Russia and China target US protests on Social Media | Usage of App that lets users tune into police radio broadcasts surges amidst protests| Huawei's terrible week
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Russia and China are flooding social media with content targeting the ongoing unrest and violence in the United States Politico
The number of users of an app which lets people listen in to police radio broadcasts is nearly doubling everyday during the protests Vice
Huawei has just faced one of the most decisive weeks yet in the global fight over next-generation 5G networks TechCrunch
ASPI ICPC
The World
Russia and China target US protests on social media
Politico
@markscott82
Russia and China are flooding social media with content targeting the ongoing unrest and violence in the United States, according to an analysis of recent Twitter posts by POLITICO.
Australia
Supply chains, critical tech on Five Eyes agenda
The Australian
@bennpackham
The UK is pitching a new “D10” grouping that would include G7 nations plus Australia, South Korea and India, which would co-operate on developing new digital technology to compete with Chinese 5G products. Australian Strategic Policy Institute defence and national security program director Michael Shoebridge said trust, rather than the lowest price, was now at a premium in the global economy.
China-linked Victorian government staffer’s corona conspiracy
The Australian
A long-serving Andrews government staffer with links to the highest levels of the Chinese Communist Party’s United Front Work Department has posted a series of articles and videos on social media suggesting coronavirus was created by the US and transported to China by the US Army.
China
Huawei’s terrible week
Tech Crunch
@scottabade
When news broke Friday morning that Britain is looking to propose an alliance of democracies to build a 5G alternative to Huawei, you might think that that was the worst thing to happen to the controversial Chinese telecoms giant this week. In fact, it just caps off a series of fast-moving events that surely makes this one of the most decisive weeks yet in the global fight over next-generation 5G networks.
Why Hong Kong is worried about its digital freedom
Financial Times
@YuanfenYang
Now China plans to implement a national security law extending its control over Hong Kong, and many residents fear their digital freedoms will be taken away. On the day of the announcement, Hong Kongers’ interest in commercial VPN subscriptions surged, according to several providers. They were looking for a way to encrypt and thus protect their internet traffic from government surveillance, as well as to get it out of Hong Kong in case the Great Firewall is extended.
USA
Thousands of People Are Monitoring Police Scanners During the George Floyd Protests
Vice
@josephfcox
The number of users of an app which lets people listen in to police radio broadcasts across the country is nearly doubling everyday during the protests, according to its developer.
White nationalist group posing as antifa called for violence on Twitter
NBC News
@oneunderscore__ @BrandyZadrozny @_esaliba
A Twitter account claiming to belong to a national “antifa” organization and pushing violent rhetoric related to ongoing protests has been linked to the white nationalist group Identity Evropa, according to a Twitter spokesperson.
Twitter Suspends Hundreds Tweeting #dcblackout During Protests
Bloomberg
@asebenius @KurtWagner8
Twitter Inc. suspended hundreds of accounts associated with spreading a false claim about a communications failure during protests in Washington.
Misinformation about George Floyd Protests Surges on Social Media, The New York Times
Trump’s unexpected ally in the fight against tech
Politico
@JohnHendel
The FCC, though it has no direct authority over social media, could play a key role in assisting Trump's efforts to rein in the power of Twitter and other online companies. And Carr has spent months echoing some of the president's favorite rhetoric, from hammering the alleged partisan biases of Silicon Valley tech giants to accusing Beijing's Communist leaders of allowing the coronavirus’ spread.
What Facebook doesn't understand about the Facebook walkout
The Verge
@CaseyNewton
On Friday afternoon, Facebook made one of its most controversial content moderation decisions in company history. After President Trump posted to Facebook some tweets that Twitter had placed behind a warning for “glorifying violence,” Mark Zuckerberg said that the company would allow them to stand.
South and Central Asia
Pakistan blocks Twitter, Zoom and Periscope to curb critical voices
Global Voices
In mid-May, Twitter, Zoom and Persicope were either blocked or throttled across Pakistan. Activists say the move was meant to target a few web conferences on human rights issues.
A service that detects 'China apps' goes viral in India
Tech Crunch
@ritacyliao
The app’s name says it all: Remove China Apps. Developed by a self-proclaimed “Indian startup” named OneTouch AppLabs, Remove China Apps crossed 1 million downloads within 10 days of launch in May. Its overnight success came amid rising China-Indian tensions.
India-Australia partnership to scale greater heights following June 4 summit: Envoy
The Economic Times
@DipanjanET
The new agreements will focus on reliable supply chains in key strategic sectors, including medical goods, technology and critical minerals, amid heightened tensions with China over Beijing's response to coronavirus pandemic.
UK
Inside the talks to end the UK's reliance on Huawei
The Telegraph
@hannaheboland
At the start of the year, before coronavirus swept across the country, politicians had a very different crisis on their hands. Boris Johnson announced he was allowing Chinese firm Huawei to build part of the UK’s 5G network - and Donald Trump was furious.
AI firm that worked with Vote Leave given new coronavirus contract
The Guardian
@davidtpegg @robevansgdn
An artificial intelligence firm hired to work on the Vote Leave campaign may analyse social media data, utility bills and credit rating scores as part of a £400,000 contract to help the government deal with the coronavirus pandemic.
Europe
Telefonica Deutschland picks Ericsson for 5G core network
Reuters
@Busvine @seythal
Telefonica Deutschland will build its 5G core mobile network in Germany using equipment from Ericsson, saying the choice of the Swedish supplier would safeguard the security of its next-generation services. Germany's three main operators are removing Huawei from their network cores but continue to rely on the Chinese vendor for the less sensitive peripheral radio access networks that will carry 5G traffic.
Americas
Telus skips Huawei, picks Ericsson and Nokia to build 5G network
Vancouver Sun
@stephanie_ip
Telus has opted to go with Ericsson and Nokia - skipping Chinese tech giant Huawei - to build its 5G network. The Vancouver-based company announced Tuesday it had signed a deal with Sweden’s Ericsson and Finland’s Nokia to provide the components for its 5G network. No figures were given on how much the deal cost.
Africa
How Africa’s promising startup landscape survives in a post-Covid-19 economy
Quartz
@TheYomiKazeem
If you take a look at reports tracking funding in African tech ecosystems this year, you wouldn't be able to tell that a damaging pandemic has laid siege to economies globally.
Misc
From RealPlayer to Toshiba, Tech Companies Cash in on the Facial Recognition Gold Rush
Medium
@davegershgorn
While many of these companies sell facial recognition technology to verify people’s identities in an app, an increasing number are investing in a burgeoning subset of the industry: real-time surveillance, or the ability to recognize individuals in live video footage. Such systems are being sold for law enforcement, military, and security purposes.
Now you can delete old Facebook posts without deleting Facebook
The Washington Post
@geoffreyfowler
On Tuesday, the social network rolled out new settings called Manage Activity to delete or archive posts from a range of dates or involving particular people.
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.