NEW REPORT: Retweeting through the Great Firewall I Microsoft won’t sell police its facial-recognition technology I Zoom confirms Beijing asked it to suspend activists over Tiananmen Square meetings
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A new report by the ASPI International Cyber Policy Centre’s analyses a persistent, large-scale influence campaign linked to Chinese state actors on Twitter and Facebook. ASPI ICPC
Microsoft has joined the list of tech giants that have decided to limit the use of its facial-recognition systems, announcing that it will not sell the controversial technology to police departments until there is a federal law regulating it. Washington Post
Zoom issued a statement on Thursday acknowledging that the Chinese government requested that it suspend the accounts of several U.S.- and Hong Kong-based Chinese activists for holding events commemorating the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. Axios
ASPI ICPC
Retweeting through the Great Firewall: A persistent and undeterred threat actor
ASPI ICPC
@JakeWallis_ASPI @tomatospy @elisethoma5 @AlbertYZhang@He_Shumei @AlexandraPasc_@DaniellesCave
This report analyses a persistent, large-scale influence campaign linked to Chinese state actors on Twitter and Facebook. This activity largely targeted Chinese-speaking audiences outside of the Chinese mainland (where Twitter is blocked) with the intention of influencing perceptions on key issues, including the Hong Kong protests, exiled Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui and, to a lesser extent Covid-19 and Taiwan. Extrapolating from the takedown dataset, to which we had advanced access, given to us by Twitter, we have identified that this operation continues and has pivoted to try to weaponise the US Government’s response to current domestic protests and create the perception of a moral equivalence with the suppression of protests in Hong Kong.
Disclosing networks of state-linked information operations we’ve removed
Twitter
Today we are disclosing 32,242 accounts to our archive of state-linked information operations — the only one of its kind in the industry. The account sets we’re publishing to the archive today include three distinct operations that we have attributed to the People's Republic of China (PRC), Russia, and Turkey respectively. Every account and piece of content associated with these operations has been permanently removed from the service. In addition, we have shared relevant data from this disclosure with two leading research partners: Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) and Stanford Internet Observatory (SIO).
Twitter removes thousands of China-backed disinformation accounts
Financial Times
@MsHannahMurphy @Yuan Yang
According to the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), which analysed the accounts in Twitter’s latest takedown, the newest campaign focused on influencing the Chinese diaspora and “weaponise[d] the US government’s response to domestic protest and civil unrest in order to create the perception of moral equivalence with the suppression of protest in Hong Kong”. Jacob Wallis, senior analyst at ASPI, said that they are looking at a new cohort of actors under consideration by Twitter for takedowns, who are “pivoting to the US protests”. “This level of co-ordination, and the regimented nature of these posting patterns, all suggest it’s a state actor,” said Mr Wallis of Twitter’s takedown, adding that some operatives were “rippling onto Facebook” too. The “rough and ready” nature of the visual memes posted suggests the influence network is “driven by some pressure, with demands to be rapid in response, potentially driven by volume targets,” said Mr Wallis, in contrast to Russia’s “sophisticated development of personas”.
Twitter removes more than 23,000 accounts it says are linked to China’s Communist Party
Washington Post
The campaign recently has broadened to exploit racial unrest in the United States, ASPI found. One account, for instance, tweeted an image of Lady Liberty with a knee on the neck of George Floyd, an unarmed black man whose death last month after a white police officer in Minneapolis held a knee to his neck has sparked global protests and calls for police reform.. “This large-scale pivot to Western platforms is relatively new, and we should expect continued evolution and improvement” given the government’s resources and interest in promoting its narrative, ASPI wrote. The operators favoured speed and scale over quality, ASPI noted. Content appears to have been assembled hastily, with paragraphs squeezed in and images distorted. In some cases the operators didn’t bother to remove spell-check underlines, the think tank said.
Twitter data shows China using fake accounts to stoke division in US. The Strategist
Twitter Removes Chinese Misinformation Campaign. New York Times
Twitter removes China, Russia and Turkey 'state-linked' accounts. Yahoo News
Twitter deletes over 170,000 accounts, some of which tried to spin Covid-19 in China's favor. CNN Business
Australian uni continuing work on Chinese plane linked to espionage claims
The Sydney Morning Herald
@Gallo_Ways
Mr Joske said the fact COMAC was part-owned by defence companies makes it "nearly impossible" to separate civilian and military applications of joint research. “Its links to state-backed industrial espionage are also alarming and associated risks will be extremely difficult for the university to handle," Mr Joske said. “Monash University should also be wary of any commitments to train COMAC personnel. Universities should always seek to be fully aware of the risks of engaging with partners in China on dual-use technologies. In a report last year, cyber security firm CrowdStrike said the industrial espionage linked to COMAC involved cyber-attacks, forced technology transfer and theft by insiders at global component suppliers. The report concluded China was seeking to "cut corners" in advancing its domestic aerospace industry.
Read ASPI’s China Defence Universities Tracker report.
