NEW REPORT: Cyber-enabled foreign interference in elections and referendums | Australia, Japan, U.S. to fund cable for Palau | Trump campaign places Facebook ads telling users wrong election date
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A new research from ASPI identifies 41 elections and seven referendums between January 2010 and October 2020 where cyber-enabled foreign interference had been reported, and it finds that there’s been a significant uptick in this activity since 2017. This data collection shows that Russia is the most prolific state actor engaging in online interference, followed by China, whose cyber-enabled foreign interference activity has increased significantly over the past two years. ASPI
The Pacific island of Palau will build an undersea telecoms cable financed by Australia, Japan and the United States in a $30-million project, Australia said on Wednesday. It is the first project financed under an infrastructure investment partnership in the region among the three nations, foreign minister Marise Payne said in a statement. Reuters
The Trump campaign has sent Facebook advertisements to tens of thousands of voters in swing states, erroneously telling them it was election day after the social media group’s ad blockers failed to detect messages that violated its rules on misinformation. President Donald Trump’s campaign sent out messages on Tuesday including “Vote Today!” and “Election Day is Today!” a week before polling day of November 3, despite a Facebook ban on any advertisements that give out the wrong election date. Financial Times
ASPI ICPC
Cyber-enabled foreign interference in elections and referendums
ASPI
Foreign states’ efforts to interfere in the elections and referendums of other states, and more broadly to undermine other political systems, are an enduring practice of statecraft. Yet the scale and methods through which such interference occurs has changed, with old and new techniques adapting to suit the cyber domain and the opportunities presented by a 24/7, always connected information environment. This new research identifies 41 elections and seven referendums between January 2010 and October 2020 where cyber-enabled foreign interference had been reported, and it finds that there’s been a significant uptick in this activity since 2017. This data collection shows that Russia is the most prolific state actor engaging in online interference, followed by China, whose cyber-enabled foreign interference activity has increased significantly over the past two years. As well as these two dominant actors, Iran and North Korea have also tried to influence foreign elections in 2019 and 2020. All four states have sought to interfere in the 2020 US presidential elections using differing cyber-enabled foreign interference tactics. In many cases, these four actors are using a combination of cyber operations and online information operations to reinforce their activities.
To read ASPI’s new report on cyber-enabled foreign interference in elections and referendums click here.
Cyber attacks on elections growing amid concern for Australia's political parties, The Sydney Morning Herald
Russia and China most prolific in using cyber means to interfere in elections, report finds, The Telegraph
US election has been targeted by hackers at least six times, as cyber interference increases, The Canberra Times
Queensland to Kansas: How foreign interference is influencing the ballot box, The New Daily
Australia
ASX delays blockchain transition until 2023
Reuters
Australia's bourse operator, ASX Ltd ASX.AX, has pushed back the launch date of its pioneering blockchain-based clearing system until April 2023, the company said on Wednesday.
China
Rival Chinese Phone Makers Seek to Fill Gap left by Troubled Huawei
Ping West
Chinese smartphone makers like Xiaomi and Oppo are actively seeking to grow their market share in the European market as their compatriot rival brand Huawei is busy tackling with the technology backlash fueled by US' tech export sanctions and others such as the Clean Network initiative
Senior U.S. official accuses China of aiding North Korea cyber thefts
Reuters
A senior U.S. justice official accused China on Thursday of helping North Korea launder money from massive cyber thefts it has carried out to raise funds in the face of international sanctions. At an event hosted by a Washington think tank, John Demers, the assistant attorney general for national security, also said North Korea was likely getting support from China in the form of cyber expertise and training.
ByteDance in early talks to list Chinese short video app Douyin in Hong Kong: sources
Reuters
TikTok-owner ByteDance is in discussions internally and with investment banks to list its Chinese short video app Douyin in Hong Kong, according to two people familiar with the situation.
USA
In election hacking, perception may be as good as the real thing
Yahoo News
@rleverafp
Hackers seeking to sow chaos in the November 3 election are hard at work -- but some experts say they don't need to be successful to have an impact. Simply the perception of breaching election systems could have the same effect of undermining confidence in the outcome and opening the door to discrediting the results.
Inside Apple’s Eroding Partnership with Foxconn
The Information
@waynema
As Apple has risen to become the world’s most valuable company, its main manufacturing partner, Foxconn, has struggled with low margins. Foxconn has tried a variety of tactics to boost its profits, including charging Apple for workers it never used and taking shortcuts on component and product testing, ex-Apple and Foxconn managers said.
India’s engineers have thrived in Silicon Valley. So has its caste system.
The Washington Post
Engineers and advocates of the lowest-ranked castes say that tech companies don’t understand caste bias and haven’t explicitly prohibited caste-based discrimination.
Tech platforms continue to let U.S.-based hate groups use them to make payments
NBC News
@oliviasolon
Technology platforms including PayPal, Stripe, Facebook and Amazon are accepting payments to hate groups in the United States, even though some have explicit policies preventing their use to facilitate hate or violence.
The White Extremist Group Patriot Front Is Preparing For A World After Donald Trump
Buzzfeed News
@JaneLytv
In its secret chat, the group that sprang from Charlottesville is creating a new generation of white supremacists.
