Defence Force database hacked | MPs to call for Huawei to be dropped by 2023 | Australian Signals Directorate spied on Australians
Follow us on Twitter. The Daily Cyber Digest focuses on the topics we work on, including cyber, critical technologies & strategic issues like foreign interference.
A highly sensitive military database containing the personal details of tens of thousands of Australian Defence Force (ADF) members was shut down for 10 days due to fears it had been hacked. ABC
UK MPs will call on the government to reduce Huawei's involvement in the UK's 5G infrastructure from 35 per cent to zero by 2023. The Telegraph
The Australian Signals Directorate has already spied on Australians in the last year, invoking “rare circumstances” and seeking ministerial approval to extend its powers in an unspecified number of cases. The Guardian
ASPI ICPC
Australian Defence Force database hacked
Information Age
Analyst in the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s International Cyber Policy Centre, Jocelinn Kang, said cybersecurity events like this highlight a major issue with data is perceived. “For any incident you have to ask ‘has someone not taken anything or do we just not know?’" Kang said.
The journalist and comedian paying a high price for dissent on Australian Story
TV Blackbox
@xu_xiuzhong
Now working as a researcher with the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, Ms Xu was the lead author of an explosive report released this week which claims that Uyghurs are being forced into factories in around China to manufacture goods for brand names such as Apple, Adidas, Nike and BMW. Watch Australian Story – Monday 9 March 8pm ABC.
Australia
Fears private details of Defence Force members compromised in database hack
ABC
@annajhenderson @AndrewBGreene
A highly sensitive military database containing the personal details of tens of thousands of Australian Defence Force (ADF) members was shut down for 10 days due to fears it had been hacked.
Locked out Huawei dissolves local board as work dries up
The Australian Financial Review
@YolandaRedrup
Chinese telecommunication giant Huawei is dissolving its local board, amid substantial job and revenue losses triggered by the Australian government's decision to block its participation in building 5G networks.
Australian Signals Directorate has already spied on Australians, boss confirms
The Guardian
The Australian Signals Directorate has already spied on Australians in the last year, invoking “rare circumstances” and seeking ministerial approval to extend its powers in an unspecified number of cases.
ASD scraps cloud security certification program
ITNews
@justinrhendry
Australia’s cyber spy agency has shuttered the government’s cloud services certification program (CSCP) to remove bottlenecks and confusion around the accreditation of cloud services.
China
China’s WeChat censorship during COVID-19 outbreak poses public-health risk, researchers say
The Globe and Mail
@andreawoo @xiaoxuyvr
China has long censored what its citizens can see and say online. But a new report by researchers at the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy shines a light on the broad scope of suppressed information about the virus, and its public-health implications.
Bad tech nearly sent me to coronavirus quarantine
The Financial Times
@YuanfenYang
“Your temperature is abnormal. We’ll have to send you to the hospital,” said the guard standing at the gate to my Beijing compound. He had tried to take my temperature with his infrared thermometer, the standard device used across China now to test people for signs of fever, a possible symptom of coronavirus. These sensors were popular because they were fast and didn’t require physical contact: you could hold them an inch from someone’s forehead or wrist. They also frequently malfunctioned. This one was showing three dashes on its display, my zombie temperature.
Apple’s Once-Sunny China Future Looks Hazy
Bloomberg
@tculpan
Numbers show a struggle for the iPhone maker’s business in the world’s most populous country.
USA
U.S. Senators Push Investment Scrutiny of Allies Using Huawei
Bloomberg
@jendeben
A group of U.S. senators wants to remove a preferred investment status for countries such as the U.K. that allow for the installation of Huawei Technologies Co. equipment in their 5G networks.
Sick: Trolls Exploit Coronavirus Fears for Election Fun
The Daily Beast
Twitter trolls are seizing on coronavirus fears to spread disinformation about the health risks of voting on Super Tuesday in an attempt to help their favorite candidates.
Southeast Asia
Singapore Parliament: New cyber security label for smart devices
Straits Times
A cyber security label similar to the energy efficiency labels on home appliances will be rolled out to help buyers of smart devices better judge how exposed they are to cyber risks.
South Asia
Internet shutdowns in 2019: India continued to top list of worst offenders
Global Voices
India topped the list of countries that shut down the internet in 2019 with a staggering 121 shutdowns, more than half the 213 events recorded around the world, according to digital rights advocacy group Access Now.
