New Report: Cyber Crime in Southeast Asia | Pandemic Strengthening China-Russia Partnership | Easyjet Target of Cyber Attack
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Some Southeast Asian countries are emerging as bases for serious regional, and even global, cybercrime threats. ASPI
Beijing and Moscow are being pushed together by the coronavirus pandemic in what could lead to a deepening partnership on next-generation technologies Radio Free Europe
EasyJet has said it was the target of a cyber attack in which the email addresses and travel details of about 9m customers were breached. The Financial Times
ASPI ICPC
NEW REPORT: Cybercrime in Southeast Asia
ASPI
Dr Jonathan Lusthaus
Cybercrime is a serious threat facing Australia and the world, but this criminal activity is often wrongly viewed as a near invisible online phenomenon, rather than a ‘real world’ concern. Cybercrime isn’t evenly distributed around the globe, but is centred around hotspots, which offer potential breeding grounds or safe harbours from where offenders can strike. This is true in Australia’s own region, where some Southeast Asian countries are emerging as bases for serious regional, and even global, cybercrime threats. We’re not proactively tackling the locations where the cybercrime threat develops and matures.
Read the Strategist Article here: Cybercriminals in the backyard
Presentation of the new GFCE Advisory Board 2020-2022
GFCE
Bart Hogeveen from ASPI has been selected as a member of the GFCE Advisory Board for the 2020-2022 term.
The World
Pandemic Partnership: Coronavirus Clears Path For Deeper China-Russia Ties In Hi-Tech
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
@ReidStan
Beijing and Moscow are being pushed together by the coronavirus pandemic in what could lead to a deepening partnership on next-generation technologies, a development that could greatly affect Eurasia. China and Russia were already cooperating closely on building up their high-tech infrastructure and capabilities prior to the outbreak of COVID-19.
Read ASPI’s Report on this topic: A new Sino-Russian high-tech partnership
Australia
One in eight believe 5G is spreading virus
The Canberra Times
@finbaromallon
One in eight Australians believe Microsoft founder Bill Gates is somehow responsible for the coronavirus and the 5G wireless network is to blame for spreading.
NSW is unable to use Covidsafe app’s data for contact tracing
The Guardian
@joshgnosis
Exclusive: No Australian state has reported using data for contact tracing coronavirus cases since it was released a month ago
China
U.S. Is Using Taiwan as a Pressure Point in Tech Fight With China
The New York Times
@AnaSwanson @paulmozur @zhonggg
The Trump administration is challenging Chinese access to Taiwan’s high-tech supply chain — and, by extension, Beijing’s influence over the island it claims as its territory.
USA
Exclusive: New York Times phasing out all 3rd-party advertising data
Axios
@sarafischer
The New York Times will no longer use 3rd-party data to target ads come 2021, executives tell Axios, and it is building out a proprietary first-party data platform.
Calls between the House and Senate should be encrypted, lawmakers say
The Verge
@kellymakena
A group of senators, led by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), is demanding that all calls between the Senate and the House of Representatives be encrypted, according to a new letter obtained by The Verge.
As Florida re-opens, COVID-19 data chief gets sidelined and researchers cry foul
Florida Today
@alemzs
Late last Friday, the architect and manager of Florida's COVID-19 dashboard — praised by White House officials for its accessibility — announced that she had been removed from her post, causing outcry from independent researchers now worried about government censorship.
Google Says It Will Not Build Custom A.I. for Oil and Gas Extraction
One Zero
@bcmerchant
After a year of weathering criticism from tech workers, politicians, and activists over its oil industry contracts, Google has stated that it will not create new custom A.I. or machine learning algorithms that would help the oil and gas industry enhance its ability to extract fossil fuels.
Foreign STEM Graduates Are Being Shut Out of the U.S. Job Market
Bloomberg
@sbanjo @livcarville
The added uncertainty of the pandemic may change the calculations even for employers with jobs to fill.
North Asia
YouTube automatically deletes Chinese epithet 'communist bandit'
Taiwan News
@keverington
Chinese netizens on Wednesday (May 13) discovered that YouTube is automatically blocking the Chinese term "communist bandit" within 15 seconds...YouTube has recently started to demonetize content that is critical of the Chinese Communist Party and China's handling of the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
NZ & Pacific Islands
Police 'stocktake' surveillance tech after Clearview AI facial recognition trial
Radio New Zealand
@MackSmithNZ
The Police Commissioner has ordered a stocktake of surveillance technologies after police trialed controversial facial recognition software without consulting his office.
UK
It looks like the UK's data regulator has given up, blaming coronavirus
Wired
@njkobie
Information Commissioner’s Office has effectively downed tools as a result of the pandemic, raising concerns about outstanding cases and ongoing privacy issues
Coronavirus: Security flaws found in NHS contact-tracing app
BBC
Wide-ranging security flaws have been flagged in the Covid-19 contact-tracing app being piloted in the Isle of Wight.
Europe
EasyJet says hackers accessed travel details of 9m customers
Financial Times
@TanyaPowley @tim
EasyJet has said it was the target of a cyber attack in which the email addresses and travel details of about 9m customers were breached. The low-cost airline on Tuesday said the hack was undertaken by a “highly sophisticated” actor. Its investigation also found that about 2,000 customers had their credit card details stolen.
In their current form, surveillance powers of the Federal Intelligence Service regarding foreign telecommunications violate fundamental rights of the Basic Law
Bundesnachrichtendienst
In its judgment pronounced today, the First Senate of the Federal Constitutional Court in Germany held that the Federal Intelligence Service (Bundesnachrichtendienst – BND) is bound by the fundamental rights of of the Basic Law when conducting telecommunications surveillance of foreigners in other countries
Middle East
Officials: Israel linked to a disruptive cyberattack on Iranian port facility
The Washington Post
@JobyWarrick @nakashimae
On May 9, shipping traffic at Iran’s bustling Shahid Rajaee port terminal came to an abrupt and inexplicable halt.
Misc
Since I Met Edward Snowden, I’ve Never Stopped Watching My Back
The Atlantic
@bartongellman
After receiving a trove of documents from the whistleblower, I found myself under surveillance and investigation by the U.S. government.
Your face mask selfies could be training the next facial recognition tool
CNET
@alfredwkng
Researchers are crawling the internet for photos of people wearing face masks to improve facial recognition algorithms.
COVID-19 has opened our eyes to the bigger picture when it comes to tech and kids
The Sydney Morning Herald
@JoanneOrlando
We've had a clearer glimpse of what the future we are preparing students for might actually be.
Research
Securitize/Counter-Securitize
Data & Society
@gabriellelim
The Life and Death of Malaysia’s Anti-Fake News Act by Data & Society Affiliate Gabrielle Lim uses Malaysia’s 2018 14th general election as a case study to demonstrate how governments can securitize “fake news” to control information. The report identifies “counter-securitization” as an effective countermeasure.
Events
Evolution of China's influence operations
Observer Research Foundation
Elise Thomas from ASPI will join a panel that aims to declutter the impetus, methods, narratives, and strategic stakes that are underpinning China’s evolving influence operations.
Read the ASPI Report on this topic: Covid-19 Disinformation & Social Media Manipulation
APAC Insights
Internet Society
Internet Society organises an online conversation sharing views and insights on current issues related to the Internet and its use in the Asia-Pacific.