eSafety commissioner orders X, Meta to remove violent videos after Sydney stabbing| UK starts drafting AI regulations for ChatGPT | G42's secret pact with US to divest from China pre-Microsoft deal
Good morning. It's Wednesday 17th April.
The Daily Cyber & Tech Digest focuses on the topics we work on, including cybersecurity, critical technologies, foreign interference & disinformation.
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Meta and X/Twitter received notices from Australia's eSafety commissioner to remove violent content depicting the stabbing of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel in Sydney. The notices, under the Online Safety Act, demand removal of "offensive violence" within 24 hours to avoid fines. Meta has started blocking re-uploads. The Guardian
The UK is drafting AI regulations, targeting powerful language models like OpenAI's ChatGPT. Officials are in preliminary stages, with no immediate legislation planned. The government will consult after an AI conference in France. Concerns include international competition and copyright issues, with potential industry conflicts on regulation timelines. Bloomberg
Microsoft's new partnership with Abu Dhabi's G42, influenced by US negotiations, aims to limit China's tech influence by ensuring G42 divests from Chinese technology and aligns with US tech. This strategic move, enhancing G42's AI capabilities using Microsoft Azure, is part of the US's broader effort to contain China's technological ascent. Bloomberg
ASPI
Reclaiming leadership: Australia and the global critical minerals race
Ian Satchwell
Climate policy, geopolitics and market forces are coalescing to deliver Australia a global leadership opportunity in critical minerals. To grasp that opportunity, Australia needs both to utilise its domestic mineral endowment and its mining knowledge and technology and to leverage the global footprint of Australian companies to help build a global supply chain network. How Australia responds will not only determine economic benefits to the nation but will also affect the world’s ability to achieve minerals security and the sustainability required for the global energy transition and inclusive economic growth.
Australia
eSafety commissioner orders X and Meta to remove violent videos following Sydney church stabbing
The Guardian
Josh Taylor, Mostafa Rachwani and Jordyn Beazley
Facebook’s parent company Meta and X/Twitter have been told to remove violent and distressing videos and imagery of the stabbing of a prominent Orthodox Christian leader in Sydney’s west on Monday evening. The eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, told reporters on Tuesday that X and Meta had been issued with notices to remove material within 24 hours that depicted “gratuitous or offensive violence with a high degree of impact or detail”, with the companies facing potential fines if they fail to comply.
Sydney mall attack: Confronting pro-Kremlin troll on false claims Jewish student was killer
BBC
Marianna Spring
"I never falsely suggested anything," Simeon Boikov tells me. Under the alter ego "Aussie Cossack", he posted untrue speculation that a 20-year-old Jewish university student was the attacker who had stabbed and killed five women and one man at a Westfield shopping centre in Sydney. Within hours of Mr Boikov's post on X, the false claims he amplified had reached hundreds of thousands of people on X and Telegram, and had even been repeated by a national news outlet.
Vodafone customers report outage as telco works to solve issue
News.com.au
Aisling Brennan
Vodafone customers across the country experienced difficulties making calls on Tuesday. Customers took to social media to share their frustration after the outage reportedly affected voice calls across the country. Customers said they were unable to receive calls or contact other Vodafone customers from their devices. One user said they “cannot make or receive calls in the Sydney CBD”.
AFP arrests man over alleged creation and sale of 'Firebird' RAT
iTnews
Eleanor Dickinson
The Australian man was arrested by the AFP on April 11 and will appear at Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court on May 7 charged with 12 counts of computer offences related to the RAT known as ‘Firebird’. The RAT enables users to remotely access and control a person’s device without their knowledge.
China
Baidu says AI chatbot 'Ernie Bot' has attracted 200 million users
Reuters
China's Baidu, opens new tab said on Tuesday its artificial intelligence chatbot “Ernie Bot” has garnered more than 200 million users as it seeks to remain China’s most popular ChatGPT-like chatbot amid increasingly fierce competition. The number of users has roughly doubled since the company's last update in December. The chatbot was released to the public eight months ago. Baidu CEO Robin Li also said Ernie Bot's API is being used 200 million times everyday, meaning the chatbot was requested by its user to conduct tasks that many times a day.
