Confusion, conflict and conspiracy online as Trump falsely claims victory | Facebook suspend accounts to try and limit disinformation | Beijing's financial crackdown on Jack Ma's empire.
Follow us on Twitter. The Daily Cyber Digest focuses on the topics we work on, including cyber, critical technologies & strategic issues like foreign interference.
As mainstream social-media sites raced to address suspect claims, the chaotic environment showcased divisions in the online ecosystem. The Washington Post
Twitter and Facebook suspended several recently created and mostly right-leaning news accounts posting information about voting in the hotly contested U.S. election for violating their policies. Reuters
The shock suspension of Ant Group Co.’s $35 billion initial public offering is just the beginning of a renewed campaign by China to rein in the fintech empire controlled by Jack Ma, Bloomberg reports. Authorities are now setting their sights on Ant’s biggest source of revenue: its credit platforms that funnel loans from banks and other financial institutions to millions of consumers across China, according to people familiar with the matter. Bloomberg
USA
Confusion and conflict stir online after Trump’s premature claim of victory
The Washington Post
@craigtimberg @tonyromm @isaacstanbecker @drewharwell
As mainstream social-media sites raced to address suspect claims, the chaotic environment showcased divisions in the online ecosystem.
Twitter, Facebook suspend some accounts as U.S. election misinformation spreads online
Reuters
Twitter and Facebook suspended several recently created and mostly right-leaning news accounts posting information about voting in the hotly contested U.S. election for violating their policies.
Polls close on Election Day with no apparent cyber interference
NBC News
@kevincollier
While there is still plenty of time for hackers to harass elections as states count and certify results, Election Day itself was fairly smooth sailing.
False posts spread about ballots without signatures in Miami-Dade County
AP
In Florida’s most populous county, social media users are spreading false information about how many mail-in ballots have been rejected because voters didn’t sign them.
Ballot-Counting Live Streams Show the Invisible Labor Behind Democracy
Vice News
@a_w_gordon
As I write this, there are two- or three-dozen people in Philadelphia wearing yellow vests passing ballots to one another, writing things down, clicking and typing on computers.
QAnon supporter Marjorie Taylor Greene wins seat in US House
The Guardian
@SamTLevin
Georgia Republican is first backer of false conspiracy theory to become US representative.
Why the Post Office’s Last-Minute Ballot Crisis Isn’t as Dire as It Seems
Vice News
@a_w_gordon
The USPS has been intentionally making its own ballot delivery statistics look worse so it can deliver them faster.
Axios Codebook
Axios
Although the winner of the 2020 presidential contest is still unknown, one thing is clear: disinformation is becoming an endemic feature of U.S. politics.
Here's A Running List Of False And Misleading Information About The Election
Buzzfeed News
Watch out for images and videos being taken out of context.
YouTube refuses to remove video that appears to violate its policies
CSNBC
@jenn_elias
YouTube said it won’t remove a video that claims Democrats are committing voter fraud against Republican ballots, despite admitting the video undermines confidence in elections. The video, titled “Trump won” and posted by right-leaning media organization One American News Network on YouTube Wednesday morning, shows OAN anchor Christina Bobb saying “President Trump won four more years in the office last night.”
Election Night on TikTok: Anxiety, Analysis and Wishful Thinking
The New York Times
@taylorlorenz
Their parents are watching cable news in the other room, but many younger people are gathering online for a more communal experience.
China
China Is Planning a Bigger Ant Crackdown With Bank Funding Curbs
Bloomberg
The shock suspension of Ant Group Co.’s $35 billion initial public offering is just the beginning of a renewed campaign by China to rein in the fintech empire controlled by Jack Ma, Bloomberg reports. Authorities are now setting their sights on Ant’s biggest source of revenue: its credit platforms that funnel loans from banks and other financial institutions to millions of consumers across China, according to people familiar with the matter.
Chinese-style censorship is no fix for the COVID-19 infodemic
East Asia Forum
@lotus_ruan
But the China model is the antithesis of a proper content moderation model. Characterised by selective censorship without transparency and accountability, China’s content control has turned the Chinese internet into a hotbed of distorted information and ultra-nationalistic narratives.
