Huawei faces 5G ban in Britain within months I Telegram to temporarily refuse data requests from Hong Kong courts I Militias flocked to Gettysburg to foil a supposed antifa flag burning
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Boris Johnson is poised to begin phasing out the use of Huawei technology in Britain’s 5G network as soon as this year, in a major about-turn, The Telegraph can disclose. GCHQ is understood to have revised its previous assurance that the risks posed by the Chinese technology giant can be safely managed. The Telegraph
Messaging app Telegram has told HKFP that it will temporarily refuse data requests from the Hong Kong authorities until an international consensus emerges over recent political changes. It comes as Hongkongers abandon certain messaging and social media platforms following the enactment of the controversial national security law last month. Hong Kong Free Press
For weeks, a mysterious figure on social media talked up plans for antifa protesters to converge on the grounds of the Gettysburg National Military Park on Independence Day to burn American flags. On Saturday afternoon, in the hours before the flag burning was to start, they flooded in by the hundreds — heavily armed and unaware, it seemed, that the mysterious Internet poster was not who the person claimed to be. The Washington Post
ASPI ICPC
Slow Progress Toward an Australian Magnitsky Act
The Diplomat
@citowicki
In March, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute released a report showing that the Chinese government had facilitated the mass movement of Uyghur and other ethnic minority citizens across the country to work in factories supplying major global brands, including Apple, Huawei, and Nike. The report pointed to working conditions that “strongly suggest forced labor” and fueled concerns around global supply chains.
See ASPI ICPC’s Uyghurs for sale: ‘Re-education’, forced labour and surveillance beyond Xinjiang report.
Brands Declare Black Lives Matter, but Activists See a 'Double Standard' in Asia
Vice
@ANachemson
The ASPI report said that as criticism mounts over the mass detention of Uighurs in Xinjiang, the process of “re-educating” them has shifted to a new phase—an “exploitative, government-led labour transfer scheme” that includes forced labor, constant surveillance, and political indoctrination.
The United States Can’t Afford to Turn Away Chinese Talent
Foreign Policy
@EBKania @LindsayPGorman
American policymakers are grappling with complex questions about how to recalibrate the character of U.S.-China economic interdependence and technological entanglement. But some of the answers that have been proposed are far too simple and may backfire on U.S. competitiveness.
See ASPI ICPC’s Technological entanglement: Cooperation, competition and the dual-use dilemma in artificial intelligence report.
Webinar panel on Papua sharply divided over media ‘black hole’
Asia Pacific Report
Dr Robie cited an investigation by the BBC and the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) last year that found that a coordinated and well-funded network of “bots” – or automated accounts – that promoted a pro-government line was “skewing the narrative” about Papua.
See ASPI ICPC’s Joint BBC-ASPI investigation into West Papua information operations report.
Australia
Just one in five students learning media literacy, as news consumption rises
The Sydney Morning Herald
@natassiazc
Young people have become more frequent news consumers but experts warn media literacy education has not kept up with changing habits, with most students now getting their news from other people.
We live in an age of ‘fake news’. But Australian children are not learning enough about media literacy. The Conversation
News and Young Australians in 2020: How Young People Access, Perceive and are Affected by News Media. Western Sydney University
Why TikTok app could be banned in Australia
The Herald
Popular video app TikTok is used by more than 1.6 million Australians including Premier Daniel Andrews, but tech experts have raised concerns about something more sinister lurking in the app. Some MPs want the Federal Government to follow India’s lead and consider banning the app – widely considered to be China’s most successful export to date.
COVIDSafe might actually be useful after all
ZDNet
@stilgherrian
New modelling suggests that Australia's troubled contact tracing app could help mitigate the severity of a COVID-19 second wave if problems are fixed and more people use it.
A national security scandal': Kevin Rudd names three gaps in defence strategy
The Sydney Morning Herald
@Gallo_Ways
Former prime minister Kevin Rudd has declared there are "major gaps" in Australia's new defence strategy, accusing the Coalition government of a "botched" submarine program and failing to build up the nation's cyber defences fast enough.
Prime Minister's message aimed squarely at China: security analyst
The Canberra Times
The strategic update describes grey zone activities as "activities designed to coerce countries in ways that seek to avoid military conflict ... paramilitary forces, militarisation of disputed features, exploiting influence, interference operations and the coercive use of trade and economic levers". Beijing's incremental takeover of the South China Sea is a frequently cited example. China's recent large-scale cyber intrusions into Australian networks provide a more recent example.
Australia must enter the grey zone to counter threats of the future. The Canberra Times
Cold War: ‘Grey zone’ to define relations with China. The Saturday Paper
Canberra spooked by China Mobile's looming Pacific strike
Australian Financial Review
The first test of Scott Morrison’s public resolve to stand up to China’s expanding influence may emerge within weeks. There is speculation that Beijing’s telephony giant, China Mobile, will soon launch a corporate strike to secure a stranglehold over strategically crucial mobile phone operations in Papua New Guinea and five other Pacific states.