How would China weaponize disinformation against Taiwan in a cross-strait conflict?
RAND
Scott W. Harold
What might China's future disinformation operations against Taiwan focus on and how can Taipei and its partners combat them? China would likely have at least five discrete audiences for disinformation operations in mind, with specific lines of effort and goals for each.
Chinese propaganda arm deletes post justifying Iran’s ‘successful’ attack
National Review
Jimmy Quinn
On Saturday evening, the X account for the Global Times, which is one of Beijing’s English-language propaganda organs, posted about the Iranian attack. Earlier that evening, reports indicated that Iran had launched a swarm of Shahed attack drones that were primed to reach Israeli targets within hours.
China accuses West of targeting its rare earths and food technology
The Telegraph
Nicola Smith
China’s intelligence agency has accused overseas institutions of targeting Chinese rare earths and food industries as part of an ongoing public awareness campaign over the risks posed by foreign spies.
Who will replace Intel and AMD in China's networks?
Light Reading
Robert Clark
China's MIIT has reportedly directed that U.S. Intel and AMD chips be excluded from its telecom networks by 2027. This move affects a small revenue segment for both companies, as China's banks, cloud, and internet sectors can still use their products. This policy reflects China's goal of establishing "clean networks," minimising foreign gear's influence, and continuing the trend of reducing foreign participation in core telecom network equipment.
USA
China's attacks on U.S. infrastructure aren't going anywhere
Axios
Sam Sabin
Nearly a year after the U.S. government first named and shamed an ongoing Chinese hacking campaign against American infrastructure, top cybersecurity leaders say the threat is still as palpable as ever.
America hits Chinese biotech—and its own drugmakers
The Economist
Bitter medicine
The Senate is considering a bill to prevent federal purchases from firms tied to companies like WuXi and mgi Tech, addressing fears of U.S. health data and intellectual property, such as drug formulas, reaching Chinese hands. This legislation also targets economic ties with PLA-affiliated firms and aims to curb funding to entities involved in oppressing Uyghurs, potentially increasing costs for American patients.
US senator wants to put the brakes on Chinese EVs
The Register
Dan Robinson
Electric vehicles may become a new front in America's tech war with China after a US senator called for Washington DC to block Chinese-made EVs to protect domestic industries and national security. Sherrod Brown, senator for Ohio and chair of the Senate Banking Committee, penned a letter to President Biden, claiming "there are currently no Chinese EVs for sale in the United States, and we must keep it that way."
U.S. commerce secretary Gina Raimondo announces expansion of U.S. AI safety institute leadership team
US Department of Commerce
Office of Public Affairs
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo announced today additional members of the executive leadership team of the U.S. AI Safety Institute (AISI), which is housed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
Southeast Asia
Cyber wing cops identify 50 Keralites working for Cambodian online-fraud firms
The New Indian Express
Shan A S
The cyber wing of state police has uncovered the identity of around 50 Keralites, including women, working for Cambodia-based operators engaged in running online financial rackets. Some of the companies are owned and operated by Chinese nationals, who employ Keralites to target fellow compatriots.
South & Central Asia
Chinese-linked LightSpy iOS spyware targets South Asian iPhone users
The Hacker News
Newsroom
Cybersecurity researchers have discovered a "renewed" cyber espionage campaign targeting users in South Asia with the aim of delivering an Apple iOS spyware implant called LightSpy. "The latest iteration of LightSpy, dubbed 'F_Warehouse,' boasts a modular framework with extensive spying features," the BlackBerry Threat Research and Intelligence Team said in a report published last week.
Europe
EU-China rift deepens as Vestager launches clean tech subsidy investigation
Euractiv
Xhoi Zajmi
Wind parks in five EU member states – Spain, Greece, France, Romania and Bulgaria – will undergo scrutiny to determine whether illegal subsidies have been granted to Chinese wind turbine producers, sparking fears of harm to Europe’s domestic industry from cheaper imported clean tech products.
