More Social Media sites deny requests from Hong Kong Police | Fake News law in Singapore targetting opposition | Black Lives Matter, on Animal Crossing.

Jul 6, 2020

Follow us on Twitter. The Daily Cyber Digest focuses on the topics we work on, including cyber, critical technologies & strategic issues like foreign interference.

Facebook WhatsApp messaging service has suspended its processing of requests for user data from Hong Kong law-enforcement agencies following China’s imposition of a national-security law on the city. The company is “pausing” such reviews “pending further assessment of the impact of the National Security Law, including formal human rights due diligence and consultations with human rights experts,” a WhatsApp spokeswoman said in response to a Wall Street Journal query on Monday. The Wall Street Journal
Enforcing a fake news law in the run up to a national election, authorities in Singapore have ordered that online references to some comments made by opposition figures on key issues must carry a warning that the content contains false information. Reuters
As protests have organized across the US and around the world against police brutality and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, video game users are also uniting for the cause. In "Animal Crossing: New Horizons," players are creating customized signs and clothing for their game characters that say "BLM" and depict symbols of "No justice, no peace." Business Insider

ASPI ICPC

Tom Uren spoke to 3AW about the risks of TikTok and apps in general
3AW
Mr Uren said while there is some individual risk associated with downloading TikTok, on a national security level, the risk is much more serious.

From Growing Trees to Russian Hack-attacks! feat. Tom Uren
The Hour of Power Podcast
@TheHourOfPwrPod
VPN's are often a topic of conversation when it comes to using the internet in public places.

Bart Hoogeveen @BartHoogeveen

That's an impressive summary of activities! Thanks @ISIS_MY for co-hosting the workshop on responsible state behaviour in cyberspace (p. 76 😉) with @ASPI_ICPC for colleagues from across @ASEAN

ISIS Malaysia @ISIS_MY

Did you know, we've hosted 2 conferences, 5 forums/dialogues, a book launch, a public lecture, a workshop, 14 forums, 5 CSCAP meetings, 18 roundtables, and 41 visits from friends from 27 countries? For more of our work in 2019, view our annual report! https://t.co/Lw3bAkoq9K https://t.co/i5WZ31mxI4

The World

Early Covid-19 tracking apps easy prey for hackers, and it might get worse before it gets better
Politico
@timstarks
The push to use smartphone apps to track the spread of coronavirus is creating a potential jackpot for hackers worldwide. In the Qatar Covid-19 app, researchers found a vulnerability that would’ve let hackers obtain more than a million people’s national ID numbers and health status. In India’s app, a researcher discovered a security gap that allowed him to determine who was sick in individual homes. And researchers uncovered seven security flaws in a pilot app in the U.K.

Australia

TikTok may be 'data collection service disguised as social media', Liberal senator says
The Australian
@Paul_Karp
Popular video messaging app TikTok may be “a data collection service disguised as social media” that requires greater scrutiny by Australian users, the deputy chair of the Foreign Interference through Social Media inquiry has said.

Latika M Bourke @latikambourke

One to watch: @jennymcallister - the Labor Chair of the Australian Senate select committee into foreign interference through social media - has established an inquiry into TikTok.

The cost of conspiracy in muddling public health messages
Clare Murphy
@ClareAliceMurph
A Covid-19 outbreak in Victoria shows the need to counter hate speech, extremist content and misinformation online.

We live in an age of ‘fake news’. But Australian children are not learning enough about media literacy
The Conversation
@tattinot @dezuanni
Just one in five young Australians said they had a lesson during the past year to help them decide whether news stories are true and can be trusted.

USA

Can China Be Stopped From Stealing Technology From U.S. Colleges?
The National Interest
@krisosbornko
Congress is cracking down on Chinese espionage taking place throughout the U.S. scientific community by requiring researchers to disclose foreign funding sources in federal grant applications.

Academics fear using Zoom to study China—even in the US
Quartz
@Jane_Li911
Zoom, the video-conferencing platform whose popularity has been buoyed by coronavirus lockdowns worldwide, made headlines this month for admitting to censoring calls at Beijing’s request. Now professors at US universities are wondering if they should risk using Zoom to teach courses about China.

Conservatives are flocking to a new 'free speech' social media app that has started banning liberal users
NBC News
@j_wellemeyer
Parler, founded in August 2018, touts itself as an "unbiased" social media platform focused on "real user experiences and engagement." In recent weeks, it has become a destination for conservatives who have voiced their disapproval of how mainstream platforms such as Facebook and Twitter moderate content.