Trump campaign places Facebook ads telling users wrong election day
Financial Times
The Trump campaign has sent Facebook advertisements to tens of thousands of voters in swing states, erroneously telling them it was election day after the social media group’s ad blockers failed to detect messages that violated its rules on misinformation. President Donald Trump’s campaign sent out messages on Tuesday including “Vote Today!” and “Election Day is Today!” a week before polling day of November 3, despite a Facebook ban on any advertisements that give out the wrong election date.
To Fix Section 230, Target Algorithmic Amplification
The Information
@RoddyLindsay
It now seems inevitable that the U.S. government will try to roll back some of the protections that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act has provided to internet companies. The fine line it needs to walk is to reverse the slide of social media platforms into a cesspool of clickbait and a breeding ground for conspiracy theories—but leave the trillion dollars of value created by Section 230 mostly unscathed.
No matter who wins the election, disinformation will still poison our democracy
The Washington Post
@wiczipedia
If Joe Biden is elected, Russia will not suddenly shut down the Internet Research Agency; copycat adversaries won’t cancel their efforts; and neo-Nazi forums will not immediately go dark. The widespread harm that flows from such outlets will keep on seeping into our lives and undermining our institutions.
Trump’s campaign website hacked by cryptocurrency scammers
TechCrunch
@techcrunch
President Trump’s campaign website was briefly and partially hacked Tuesday afternoon as unknown adversaries took over parts of the page, replacing them with what appeared to be a scam to collect cryptocurrency. There is no indication, despite the hackers’ claims, that “full access to trump and relatives” was achieved or “most internal and secret conversations strictly classified information” were exposed.
Spy agency ducks questions about 'back doors' in tech products
Reuters
In at least one instance, a foreign adversary was able to take advantage of a back door invented by U.S. intelligence, according to Juniper Networks Inc, which said in 2015 its equipment had been compromised. In a previously unreported statement to members of Congress in July seen by Reuters, Juniper said an unnamed national government had converted the mechanism first created by the NSA.
Despite cries of censorship, conservatives dominate social media
Politico
@markscott82
GOP-friendly voices far outweigh liberals in driving conversations on hot topics leading up to the election, a POLITICO analysis shows.
North-East Asia
Digitizing Hong Kong’s history
Rest of the World
@EricCheungwc
Hong Kong activists and academics are hurrying to digitize historical records and artifacts under threat from creeping censorship.
DOD, FBI, DHS warn of active North Korean government-linked hacking operation
CyberScoop
The FBI and departments of Defense and Homeland Security issued a joint alert Tuesday warning the private sector about what they say is a global hacking operation run by North Korean government-linked hackers.
New Zealand & The Pacific
Australia, Japan, U.S. to fund cable for Pacific island of Palau
Reuters
The Pacific island of Palau will build an undersea telecoms cable financed by Australia, Japan and the United States in a $30-million project, Australia said on Wednesday. It is the first project financed under an infrastructure investment partnership in the region among the three nations, foreign minister Marise Payne said in a statement.
UK
Nearly half of councils in Great Britain use algorithms to help make claims decisions
The Guardian
Tools used widely to inform decisions on everything from housing to school places despite concerns over accuracy.
Russia
Part Two: Huawei Enlists Russian Talent and Technology to Ensure Future Innovation
Council on Foreign Relations
Russia’s role in Huawei’s playbook is not limited to stop-gap measures to stop the bleeding in the company’s “battle” against suffocating technology restrictions. Rather, as global technology tensions become increasingly intractable, Huawei is expanding its presence in Russia as well as developing partnerships with Russian universities and tech firms.
Gender and Women in Cyber
The new war on women: Weaponising online spaces
Broad Agenda
Online spaces are being systematically weaponised to exclude women leaders and to undermine the role of women in public life. Attacks on women which use hateful language, rumour and gendered stereotypes combine personal attacks with political motivations, making online spaces dangerous places for women to speak out. And left unchecked, this phenomenon of gendered disinformation, spread by state and non-state actors, poses a serious threat to women’s equal political participation.
Misc
Apple develops alternative to Google search
Financial Times
iPhone maker explores building its own search tools as ties to Google come under antitrust scrutiny.
Computer Scientists Break the 'Traveling Salesperson' Record
Wired
Finally, there’s a better way to find approximate solutions to the notorious optimization problem, often used to test the limits of efficient computation.
Events
Australian Cyber Week 2020
Jump in and be part of Australian Cyber Week 2020. Participate in our events and/or contribute to the discussion online. 26-30 October 2020
Research
Designing Alternatives to China’s Repressive Surveillance State
Center for Security and Emerging Technology
China has built a surveillance state that has increasingly incorporated AI-enabled technologies. Their use during the COVID-19 pandemic has softened the image of China’s surveillance system, presenting unique challenges to preventing the spread of such technologies around the globe. This policy brief outlines core actions the United States and its allies can take to combat the spread of surveillance systems that threaten basic human rights.
Jobs
Senior Researcher / Project Lead
ASPI ICPC
ASPI’s International Cyber Policy Centre (ICPC) has an outstanding opportunity for a senior researcher to lead a one-year project looking at leadership networks across Asia. Interviews will start immediately.