The US-Russia conflict is heating up in cyberspace | Top economist urges China to seize TSMC if US ramps up sanctions | Italy's PM Draghi vetoes technology transfer to China
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As the war in Ukraine rages, a long-standing battle between Russia and the United States over cyberspace is also heating up, with a top Russian diplomat warning of “catastrophic” consequences if the United States or its allies “provoke” Russia with a cyberattack. The Washington Post
A senior Chinese economist at a government-run research group called on authorities to seize Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. if the US hits China with sanctions on par with those levelled against Russia. Bloomberg
Italy's prime minister, Mario Draghi, has vetoed a transfer of technology and software to China in a deal involving industrial robot maker EFORT Intelligent Equipment, according to a Shanghai filing and a source close to the matter. Reuters
ASPI ICPC
Countering hybrid threats in the Indo-Pacific
The Strategist
Lesley Seebeck, Emily Williams and Jake Wallis
As we explain in our new ASPI report, released today, because of the ubiquity of digital technologies, the ever-broadening application of tools and practices in an increasing number of domains, it’s evident that policymakers need better and more timely information, the opportunity to share information and insights in a trusted forum, and models of how hybrid threats work.
Australia and Indonesia should work to deepen cyber ties
The Strategist
Gatra Priyandita
Cybersecurity and technology are among the areas in which there’s strong potential for cooperation between Australia and Indonesia. In 2018, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding on cyber cooperation that led to regular cyber policy dialogues, allowing officials from multiple agencies to share best practices.
Just 15% of Coalition’s cyber spy funding is new money: ASPI
InnovationAus
Denham Sadler
More Defence programs will likely be cut to help pay for substantial new cyber powers for Australia’s spy agency, with just 15 per cent of the funding set aside for REDSPICE by the former government being new, according to an ASPI report.
What a ‘domestic operation’ on Facebook reveals about Australia’s misinformation debate
The Sydney Morning Herald
Nick Bonyhady and Zoe Samios
Jake Wallis, who heads the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s disinformation program, said the voluntary transparency reporting process was a good initial step but challenges remained. Dr Wallis and colleagues at ASPI’s cyber policy centre, which is sponsored by firms including Google and Meta, revealed the financially motivated misinformation campaign that hit the 2019 federal election.
Ukraine - Russia
The US-Russia conflict is heating up - in cyberspace
The Washington Post
David Ignatius
As the war in Ukraine rages, a long-standing battle between Russia and the United States over cyberspace is also heating up, with a top Russian diplomat warning of “catastrophic” consequences if the United States or its allies “provoke” Russia with a cyberattack.
Russian government site hacked to show pro-Ukraine message
Computing
Dev Kundaliya
The website of Russia's Ministry of Construction, Housing and Utilities was hacked over the weekend, displaying a 'Glory to Ukraine' banner instead of the normal homepage. A ministry spokesperson told Russia's state news agency RIA late on Sunday that the site was down but that users' personal data was safe.
Australia
Mike Cannon-Brookes to help link Australia’s burgeoning tech sector with India
The Sydney Morning Herald
Latika Bourke
Billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes will lead a high-level dialogue between leading figures in Australia and India in New Delhi later this year in an effort to grow links between the countries’ technology sectors. His software company Atlassian is being unveiled on Tuesday as the new partner with the prestigious Australia India Institute, led by former Labor senator Lisa Singh.
Tech and climate top priorities for growing Indonesian economic ties
Financial Review
Robert Law
Telling business to take advantage of the trade and investment opportunities with Indonesia hasn’t worked. Canberra needs a new approach to fill the missing piece in the relationship.
China
Top economist urges China to seize TSMC if US ramps up sanctions
Bloomberg
A senior Chinese economist at a government-run research group called on authorities to seize Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. if the US hits China with sanctions on par with those levelled against Russia.
China to conclude Didi cybersecurity probe, lift ban on new users
The Wall Street Journal
Keith Zhai and Lisa Lin
China is concluding a yearlong probe into ride-hailing giant Didi Global and preparing to lift a ban on adding new users, people familiar with the discussion said, the latest sign Beijing wants to spur economic activity from its beleaguered tech giants.
The case for applying global Magnitsky sanctions against Hikvision
The National Interest
Dahlia Peterson
The United States and its allies should levy Magnitsky sanctions on Hikvision and convey that they are prepared to add more Chinese companies if the Xinjiang surveillance state continues to operate unabated.
China's top influencer is cancelled over a piece of cake
VICE
Rachel Cheung
Austin Li Jiaqi, one of China’s biggest influencers, was peddling snacks to some of his 64 million followers on the e-commerce site Taobao when he inadvertently touched on a forbidden topic. His livestream on Friday night was abruptly cut off after Li and his co-host presented a layered ice cream cake in the shape of a tank, with cookies as wheels and a chocolate stick as its gun.
USA
Elevated cyber threats are the ‘new normal’
The Washington Post
Joseph Marks and Aaron Schaffer
It's a significant messaging shift for the administration, following more than a year of ransomware attacks pummeling U.S. businesses, schools and local governments and months of warnings about beefed-up Russian cyber aggression related to the war in Ukraine.
Biden's trade plan to kickstart US solar fails to win over industry
Bloomberg
Jennifer A. Dlouhy, Brian Eckhouse and Ari Natter
President Joe Biden’s attempt to defuse a complicated trade dispute that’s paralyzed the US solar industry is drawing swift criticism from some of the very companies the White House had been seeking to appease.
