Ukraine braces for cyber invasion | At Olympics, cybersecurity worries linger in background | How Cambodia’s Internet gateway will harm the Internet
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Ukraine stands in line for an onslaught of a different sort, from the country widely recognised as the world leader in digital warfare. The Economist
Now that the Games are ending, and some 16,000 athletes, organizers, journalists and other visitors are heading home, concerns turn to what malware and other problems those who failed to heed the warnings might be carrying with them. AP News
The national gateway in Cambodia will manage all local and international Internet traffic—both incoming and outgoing. According to the decree, it aims to “strengthen the effectiveness and efficiency of the national revenue collection” and support the “protection of national security, and preservation of social order, culture, and national tradition.” Much of the substance of the decree, however, is undefined and unspecified. The Internet Society
ASPI ICPC
Could foreign interference change the federal election outcome? Here's what you need to know
SBS News
Akash Arora
Fergus Hanson – director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s (ASPI) International Cyber Policy Centre – told SBS News the use of money can be very effective. “There have been instances when large donations made by wealthy individuals have resulted in a politician changing their approach on a particular foreign policy issue,” Mr Hanson said. “We also see in the information environment where information operations are run by foreign states. We see countries like Russia and China trying to shape narratives through fake [digital] accounts and artificially manipulate information environments to create disinformation in particular countries.
Australia
Josh Frydenberg ads appear on WeChat despite Liberal MPs calling for boycott
The Guardian
Paul Karp and Donna Lu
Ads attacking Anthony Albanese and celebrating Chinese New Year come weeks after Scott Morrison lost control of WeChat account.
Australia to invest $800 million shoring up Antarctic claim amid strategic competition
ABC News
Henry Belot
Australia will soon fly a fleet of surveillance drones over the interior of Antarctica and establish temporary stations to boost its influence amid renewed competition in territory it maintains an historical claim to.
China
At Olympics, cybersecurity worries linger in background
AP News
Kelvin Chan
Now that the Games are ending, and some 16,000 athletes, organizers, journalists and other visitors are heading home, concerns turn to what malware and other problems those who failed to heed the warnings might be carrying with them.
The Surveillance Stake
The Wire China
Katirina Northrop
For years, a Chinese company backed by American pension fund money and built by KKR, one of world's premier private equity firms, publicly touted its ties to China's surveillance apparatus.
Threatened, harassed, punished: The Uyghur translators defying China to tell Xinjiang’s story
Coda Story
Frankie Vetch
Journalists rely on a short supply of Uyghur interpreters to investigate the human rights crisis in northwest China. The CCP is intent on muzzling them.
Why targeting ethnic minority journalists is central to China’s crackdown on the press
Coda Story
Erica Hellerstein
Tibetan and Uyghur reporters are under siege in Beijing’s war on free expression.
Chinese hackers linked to months-long attack on Taiwanese financial sector
The Record
Catalin Cimpanu
A hacking group affiliated with the Chinese government is believed to have carried out a months-long attack against Taiwan’s financial sector by leveraging a vulnerability in a security software solution used by roughly 80% of all local financial organizations.
USA
Trump’s new social media app, Truth Social, appears in App Store
The Washington Post
Bryan Pietsch and Jeff Stein
The app, Donald Trump’s answer to being booted from major social media platforms, became available for download ahead of its expected Presidents’ Day launch.
North Asia
Japan to buy defense tech to prevent leaks from failing companies
Nikkei Asia
The Japanese government will offer to buy technical documents related to defense technologies from companies that are withdrawing from the business to prevent the leakage of such information.
Southeast Asia
How Cambodia’s Internet gateway will harm the Internet
The Internet Society
Adrian Wan and Charles Mok
The national gateway will manage all local and international Internet traffic—both incoming and outgoing. According to the decree, it aims to “strengthen the effectiveness and efficiency of the national revenue collection” and support the “protection of national security, and preservation of social order, culture, and national tradition.” Much of the substance of the decree, however, is undefined and unspecified.
South & Central Asia
Gujarat BJP’s social media post removed after row
Hindustan Times
Deeksha Bhardwaj
A social media post by Gujarat unit of the BJP that depicted Muslims hanging by a noose was made unavailable on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, a day after it sparked massive outrage.
United Kingdom
UK ready to launch retaliatory cyber-attacks on Russia, defence secretary tells MPs
The Independent
Rob Merrick
The UK is ready to launch cyber attacks on Russia if Moscow targets Britain’s computer networks after a Ukraine invasion, the defence secretary has threatened.
