Twitter suspends QAnon account belonging to a family friend of Scott Morrison | US government keeps hackers from disrupting vaccine research | China speeds up efforts to reduce US chip reliance
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Twitter says it permanently suspended a QAnon account belonging to a family friend of the prime minister, Scott Morrison, for “engaging in coordinated harmful activity”. The Guardian.
The US Department of Defense’s Digital Service, the NSA, FBI, and HHS have been working on the cybersecurity of the U.S. coronavirus vaccine in what is known as ‘Operation Warp Speed’. The effort’s main goal is to provide cybersecurity advice, guidance, and services to pharmaceutical giants developing a vaccine or working on manufacturing and distribution, as well as government agencies participating in OWS, multiple U.S. government officials involved in the operation told CyberScoop. CyberScoop.
China's top chipmakers are speeding up efforts to reduce their use of U.S semiconductor equipment as fears mount that Washington will impose further curbs on their operations as part of a tech war, people with knowledge of the plans told the Nikkei Asian Review. Nikkei Asian Review.
ASPI ICPC
Tear it down': PM lays into TikTok after 'harmful' video goes viral
Yahoo! News
@thomascflanagan
Prime Minister Scott Morrison says he has a “serious concern” over the safety of children on social media after a “disgraceful” video went viral this week on TikTok. He hit out at the social media giant, calling for more action to protect young Australians and demanded the “very damaging” video circulating on the app, as well as others, be taken down.
Australia
Twitter permanently suspends QAnon account belonging to friend of Scott Morrison for 'harmful activity'
The Guardian
@knausc @joshgnosis
Twitter says it permanently suspended a QAnon account belonging to a family friend of the prime minister, Scott Morrison, for “engaging in coordinated harmful activity”.
China
China chipmakers speed up effort to cut reliance on US supplies
Nikei Asian Review
China's top chipmakers are speeding up efforts to reduce their use of U.S semiconductor equipment as fears mount that Washington will impose further curbs on their operations as part of a tech war, people with knowledge of the plans told the Nikkei Asian Review.
China tech veterans to launch 'domestic replacement' fund amid U.S. sanctions
Reuters
@horwitzjosh
Chinese tech veterans, including former executives at Huawei and SMIC, are planning to launch a "domestic replacement" fund by the end of the year to help create China's next tech giant and support Chinese companies sanctioned by Washington.
Beware Rigged China Fever Cameras
IPVM
Many China fever camera manufacturers have rigged algorithms to dynamically adjust temperatures to more 'normal' results, 6 months of IPVM testing has shown.
USA
TikTok, U.S. Discuss Ways to Avoid Sale
WSJ
@miriamgottfried @georgia_wells @KateDavidson
TikTok’s Chinese parent, ByteDance Ltd., is discussing with the U.S. government possible arrangements that would allow the popular video-sharing app to avoid a full sale of its U.S. operations, according to people familiar with the matter. Discussions around such an option have risen in prominence since the Chinese government took steps that make a sale to a U.S. technology giant like Microsoft Corp. more difficult, the people said.
Read the ASPI ICPC report on TikTok and WeChat - Curating and controlling global information flows here.
The Coming Tech Cold War With China
Foreign Affairs
@adschina
Three and a half years into its first term, the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has finally assembled a comprehensive strategy for technological competition with China.
How the government is keeping hackers from disrupting coronavirus vaccine research
CyberScoop
@shanvav
Known as the Security and Assurance portion of Operation Warp Speed, the mission is no small effort. Consisting of people from DDS, NSA, FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Health and Human Services, it has been running behind the scenes for months, and is being detailed here for the first time. The effort’s main goal is to provide cybersecurity advice, guidance, and services to pharmaceutical giants developing a vaccine or working on manufacturing and distribution, as well as government agencies participating in OWS, multiple U.S. government officials involved in the operation told CyberScoop.
To Succeed in Its Cybersecurity Mission, the Defense Department Must Partner With Academia (For Real)
Lawfare
@mruiz12
The Defense Department needs its own cyber academic engagement strategy—one that continues to reap the benefit of the NSA-CAE program, but also creates new inroads with non NSA-CAE universities, facilitates novel research, extends interdisciplinary cybersecurity skills across the workforce, and attracts the best university talent to the department’s workforce.
Big Tech's Heavy Hand Around the Globe
Human Rights Watch
@deblebrown
Billions of people around the world have come to rely on the services Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google provide to exercise their basic human rights. But for many people, both within and outside the U.S., the concentration of power in these companies has meant considerable harm.
