technology and defence industries.
ASPI Webinar: Exfiltrate, encrypt, extort: The global rise of ransomware & Australia's policy options
There remains significant under-representation of Indigenous Australians and other groups in technology and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) careers, and across the country there’s a patchwork of education initiatives that attempt to increase pathways in the vocational and higher education systems and into the technology and defence industries.
Jobs
ICPC Senior Analyst or Analyst - Information operations & disinformation
ASPI ICPC
ASPI’s International Cyber Policy Centre has an outstanding opportunity for a talented and proactive senior analyst or analyst to join its centre. The successful candidate will work with a small, high-performing team to produce original research and analysis centred around policy responses to information operations and disinformation by state and non-state actors. They will also work with senior staff in the centre to engage globally with governments, social media and Internet companies.
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 commenced 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.
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. Analysts usually have at least 5 years, often 7-10 years’ of work experience. Senior analysts usually have a minimum of 15 years relevant work experience and, in addition to research, they take on a leadership role in the centre and tend to be involved in staff and project management, fundraising and stakeholder engagement.