France is ‘overwhelmed with propaganda,’ minister says
POLITICO
Clothlide Goujard and Mathieu Pollet
France is "being overwhelmed with propaganda and disinformation" ahead of the EU election, French minister for European affairs Jean-Noël Barrot warned Tuesday. The country's security authorities are facing waves of disinformation ahead of the European election in June, Barrot told POLITICO’s Tech & AI Summit. He said traditional media and official ministry websites were being spoofed to trick people into believing disinformation, and fake accounts were ramping up activity on social media.
UK
UK starts drafting AI regulations for most powerful models
Bloomberg
Ellen Milligan
The UK is starting to draft regulations to govern artificial intelligence, focusing on the most powerful language models which underpin OpenAI’s ChatGPT, people familiar with the matter said.
Electric cars could be hijacked by hostile states like China to gather intelligence, minister warns
Mirror
Sophie Huskisson
Electric cars could be hijacked by hostile states to gather intelligence from people in the UK, a Home Office Minister has warned. Security Minister Tom Tugendhat said more work is needed to remove Chinese-made technology in our policing and security services. He said "digital asbestos" was rife across institutions as he was asked about China providing CCTV equipment, drones and body cameras in the UK.
UK plans talks with big tech to limit online harm for teens
Bloomberg
Ellen Milligan
The UK government plans talks with Alphabet Inc., Apple Inc. and other technology giants to push them to sign a voluntary charter granting parents more control of social media use by young teens, people familiar with the matter said. The proposed voluntary charter may involve tech firms agreeing to alert parents when their children are repeatedly looking up disturbing content, they said.
Big Tech
G42 made secret pact with US to divest from China before Microsoft deal
Bloomberg
Ben Bartenstein, Mackenzie Hawkins, Nick Wadhams and Dina Bass
Microsoft Corp.’s just-announced partnership with Abu Dhabi’s G42 followed behind-the-scenes negotiations between the US government and the Middle Eastern firm, which agreed to divest from China and pivot to American technology. G42, a holding company focused on artificial intelligence, held talks with the US Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security and came to an understanding last year, according to people familiar with the discussions. Under the arrangement, G42 agreed to pare back its presence in China or face potentially punitive measures from Washington, they said.
Microsoft to invest $1.5bn in Abu Dhabi AI group G42
Financial Times
Chloe Cornish and George Hammond
Microsoft has agreed to invest $1.5bn in Abu Dhabi artificial intelligence group G42, its latest big bet on the technology that underscores deepening collaboration between the US and United Arab Emirates. The agreement gives Microsoft a minority stake in G42, and its vice-chair and president Brad Smith will have a seat on its board. It comes after G42 severed its links to Chinese hardware suppliers, which had been the subject of scrutiny by US lawmakers.
Microsoft makes high-stakes play in tech cold war with Emirates AI deal
The Seattle Times
David.E.Sanger and Paul Mozur
Microsoft on Tuesday plans to announce a $1.5 billion investment in G42, an artificial intelligence giant in the United Arab Emirates, in a deal largely orchestrated by the Biden administration to box out China as Washington and Beijing battle over who will exercise technological influence in the Gulf region and beyond.
Microsoft, beset by hacks, grapples with problem years in the making
Bloomberg
Andrew Martin and Dina Bass
The world’s largest seller of cybersecurity products has a problem with its own cybersecurity. In recent years, Microsoft Corp. has been hit with a series of embarrassing hacks that have exposed corporate and government customers. Earlier this month, the US Cyber Safety Review Board issued a scathing report documenting the company’s inability to stop hackers tied to the Chinese government from pilfering the email boxes of US officials. The report’s authors called on Microsoft to institute urgent reforms.