China
Anonymous Hackers Target TikTok: ‘Delete This Chinese Spyware Now’
Forbes
@UKZak
One of the more unusual groups campaigning against TikTok is the newly awakened Anonymous hactivist group. As ever with Anonymous, it’s difficult to attribute anything to the non-existent central core of this loosely affiliated hacker collective, but one of the better followed Twitter accounts ostensibly linked to the group has been mounting a fierce campaign against TikTok for several weeks, one that has now gained prominence given the events of the last few days.
Chinese Research Papers Raise Doubts, Fueling Global Questions About Scientific Integrity
Wall Street Journal
@evawxiao
Services for outsourcing research reports can be found on Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s e-commerce platform Taobao, including end-to-end packages that choose the research topic and publish the finished product.
UBC quietly changes references to Taiwan amid sensitive political climate
The Ubyssey
For UBC, the stakes for appeasing China are high. Huawei has granted $9.5 million in funding for research projects at UBC in recent years, which continued even after Meng’s December 2018 arrest.
USA
Militias flocked to Gettysburg to foil a supposed antifa flag burning, an apparent hoax created on social media
The Washington Post
@ShawnBoburg @DDaltonBennett
For weeks, a mysterious figure on social media talked up plans for antifa protesters to converge on this historical site on Independence Day to burn American flags, an event that seemed at times to border on the farcical. On Saturday afternoon, in the hours before the flag burning was to start, they flooded in by the hundreds — heavily armed and unaware, it seemed, that the mysterious Internet poster was not who the person claimed to be.
Trump administration hires tech firm to build a virtual border wall, an idea Democrats have praised
The Washington Post
The Trump administration has awarded a major border security contract to a California technology start-up that will use artificial intelligence on an unprecedented scale, pairing the president’s giant steel barrier with the kind of “virtual wall” long favored by Democrats to prevent illegal crossings from Mexico.
Senator warns of political pressure on U.S. probe into hackers of green groups
Reuters
@Bing_Chris @razhael
A Democratic U.S. senator says he has written to Attorney General William Barr outlining his concerns about potential "political interference" by the Trump administration in an investigation of a private espionage firm that targeted environmental groups in the United States. Last month Reuters reported here that U.S. law enforcement was investigating aspects of a seven-year-long hack-for-hire operation carried out by a New Delhi-based firm called BellTroX InfoTech Services on behalf of unknown clients.
New Trump Appointee Puts Global Internet Freedom at Risk, Critics Say
The New York Times
@pranshuverma_ @ewong
A battle involving Michael Pack and a U.S.-funded tech group revolves around software from Falun Gong, the secretive, anti-Beijing spiritual movement with pro-Trump elements.
Two Nigerians face US charges over online fraud worth 'hundreds of millions'
Engadget
@jonfingas
US law enforcement is cracking down on a pair of alleged online fraudsters that appear to have been wildly successful. The United Arab Emirates has sent the US two Nigerian nationals, Ramon Olorunwa Abbas and Olakean Jacob Ponle, to face charges relating to large “business email compromise” scams. Abbas is accused of money laundering in schemes meant to pull in “hundreds of millions of dollars."
North Asia
Exclusive: Telegram to temporarily refuse data requests from Hong Kong courts amid security law ‘terrorism’ fears
Hong Kong Free Press
@tomgrundy
Messaging app Telegram has told HKFP that it will temporarily refuse data requests from the Hong Kong authorities until an international consensus emerges over recent political changes. It comes as Hongkongers abandon certain messaging and social media platforms following the enactment of the controversial national security law last month.
Hong Kong national security law puts Facebook, Twitter under pressure
South China Morning Post
@phila_siu
Hong Kong’s internet service providers will have no choice but to help police with national security requests now that officers have been given “unfettered” power, analysts say, warning that online privacy and freedom could be under threat.
Taiwan fended off China's cyber attacks on eve of presidential inauguration
Taiwan News
An intense cyber war reportedly took place across the Taiwan Strait on the eve of President Tsai Ing-wen's swearing-in on May 20, as she embarked on a second term. The incident triggered an emergency response from Taiwan’s cybersecurity entities on the Cabinet level, leading to a series of self-defense measures. The counter-effort was spearheaded by the National Center for Cyber Security Technology, with IT experts from the private sector.
South Asia
TikTok Owner Predicts Over $6 Billion in Losses From India Apps Ban, Sources Say
Caixin
Chinese tech unicorn ByteDance Ltd., owner of the hugely popular short video app TikTok, is anticipating a loss of more than $6 billion after three of its apps were banned in India early this week.
Facebook makes education push in India
Tech Crunch
@refsrc
Facebook, which reaches more users than any other international firm in India, has identified a new area of opportunity to further spread its tentacles in the world’s second-largest internet market. On Sunday, the social juggernaut announced it had partnered with the Central Board of Secondary Education, a government body that oversees education in private and public schools in India, to launch a certified curriculum on digital safety and online well-being, and augmented reality for students and educators in the country
DuckDuckGo reinstated in India after being unreachable since July 1st
The Verge
Privacy-focused search engine DuckDuckGo has been restored in India after being unreachable for many users there since July 1st, Android Police reported. Reports about what was causing the outage have varied. Some users reported the Indian government appeared to be behind the block, and others said they were getting what appeared to be DNS lookup errors.
