South Korea launches second military satellite | Hackers steal 340,000 Social Security numbers from US government consulting firm | The stress of AI megacampuses on power grid and political stability
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South Korea has successfully launched its second military reconnaissance satellite, days after North Korea reiterated its intention to launch multiple spy satellites this year. Al Jazeera
U.S. consulting firm Greylock McKinnon Associates disclosed a data breach in which hackers stole as many as 341,650 Social Security numbers. TechCrunch
The world is “grossly” underestimating how much the demand for artificial intelligence is going to expand the global market for data centers. More “megacampuses” that will stress power grids and spur political fights. Bloomberg
ASPI
At Indonesia’s biggest bank, customers’ savings can vanish with a click
Al Jazeera
“There’s a lot of information out there indicating Indonesia is one the world’s largest sources and targets for cybercrime,” Gatra Priyandita, an analyst with the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s Cyber Policy Centre in Sydney, told Al Jazeera. “Indonesians are more vulnerable in a way because of their poor digital hygiene. They are becoming more aware of the problem but when you have 200 million people suddenly jumping online, they will always be more vulnerable.”
Australia
Kerri Hartland: ASIS needs out-of-the-box ideas and solutions
The Mandarin
Today we’re working in increasingly complex operating environments, facing more challenging threats, including emerging technologies. In the face of all this, ASIS must continue transforming in order to effectively navigate these contexts and continue to deliver on our mission.
Why companies are refusing to pay cyber ransoms
The Australian Financial Review
Max Mason
Australian companies are better preparing themselves for attacks by cybercriminal gangs, leading to a dramatic drop in successful extortion demands, according to a major security firm. BGH Capital-backed CyberCX, whose response team has been on the ground helping deal with some of country’s most high-profile cyberattacks, found ransom payments fell 50 per cent, based on a sample of 100 major incidents handled by the firm in 2023.
Fortescue Future Industries-backed Sparc Technologies to begin green hydrogen pilot
The Australian
Guiseppe Tauriello
Green hydrogen hopeful Sparc Technologies and its joint venture partners, including Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Future Industries, will begin construction of a multimillion-dollar pilot plant in the coming weeks. ASX-listed Sparc’s hydrogen subsidiary aims to commercialise its photocatalytic water splitting technology – spun out of Adelaide and Flinders universities – which can convert water into hydrogen and oxygen using only the sun’s radiation and a photocatalyst.
Adobe uses ‘fake’ Indigenous art to train AI models
The Australian
Chris Griffith
The concern is the cultural issues around Adobe carrying fake Australian indigenous art as stock. Another is whether Adobe can lawfully resell and licence this art. Another is how effectively Adobe enforces its policies. Then there’s the use of such images for training AI models.
China
US, China need ‘tough’ conversations, Yellen tells Lirom government consulting firm
Financial Review
David Lawder
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Sunday that the ability to have difficult conversations has put the two economic superpowers on “a more stable footing” over the past year. As they began a meeting in Beijing, Mr Li responded that the two countries needed to respect each other and should be partners, not adversaries, adding that “constructive progress” had been made during Ms Yellen’s trip.
Chinese mourners turn to AI to remember and ‘revive’ loved ones
The Guardian
Amy Hawkins
As millions of people across China travel to the graves of their ancestors to pay their respects for the annual tomb-sweeping festival – a traditional day to honour and maintain the graves of the dead - a new way of remembering, and reviving, their beloved relatives is being born. For as little as 20 yuan, Chinese netizens can create a moving digital avatar of their loved one, according to some services advertised online.
USA
Hackers stole 340,000 Social Security numbers from government consulting firm
TechCrunch
Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai
U.S. consulting firm Greylock McKinnon Associates disclosed a data breach in which hackers stole as many as 341,650 Social Security numbers. The data breach was disclosed on Friday on Maine’s government website, where the state posts data breach notifications.
