Security cameras in Xinjiang helping calibrate AI-emotion-detecting algorithms | The U.S. is back in the 5G game | WhatsApp sues Indian govt over new laws
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A camera system that uses AI and facial recognition intended to reveal states of emotion has been tested on Uyghurs in Xinjiang. A human rights advocate who was shown the evidence described it as shocking. Citizens in the province are under daily surveillance. The area is also home to highly controversial "re-education centres", called high security detention camps by human rights groups, where it is estimated that more than a million people have been held. BBC News
The U.S. Is Back in the 5G Game. The U.S. government has upended the $35 billion-a-year cellular-equipment industry, ushering in a new era of competition and giving U.S. companies a shot at re-entering a sector they vacated years ago. The Wall Street Journal
WhatsApp Sues India’s Government to Stop New Internet Rules. The rules, which would require WhatsApp to make people’s messages traceable, would violate people’s privacy, the messaging service said. The New York Times
ASPI ICPC
Talkback: How to deal with misinformation
ABC News
@HilaryKHarper
The Australia Talks National Survey is one of the largest social science surveys of its kind in Australia and was developed by the ABC together with a team of social scientists from Vox Pop Labs. Conducted in March, the 2021 survey asked around 600 questions and captured the views of more than 60,000 Australians. It found that an overwhelming majority of respondents, 94 per cent, consider misinformation a problem for Australia generally, making it the number one-ranked issue of concern for Australia generally, higher than climate change, the economy and mental health. Guest: Ariel Bogle, Analyst at the International Cyber Policy Centre at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.
US pipeline hack exposes major vulnerabilities
The Strategist
@tomatospy
Paying ransoms is clearly undesirable from a public policy point of view—it encourages further ransomware attacks and funds the evolution of the ransomware ecosystem. Yet at the same time ransom negotiations will settle on a price where the cost–benefit of paying can be justified and there are many situations where payment is clearly in the best interests of stakeholders. But cyber insurance should not be used to pay ransoms. Unlike many other types of insurance, cyber insurance deals with a human adversary and the threat is rapidly evolving. Current practice is a vicious circle where insurance payouts encourage and fund improved ransomware which extracts more insurance payouts. Perversely, ransomware hackers will search for their victims’ insurance policies and then use the insured amount to set ransom demands.
World
Death of a Quantum Man
The Wire China/
@shenlulushen
Stanford physics professor Zhang Shoucheng, a potential Nobel laureate, was among the first casualties of the U.S.-China trade war. But when the world loses a brilliant scientist, who really wins?
OECD joins Christchurch call to action to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online
OECD
The OECD has joined the Christchurch Call to Action to Eliminate Terrorist and Violent Extremist Content Online, adding its support to an international coalition of stakeholders working to prevent terrorists and violent extremists from exploiting the Internet.
China
AI emotion-detection software tested on Uyghurs
BBC News
@janewakefield
A camera system that uses AI and facial recognition intended to reveal states of emotion has been tested on Uyghurs in Xinjiang. A human rights advocate who was shown the evidence described it as shocking. Citizens in the province are under daily surveillance. The area is also home to highly controversial "re-education centres", called high security detention camps by human rights groups, where it is estimated that more than a million people have been held.
Chinese Surveillance-Gear Maker Hikvision Has Ties to Country’s Military, Report Says
The Wall Street Journal
@DanStrumpf
The world’s largest maker of surveillance equipment has long-established links to China’s military, including conducting a study with Chinese weapons experts and supplying cameras and drones to the country’s air force, according to a report by a surveillance-industry research company.
USA
The U.S. Is Back in the 5G Game
The Wall Street Journal
@stuwoo
The U.S. government has upended the $35 billion-a-year cellular-equipment industry, ushering in a new era of competition and giving U.S. companies a shot at re-entering a sector they vacated years ago.
Huawei to Joe Biden: Please talk to us
Nikkei Asia
We understand that the administration is busy coping with COVID and trying to boost the U.S. economy. But we also hope that when the time is right, they will talk to us. To ease their concerns about our products and technologies, we are prepared to be subject to the most stringent controls.
Biden calls for U.S. agencies to ‘redouble’ investigative efforts into the origins of the virus.
The New York Times
President Biden on Wednesday ordered U.S. intelligence agencies to investigate the origins of the coronavirus, indicating publicly that his administration takes seriously the possibility that it was accidentally leaked from a lab, as well as the prevailing theory that it was transmitted to humans by an animal.. “Here is their current position: ‘While two elements in the I.C. leans toward the former scenario and one leans more toward the latter — each with low or moderate confidence — the majority of elements do not believe there is sufficient information to assess one to be more likely than the other,’” Mr. Biden said.
New Zealand & The Pacific
Cancer patients affected by DHB cyber attack should be sent to Australia - Collins
RNZ
Cancer patients should be sent to Australia if they cannot be treated here as the Waikato DHB continues to try and get back online after last week's cyber attack, National Party leader Judith Collins says.