Tech Mahindra to bid for BSNL 4G tender, says Indian companies have capabilities
The Economic Times
@spriyankaET
Last week, BSNL cancelled the tender to upgrade the existing 4G network across 47,000 sites and building new capability in Delhi and Mumbai for Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) after the government barred state-run telcos from sourcing equipment from Chinese players Huawei and ZTE.
India needs to review its 2013 cyber security policy
ORF
The government had announced that a new Cyber Security Policy, 2020, will be brought out. Certainly, there are a lot of gaps with regard to resilience of infrastructure. However, let us not overestimate Chinese capabilities and underestimate ours.
Intel to invest in Jio Platforms, after Facebook's $5.7 billion bet on the Indian telco
CNBC
@Sam_L_Shead
Intel is investing over $250 million in Indian telco Jio Platforms, just three months after Facebook announced a $5.7 billion bet on the company.
Pacific Islands
Virtual conference equipment to Pacific from Australia
Samoa Observer
Australia has delivered the first of more than 30 planned virtual conferencing systems to partner security agencies across the Pacific, beginning with Vanuatu and Fiji and Samoa expected to receive them soon. The virtual conferencing systems will enable regional security leaders to participate in the virtual Joint Heads of Pacific Security (J.H.o.P.S) event in late 2020
UK
Exclusive: Huawei faces 5G ban in Britain within months
The Telegraph
@edwardmalnick
Boris Johnson is poised to begin phasing out the use of Huawei technology in Britain’s 5G network as soon as this year, in a major about-turn, The Telegraph can disclose. GCHQ is understood to have revised its previous assurance that the risks posed by the Chinese technology giant can be safely managed.
The UK should bar Huawei from its 5G network. Financial Times
Boris Johnson signals retreat on Huawei amid backlash on Chinese investment. The Sydney Morning Herald
Huawei could be cut out of UK's 5G network this year, say reports. The Guardian
Huawei to be frozen out of Britain’s 5G network by Christmas. The Times
Canada
Opinion: China’s threats on behalf of Huawei are becoming desperate
The Globe and Mail
In the face of growing momentum against Huawei, which many Western governments fear will be forced to spy for Beijing, Chinese embassies have been doing a full court press in countries that have not yet made a decision.
Europe
France won't ban Huawei, but encouraging 5G telcos to avoid it: report
Reuters
@MichelReuters
The head of the French cybersecurity agency ANSSI said there would not be a total ban on using equipment from Huawei in the rollout of the French 5G telecoms network, but that it was pushing French telcos to avoid switching to the Chinese company.
Russia
Middle East
Iran threatens retaliation after what it calls possible cyber attack on nuclear site
Reuters
Iran will retaliate against any country that carries out cyber attacks on its nuclear sites, the head of civilian defence said, after a fire at its Natanz plant which some Iranian officials said may have been caused by cyber sabotage.
Misc
Facebook is out of control. If it were a country it would be North Korea
The Guardian
@carolecadwalla
There is no power on this earth that is capable of holding Facebook to account. No legislature, no law enforcement agency, no regulator. Congress has failed. The EU has failed. When the Federal Trade Commission fined it a record $5bn for its role in the Cambridge Analytica scandal, its stock price actually went up.
Twitter drops 'master', 'slave' and 'blacklist'
BBC News
Social media platform Twitter is dropping the terms "master", "slave" and "blacklist" in favour of more inclusive language. The terms are frequently used in programming codes which originated decades ago. George Floyd: Twitter drops 'master', 'slave' and 'blacklist'.
Companies start reporting ransomware attacks as data breaches
Bleeping Computer
@LawrenceAbrams
Corporate victims are finally starting to realize that ransomware attacks are data breaches and have begun to notify employees and clients about data stolen data.
Events
Understanding Information Operations with Twitter Data Launch Event
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
As the first event in a series of workshops on research exploring information operations, the Partnership for Countering Influence Operations and Twitter invite you to back-to-back panels featuring expert speakers. This session will feature two keynote panels outlining the central problems and issues with information operations.
Jobs
Program Manager/Senior Analyst
ASPI’s International Cyber Policy Centre (ICPC) has an outstanding opportunity for a talented, proactive and super efficient program manager/senior analyst to join its growing centre. The successful candidate will need to have a proven track record of leading teams and experience in project management including financial and stakeholder management (which will include industry, the Australian Government, Parliament and foreign governments). To succeed in this position candidates should have exceptional communication and problem-solving skills and experience in research, policy analysis or policy development.
Analyst
ASPI’s International Cyber Policy Centre has an outstanding opportunity for a talented and proactive allrounder to join its growing centre. The ICPC is looking for someone who is an excellent writer and researcher and who is a team player - you will need to juggle multiple research projects that could span the range of topics listed above. This is not an entry level position. Analysts in ICPC have between 5-15 years’ relevant work experience and, depending on experience, are involved in stakeholder and project management, fundraising and the management of small teams.