Hong Kong considers blocking Telegram | US warns over risk of hiring North Korea IT workers | Costa Rican president claims collaborators are aiding Conti's ransomware extortion efforts
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Hong Kong authorities are deliberating whether to curtail public access to the messaging service Telegram, the Sing Tao Daily reported, potentially reviving fears the former British colony is moving closer toward Beijing-style internet controls. Bloomberg
The US has warned that IT workers from North Korea are trying to get remote working jobs by hiding their true identities for the purpose of stealing money for Pyongyang. BBC News
Collaborators within Costa Rica are helping the notorious Conti ransomware group extort the country’s government, the country’s president said during a Monday press conference, backing up claims the group made on its website the same day. CyberScoop
ASPI ICPC
Ukraine - Russia
Under pressure, ‘soft and fluffy’ Canva takes harder line on Russia
The Sydney Morning Herald
Nick Bonyhady
One of Australia’s largest technology companies, graphic design firm Canva, has taken a harder line against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine after it faced pressure from local activists and received the worst possible ranking on a list of global companies for their responses to the war.
Australia
Australian cyber execs ‘the least prepared’ globally
The Australian
David Swan
New research paints a depressing picture of the nation’s cyber security preparedness.
China
US-EU united front on tech to erode China’s supply chain advantages, analysts say
South China Morning Post
Jiaxing Li and Che Pan
The united front in trade and tech forming between Washington and Brussels is likely to impede China’s access to advanced technologies and erode its supply chain advantages, according to analysts.
China Vice Premier Liu soothes tech firms, supports overseas listings
Reuters
Binbin Huang and Brenda Goh
Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He made soothing comments to tech executives on Tuesday, saying the government supported the development of the sector and public listings for technology companies in further signs a crackdown on the sector is easing.
Liu He: Tech platforms, private businesses must be supported (Full translation)
DigiChina
Graham Webster
At meeting chaired by Wang Yang, Liu He expresses support for tech IPOs at home and abroad.
In China, fleeting “cyber protests” leave behind fragile memories
Rest of World
Viola Zhou and Meaghan Tobin
In China, offline protests are rare, with gatherings discouraged by the police and closely monitored by the government. As an alternative, citizens join virtual protests, speaking in innuendo and making up codes and dates to keep their dissent alive. Recently, users have flooded seemingly pro-government hashtags with veiled criticisms and even resorted to inventing new languages. But at the same time, the government has grown adept at online censorship and propaganda, limiting the impact of cyber protests to brief outbursts of anger that are erased before they can coalesce into a movement.
China cut tech exports to Russia after U.S.-led sanctions hit
The Washington Post
Jeanne Whalen
Chinese technology exports to Russia plummeted in March after U.S.-led sanctions took effect, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said Tuesday, calling it a sign of Beijing’s wariness about violating the trade prohibitions.
USA
US warns over risk of hiring North Korea IT workers
BBC News
Annabelle Liang
The US has warned that IT workers from North Korea are trying to get remote working jobs by hiding their true identities for the purpose of stealing money for Pyongyang.
Biden eyes new ways to bar China from scooping up U.S. data
Reuters
Alexandra Alper and Karen Freifeld
The Biden administration has drafted an executive order that would give the Department of Justice vast powers to stop foreign adversaries like China accessing Americans' personal data, according to a person familiar with the matter and excerpts seen by Reuters.
Buffalo massacre suspect mapped plans on discord app for months
Bloomberg
Cecilia D'Anastasio and Davey Alba
The accused gunman behind 10 deaths and 3 injuries in Buffalo, New York, over the weekend had spoken explicitly about his plans to commit a terrorist act on the popular chat app Discord since at least last December, according to logs of his posts reviewed by Bloomberg.