The value of diversity in the defence of northern Australia
The Strategist
@DarkiesDesign @louisabokchoi
The ADF also has the opportunity to involve a new generation of experts in science, technology engineering and maths from under-represented groups. The 2018 NT defence and national security strategy calls for adding high-tech platforms in the region to enable the territory to be nationally competitive, agile and on the forefront of new technological advances for defence. In 2018, the NT government’s cyber awareness program was digitised and expanded to include ‘a focus on improving opportunities for the business community to participate in the Defence supply chain’.
The World
World-first 3D bionic eye could enable superhuman sight, night vision
New Atlas
The human eye is an incredibly complex piece of equipment, so it’s no wonder that we’ve had a hard time reverse-engineering it. Now, researchers have unveiled the world’s first 3D artificial eye, which can not only outperform other devices but has the potential to see better than the real thing.
Australia
Twitter removes 30,000 accounts linked to government propaganda
ABC News
@MattDoran91
Twitter has suspended and removed 32,242 accounts linked to propaganda and disinformation. Australia's Foreign Minister Marise Payne said all platforms needed to take "disinformation" seriously, particularly in the context of a global pandemic. "It shows just how serious the problem of disinformation is," she said. "This is dangerous, it's unacceptable, it has the potential to undermine global health efforts and trust."
ASIO briefing warns that the far-right is exploiting coronavirus to recruit new members
ABC News
@mariochristo
Right-wing extremists now make up around a third of all domestic ASIO investigations, with the spy agency warning that the far-right is using COVID-19 as cover to push its dangerous ideas and recruit new members. Messages have been posted on burgeoning COVID-19 conspiracy forums, providing links to white supremacist forums which promote violent extremism and often blame China and Chinese people for the virus.
Home affairs flags steps to help Australians identify fake news by foreign powers
The Guardian
@murpharoo
The home affairs department has warned foreign interference activity against Australian interests is occurring at an “unprecedented scale†and says measures to help people to identify fake news could be one of the potential responses to defending sovereignty. The stark warning is contained in a submission to the Senate select committee on foreign interference through social media.
China
Zoom confirms Beijing asked it to suspend activists over Tiananmen Square meetings
Axios
@BethanyAllenEbr
U.S. video conferencing company Zoom issued a statement on Thursday acknowledging that the Chinese government requested that it suspend the accounts of several U.S.- and Hong Kong-based Chinese activists for holding events commemorating the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.
China and the U.S. about to enter an 'information winter'
Politico
@dwertime
For Americans seeking to understand China, state propaganda and internet memes are replacing journalistic reporting just as tensions between Washington and Beijing are rising over Covid-19, trade, and the future of Hong Kong.
USA
Microsoft won’t sell police its facial-recognition technology, following similar moves by Amazon and IBM
Washington Post
@greene
Microsoft joined the list of tech giants that have decided to limit the use of its facial-recognition systems, announcing that it will not sell the controversial technology to police departments until there is a federal law regulating it.
Hack-for-hire group targeted climate activists behind #ExxonKnew campaign
The Guardian
@emilyhholden
A global hack-for-hire group extensively targeted American activists campaigning against ExxonMobil for withholding information about the climate crisis, according to a new report. The hackers, dubbed “Dark Basin”, went after thousands of individuals and hundreds of institutions on six continents, including advocacy organizations, journalists, elected officials and businesses, said the Citizen Lab.
PLA officer arrested and charged with visa fraud as he tries to leave United States
South China Morning Post
@RFDelaney
A Chinese military officer was arrested while trying to leave the US on Sunday with government-funded research from University of California, and has been charged with visa fraud, the US Department of Justice announced on Thursday.
Lawmakers Propose Spending Billions to Strengthen U.S. Chip Industry
Wall Street Journal
@asafitch @kate_okeeffe
A campaign to expand semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S. gained traction Wednesday with the introduction of legislation to allocate tens of billions of federal dollars to domestic chip-making and research programs.
30,000 Unsuspecting Rose Bowl Attendees Were Scooped Up in a Facial Recognition Test
OneZero
A campaign to expand semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S. gained traction Wednesday with the introduction of legislation to allocate tens of billions of federal dollars to domestic chip-making and research programs.
Google and Apple’s rules for virus tracking apps sow division among states
Politico
@stevenoverly @ravindranize
Google and Apple’s rules for virus tracking apps sow division among states. The tech companies tried to create a uniform standard, but some states are rejecting their rules and several are spurning the idea altogether.
Inside the Border Security Expo, Where Companies Sell Surveillance Tech to CBP
Motherboard
Inside the Border Security expo, hundreds of presenting companies sprawl across the exhibition floor. Their booths, organized in categories such as "Facial Recognition," "Night Vision/Thermal Imaging," and "Unmanned systems,” display the latest in border security technology. From long-range infrared cameras and AI-driven biometrics to fully autonomous drones (UAVs) each poised to be part of the expanding surveillance and monitoring technologies of the virtual wall.