House, Senate commerce chairs release bipartisan privacy bill
The Hill
Lauren Sforza
Commerce Committee chairs in the House and Senate released a bipartisan bill Sunday evening that aims to protect Americans’ personal data online. Sen. Maria Cantwell and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers unveiled the American Privacy Rights Act Sunday that would set “clear, national data privacy rights and protections for Americans.” It will preempt states’ data privacy laws and will establish a way for Americans to sue those who violate privacy laws.
Samsung to get $6-7 billion in chip subsidy next week for Texas expansion, sources say
Reuters
Alexandra Alper
The Biden administration plans to announce it is awarding between $6 billion and $7 billion to South Korea's Samsung, opens new tab next week to expand its chip output in Taylor, Texas, as it seeks to ramp up chipmaking in the U.S., two people familiar with the matter said. The subsidy, which will be unveiled by Commerce Department Secretary Gina Raimondo, will go towards construction of four facilities in Taylor, including one $17 billion chipmaking plant that Samsung announced in 2021, another factory, an advanced packaging facility and a research and development center, one of the sources said.
How AI risks creating a ‘black box’ at the heart of US legal system
The Hill
Clayton Vickers
While AI tools are being used to inform criminal investigations, there is often no way for defendants to challenge their digital accuser or even know what role it played in the case. AI and machine learning tools are being deployed by police and prosecutors to identify faces, weapons, license plates and objects at crime scenes, survey live feeds for suspicious behavior, enhance DNA analysis, direct police to gunshots, determine how likely a defendant is to skip bail, forecast crime and process evidence, according to the National Institute of Justice.
The House Dems who keep using TikTok while voting against it
POLITICO
Rebecca Kern
As the ultra-popular app has come under bipartisan attack in Washington for national security concerns — with the House voting overwhelmingly to force a sale or ban it entirely — it has put many Democrats in a bind: how to use it to reach the young voters who love the app while also appearing strong against potential national security threats from China. More than a dozen Democratic lawmakers in the House who voted for the TikTok bill last month also have TikTok accounts, as does the campaign of President Joe Biden, who has said he’d sign a bill to ban the app if it passes the Senate.
Americas
The Internet Archive just backed up an entire Caribbean Island
WIRED
The Internet Archive is now home to the Aruba Collection, which hosts digitized versions of Aruba’s National Library, National Archives, and other institutions including an archaeology museum and the University of Aruba. The collection comprises 101,376 items so far—roughly one for each person who lives on the Island—including 40,000 documents, 60,000 images, and seven 3D objects. Being tapped to back up an entire nation’s history takes the nonprofit into new territory, and it is a striking endorsement of its mission to bring as much information online as possible.
North Asia
South Korea puts second military spy satellite successfully into orbit
Al Jazeera
South Korea has successfully launched its second military reconnaissance satellite, days after North Korea reiterated its intention to launch multiple spy satellites this year. The satellite entered orbit after its launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the John F Kennedy Space Center in Florida in the United States on Sunday, South Korea’s National Ministry of Defense said.
Japan, U.S. team up on generative AI to modernize research
Nikkei Asia
Ryosuke Matsuzoe and Sato Shi Kawahara
The Japanese and U.S. governments will form a cooperative framework that will make use of generative artificial intelligence to take scientific research to the next level. Japan's education minister Masahito Moriyama will soon travel to the U.S. to meet with David Turk, deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy.
Shin-Etsu to bolster chip supply chain with first Japan plant in 56 years
Nikkei Asia
Takako Fujiu and Shin Watanabe
Shin-Etsu Chemical will build its first new plant in Japan in 56 years, Nikkei learned Monday, amid a growing push by Japan to beef up its semiconductor supply chains. The plant, to be completed in 2026, will produce photoresists and other materials used in the semiconductor photolithography process.
TSMC expands Japan college collaboration amid worker shortage concern
Nikkei Asia
Kosuke Kondo
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world's biggest contract chip maker, has expanded collaboration with Japanese universities amid growing concern over a shortage of workers for its brand-new chip factory in Kumamoto. Kumamoto University announced on Monday that it signed a memorandum of understanding with TSMC in March to collaborate on research related to semiconductors and on talent development.