Tech platforms have struggled to address live shootings. New legislation could make it impossible
CNN
Brian Fung
Tech platforms have struggled for years to stamp out videos of real-time massacres, such as those depicting the Christchurch shootings of 2019 and now a mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, which police say was a racially motivated hate crime. But a new state law shows how the tech industry could soon be pressured to do less, not more, in how it polices even ultra-violent content.You can't always blame algorithms
Garbage Day
Ryan Broderick
The internet’s worst websites aren’t algorithmic. That’s just a fact. The overwhelming majority of the violent extremists who were “radicalized online,” were not radicalized by Zuckerberg’s products, but by other angry men online using simple websites to trade hateful, evil ideas and then do horrifying things with them.Only 22 saw the Buffalo shooting live. Millions have seen it since
The Washington Post
Drew Harwell and Will Oremus
Tech companies have vowed to remove killers’ first-person footage of massacres. But extremists and the morbidly curious have used the Internet to ensure a video of haunting brutality stays online.
House OKs bills on federal cyber policies, tees up more
The Record by Recorded Future
Martin Matishak
The House on Monday easily passed a pair of cybersecurity measures, including a bill that would require the Department of Homeland Security to review its incident response plans and submit a report outlining the specific roles of federal agencies.
Facebook quietly bankrolled small, grass-roots groups to fight its battles in Washington
The Washington Post
Cat Zakrzewski and Elizabeth Dwoskin
Records show Facebook-funded American Edge backed minority interest groups, conservative think tanks and small business groups to create the appearance of opposition by grass-roots groups to antitrust regulation.
Southeast Asia
Hong Kong considers blocking Telegram, local paper says
Bloomberg
Felix Tam and Kari Soo Lindberg
Hong Kong authorities are deliberating whether to curtail public access to the messaging service Telegram, the Sing Tao Daily reported, potentially reviving fears the former British colony is moving closer toward Beijing-style internet controls.
Indonesia's Jokowi meets Tesla's Musk after nickel talks
Reuters
Stanley Widianto
Indonesian President Joko Widodo met Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk on Saturday in Texas to discuss potential investments and technology, Indonesia's government said in a statement.
Europe
Americas
Costa Rican president claims collaborators are aiding Conti's ransomware extortion efforts
CyberScoop
AJ Vicens
Collaborators within Costa Rica are helping the notorious Conti ransomware group extort the country’s government, the country’s president said during a Monday press conference, backing up claims the group made on its website the same day.
Africa
Nigeria asks Facebook, other platforms to curtail hate speech
Reuters
Chijioke Ohuocha
Nigeria is monitoring Facebook and other platforms to ensure they comply with demands to curtail hate speech on their sites, as it steps up its campaign for responsible use of social media, Information Minister Lai Mohammed said on Tuesday.
Big Tech
Elon Musk says Twitter deal ‘cannot move forward’ without more information
The New York Times
Lauren Hirsch, Kate Conger and Adam Satariano
Mr. Musk, the world’s richest man, continued creating confusion around his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter on Tuesday, even as the social media company tried to keep the deal on course. Early in the morning, the billionaire tweeted that “this deal cannot move forward” until he got more details about the volume of spam and fake accounts on the platform.
Musk’s China ties add potential risks to Twitter purchase
Associated Press
Joe McDonald
Elon Musk’s ties to China through his role as electric car brand Tesla’s biggest shareholder could add complexity to his bid to buy Twitter.
Adam Mosseri says he wants Big Tech to give up control
WIRED
Gideon Lichfield, Steven Levy and Gilad Edelman
The head of Instagram has a vision for using Web3 to shift power from tech platforms to content creators—which he says will ultimately benefit both.
Misc
For tech startups, the party is over
The Wall Street Journal
Heather Somerville
A dizzying turn in technology-startup investing is undoing the fortunes of founders and investors riding a 13-year bull run. Highflying startups have been grounded, swiftly, by the new climate: layoffs, skeptical investors, an exodus of funds and the prospect of a valuation haircut.
Jobs
The Sydney Dialogue - Senior Events Coordinator
ASPI ICPC
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) is currently recruiting for an experienced events professional to coordinate the planning and logistics of the second iteration of ASPI’s Sydney Dialogue - the world’s premier summit on emerging, critical and cyber technologies.
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.