Indian Cyber Firm Behind Worldwide Espionage Campaign | The Accounts Amplifying China's Twitter Campaign | Lawmakers Demand Federal Agencies Stop Spying on Peaceful Protests
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A little-known Indian IT firm offered its hacking services to help clients spy on more than 10,000 email accounts over a period of seven years. NBC News
Swarms of accounts are amplifying Beijing’s brash new messaging as the country tries to shape the global narrative about the coronavirus and much else. The New York Times
Thirty-five members of Congress have demanded that multiple federal authorities stop spying on Americans who are peacefully protesting police brutality. VICE
ASPI ICPC
Event: Weaponised Deep Fake - let’s Talk National Security and Democracy
Yarra Valley Writers Festival
On 14 June join Gai Brodtmann, former Shadow Assistant Minister for Cyber Security and Defence and the authors of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s ground breaking report on deep fakes, Hannah Smith and Katherine Mansted for a discussion on the risks posed by deep fakes, how we counter them and whether a post-truth world already exists.
Read ASPI’s Report on Weaponised Deep Fakes here.
The World
The Global AI Talent Tracker
Macro Polo
Countries, companies, and institutions around the world are mobilizing to apply the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to an enormous range of economic and social problems. That application requires bringing together several key inputs: research and engineering talent, data, computational power, and a healthy innovation ecosystem. Talent is one of the most important - and the most clearly quantifiable - of those inputs. Explore the key takeaways and view the insights from the dataset.
Australia
Drinks giant Lion hit by cyber attack as hackers target corporate Australia
The Sydney Morning Herald
@bengrubb
The Australian beverages giant behind milk brands Dairy Farmers and Pura and XXXX Gold beer has been hit by a major cyber attack that has disrupted manufacturing and knocked out its internal IT systems.
The world's most cashless country has a warning for Australia
ABC News
@Pat_Wood @Mad_Morris
As Australia flirts with the idea of a cashless society after coronavirus, Sweden has a warning: be careful what you wish for.
China
Behind China’s Twitter Campaign, a Murky Supporting Chorus
The New York Times
@zhonggg @Aaron_Krolik @paulmozur @ronenbergman
Of the roughly 4,600 accounts that reposted China’s leading envoys and state-run news outlets during a recent week, many acted suspiciously, The Times found.
China's Uighurs convicted in sham trials at Xinjiang camps
DW
@NaomiConrad @bayer_julia @cheriechancy
(Nathan) Ruser, who is an expert in the analysis of satellite imagery, says that starting in late 2018 and throughout 2019, many low-level security facilities were either decommissioned or de-securitized: watchtowers and fencing were removed, as were some of the external barriers. This, he says, was to allow for a better flow of labor from the camps to the workforce. Many detainees are forced to work in factories, either in commuting distance of former camps or across and even outside of Xinjiang.
USA
Lawmakers Demand Federal Agencies Stop Spying on Peaceful Protests
VICE
@josephfcox
Thirty-five members of Congress have demanded that multiple federal authorities stop spying on Americans who are peacefully protesting police brutality following the police killing of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man. The move comes after Motherboard identified several instances in which the military and federal agencies flew high-tech surveillance aircraft over protesting cities, including Washington DC and Minneapolis.
LAPD Got Tech Demos from Israeli Phone Hacking Firm NSO Group
VICE
@josephfcox
Members of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) met with employees of the U.S.-branch of the controversial Israeli surveillance vendor NSO Group and received a demo of the company's powerful phone hacking technology, according to emails obtained by Motherboard.
IBM will no longer offer, develop, or research facial recognition technology
The Verge
@jaypeters
“IBM firmly opposes and will not condone uses of any [facial recognition] technology, including facial recognition technology offered by other vendors, for mass surveillance, racial profiling, violations of basic human rights and freedoms, or any purpose which is not consistent with our values and Principles of Trust and Transparency”
A U.S. Secret Weapon in A.I.: Chinese Talent
The New York Times
@paulmozur @CadeMetz
A new study from MacroPolo - a think tank run by the Paulson Institute, which promotes constructive ties between the United States and China - estimated that Chinese-educated researchers contributed to nearly one-third of the papers accepted and promoted at a prestigious A.I. conference last year, more than those from any other country. But it also found that most of them lived in the United States and worked for American companies and universities.
