The Sydney Dialogue | US Taskforce for combatting ransomware attacks | Oracle resellers selling surveillance tech to Chinese police
Follow us on Twitter. The Daily Cyber Digest focuses on the topics we work on, including cyber, critical technologies & strategic issues like foreign interference.
We have also now supported the establishment of the Sydney Dialogue, a new summit to be hosted by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute to drive debate on cyber and critical technology. Its first gathering - somewhat stymied by the COVID -19 processes, but its first gathering - will take place in November of this year. Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs
The Justice Department has formed a task force to curtail the proliferation of ransomware cyberattacks, in a bid to make the popular extortion schemes less lucrative by targeting the entire digital ecosystem that supports them. In an internal memorandum issued this week, Acting Deputy Attorney General John Carlin said ransomware poses not just an economic threat to businesses but “jeopardizes the safety and health of Americans.” The Wall Street Journal
The Intercept has unraveled that network of resellers — and found deep and long-standing relationships between Oracle and brokers that sell surveillance technology to the Chinese government. The Intercept
ASPI ICPC
Launch of the International Cyber and Critical Technology Engagement Strategy
Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs
We have also now supported the establishment of the Sydney Dialogue, a new summit to be hosted by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute to drive debate on cyber and critical technology. Its first gathering - somewhat stymied by the COVID -19 processes, but its first gathering - will take place in November of this year.
Defending democracies from disinformation and cyber-enabled foreign interference
The Strategist
@DaniellesCave @JakeWallis_ASPI
The online ecosystem allows a range of state and non-state actors that are already manipulating the information environment for strategic gain to shift from exploiting the pandemic to disrupting and undermining trust in Covid-19 vaccine rollouts. This shift will only further tear at the already tense relationship between democratic governments and the major technology platforms. Anti-vaccination, conspiracy-infused misinformation disseminated across social media has mobilised public opposition to vaccine programs in several countries. January’s Capitol Hill riot in Washington demonstrated the potential for online mobilisation to transfer offline and manifest as violent civil unrest. This is not the public square we want or need, especially as the world seeks to return to some version of normality in 2021.
Australia is mad': Decision to snub Belt and Road goes viral on Chinese social media
ABC News
@wing_kuang @fangjason @Hannah Jose
Australian Strategy Policy Institute (ASPI) researcher Albert Zhang said the Chinese state exercised an inordinate influence on Weibo and the 260 million-plus views were unlikely to all be organic. However, he said the virality of the hashtag was being driven both by China's propaganda tools and real anger amongst the Chinese people. Most of the popular posts under the hashtag were from the accounts of state media and the Central Communist Youth League (CYL), a Chinese Communist Party-affiliated youth organisation whose Weibo account has over 15 million followers, he said.
World
Agents of Automation
Project Syndicate
@mahroums
Neglected in today's debates about automation and the future of work is any consideration of principal-agent dynamics in the settings most open to technological interventions. Although a crude economic calculus almost always points toward more and more automation, the real world is never as simple as that.
Australia
Bank protections against cryptocurrency scams in Australia ' a very shaky area'
ABC News
@nickpmclaren
Think before you invest and don't expect the banks to bail you out is the key message from financial analyst Martin North to avoid losing your money in a cryptocurrency scam.
Australia needs to get ready now for the quantum future
The Strategist
The sector needs a consolidated national policy to really develop the quantum expertise and infrastructure Australia needs for national defence, to maintain technological relevance in our relationships with allies, and to prepare our economy for the quantum future.
China
China, Russia and the new space race
Financial Times
@JKynge @HenryJFoy
China and Russia have signed a deal to build a Moon base together as they seek to rival the US in orbit, on the Moon and beyond.
Read our 2019 report by Elsa Kania and Samuel Bendett: A new Sino-Russian high-tech partnership.
China’s backlash against Western brands may be short-lived
Washington Post
@fangkc
Even though China’s state censors have so far tolerated or even celebrated the campaign against Western brands over Xinjiang, there’s another reason that the Chinese government might seek to cool things down: The topic unwillingly opened up space for Xinjiang-related discussions. Weibo users found that they could finally use the word Xinjiang instead of coded phrases such as “xj” to avoid censorship. Some seized the opportunity to voice their support for Uyghurs.
USA
Ransomware Targeted by New Justice Department Task Force
The Wall Street Journal
@dnvolz
The Justice Department has formed a task force to curtail the proliferation of ransomware cyberattacks, in a bid to make the popular extortion schemes less lucrative by targeting the entire digital ecosystem that supports them. In an internal memorandum issued this week, Acting Deputy Attorney General John Carlin said ransomware poses not just an economic threat to businesses but “jeopardizes the safety and health of Americans.”
How a Chinese surveillance broker became one of Oracle's "Partner of the Year"
The Intercept
@marahvistendahl
The Intercept has unraveled that network of resellers — and found deep and long-standing relationships between Oracle and brokers that sell surveillance technology to the Chinese government.