Dahua Racist Uyghur Tracking Revealed
IPVM
Dahua's software, published on its website, was revealed to track Uyghurs, a persecuted minority in China. The 1-minute video below explains the situation. This confirms Dahua developed discriminatory software like its rival Hikvision, which promoted a Uyghur-detecting AI camera last year.
To report on tech, journalists must also learn to report on China
Columbia Journalism Review
One problem I see is that many journalists reporting on Chinese technology have limited experience reporting within and about China. They might not fully understand the economic and media aims of the Chinese Communist Party, the Chinese language, or the underlying logic of global capitalism.
North-East Asia
India and Japan report stronger concern over cyber threats
Computer Weekly
Security operations teams in India and Japan see the growing volume of cyber threats and security incidents as their biggest challenge amid the Covid-19 pandemic, more so than their counterparts in other parts of the world.
South-East Asia
Converge taps US firm to build internet backbone
Manila Standard
Converge said Tuesday it tapped CommScope, a global leader in infrastructure solutions for communications networks, to build an internet backbone that will connect the unserved and underserved market and communities.
New Zealand & The Pacific
Navigating Cyber Diplomacy in the Asia Pacific
Directions Blog
Leading by example and focusing on measurable, sustainable actions, [DFAT] continues to spearhead novel – and sometimes groundbreaking – cyber diplomacy and international cyber engagement initiatives.
South and Central Asia
India and Japan report stronger concern over cyber threats
Computer Weekly
Security operations teams in India and Japan see the growing volume of cyber threats and security incidents as their biggest challenge amid the Covid-19 pandemic, more so than their counterparts in other parts of the world.
UK
UK in talks with Palantir over COVID-19 test-and-trace program
Reuters
The British government is in talks with U.S. data analytics company Palantir Technologies Inc in an attempt to strengthen its test-and-trace program for COVID-19.
Tory group in push for watchdog to counter Chinese interference
Financial Times
The UK should set up a “foreign interference” watchdog to help combat espionage and influence operations by hostile countries such as China, a report from the Conservative party’s Sino-British relations group has urged.
The Americas
Potential Huawei ban raises concerns over 5G in Brazil
ZDNet
@angelicamari
As Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro inches closer to possibly banning Huawei from next-generation 5G wireless networks, experts have voiced concerns over the future of the technology in the country.
Misc
The AI Who Mistook a Bald Head for a Soccer Ball
Kottke
@kottke
Second-tier Scottish football club Inverness Caledonian Thistle doesn’t have a camera operator for matches at their stadium so the club uses an AI-controlled camera that’s programmed to follow the ball for their broadcasts. But in a recent match against Ayr United, the AI controller kept moving the camera off the ball to focus on the bald head of the linesman, making the match all but unwatchable.
Someone Just Emptied Out a Bitcoin Wallet With $964,000,000 In It
Vice News
@lorenzofb
It's not yet clear if a hacker made off with a gigantic payday, or if the wallet's secretive and long-dormant owner just came out of retirement.
Events
The Indo-Pacific: Geostrategic challenges and opportunities for Australia and Germany
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) in partnership with Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) are delighted to present our upcoming webinar ‘The Indo-Pacific: Geostrategic challenges and opportunities for Australia and Germany’. Speakers Linda Reynolds, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, Peter Jennings and Dr. Beatrice Gorawantschy.
Date & Time: 5 November 2020, 5:45 pm - 6:45pm.
Register: here.
Research
Technology Transfer and AI featuring Emily Weinstein
China Uncovered Podcast
@emily_sw1
Olivia Enos and Heritage Center for Technology Policy Director Klon Kitchen interview Emily Weinstein on overseas professional and technology transfer to China, and more. Emily Weinstein is a research analyst at the Georgetown Center for Security and Emerging Technology
Jobs
Senior Researcher / Project Lead
ASPI ICPC
ASPI’s International Cyber Policy Centre (ICPC) has an outstanding opportunity for a senior researcher to lead a one-year project looking at leadership networks across Asia. Interviews will start immediately.
Senior Strategic Communications Officer
ASPI
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) has an outstanding opportunity for a highly experienced, strategic communications professional to contribute to the launch of a new, high profile global project. The Senior Strategic Communications Officer will be an integral member of a bespoke team that will liaise with the Australian government, foreign governments, industry and civil society to build up this exciting new project. The position will work closely with the Executive Director and the Institutes’ s International Cyber Policy Centre.