Microsoft's robot editor confuses mixed-race Little Mix singers
The Guardian
@jimwaterson
Microsoft’s decision to replace human journalists with robots has backfired, after the tech company’s artificial intelligence software illustrated a news story about racism with a photo of the wrong mixed-race member of the band Little Mix.
He Tweeted That He Was the Leader of Antifa. Then the FBI Asked Him to Be an Informant.
The Intercept
@rdevro
Addressing himself to the FBI’s main Twitter account and the bureau’s Charlotte office, Wirostek wrote: “Hi, I am the leader of Charlotte, NC Antifa. DM me for my address, or I can turn myself in. I’d be happy to let you test your bullshit terrorism statute in a U.S. court. Anyone who thinks antifascists are the bad guys are fascists.” Wirostek signed the tweet, “#IAMAntifa.”
Some states have embraced online voting. It's a huge risk.
Politico
@ericgeller
People’s phones, tablets and computers are vulnerable to hackers. Securing the internet could take a decade or more. But some states are plowing ahead anyway.
North Asia
Honda's global operations hit by cyber-attack
BBC News
@joetidy
"Honda can confirm that a cyber-attack has taken place on the Honda network," the Japanese car-maker said in a statement. It added that the problem was affecting its ability to access its computer servers, use email and otherwise make use of its internal systems. "There is also an impact on production systems outside of Japan"
NZ and Pacific Islands
South and Central Asia
Obscure Indian cyber firm spied on politicians, investors worldwide
NBC News
@AlasdairPal
Delhi-based BellTroX InfoTech Services targeted government officials in Europe, gambling tycoons in the Bahamas, and well-known investors in the United States including private equity giant KKR and short seller Muddy Waters, according to three former employees, outside researchers, and a trail of online evidence.
Read the Report by Citizen Lab ‘Dark Basin: Uncovering a Massive Hack-For-Hire Operation’
UK
UK businesses in China say opening measures have little impact
Financial Times
@YuanfenYang @_thmitchell
British businesses in China said on Tuesday that Beijing’s recent market opening measures have had little benefit for them, while cyber security regulations threaten to “isolate” their local operations from their global networks. The assessment by the British Chamber of Commerce in China comes as UK companies brace themselves for a potentially turbulent period in bilateral relations.. China could also hit out if the UK decides to ban telecoms group Huawei from participating in building its 5G wireless networks.
On China’s Attempted Coercion of the United Kingdom - United States Department of State
US Department of State
The United States stands with our allies and partners against the Chinese Communist Party’s coercive bullying tactics. In the latest example, Beijing has reportedly threatened to punish British bank HSBC and to break commitments to build nuclear power plants in the United Kingdom unless London allows Huawei to build its 5G network. Shenzhen-based Huawei is an extension of the Chinese Communist Party’s surveillance state.
Europe
Denmark wants 5G suppliers from closely allied countries, says defence minister
Reuters
@NSkyds @StineBuch
Denmark wants to be able to exclude 5G technology suppliers from providing critical infrastructure in Denmark if they are not from countries considered security allies.
Africa
South African healthcare provider hit by cyber-attack
The Daily Swig
@jameswalk_er
Life Healthcare, a South African healthcare provider, is investigating a cyber-attack that targeted some of the group’s IT systems.
Misc
IoT Security Is a Mess. Privacy 'Nutrition' Labels Could Help
Wired
@lilyhnewman
Just like with foods that display health information the package, researchers are exploring a tool that details how connected devices manage data.
Your Personal Data Is Political Data
Medium
@realclownishink
As we increasingly rely on digital technologies, political campaigning has also moved into the digital sphere. In many cases, it is doing so in ways we do not see or realise. It’s not simply a case of seeing an advertisement pop up in your feed and being able to identify whether it is a political message. There are a host of hidden, pervasive and persuasive methods being used to sway our views. How are politicians able to do this so effectively?
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.