US agencies hacked in foreign cyber espionage campaign linked to Russia | Israeli spy tech firm says it can break into Signal app | Thailand's digital activism
Follow us on Twitter. The Daily Cyber Digest focuses on the topics we work on, including cyber, critical technologies & strategic issues like foreign interference.
A far-reaching Russian hack that sent U.S. government and corporate officials scrambling in recent days appears to have been a quietly sophisticated bit of online spying. Investigators at cybersecurity firm FireEye, which itself was victimized in the operation, marveled that the meticulous tactics involved “some of the best operational security” its investigators had ever seen, using at least one piece of malicious software never previously detected. The Washington Post
Israeli phone-hacking firm Cellebrite can now break into Signal, an encrypted app considered safe from external snooping, it claimed in a blog post on Thursday. Meanwhile, a U.S. report revealed Friday that American school districts have also bought the firm’s technology. Haaretz
The most recent wave of political activism in Thailand this year saw the emergence of a countrywide youth-led democracy movement against the military-dominated coalition, as well as a nationalist counter-protest movement in support of the establishment. ASPI ICPC
ASPI ICPC
NEW REPORT - Thailand's political discourse throughout the past decade has increasingly been shaped and amplified by social media and digital activism.
ASPI International Cyber Policy Centre
@elisethoma5 @tracingtheworld @AlbertYZhang
The most recent wave of political activism this year saw the emergence of a countrywide youth-led democracy movement against the military-dominated coalition, as well as a nationalist counter-protest movement in support of the establishment. The steady evolution of tactics on the part of the government, the military and protesters reflects an increasingly sophisticated new battleground for democracy, both on the streets and the screens. Understanding these complex dynamics is crucial for any broader analysis of the Thai protest movement and its implications. In this report, we analyse samples of Twitter data relating to the online manifestation of contemporary political protests in Thailand. We explore two key aspects in which the online manifestation of the protests differs from its offline counterpart. That includes (1) the power dynamics between institutional actors and protesters and (2) the participation and engagement of international actors surrounding the protests.
The power dynamics of Thailand’s digital activism
The Strategist
@elisethoma5 @tracingtheworld @AlbertYZhang
Thailand has a long history of political instability and civil strife, with democracy having been repeatedly disrupted by a strong culture of military intervention and monarchical overreach during the past century. Against this backdrop, the country’s political discourse in the past decade has increasingly been shaped and amplified by social media and digital activism.
China
How China’s Control of Information is a Cyber Weakness
Lawfare
The Chinese government’s efforts to disincentivize encryption—to allow for censorship and surveillance—have created an online environment where even websites that carry sensitive government, health and commercial data remain unencrypted. This leaves them open to exploitation by intelligence agencies and cybercriminals.
Deals involving Tencent, Alibaba fined over antitrust
TechNode
@weishengn
Chinese regulators imposed antitrust-related fines on three acquisition deals involving Alibaba, Tencent, and SF Express on Monday, in a sign of increasing concern about monopolistic behavior by internet giants.
China’s Drive to Make Semiconductor Chips Is Failing
Foreign Policy
@sbabones
The stunning success of U.S. efforts to hobble Huawei shows the fragility of Beijing’s highly centralized tech sector.
USA
Russian hack was 'classic espionage’ with stealthy, targeted tactics
The Washington Post
@craigtimberg @nakashimae
The far-reaching Russian hack that sent U.S. government and corporate officials scrambling in recent days appears to have been a quietly sophisticated bit of online spying. Investigators at cybersecurity firm FireEye, which itself was victimized in the operation, marveled that the meticulous tactics involved “some of the best operational security” its investigators had ever seen, using at least one piece of malicious software never previously detected.
U.S. Homeland Security, thousands of businesses scramble after suspected Russian hack Reuters
U.S. Agencies Hacked in Foreign Cyber Espionage Campaign Linked to Russia WSJ
IT company SolarWinds says it may have been hit in 'highly sophisticated' hack
Reuters
IT company SolarWinds said on Sunday that monitoring products it released in March and June of this year may have been surreptitiously tampered with in a "highly-sophisticated, targeted and manual supply chain attack by a nation state."
FTC launches sweeping privacy study of top tech platforms
Axios
@ashleyrgold
The Federal Trade Commission will announce Monday that it's launching a new inquiry into the privacy and data collection practices of major tech firms including Amazon, TikTok owner ByteDance, Twitter, YouTube and Facebook as well as its subsidiary WhatsApp, Axios has learned.
Apple TV Was Making a Show About Gawker. Then Tim Cook Found Out.
The New York Times
@benyt
Big tech companies now exert huge influence over what stories get told. The message is clear: Be careful whom you offend.
South and Central Asia
Indian IT companies step up fight against cyberattacks
Nikkei Asia
Indian IT companies are citing the increasing intensity of cyberattacks, as well as the need to secure larger areas including remote workplaces amid the pandemic, as reasons for beefing up their countermeasures.
Europe
Big Tech Turns Its Lobbyists Loose on Europe, Alarming Regulators
The New York Times
@satariano @MatinaStevis
Silicon Valley is building a powerful influence industry in Brussels, which has “never seen this kind of money” spent this way.
The Americas
Middle East
Israeli spy tech firm says it can break into Signal app previously considered safe from hacking
Haaretz
@omerbenj
Israeli phone-hacking firm Cellebrite can now break into Signal, an encrypted app considered safe from external snooping, it claimed in a blog post on Thursday. Meanwhile, a U.S. report revealed Friday that American school districts have also bought the firm’s technology.
Misc
Pornhub just removed most of its videos
The Verge
@jake_k
Pornhub is removing all videos uploaded to its site by unverified users, millions of videos in total, as part of a crackdown on user-uploaded content after two major payment processors suspended service. The decision, first reported by Motherboard, stems from a New York Times report that found the site was hosting videos of people who are underage and videos showing children being assaulted.
YouTube, Gmail and Google Drive crash for thousands of internet users
ABC News
Many services from Alphabet Inc, including YouTube, Gmail and Google Drive, were down briefly for thousands of users across the globe on Monday. The company's video platform did not load for users and had an error message: "Something went wrong…"
Research
Jobs
Outreach and Engagement Coordinator
ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society (ADM+S)
The ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society (ADM+S) are currently seeking an Outreach and Engagement Coordinator based in the News and Media focus area of the Centre of Excellence, connecting across several of the Centre’s research programs.