Southeast Asia
Singapore REITs snap up Japan data centers amid AI boom
Nikkei Asia
Dylan Loh
Japan's data centers are a hot target for Singapore's real estate investment trusts, with the city-state's asset managers raising exposure to information technology infrastructure and potentially setting the tone for more property investors in Asia to follow suit. Amid a fever for artificial intelligence applications across the region, data centers are poised to become even more crucial assets in real estate, as demand for better tech services stemming from the growth of AI simultaneously lifts demand for supporting infrastructure, spurring a race to build and manage, or to acquire such properties.
Ukraine - Russia
Ukrainian hackers destroy data center used by Russian military industry
Kyiv Independent
Martin Fornusek
Ukrainian hackers, possibly connected to the Security Service of Ukraine, destroyed a data center used by the Russian military, energy, and telecommunications industries, sources in the SBU told the Kyiv Independent on April 8. This comes as yet another story shedding light on the escalating cyberwar between Russia and Ukraine. According to the sources, more than 10,000 entities involved in the Russian military industry stored their data in the targeted cloud service OwenCloud.ru.
Russia says Ukraine tried to strike nuclear power plant again with drone
Reuters
Guy Faulconbridge
Russia said on Monday that Ukraine had endangered European nuclear security by attacking the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station with a drone which was shot down over a reactor. Ukraine has denied it is behind a series of drone attacks on the plant over the past 48 hours, including three drone attacks on Sunday, which the International Atomic Energy Agency said had endangered nuclear safety.
Europe
France has a military drone radar everyone’s desperate to get
POLITICO
Laura Kayali
About 50 kilometers south of Paris, a factory is looking to double production of one of France’s best-selling pieces of military kit — Ground Master air surveillance radars. It's a result of President Emmanuel Macron's pressure to boost defense production in response to the war in Ukraine and the need to upgrade Europe's militaries after years of neglect, as well as from rising demand across the world.
TikTok's popularity among European politicians rises despite security fears
Reuters
Andreas Rinke and Matthias Williams
With European elections approaching in June, mainstream politicians are wary of ceding ground to fringe parties who have successfully exploited its short video format. But TikTok is under increasing scrutiny in the West due to fears that user data from the app owned by Beijing-based company ByteDance could end up in the hands of the Chinese government.
Olaf Scholz joins TikTok with a pledge: ‘I won’t dance’
POLITICO
Hans Von Der Burchard
The German chancellor joined the Chinese-owned video-sharing platform Monday under the account name @teambundeskanzler. “I won’t dance. I promise. #TikTok,” Scholz wrote in a post on social media, announcing the news. Scholz joins other political leaders like U.S. President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron, who have also created TikTok channels recently. Scholz’s decision also marks a new approach from the German government, which last year expressed security concerns over the Chinese-owned app and ordered its ministries’ staff to delete it on work-related devices.
Big Tech
TSMC expands U.S. investment to $65bn after securing $6.6bn grant
Nikkei Asia
Ken Moriya Su, Cheng Ting-Fang and Lauly Li
Buttressed by a U.S. federal grant of $6.6 billion, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. has agreed to increase its U.S. investment by more than 60% to over $65 billion and produce the world's most advanced 2-nanometer chips on American soil. U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said TSMC will also build a previously unannounced third chip plant in Phoenix, Arizona, that will be operational by 2030.
Google's contemplated mega deal would prompt new fight with regulators
Reuters
Milana Vinn and Anirban Sen
Google parent Alphabet's, opens new tab contemplated acquisition of marketing software company HubSpot, opens new tab would likely spark opposition from regulators even as many experts agree it would not curb competition, and would require the technology giant to open a new front in its battle with antitrust watchdogs. Reuters reported last week that Google was mulling an offer for HubSpot, which has a market value of $34 billion.
Meta denies sharing Facebook users’ messages with Netflix in latest claim of mishandling data
The Australian
Jared Lynch
Meta has denied it allowed Netflix access to Facebook users’ direct messages – an accusation made in unsealed court documents – as “shockingly untrue” as it faces fresh allegations of mishandling user data. The claims come two years after Meta agreed to pay $US725m to settle a data privacy class action over the Cambridge Analytica scandal, which involved data belonging to millions of Facebook users being harvested without their consent.