Sir Nick Clegg suspected by ministers over leaked plans for social media rules
The Times
Matt Dathan
Ministers believe that a civil servant is leaking secret information to Sir Nick Clegg about government plans to regulate Facebook and other social media platforms.
Europe
Ukraine braces for cyber invasion
The Economist
Ukraine stands in line for an onslaught of a different sort, from the country widely recognised as the world leader in digital warfare.
Credit Suisse denies wrongdoing after big banking data leak
BBC News
Credit Suisse has hit out after a massive data leak has brought to light the hidden wealth of several clients of the bank.
EU challenges China at the WTO to defend its high-tech sector
European Commission
The European Union is filing today a case against China at the World Trade Organization (WTO) for restricting EU companies from going to a foreign court to protect and use their patents. China severely restricts EU companies with rights to key technologies (such as 3G, 4G and 5G) from protecting these rights when their patents are used illegally or without appropriate compensation by, for example, Chinese mobile phone manufacturers. The patent holders that do go to court outside China often face significant fines in China, putting them under pressure to settle for licensing fees below market rates.
Russia
‘Dumb and lazy’: the flawed films of Ukrainian ‘attacks’ made by Russia’s ‘fake factory’
The Guardian
Luke Harding, Andrew Roth and Shaun Walker
Bellingcat founder Elliot Higgins says Russia’s propaganda films have got worse but that Russian viewers, especially the older generation, tend to believe fake TV footage.
The US is unmasking Russian hackers faster than ever
MIT Technology Review
Patrick Howell O'Neillarchive page
The White House was quick to publicly blame Russia for a cyberattack against Ukraine, the latest sign that cyber attribution is a crucial tool in the American arsenal.
Africa
Facebook accused by survivors of letting activists incite ethnic massacres with hate and misinformation in Ethiopia
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism
Jasper Jackson , Lucy Kassa , Kathleen Hall , Zecharias Zelalem
Bureau’s investigation has found that Facebook is said to have frequently ignored requests for support from fact checkers based in the country and some civil society organisations say they have not met with the company in 18 months.
Misc
The Cyber Social Contract
Foreign Affairs
Chris Inglis and Harry Krejsa
Too often, this state of affairs produces digital ecosystems where private information is easily accessible, predatory technology is inexpensive, and momentary lapses in vigilance can snowball into a continent-wide catastrophe.
AI-generated faces have crossed the uncanny valley and are now more trustworthy than real ones
Fast Company
After identifying 800 images of real and fake faces, Farid and Nightingale asked participants to look at a selection of them and sort them into real and fake. Participants were correct less than half the time, with an average accuracy of 48.2%.
Can we use the same methods as intelligence officers do to help plan for the future
ABC Radio
Andy Owen
If you want to get a more accurate picture from what you read or listen to, it makes sense, at a minimum, to ask yourself the three questions we asked when we evaluated intelligence sources in Helmand province.
Events and Podcasts
ASPI Webinar Launch: The future of assistance to law enforcement in an end-to-end encrypted world
ASPI
ASPI’s International Cyber Policy Centre is delighted to invite you to the online launch of its new report ‘The future of assistance to law enforcement in an end-to-end encrypted world’. Join report author Tom Uren alongside panellists Brendan Dowling, First Assistant Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs Digital and Policy Division, and Clair Deevy, Director of Public Policy at WhatsApp for a discussion on how encryption has affected assistance to law enforcement, moderated by ASPI's Fergus Hanson.
Jobs
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. Analysts usually have at least 5 years, often 7-10 years’ of work experience. Senior analysts usually have a minimum of 15 years relevant work experience and, in addition to research, they take on a leadership role in the centre and tend to be involved in staff and project management, fundraising and stakeholder engagement.
ICPC Data Analyst
ASPI ICPC
ASPI’s International Cyber Policy Centre (ICPC) has an outstanding opportunity for talented Data Analysts to join its growing centre. ASPI’s ICPC undertakes complex research on some of the most challenging issues at the intersection of technology and public policy. How do we develop international norms to deter information operations and coercive diplomacy, how should we build international cooperation on the development of emerging critical technologies, what is the right balance between regulation and innovation? We deliver empirical research that is policy-relevant and we’re looking for people who can help us analyse data at scale.