Uniting against tech oligarchy: the sale of TikTok and the open app markets act
The Townhall
Caleb Larson
The TikTok sale primarily addresses well-founded concerns about the Chinese government’s influence and data security, taking power away from the CCP and giving it to someone with American interests at heart. On the other hand, OAMA targets the dominance of tech oligarchs like Google and Apple, aiming to foster a more competitive and fair digital marketplace by targeting their monopolistic practices.
YouTube, X, Instagram — social media’s ‘theatre’ of transparency has to end
Crikey
Alice Dawking
The online information environment is getting demonstrably worse. As the tragic events of Bondi Junction unfolded over the weekend, one esteemed commentator said of X (formerly Twitter), “this site is a sink hole of agendas and prejudice. Its utility as a monitor of breaking events is gone”.
Insta's AI finds nudes in encrypted DMs
iTnews
Jeremy Nadel
Instagram nudes sent or received by under-18s will be detected and blurred with device-based software able to scan end-to-end encrypted (E2EE) direct messages (DMs). Acting eSafety Commissioner Toby Dagg told iTnews that he “welcomes” the feature, but “would also welcome further information from Meta about the long-term efficacy and uptake of these tools over time.”
Big Tech's ad transparency tools are still woeful, Mozilla research report finds
Yahoo Finance
Natasha Lomas
Efforts by tech giants to be more transparent about the ads they run are — at very best — still a work in progress, according to a report looking at ads transparency tools. The report comes about a half year since the European Union's Digital Services Act (DSA) rules for larger platforms came into force, mandating companies offer a searchable public ads library. Companies include: Apple, Google, Meta, TikTok and X.
Some ex-TikTok employees say the social media service worked closely with its China-based parent despite claims of independence
Fortune
Alexandra Sterlicht
In January, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew defended the company before skeptical U.S. lawmakers, denying ties to Beijing and risks to national security. Despite his claims of independence from ByteDance, its parent company, former employees suggest the separation is superficial, with operational overlaps during their tenure.
Artificial Intelligence
A.I. Has a Measurement Problem
The New York Times
Kevin Roose
There’s a problem with leading artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude: We don’t really know how smart they are. That’s because, unlike companies that make cars or drugs or baby formula, A.I. companies aren’t required to submit their products for testing before releasing them to the public. There’s no Good Housekeeping seal for A.I. chatbots, and few independent groups are putting these tools through their paces in a rigorous way.
POLITICO Ai series: The lay of the Ai land
POLITICO
Luminate
Bots and Ballots: How artificial intelligence is reshaping elections worldwide. POLITICO’s Chief Tech Correspondent, Mark Scott, will cover the threats and opportunities of AI, the rise of misinformation and disinformation, and the impact of technology on democracy. What does it all mean for the 2024 global election cycle?
AI to create 150,000 jobs, claim the academics who study it
The Australian Financial Review
John Davidson
The Australian economy will be boosted by more than $200 billion a year between now and the end of the decade if key industries fully adopt artificial intelligence at the core of their businesses, a new economic analysis by a consortium of top professors from eight Australian universities has found.
Efficient AI isn’t necessarily effective
POLITICO
Daniel Payne, Erin Schumaker and Ruth Reader
Hospitals are rolling out artificial intelligence tools for the efficiencies they foresee. They’re less sure about a more important metric: how the tools will affect patient outcomes. Despite extensive testing before rolling out the systems — and some indications that the tools save time for patients and providers alike — it’s unclear whether those tools change care, even in relatively small ways.
Meta oversight board reviews handling of AI-created celebrity porn
Reuters
Katie Paul
Meta Platforms', opens new tab Oversight Board is reviewing the company's handling of two sexually explicit AI-generated images of female celebrities that circulated on its Facebook and Instagram services, the board said on Tuesday. The board, which is funded by the social media giant but operates independently from it, will use the two examples to assess the overall effectiveness of Meta's policies and enforcement practices around pornographic fakes created using artificial intelligence, it said in a blog post.