The surreal case of a CIA hacker's revenge
The New Yorker
Patrick Radden Keefe
A hot-headed coder is accused of exposing the agency’s hacking arsenal. Did he betray his country because he was pissed off at his colleagues?
Inside ID.me's torrid pandemic growth spurt, which led to frantic hiring, ill-equipped staff, and data-security lapses as the company closed lucrative deals with unemployment agencies and the IRS
Business Insider
Caroline Haskins
ID.me's rush to hire and train nearly 1,500 new workers at this time also led to lax verification practices and poor user privacy protections, these people said. Information like passports and social security numbers were often posted in internal Slack channels, and some employees were hired and given access to confidential data without completed background checks.
South & Central Asia
Starting trouble: Inside India’s long wait for a cybersecurity strategy
The Economic Times
Nirmal John and Sandhva Sharma
Here’s what Prime Minister Narendra Modi said from the ramparts of the Red Fort on August 15, 2020, during the nation’s 74th Independence Day. “In this era of technology, our dependence on cyberspace is going to increase multifold. However, cyberspace offers its own risks and threats".
Indian cyber agency flags multiple bugs in Chrome OS, Mozilla
The Economic Times
The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) has flagged several bugs in Chrome OS and Mozilla products that may put various sensitive data at risk. In a report, the agency mentioned that the bugs could allow a remote attacker to disclose sensitive information, bypass security restrictions, execute arbitrary code, perform spoofing attacks and cause a denial of service attack on the targeted system.
UK
Updated NHS digital cybersecurity resources supporting UK social care
Digit News
David Paul
NHS Digital cybersecurity resources have been updated to help support social care organisations to improve security culture in care settings. The organisation has updated its toolkit designed to enhance staff cybersecurity awareness of critical threats and risks.
Europe
Italy's PM Draghi vetoes technology transfer to China
Reuters
Giuseppe Fonte and Ella Cao
Italy's prime minister, Mario Draghi, has vetoed a transfer of technology and software to China in a deal involving industrial robot maker EFORT Intelligent Equipment, according to a Shanghai filing and a source close to the matter.
Telehouse France launches game-changing data hub
Technology
The surge in digital migration across the globe in the aftermath of the pandemic comes at a price as well as a benefit. Sami Slim, CEO of Telehouse France, explains the business case behind his company’s new location in Marseille and why close collaboration with its partner, Elco Systems, will mitigate its risks and exploit its benefits.
Americas
From Brazil to Texas, politicians are trying to throw out platforms’ ability to moderate content
Coda Story
Erica Hellerstein
The Texas and Brazil proposals underscore how the suppression of right-leaning voices has become a rallying cry among conservative politicians in both countries. This narrative is also influencing policy proposals that could dramatically reshape the information ecosystem on social media as both countries gear up for major elections.
The Middle East
Mossad blamed for cyberattack on Tehran municipality
The Jerusalem Post
Tzvi Joffre
The head of the Tehran City Council blamed the Mossad and anti-government groups for a cyberattack against the municipality, the Iranian Mehr News Agency reported on Tuesday.
Big Tech
John Barilaro's win is a reminder for Google to take legal threats seriously, expert says
ABC News
Paige Cockburn
Yesterday Google was ordered to pay Mr Barilaro more than $700,000 over "vulgar" and "racist" videos published to YouTube in 2020 by comedian Jordan Shanks, who is better known as FriendlyJordies. Mr Barilaro had repeatedly asked Google — which owns YouTube — to delete the videos but the company did nothing.
Federal Court orders Twitter to release information on controversial @PRGuy17 account
The Age
David Estcourt and Nick Bonyhady
The Federal Court has ordered Twitter to release information that could reveal the identity of the person behind a high-profile political account that attracted large audiences during the pandemic with its pro-lockdown and pro-Labor commentary.
Microsoft flags common pitfalls for cyber insurance
TechTarget
Peyton Doyle
Cyber insurance is getting more expensive and tougher to acquire. At RSA Conference 2022, Microsoft's Cynthia James discussed the common mistakes made when obtaining coverage.
Deloitte forms global alliance with Netskope for cyber security adoption
ARN News
Sasha Karen
Deloitte has formed a global strategic alliance with cloud security vendor Netskope to promote the uptake of secure access service edge (SASE) and security service edge (SSE) security frameworks by their mutual clients.
Events
ASPI Publication Launch: A proposal for an Indo-Pacific hybrid threat centre
ASPI ICPC
At this 20 June 2022 event, panellists will explore the potential establishment of a hybrid threat centre for the Indo-Pacific as a means of building resilience in the face of an evolving hybrid threat landscape. The panel will consider how to engage with hybrid threats within the context of the region’s political and cultural diversity and the lessons that can be learnt from pre-existing models of security cooperation.
Jobs
The Sydney Dialogue - Senior Events Coordinator
ASPI ICPC
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) is currently recruiting for an experienced events professional to coordinate the planning and logistics of the second iteration of ASPI’s Sydney Dialogue - the world’s premier summit on emerging, critical and cyber technologies.
ICPC Senior Analyst or Analyst - China
ASPI ICPC
ASPI’s International Cyber Policy Centre (ICPC) has a unique opportunity for exceptional and experienced China-focused senior analysts or analysts to join its centre. This role will focus on original research and analysis centred around the (growing) range of topics which our ICPC China team work on. Our China team produces some of the most impactful and well-read policy-relevant research in the world, with our experts often being called upon by politicians, governments, corporates and civil society actors to provide briefings and advice.