North Asia

WhatsApp to Suspend Processing Law-Enforcement Requests for User Data in Hong Kong
The Wall Street Journal
@newley
Facebook Inc.’s WhatsApp messaging service has suspended its processing of requests for user data from Hong Kong law-enforcement agencies following China’s imposition of a national-security law on the city. The company is “pausing” such reviews “pending further assessment of the impact of the National Security Law, including formal human rights due diligence and consultations with human rights experts,” a WhatsApp spokeswoman said in response to a Wall Street Journal query on Monday.

Facebook Temporarily Stops Hong Kong Data Requests
The New York Times
@paulmozur
The social network said it would review the city’s punitive new national security law, a rare public questioning of Chinese policy by a large American tech company.

Paul Mozur 孟建国 @paulmozur

If I’m reading this right, at this point any internet operator trying to stay in Hong Kong will have to censor at the whims of police or face having it be censored for them by police. If companies don’t hand over user data it’s 100k fine/6 months in jail. info.gov.hk/gia/general/20…

Paul Mozur 孟建国 @paulmozur

Oof: “the commissioner of police is to be given powers to control the dissemination of information online, when they have “reasonable grounds” to suspect such information may lead to national security crimes.” https://t.co/aabrIk3oYG

Signal @signalapp

We'd announce that we're stopping too, but we never started turning over user data to HK police. Also, we don't have user data to turn over.

Hong Kong Free Press HKFP @HongKongFP

Exclusive: Telegram to temporarily refuse data requests from Hong Kong courts amid security law 'terrorism' row https://t.co/MXoKXGZCuZ @telegram #Hongkong #china https://t.co/Hd90gVi8EH

Paul Mozur 孟建国 @paulmozur

And another one. Twitter just confirmed that it stopped all data and info requests from Hong Kong authorities as soon as Hong Kong’s national security law went into effect. That leaves Apple and Google...

Facebook Temporarily Stops Hong Kong Data RequestsThe social network said it would review the city’s punitive new national security law, a rare public questioning of Chinese policy by a large American tech company.nytimes.com

North Korean hackers linked to web skimming (Magecart) attacks, report says
ZDNet
@campuscodi
After hacking banks and cryptocurrency exchanges, orchestrating ATM cash-outs, and deploying ransomware, North Korean hackers have now set their sights on online stores.

Fujitsu announces permanent work-from-home plan
BBC News
Technology firm Fujitsu has said it will halve its office space in Japan as it adapts to the "new normal" of the coronavirus pandemic. It says the "Work Life Shift" programme will offer unprecedented flexibility to its 80,000 workers in the country.

South-East Asia

Singapore's fake news law trips up opposition as election looms
Reuters
@geddiejdk
Enforcing a fake news law in the run up to a national election, authorities in Singapore have ordered that online references to some comments made by opposition figures on key issues must carry a warning that the content contains false information.

Pacific Islands and New Zealand

NZ news giant Stuff quits Facebook ‘until further notice’ – leaked internal memo
The Spinoff
@awbraae
The biggest news site in New Zealand, and the country’s fifth biggest site overall, Stuff has embarked on an experiment in dropping the use of Facebook and Instagram. It has been launched ‘in the context of the international Boycott Facebook movement’, according to a memo leaked to The Spinoff.

South Asia

Facebook makes education push in India
Tech Crunch
@refsrc
On Sunday, Facebook announced it had partnered with the Central Board of Secondary Education to launch a certified curriculum on digital safety and online well-being, and augmented reality for students and educators in the country.

UK

Huawei faces 5G ban in Britain within months
The Telegraph
@edwardmalnick
Boris Johnson expected to order about-turn with GCHQ set to raise new security fears over Chinese technology.

Former MI6 spy's dossier sparks Huawei storm as political and establishment heavyweights hit back at incendiary claims that China targeted them to be 'full-time agents' or 'useful idiots'
The Daily Mail
@larisamlbrown
The diplomatic war over Huawei took an extraordinary twist last night after a controversial dossier accused China of trying to manipulate key Establishment figures in the UK.

Misc

Animal Crossing' users are wearing Black Lives Matter shirts, making signs, and organizing virtual protests
Business Insider
@Scandalous
As protests have organized across the US and around the world against police brutality and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, video game users are also uniting for the cause. In "Animal Crossing: New Horizons," players are creating customized signs and clothing for their game characters that say "BLM" and depict symbols of "No justice, no peace."

Yahoo engineer gets no jail time after hacking 6,000 accounts to look for porn
ZDNet
@campuscodi
A former Yahoo engineer was sentenced to five years of probation and home confinement for hacking into the personal accounts of more than 6,000 Yahoo Mail users to search for sexually explicit images and videos.