South and Central Asia
WhatsApp Sues India’s Government to Stop New Internet Rules
The New York Times
@MikeIsaac
The rules, which would require WhatsApp to make people’s messages traceable, would violate people’s privacy, the messaging service said.
WhatsApp sues Indian government over new privacy rules - sources
Reuters
The case asks the Delhi High Court to declare that one of the new IT rules is a violation of privacy rights in India's constitution since it requires social media companies to identify the "first originator of information" when authorities demand it, people familiar with the lawsuit told Reuters.
The Government Respects the Right of Privacy and Has No Intention to Violate it When WhatsApp is Required to Disclose the Origin of a Particular Message Indian Press Information Bureau
UK
What Will Britain's New Cyber Force Actually Do?
War on the Rocks
@josephdevanny @tcstvns
Without careful coordination and hard choices, the expanding role for offensive cyber and the National Cyber Force risks undermining the balance of British cyber strategy, diluting the priority of cyber security and resilience.
Russia
Influencers say Russia-linked PR agency asked them to disparage Pfizer vaccine
The Guardian
@jonhenley
French and German YouTubers, bloggers and influencers have been offered money by a supposedly UK-based PR agency with apparent Russian connections to falsely tell their followers the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is responsible for hundreds of deaths.
Russia Raises Heat on Twitter, Google and Facebook in Online Crackdown
The New York Times
Russia is increasingly pressuring Google, Twitter and Facebook to fall in line with Kremlin internet crackdown orders or risk restrictions inside the country, as more governments around the world challenge the companies’ principles on online freedom.
Misc
G7 And Technical Standards: Blink And You Might Have Missed The New Battleground
TechDirt
@dml @kkomaitis
In the last several years technical standards have moved from the realm of engineers into wider politics.
Events
An Australian strategy for the quantum revolution
ASPI
ASPI is delighted to invite you to the hybrid event ‘An Australian Strategy for the quantum revolution’ to be held in person in Canberra and streamed online via Livestorm on Thursday 3 June at 5.30pm. A new report by ASPI’s International Cyber Policy Centre – ‘An Australian strategy for the quantum revolution’ – argues Australia needs a clear quantum strategy with strong political leadership and an organised effort of policy focus and public investment. It also recognises that quantum is just one among a number of critical technologies and that a step change is needed in Australia’s policy settings related to critical and emerging technologies generally. Without this coordinated effort, Australia will be left behind. Join report authors Professor Gavin Brennen, Simon Devitt, Tara Roberson and Peter Rohde, and ASPI’s Danielle Cave for a one-hour panel discussion on the report’s findings, Australia’s competitive advantage in quantum and how we can better leverage the quantum revolution including across the research sector and the national security, defence and intelligence community.
Digital Politics in the Asia Pacific Seminar Series
ANU Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs
Anti-trust initiatives and new data protection and privacy legislation suggest that the relationship between Chinese tech companies and the Chinese party-state is shifting in important ways. In fact that relationship has for a long time been more complex and nuanced than many analyses allow. This seminar goes into the detail of legal and political shifts in the relationship between the world's biggest tech corporations and the government most interested in harnessing it.
Wednesday, 26 May 2021 4:30 PM – 6:00 PM AEST
Geopolitics, cybersecurity and sustainability: The case of undersea internet cables in the Pacific region
Department of Pacific Affairs, ANU Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs
Geopolitics, cybersecurity and sustainability are important issues when it comes to the rollout of information and communication technologies in the Pacific region. This presentation will explore these issues through examination of undersea internet cables.
Thursday, 03 June 2021 11am–12pm AEST
Research
Full Report Launch: Deafening Whispers
Doublethink Lab
@doublethinklab
While the operations against H&M were shocking in terms of scale and success, the influence tactics used are not new. In our latest report, “Deafening Whispers”, we introduce a framework to analyze these information operations and the modes of operations used to spread Chinese propaganda.
Threat Report: Combating Influence Operations
Facebook
Major information Operations Threat Report on 2017-2020 Facebook takedowns of coordinated inauthentic behaviour. Threats, trends, and even a leader board.
Jobs
ICPC Analyst or Senior Analyst - Cyber & technology
ASPI ICPC
ASPI’s International Cyber Policy Centre (ICPC) has a unique opportunity for an exceptional cyber-security or technology focused analyst or senior analyst to join its centre in 2021. Please note that interviews have commenced for this position and will continue until the end of June. This role will focus on policy relevant cybersecurity analysis, informed public commentary and either original data-heavy research and/or technical analysis. Analysts usually have around 7-15 years work experience. Senior analysts usually have a minimum of 15 years relevant work experience and tend to be involved in staff and project management, fundraising and stakeholder engagement.
Senior Executive Opportunities - Australian Space Agency
Department of Industries
We are looking for experienced leaders to join the Australian Space Agency’s senior executive leadership team. These positions will play a pivotal role in creating a vibrant space industry in Australia.