Coronavirus Tracking Apps Raise Questions About Bluetooth Security | Gene firms linked to surveillance | U.S. Moves to Address ‘Extraordinary Threat’ From Some Foreign Electric Gear
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Governments and companies are planning to introduce mobile applications that use Bluetooth to track coronavirus infections. Researchers say the technology keeps users’ identifying data private, but the complexity of working with Bluetooth raises cybersecurity concerns. WSJ.
Companies providing coronavirus testing equipment for Australia — one of them with support from miner Andrew Forrest — have been linked to China’s forced collection of genetic information from Muslim minorities in Xinjiang province. The Australian.
President Trump signed an executive order intended to limit the use of foreign-supplied components in the nation’s electric grid, declaring that the practice poses an “extraordinary threat to national security.” WSJ.
ASPI ICPC
[Podcast] Weaponised deep fakes
Policy Guns and Money
“Fakes are all around us. Academic analysis suggests that they’re difficult to spot without new sensors, software or other specialised equipment, with 1 in 5 photos you see being fraudulent.” In this episode of Policy, Guns & Money, Danielle Cave speaks to authors Hannah Smith and Katherine Mansted about the research behind their recent ASPI report.
Gene firms linked to surveillance
The Australian
Companies providing coronavirus testing equipment for Australia — one of them with support from miner Andrew Forrest — have been linked to China’s forced collection of genetic information from Muslim minorities in Xinjiang province. China’s BGI Group and US biotech giant Thermo Fisher are global leaders in genetic sequencing, supplying expertise and equipment used by China’s surveillance state..According to a major report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute on Chinese technology giants, BGI developed China’s National Genebank and has operations in Xinjiang where it claims to contribute to “social stability and economic development”. Dr Leibold said: “It is already on the record that the authorities under the guise of a ‘free physical’ program have collected biometric samples from the entire population of Tibet and Xinjiang. It appears those samples have been fed into China's DNA database.”
ASPI’s Mapping China's Technology Giants project includes research on genomics & biotech company BGI.
China plans to send Uygur Muslims from Xinjiang re-education camps to work in other parts of country
SCMP
The Chinese government has resumed a job placement scheme for tens of thousands of Uygur Muslims who have completed compulsory programmes at the “re-education” camps in the far-western region of Xinjiang, sources said. The plan, which includes a quota for the numbers provinces must take, was finalised last year but disrupted by the outbreak of Covid-19...Earlier this month, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute released a report saying more than 80,000 Uygurs had been moved from Xinjiang to work in factories in nine Chinese regions and provinces. It identified a total of 27 factories that supplied 83 brands, including household names such as Google, Apple, Microsoft, Mitsubishi, Siemens, Sony, Huawei, Samsung, Nike, Abercrombie and Fitch, Uniqlo, Adidas and Lacoste’. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian criticised the report saying it had “no factual basis”.
Read the ASPI report here.
Coronavirus: Trump is selling coronavirus coins and other claims fact-checked
BBC
Between 27 and 29 April, more than 200 accounts were created on Twitter which only shared media critical of Mr Guo and his views about both China's response to coronavirus in Wuhan, and the number of fatalities in Wuhan. This is not the first time a campaign has been launched against Mr Guo. He has been the target of disinformation campaigns linked to China since 2017, identified in research from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.
Read the ASPI report here.
World
Coronavirus Tracking Apps Raise Questions About Bluetooth Security
WSJ
Governments and companies are planning to introduce mobile applications that use Bluetooth to track coronavirus infections. Researchers say the technology keeps users’ identifying data private, but the complexity of working with Bluetooth raises cybersecurity concerns.
Australia
Home affairs data breach may have exposed personal details of 700,000 migrants
The Guardian
Privacy experts have blasted the home affairs department for a data breach revealing the personal details of 774,000 migrants and people aspiring to migrate to Australia, including partial names and the outcome of applications.
Coronavirus app tracing capability not yet operational, despite 4 million downloads
ABC
More than 4 million people have downloaded the COVIDSafe app, but the information it collects is not yet available to state and territory health officials.
