Russians again targeting Americans with disinformation, Facebook says | Norway's parliament says it was hit by 'significant' cyber attack | Amazon is spying on its workers in closed Facebook groups
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 said it had been warned by the F.B.I. that a so-called troll farm in St. Petersburg set up a network of fake user accounts and a website. The New York Times
The Norwegian parliament suffered a cyber attack during the past week and the e-mail accounts of several elected members as well as employees were hacked, the national assembly and a counter-intelligence agency said on Tuesday. Reuters
The company is surveilling dozens of private Facebook groups in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Spain, according to an internal web tool and reports left on the open internet. VICE
ASPI ICPC
More coverage on ASPI ICPC new report: The Chinese Communist Party’s coercive diplomacy, by @FergusHanson @emilia_currey @tracingtheworld.
Australian TV presenter detained in China
The Canberra Times
China relations have been heavily strained after Australia led calls for an independent inquiry into the origins of coronavirus. Beijing has since launched trade strikes on Australian beef, barley and wine. Asked about whether China was engaging in coercive diplomacy, Trade Minister Simon Birmingham responded by citing an Australian Strategic Policy Institute report, which found exactly that.
China's 'coercive diplomacy' sharply escalating, New Zealand targeted - report
Newshub
A new report highlights three cases of 'coercive diplomacy' against Aotearoa.
Coercive diplomacy: How communist China gets its way with countries, companies
Sky News Australia
Communist China is slamming its foot on the accelerator of “coercive diplomacy” to mould the world to its agenda.
The World
Amazon Is Spying on Its Workers in Closed Facebook Groups, Internal Reports Show
VICE
The company is surveilling dozens of private Facebook groups in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Spain, according to an internal web tool and reports left on the open internet.
Australia
Not our first choice': Facebook threatens to block news in Australia
The Sydney Morning Herald
Social media behemoth Facebook is threatening to ban news from being shared on its main app and Instagram in Australia in a major attack on a new regulatory code that would force it and Google to pay publishers for content. Facebook Australia managing director Will Easton said the proposed legislation, which was announced by the competition regulator in July, misunderstands "the dynamic of the internet" and will damage news organisations.
If Facebook really pulls news from its Australian sites, we'll have a much less compelling product
The Conversation
Facebook says it will ban publishers and people in Australia from sharing local and international news on Facebook and Instagram if a proposal to force tech giants to pay for news becomes law.
Names and addresses of NSW motorists left exposed by driver's licence data breach
ABC
NSW Transport is yet to alert up to tens of thousands of people whose full driver's licence details were mistakenly left exposed in an open cloud storage. The cache was discovered last week by Ukrainian security consultant Bob Diachenko who stumbled upon the directory while investigating another data breach. The storage folder, which he said was easily discoverable, contained back-and-front scans of NSW licences alongside tolling notices hosted on Amazon's cloud service. The total number of images inside the directory was 108,535, or about 54,000 licenses.
China
In China, the ‘Great Firewall’ Is Changing a Generation
POLITICO
Once it seemed inevitable that the internet would create a more open society. Now it’s fostering young nationalists.
USA
Twitter changing labeling practices after deceptive videos hit Biden
POLITICO
Twitter said Monday it will begin displaying warning labels on shared posts that contain misleading or doctored videos after facing complaints that it failed to do enough to limit the spread of deceptive clips targeting Joe Biden's campaign.
Russians Again Targeting Americans With Disinformation, Facebook Says
The New York Times
The company said it had been warned by the F.B.I. that a so-called troll farm in St. Petersburg set up a network of fake user accounts and a website.
Facebook takes down a Russian operation that recruited U.S. journalists amid rising concerns regarding election misinformation
Washington Post
Facebook took action Tuesday against a small network of pages and accounts that directed users to a fake left-leaning news site called Peace Data.
WeChat ban deals another blow to America’s ethnic Chinese
FT
A lawsuit challenging the order argues it breaches rights to freedom of expression, religion and due process.
North Asia
Southeast Asia
New Zealand
New Zealand stock exchange hacks: who is behind them and why now? Explainer
the Guardian
Occasional cyber attacks do happen in New Zealand, but there has been a noticeable rise in recent activity, with the NZX falling victim every day except Monday in the past week. So who is behind the attacks, and why has New Zealand suddenly piqued the interest of cybercriminals?
South Asia
Facebook Executive Supported India’s Modi, Disparaged Opposition in Internal Messages
WSJ
A Facebook executive in India made internal postings supporting the now ruling Hindu nationalist party and disparaging its main rival, which some staff saw as conflicting with the company’s neutrality pledge.
Reporting for Duty
Stanford Internet Observatory
An investigation into a network of Pakistan-based Facebook and Instagram accounts suspended for coordinated inauthentic behavior reveals mass reporting to silence critics of Islam and Pakistan.
Europe
Norway's parliament says it was hit by 'significant' cyber attack
Reuters
The Norwegian parliament suffered a cyber attack during the past week and the e-mail accounts of several elected members as well as employees were hacked, the national assembly and a counter-intelligence agency said on Tuesday.
‘Wider debate’ needed before 5G rollout, says Brussels government chief
POLITICO
Brussels needs to have a wider debate about 5G before the technology can be fully rolled out across the Belgian capital, according to the head of the region’s government.
Canada
‘Algorithmic policing’ in Canada need more legal safeguards, Citizen Lab report says
The Star
Surveillance and investigative tools like predictive policing are widely used but fraught with dangers, researchers say.
Middle East
Iranian Hackers Advertise on Dark Web
Infosecurity Magazine
Iranian Hackers Advertise on Dark Web. Pioneer Kitten group looks to make some money on the side.
Misc
Slack paid a researcher next to nothing for uncovering a critical security bug
TechRadar
Security researchers expect to be paid for their work and some have even become millionaires for finding critical vulnerabilities that could have serious repercussions for businesses if they were to be exposed online. However, a security researcher who recently disclosed multiple vulnerabilities to Slack, which could have allowed an attacker to take over a user's computer, only received $1,750 from the company valued at close to $20bn.
August 2020 Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior Report - About Facebook
About Facebook
We’re sharing information about the three networks we removed in August as part of our regular CIB reports.
Amazon Is Hiring an Intelligence Analyst to Track 'Labor Organizing Threats'
VICE
Amazon is looking to hire two people who can focus on keeping tabs on labor activists within the company.
Events
Sydney Kids SecuriDay 2020
Humanitix
Sydney Kids SecuriDay is defaulting to digital delivery and is on November 14th with a stack of fun security talks, workshops, competitions and games planned! We're all about introducing youth to security, and its importance in their everyday lives. This event is for children (aged 6 to 16) and their parents/guardians. We aim to reach people from all areas of the community who want to expand their knowledge, as the goal is to learn about security, be inspired by the sector, and have fun while doing it.