Twitter Safety @TwitterSafety
“Collaborative research provides us with a way to learn from past operations and mitigate future malign efforts.” View more in a new, independent report from @stanfordio 👇 https://t.co/NECYkZ6a39
Southeast Asia
New undersea web cable to connect major Asian information hubs
TechRadar
NEC has announced the Asia Direct Cable (ADC) Consortium's plans to build a high-performance submarine cable connecting Hong Kong, China's Guangdong Province, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The Japanese company was selected by the consortium to construct the 9,400-kilometre-long ADC cable which is scheduled to be completed during Q4 of 2022.
South & Central Asia
How coronavirus is propelling the rise of online courts in India
Deutsche Welle
@dharvi_vaid
In a historic move, an entire bench of the Supreme Court of India conducted its first ever paperless hearing on June 1. It was a rare sight as three judges sat in a virtual court, with laptops instead of bulky case files. Lawyers were seen giving presentations via video link, with the judges typing notes. Virtual courts in India have been an emergency, temporary response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but a section of judges and lawyers wants to include virtual courts in normal court proceedings even after the health crisis is over.
UK
US offers to build UK's 5G and nuclear stations to end 'coercive' relationship with China
The Telegraph
@SheridanDani
America has offered to build Britain's 5G and nuclear power stations so that the "coercive and bullying" relationship with China can end, Mike Pompeo has said.
Europe
Google, Facebook, and Twitter to produce regular reports on coronavirus disinformation for the EU
The Verge
The EU is stepping up efforts to combat online disinformation about the coronavirus pandemic, requesting that US tech giants produce monthly reports containing “detailed data” on how they are combatting fake news about COVID-19 on their platforms. Google, Facebook, and Twitter are the prime targets of this campaign, and the three companies told The Verge they would be complying with the EU’s requests.
The EU’s international politics of cyberspace in an emerging post-liberal order
Friends of Europe
@a_barrinha @tom_renard
The last decade has witnessed the EU’s development of a more strategic approach to cyberspace. Although it was initially committed to the proactive promotion of liberal values, it has gradually shifted towards a more ‘geopolitical’ understanding of the (cyber)world.
Gender and Women in Cyber
The Cyberwar Needs More Women on the Front Lines
WIRED
@SylviaAcevedo
One solution to both the shortage of skilled workers and the need to consider the unique needs of women and children when developing the next generation of tech is to bring more women into cybersecurity leadership positions. In order to do that, we must start educating girls at a young age to be the cybersecurity leaders of tomorrow.
Misc
OpenAI's Text Generator Is Going Commercial
WIRED
@tsimonite
OpenAI launched a cloud service on Thursday that a handful of companies are already using to improve search or provide feedback on answers to math problems. It’s a test of a new way of programming AI, and the lab’s unusual business model.
Anonymous Camera is a new app that uses AI to quickly anonymize photos and videos
The Verge
Our faces have never been more vulnerable. Facial recognition algorithms make it easy to identify individuals from a single snap. But with the help of advances in machine learning, it’s also easier than ever to anonymize photos and videos, removing information that would otherwise identify people. The latest example of this is a new camera app called Anonymous Camera, that launches on the iOS App Store today. It’s the work of London AI startup Playground, whose founders built the app with the help of investigative journalists who wanted an easy way to record anonymous footage.
Twitter aims to limit people sharing articles they have not read
The Guardian
@alexhern
Twitter is trying to stop people from sharing articles they have not read, in an experiment the company hopes will “promote informed discussion†on social media. In the test, pushed to some users on Android devices, the company is introducing a prompt asking people if they really want to retweet a link that they have not tapped on.
Blocking Coronavirus Cyber Threats
Google Cloud Blog
Last month Gmail was seeing 18 million daily malware and phishing emails, and more than 240 million spam emails, specifically using COVID-19 as a lure. To keep you updated on where the threat landscape stands, today we’d like to share some additional email threat examples and trends, highlight some ways we’re trying to keep users safe, and provide some actionable tips on how organizations and users can join the fight.
Research
Cyber campaigns and strategic outcomes
Journal of Strategic Studies
@harknett_uc @Maxwsmeets
This article examines strategic cyber competition and reveals how the adoption of a different construct can pivot both explanation and policy prescription. Strategy must be unshackled from the presumption that it deals only with the realm of coercion, militarised crisis, and war in cyberspace.
15 Books by Black Scholars the Tech Industry Needs to Read Now
Center for Critical Internet Inquiry
@safiyanoble â© @ubiquity75
Safiya Umoja Noble and Sarah T. Roberts have compiled an essential reading list on racial justice and tech.
Events
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.
MANRS Fellowship Program Now Open
MANRS
The first-ever MANRS (Mutually Agreed Norms for Routing Security) Fellowship Program is now accepting applications. If you are an emerging leader eager to improve the well-being of the Internet’s global routing system, apply now.
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