Melissa Castan @DrMCastan
Coronavirus app tracing capability is not operational, despite 4 Mill downloads - the trade off between public health imperatives and govt access to personal information seems unbalanced if the alert system isn’t active. #auslawwatch https://t.co/5yEwcmY5xPLabor floats active cyber defence and a civilian cyber corps for Australia
ZD Net
Labor proposes a public health approach, to cybersecurity, addressing the risk and susceptibility of the whole nation to cyber attack, not just critical infrastructure or 'big-ticket capabilities'.
China's WeChat owner buys $390 million stake in Australia's Afterpay
SMH
Chinese gaming and social media group Tencent Holdings has bought a 5 per cent stake in Afterpay, the Australian buy-now-pay-later firm said on Friday.
[Podcast] Contest for the Indo-Pacific - Why China Won't Map the Future - Interview with Rory Medcalf, Head of the ANU National Security College
Cyber Security Weekly Podcast
Interview with Professor Rory Medcalf, head of the Australian National University National Security College and author of Contest for the Indo-Pacific - Why China Won't Map the Future.
China
Xiaomi Could Be Sending Your Browser Data to China, Even in 'Incognito' Mode: Report
Gadgets 360
Xiaomi once again faces allegations that it is silently sending user data to remote servers. Security researchers claim that the Chinese company, which leads the smartphone market in India and is amongst the top-five smartphone makers globally, has provided loopholes on its phones to transmit data to remote servers hosted by Alibaba. Amongst other preloaded apps, the default Web browser on Xiaomi's Redmi and Mi series phones were found recording Web history of users even when switched to “incognito” mode.
USA
U.S. Moves to Address ‘Extraordinary Threat’ From Some Foreign Electric Gear
WSJ
@TimPuko
President Trump signed an executive order intended to limit the use of foreign-supplied components in the nation’s electric grid, declaring that the practice poses an “extraordinary threat to national security.” Friday’s order reflects a consensus among senior intelligence officials that foreign adversaries including Russia and China have secured hidden footholds in the electric system and could use that access to cause blackouts at some future date.
Technology once used to combat ISIS propaganda is enlisted by Democratic group to counter Trump’s coronavirus messaging
Washington Post
A new initiative, advised by retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal, seeks to compete with the president’s online megaphone.
Asia
India orders coronavirus tracing app for all workers
Reuters
India has ordered all public and private sector employees use a government-backed contact tracing app and maintain social distancing in offices as it begins easing some of its lockdown measures in districts less affected by the coronavirus.
Hacker leaks 15 million records from Tokopedia, Indonesia's largest online store
ZD Net
@campuscodi
A hacker has leaked on Friday the details of 15 million users registered on Tokopedia, Indonesia's largest online store.
“I became a pariah.” Coronavirus victims’ data is leaked on social media in Pakistan
Coda Story
Using cellphone tracking and mobile apps to curb the spread of the coronavirus, the government is surveilling millions of ordinary citizens.
UK
UK NCSC to stop using 'whitelist' and 'blacklist' due to racial stereotyping
ZD Net
@campuscodi
The UK government's cyber-security agency said this week it would stop using "whitelist" and "blacklist" due to stigma and racial stereotyping surrounding the two terms. Instead, the UK National Cyber Security Centre said that going forward, it would use the terms "allow list" and "deny list" instead of the two.
Misc.
Norms for responsible State behavior on cyber operations should build on international law
ICRC
In the ICRC’s view, reaching consensus on norms, rules and principles is particularly important in rapidly-changing environments, such as those we are facing in the field of information and communications. In our view, discussions concerning norms for responsible State behavior are closely linked to, and should build on, international law, which the UN General Assembly recognized as applying in cyberspace.
Opinion - The Immunity of the Tech Giants
NYT
When the pandemic is over, we most certainly should fear the industry more than ever.
The UK government's cyber-security agency said this week it would stop using "whitelist" and "blacklist" due to stigma and racial stereotyping surrounding the two terms. Instead, the UK National Cyber Security Centre said that going forward, it would use the terms "allow list" and "deny list" instead of the two.
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