Senate Republicans Push Bill to Weaken Liability Shield for Online Platforms
WSJ
@johndmckinnon
Three influential GOP senators introduced legislation Tuesday that would make social-media platforms more responsible for their online content, an initiative likely to face fierce resistance from Silicon Valley.
Why the most controversial US internet law is worth saving
MIT Techonology Review
@AuthorPMBarrett
US president Donald Trump and his Democratic opponent, Joe Biden, agree on at least one issue: the arcane federal law known as Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. On September 8, Trump tweeted that Republican lawmakers should “repeal Section 230, immediately.” With similar urgency, Biden had told the New York Times last December that “Section 230 should be revoked, immediately.”
Samsung Wins $6.6 Billion 5G Verizon Deal While Huawei Struggles
Bloomberg
@soheefication
Samsung Electronics Co. won a 7.9 trillion won ($6.6 billion) order to provide fifth-generation wireless solutions to Verizon Communications Inc. in the U.S., a big win for the electronics giant’s networking gear business.
New Pentagon Initiative Aims to Help Allies, Contractors Work Together on AI
Defense One
@DefTechPat
To better compete with China and Russia in developing artificial intelligence, the Defense Department will launch a new partnership with defense organizations from more than 10 nations, with more expected to join over the coming year, Defense Secretary Mark Esper announced on Wednesday.
New Zealand & The Pacific
Covid-19 and the rise of digital first responders in the South Pacific
The Strategist
Social media is a factor, for better or worse, in dealing with any crisis today. Facebook’s crisis-response hub, for example, relaunched in 2017, has become an important information medium for disaster-struck populations. Unfortunately, social media platforms can also spread rumour and misinformation with equal speed. And there is no bigger crisis in the Pacific today than the Covid-19 pandemic.
South and Central Asia
India, US, Israel collaborating in 5G tech: Official
Times of India
India, Israel and the United States have begun collaboration in developmental area, and in next generation of emerging technologies, including a transparent, open, reliable and secure 5G communication network, a top official has said.
UK
Digital minister says Huawei’s 5G removal is a ‘big hassle factor’ for the UK
5G Radar
@danoliver
At the 5G Realised Summit - taking place over the next two days in London - Matt Warman MP has discussed the effect of Huawei’s removal from the UK’s 5G infrastructure.
Misc
Why We Tweet: General Officer Use of Social Media to Engage, Influence, and Lead
RealClear Defense
If military institutions are to fully realise the potential of social media (they do not currently), they need all leaders from top to bottom to embrace and advocate its use. That is not to say that there are not pitfalls in using social media. A principal concern is that in using social media, we might inadvertently reveal things about ourselves or our institutions that should remain private or that breach security policies.
Money from bank hacks rarely gets laundered through cryptocurrencies
ZDNet
@campuscodi
Despite being considered a cybercrime haven, cryptocurrencies play a very small role in laundering funds obtained from bank hacks; the SWIFT financial organization said in a report last week.
A Conversation Divided: A Covid-19 Vaccine is Still in the Making, but Remarkable Polarization Between Traditional Media and Anti-Science Sources has Already Emerged
Medium
Conversations about a Covid-19 vaccine have been ongoing since the disease came into our lives. As researchers, pharma companies and governments push ahead with vaccine development, chatter online is gaining steam. Mapping the conversation around vaccines on Facebook public groups over the month of August using Crowdtangle hints at a very polarized universe of conversation.
Read more about from ASPI ICPC about COVID-19 Disinformation here.
Hackers Are Trying To Break Into This Bitcoin Wallet Holding $690 Million
VICE News
@lorenzofb
For at least a year, hackers have been passing around and trying to break into a Bitcoin wallet that potentially holds around $690 million, or 69,370 BTC. This would be the wallet with the seventh highest amount of Bitcoin in circulation, according to a site that tracks wallets quantities, so if anyone could crack it, it would be quite the coup.
Hate Social Media? You’ll Love This Documentary
Wired
@pardesoteric
As a documentary filmmaker, Jeff Orlowski seems preoccupied with the destruction of the world. His 2012 film Chasing Ice captured the devastating effects of climate change on melting glaciers. In 2017 he documented the erosion of coral reefs in Chasing Coral. His latest film, The Social Dilemma, takes aim at an even greater danger: social media.