Nations Need Ambassadors to Big Tech
Wired
@awichowski
We don’t only need tech diplomats to mediate disagreements between governments and tech companies, we need them to help broker collaborations between governments and tech companies to fight even greater enemies. Take the rise of domestic extremism in the US, for instance. In the Biden administration, the Department of Homeland Security recently acknowledged the need to partner with companies like Facebook, as a start, to identify potential threats posted on their platform.
“Hindsight Is 20/20”: An Internal Report Shows How Facebook Failed To Prevent A “Stop The Steal” Movement That Undermined The Election
Buzzfeed
@craigsilverman @RMac18 @JaneLytv
An internal task force found that Facebook failed to take appropriate action against the Stop the Steal movement ahead of the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, and hoped the company could “do better next time.”
No, Russia and China Didn’t ‘Weaponize’ QAnon. It’s a Homegrown Nightmare.
VICE News
A new report about QAnon makes a bombshell claim that data scientists say doesn't hold up.
Research Uncovers New Command Servers Used in SolarWinds Campaign
Zero Day
@KimZetter
Researchers at RiskIQ have discovered 18 additional command servers used in the hacking campaign, which may help identify more victims. They also spotted mysterious server activity in February 2020.
Pentagon investigated suspected Russian directed-energy attacks on U.S. troops
Politico
@woodruffbets @AndrewDesiderio @laraseligman @ErinBanco
The Pentagon has briefed top lawmakers on intelligence surrounding suspected directed-energy attacks against U.S. troops, and officials identified Russia as a likely culprit, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter..The investigation is part of a broader effort to look into directed-energy attacks on U.S. officials across multiple agencies in recent years. Since late 2016, close to 50 officials have reported symptoms of a mysterious illness that became known as “Havana syndrome” among U.S. diplomats
New Bill Would Ban Clearview and Warrantless Location Data Purchases
VICE News
@josephfcox
The sweeping bill has support from both Democrats and Republicans, and will address multiple forms of surveillance.
Apple and Google ‘hold data hostage’ and stifle competition, Senate told
The Guardian
@kari_paul
The hearing before the Senate antitrust committee offered a rare opportunity for smaller competitors – including Spotify, Tile and Match – to air their grievances against the tech behemoths before lawmakers.
North-East Asia
RTHK's Bao Choy found guilty over Yuen Long report
RTHK
Journalist Bao Choy was on Thursday found guilty of improper searches of an online car licence plate database, during an RTHK investigation aimed at identifying some of the perpetrators of the 2019 Yuen Long attack. Choy had ticked a box to declare that the vehicle registration searches she was making were for "other traffic and transport related matters".
UK
U.K. Parliament declares China's treatment of Uyghurs to be genocide
Axios
@zacharybasu
The U.K.'s House of Commons unanimously approved a non-binding motion on Thursday to declare the Chinese government's repression of Uyghur Muslims to be a genocide. Why it matters: British backbench lawmakers join the Dutch and Canadian parliaments, as well as the U.S. State Department, in recognizing China's sweeping campaign of mass detention, surveillance, forced labor and forced sterilization against ethnic minorities in Xinjiang as genocide.
Telecoms Diversification Taskforce: findings and report
UK Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
The Telecoms Diversification Taskforce was commissioned by the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to provide independent expert advice to the government on the delivery of the 5G Supply Chain Diversification Strategy. The Taskforce has concluded its work and this report summarises its findings and makes recommendations for targeted action to meet the ambitions set out in the Strategy.
Europe
Revealed: residency loophole in Malta’s cash-for-passports scheme
The Guardian
@davidtpegg @lukeharding1968 @simon_goodley
Leaked files show applicants leave homes empty for most of year while claiming ‘genuine link’ to EU country.
Misc
Shadow Bans, Dopamine Hits, and Viral Videos, All in the Life of TikTok Creators
The Markup
@darakerr
A secretive algorithm that’s constantly being tweaked can turn influencers’ accounts, and their prospects, upside down.
New type of plastic decomposes within days just by adding heat and water
ABC News
Biodegradable plastic bags, cutlery, and coffee cup lids may seem like a win for the environment, but they often introduce more problems than solutions. But now a research team from the US may be able to change that.
Apple to boost ads business as iPhone changes hurt Facebook
Financial Times
Apple will expand its advertising business, according to two people familiar with its plans, just as it brings in new privacy rules for iPhones that are likely to cripple the ads offered by its rivals, including Facebook.
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. Candidates must have the ability to synthesis complex cyber and technology developments and explain these developments to media and key stakeholders in plain language. The ability to engage with and brief seniors across parliaments, governments, civil society and the business community.
International Cyber Policy Centre – Program Coordinator
ASPI ICPC
The Coordinator’s primary focus will be the organisation and execution of ICPC’s sponsorship program. The Program Coordinator will work closely with internal and external stakeholders to maintain and develop these relationships. The coordinator will also support the Director and the Deputy Director with the coordination and delivery of ICPC's global research program. This will be a busy, fast-paced and varied role that would suit a highly organised and energetic individual who thinks and acts strategically.