Alibaba Cloud cuts prices again, this time for international customers as AI generates surging demand
South China Morning Post
Ann Cao
Alibaba is cutting prices by as much as 59 per cent for international users of its compute, storage, network, database and big data products. Competition has been heating up in the compute space amid intense demand for AI services, but Alibaba lags behind rivals like Amazon and Google globally.
Artificial Intelligence
AI Demand for data centers vastly underestimated, CoreWeave Says
Bloomberg
Lynn Doan
The world is “grossly” underestimating how much the demand for artificial intelligence is going to expand the global market for data centers over the next five years, according to the co-founder of the cloud-computing unicorn CoreWeave. “The market is moving a lot faster than supply chains that have historically supported a very physical business have been set up to do,” he said, predicting more “megacampuses” that will stress power grids and spur political fights.
OpenAI’s new Voice Engine could bring real benefits, and real dangers
The Sydney Morning Herald
Tim Biggs
Assuming it works as well as OpenAI says, a bad actor could take just 15 seconds of speech from any person and create a recording of them saying almost anything. For prominent people, such as celebrities and politicians, you could find all the training input you need with a simple Google search.
GaiaLens unleashes AI to combat corporate greenwashing
The Australian
Glenda Korporaal
British consultancy GaiaLens is using artificial intelligence to step up its screening program to combat greenwashing among Australian companies. The firm, which has just opened its Australian office, scans global media and other public data sources to see if companies are meeting their environmental, social and governance commitments, supplying its data to major investors.
‘Time is running out’: can a future of undetectable deepfakes be avoided?
The Guardian
Alex Hern
As generative AI becomes better and better, the days of looking for tell-tale signs to spot a fake are nearly over. And that’s created a race against time: can we work out other ways to spot fakes, before the fakes become indistinguishable from reality? “We’re running out of time of still being able to do manual detection,” said Mike Speirs, of AI consultancy Faculty, where he leads the company’s work on counter-disinformation.
Events & Podcasts
The Sydney Dialogue
ASPI
The Sydney Dialogue was created to help bring together governments, businesses and civil society to discuss and progress policy options. We will forecast the technologies of the next decade that will change our societies, economies and national security, prioritising speakers and delegates who are willing to push the envelope. We will promote diverse views that stimulate real conversations about the best ways to seize opportunities and minimise risks.
Jobs
Data Scientist
ASPI
ASPI is looking for an inquisitive and problem-solving open-source data scientist who will be responsible for developing and implementing automated techniques for a variety of open-source data collection requirements. We are open to experienced data scientists and those beginning their career. Role equivalency would be between levels 3 – 7 of Data Science category of SFIA 8. The closing date for applications is 15 April 2024– an early application is advised as we reserve the right to close the vacancy early if suitable applications are received.
Director of Cyber, Technology & Security (CTS)
ASPI
ASPI is looking for an exceptional and experienced leader to lead our largest team focused on emerging security challenges, particularly in cyberspace and the information domain. Director CTS leads ASPI’s largest team to develop and deliver a range of applied research projects on existing and emerging security challenges. CTS’ projects range across cyber and critical infrastructure security, critical and emerging technologies, national resilience and social cohesion, and hybrid threats. The closing date for applications is 22 April 2024 – an early application is advised as we reserve the right to close the vacancy early if suitable applications are received.
China Analyst or Senior Analyst
ASPI
ASPI has an exciting opportunity for an analyst or senior analyst to explore China's evolving foreign and security policy, political economy and impact on the Indo-Pacific and the world. ASPI’s China analysts conduct rigorous data-driven research, publish impactful reports that shape the public policy discourse and contribute to the wide catalogue of influential China work published by ASPI. The difference between the analyst and senior analyst levels will depend on experience level and demonstration of past work. The closing date for applications is 10 May 2024– an early application is advised as we reserve the right to close the vacancy early if suitable applications are received.
The Daily Cyber & Tech Digest is brought to you by the Cyber, Technology & Security team at ASPI.