India in the virtual Belt and Road
Gateway House
Over the last five years, China has quietly created a significant place for itself in India – in the technology domain. While India has refused to sign on to China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), this map shows India's positioning in the virtual BRI to be strategically invaluable for China. Nearly $4 billion in venture investments in start-ups, the online ecosystem and apps have been made by Chinese entities. This is just the beginning; there is much more to come.
US firm helps J&K build firewall to keep social media off-limits even when internet returns
The Print
@AzaanJavaid
There are indications that the current bar on fixed-line internet in Kashmir might be eased soon, but social media restrictions are likely to stay.
India's RJio wants to develop its own 5G
Light Reading
India's RJio is seeking permission from local regulators to carry out 5G trials based on its own, inhouse technology and not that developed by mainstream suppliers, according to press reports.
UK
MPs to call for Huawei deal to be dropped by 2023
The Telegraph
@CamillaTominey
MPs will call on the government to reduce Huawei's involvement in the UK's 5G infrastructure from 35 per cent to zero by 2023.
Tory MP asks BT if using Huawei complies with anti-slavery policy
The Guardian
A Conservative MP has asked BT to investigate whether using Huawei is compliant with its anti-slavery policy after an Australian thinktank alleged that some of the Chinese firm’s subcontractors used forced labour from the country’s Muslim minority.
Europe
Nokia shakes up leadership in 5G push
ARN
Nokia has rehired former executive Pekka Lundmark from energy group Fortum to lead the Finnish telecoms company's efforts to revive its faltering 5G business.
Russia
Feds: Mystery witness will implicate ‘Putin’s chef’ in election interference
Politico
@joshgerstein
U.S. prosecutors say they have a witness who will directly implicate a Russian businessman known as “Putin’s chef” in schemes to carry out election interference overseas.
Russian court says facial recognition tech does not violate privacy
Engadget
@rachel_england
While some countries are taking a stand against the use of facial recognition on the grounds of privacy invasion, Russia is taking the opposite view. A court in Moscow has ruled that the city's use of facial recognition does not violate the privacy of citizens.
It Looks Like a News App in the Apple Store. It’s Really Russian Propaganda.
The Daily Beast
@cjcmichel
Now, Russian propagandists have a new trick: Pushing a “news” app that poses as a “free streaming service,” but which is linked directly to the Russian propaganda outlet RT. Of course, the app doesn’t bother to disclose this.
Americas
The U.S. Fears Live Facial Recognition. In Buenos Aires, it’s a Fact of Life
OneZero
Last April, the government of Buenos Aires announced that the city’s subway cameras would be connected to a system called the Fugitive Facial Recognition System. Three weeks later, the system was operational. For almost a year, the residents of this city of 3 million have lived under the surveillance of live facial recognition, with some individuals put on a watchlist even for minor crimes like theft.
Middle East
Amazon extends free shipping promotion to Palestinian territories after Israeli settlements controversy
The New Arab
Amazon has extended its free shipping promotion to the occupied Palestinian territories, a company spokesman confirmed to The New Arab on Wednesday, after previously offering free delivery to Israelis living in settlements while charging their Palestinian neighbours.
Misc
Helping businesses and schools stay connected in response to Coronavirus
Google
@jsoltero
As more employees, educators, and students work remotely in response to the spread of COVID-19, we want to do our part to help them stay connected and productive. G Suite and G Suite for Education make up our collection of productivity apps that help businesses and educators collaborate no matter where they’re located.
Lockheed Martin, SpaceX And Tesla Caught In Cyber Attack Crossfire
Forbes
@happygeek
On February 26th, I was contacted by a threat analyst working at Emsisoft, Brett Callow, who was concerned that SpaceX and Tesla might have been hacked. The basis for this concern being the publishing of non-disclosure agreement documents related to the companies by a cybercrime group, which also tweeted that there would be "big deals soon."
A Cyber View Of Smart Cities
Forbes
There are innumerable definitions of smart cities with a large number of geopolitical connotations that leverage different foci on people, technology and capabilities. These various, often disparate, definitions result in a smart city terminology that appears vast and daunting.
Twitter Is Testing Out Disappearing Tweets
Wired
@pardesoteric
Following the example of competitors like Facebook and Snap, Twitter is piloting a new ephemeral feature it calls "fleets," for “your fleeting thoughts.”
Events
The Bushfire Crisis and Indigenous Land Management
ASPI
ASPI warmly invites you to attend a panel discussion to consider the practice of Indigenous Land Management techniques.
TIME: 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm
VENUE: ASPI Auditorium, Ground Level, 40 Macquarie St, Barton, Canberra 2600