‘Get the job done’: One in two lawyers use AI
The Australian Financial Review
Euan Black
One in two lawyers in Australia and New Zealand have already used generative artificial intelligence to perform day-to-day tasks and almost the entire profession believe it will change how legal work is carried out in future. These were the key findings of a recent survey of more than 560 lawyers and legal professionals by legal information and analytics provider LexisNexis, which found that in-house lawyers were adopting the tools more quickly than their law firm counterparts.
Misc
Open source groups say more software projects may have been targeted for sabotage
Reuters
Raphael Satter
In a joint statement, the Open Source Security Foundation and the OpenJS Foundation said the attempt to insert a secret backdoor into XZ Utils - a little-known program that is baked into Linux operating systems across the world - "may not be an isolated incident."
Events & Podcasts
The Sydney Dialogue
ASPI
The Sydney Dialogue was created to help bring together governments, businesses and civil society to discuss and progress policy options. We will forecast the technologies of the next decade that will change our societies, economies and national security, prioritising speakers and delegates who are willing to push the envelope. We will promote diverse views that stimulate real conversations about the best ways to seize opportunities and minimise risks.
JoiningFORCES
ASPI
The JoiningFORCES conference will explore ways to bridge national and international boundaries to deliver more joint, collective and effective defence. It will bring together government ministers, senior defence officials, leading industry figures, and international experts across the two-day event and formal dinner. We will also use collaborative wargaming and scenario exercise techniques to generate insights on enhancing regional deterrence. Our focus will be on strategic and operational level challenges and will consider the vital role of industry in delivering capability at the speed needed to meet the strategic threats Australia faces.
Stop the World: Human rights in 2024
ASPI
In our first episode, ASPI’s Executive Director Justin Bassi is joined by Elaine Pearson, Asia Director of Human Rights Watch, and Daniela Gavshon, Australia Director of Human Rights Watch. They discuss the big issues to watch in 2024, the challenges human rights researchers face today, and the difficulty of keeping public attention on human rights issues as multiple crises unfold around the world. They also explore the practice of arbitrary detention, including the case of Australian writer and academic Dr Yang Hengjun, and how governments can respond.
2024 Cyber Dialogues: Part III
UNIDIR
Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan
Calls for gender responsive, tailored, sustainable, effective, and efficient cyber capacity-building continue to intensify from diplomats, policymakers, and technical experts. With high-level discussions on mainstreaming gender within other pillars of the framework and initiatives, the dialogues will convene all relevant stakeholders to share viewpoints.
Jobs
Director of Cyber, Technology & Security (CTS)
ASPI
ASPI is looking for an exceptional and experienced leader to lead our largest team focused on emerging security challenges, particularly in cyberspace and the information domain. Director CTS leads ASPI’s largest team to develop and deliver a range of applied research projects on existing and emerging security challenges. CTS’ projects range across cyber and critical infrastructure security, critical and emerging technologies, national resilience and social cohesion, and hybrid threats. The closing date for applications is 22 April 2024 – an early application is advised as we reserve the right to close the vacancy early if suitable applications are received.
China Analyst or Senior Analyst
ASPI
ASPI has an exciting opportunity for an analyst or senior analyst to explore China's evolving foreign and security policy, political economy and impact on the Indo-Pacific and the world. ASPI’s China analysts conduct rigorous data-driven research, publish impactful reports that shape the public policy discourse and contribute to the wide catalogue of influential China work published by ASPI. The difference between the analyst and senior analyst levels will depend on experience level and demonstration of past work. The closing date for applications is 10 May 2024– an early application is advised as we reserve the right to close the vacancy early if suitable applications are received.
Research Internship, Cyber Power and Future Conflict Programme, IISS-Asia
International Institute for Strategic Studies
The Cyber Power and Future Conflict Programme explores global strategic competition and future warfare, with a focus on emerging cyber strategies and emerging and disruptive technologies. While the CPFC programme is based in Singapore, its research scope is global. Other research programmes based at the IISS-Asia office cover a broad range of regional issues, including Southeast Asian politics and foreign policy and Indo-Pacific defence and strategy.
The Daily Cyber & Tech Digest is brought to you by the Cyber, Technology & Security team at ASPI.