US intel officials warned lawmakers of Russian meddling, angering Trump / US & allies blame Russia for cyberattack on Georgia / US defense agency personal data may have been 'compromised'

Feb 20, 2020

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Russia is aiding President Trump in the 2020 election, intelligence officials told lawmakers. Trump complained Democrats might exploit the news. The New York Times
The United States and its key allies on Thursday accused Russia’s main military intelligence agency of a broad cyberattack against the republic of Georgia in October that took out websites and interrupted television broadcasts, in a coordinated effort to deter Moscow from intervening in the 2020 presidential election in the United States. The New York Times
The U.S. defense agency responsible for secure communications for the U.S. president and other high-level officials said social security numbers and other personal data in its network may have been “compromised”, in a letter seen by Reuters that was sent to potential victims. Reuters

ASPI ICPC

ASPI Cyber Policy @ASPI_ICPC

🚨 NEW REPORT 🚨 'ICT for development in the Pacific islands: An assessment of e-government capabilities in: 🇫🇯 Fiji 🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea 🇼🇸 Samoa 🇸🇧 Solomon Islands 🇹🇴 Tonga 🇻🇺 Vanuatu by @BartHoogeveen is now available! aspi.org.au/report/ict-dev…

ICT for development in the Pacific islandsInformation and communication technologies (ICTs) as an invisible driver of socio-economic change have long captured the imagination of politicians, policymakers and aid professionals alike. Since the first fibre-optic submarine cable connected Fiji 20 years ago, many reports and studies have been…aspi.org.au

ICT for development in the Pacific islands
ASPI ICPC
@BartHoogeveen
This report finds that the potential of ICTs to enable stronger governance, effective public service delivery and better government services is there. In all countries that are part of this study, critical foundational infrastructure is in place. But there’s still a lot to be unlocked.

Huawei is a key player in Beijing’s anti-Muslim, Big Brother horrors
New York Post
@lukedepulford
As a recent report from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute put it: “Huawei works directly with the Chinese Government’s Public Security Bureau in Xinjiang on a range of projects.”

Josh Hawley @HawleyMO

Turns out Huawei is not only spying for #China Communist Party, but helping them carry out human rights atrocities. And this is who Europeans want to build their 5G networks?

Huawei is a key player in Beijing’s anti-Muslim, Big Brother horrorsYou’ve heard all about the camps. China detains more than 1 million Muslims in sprawling concrete prisons in its Xinjiang region. The regime hasn’t laid any charges against most of these men and wo…nypost.com

U.S. and Allies Blame Russia for Cyberattack on Republic of Georgia
The New York Times
@SangerNYT @MarcSantoraNYT
The United States and its key allies on Thursday accused Russia’s main military intelligence agency of a broad cyberattack against the republic of Georgia in October that took out websites and interrupted television broadcasts, in a coordinated effort to deter Moscow from intervening in the 2020 presidential election in the United States.

Secretary Pompeo @SecPompeo

We stand with #Georgia in condemning Russia’s cyber attack against its people and institutions. Russia must immediately cease this behavior in Georgia and elsewhere. The stability of #cyberspace depends on the responsible behavior of all nations.

The United States Condemns Russian Cyber Attack Against the Country of Georgia - United States Department of StateWe stand with Georgia in condemning Russia’s cyber attack against its people and institutions. Russia must immediately cease this behavior in Georgia and elsewhere. The stability of cyberspace depends on the responsible behavior of all nations.go.usa.gov

Tobias Feakin @AusAmbCyber

Australia has joined Georgia and international partners in calling out Russia for its cyber attack on Georgia in October 2019. We call on Russia to be a responsible state actor in cyberspace

Attribution of malicious cyber activity in Georgia by Russian Military Intelligence | Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Minister for…Today, the Australian Government has joined international partners to condemn malicious cyber activity by Russia targeting the state of Georgia in October laforeignminister.gov.au

Foreign Office 🇬🇧 @foreignoffice

📰 NEWS: The UK, Georgia and international partners have exposed Russia’s military intelligence service as being responsible for significant cyber-attacks against Georgia last year. 🔗 https://t.co/E4ZZfXqPw7p

Timo S. Koster @tskos

Netherlands condemns #cyber attack of October 2019 on #Georgia. We share the assessment that #Russia is responsible ! #cybersecurity https://t.co/VuRrveRkF2

Stef Blok @ministerBlok

Met internationale partners veroordelen wij de cyberaanvallen van 28 oktober 2019 tegen Georgië. Ook Nederland acht Rusland hiervoor verantwoordelijk. Verklaring: https://t.co/hHI1wEyE0Y

Czech MFA @CzechMFA

1/2 @CzechMFA condemns cyberattacks on #Georgia from October 28, 2019. While we do not have the primary forensic evidence in this case, we have no reason to doubt the attribution assessment made by our allies → 🇺🇸bit.ly/2V8t3G0 🇬🇧https://t.co/Uf0AlzMSXVs

Czech MFA @CzechMFA

2/2 Attacks like the one on #Georgia are a clear violation of state sovereignty, undermine trust, and threaten the rules-based multilateral order. We stand ready to help our Georgian partners to build cyber-resilience to defend effectively from any future attacks.

Australia

ABC Politics @politicsabc

Prime Minister Scott Morrison responds to questions about whether the AFP needs help to track down online criminals, utilising the resources of ASD. Here's the story from @andrewprobyn and @StephieBorys yesterday ab.co/327KQ1s #auspol

Insiders ABC @InsidersABC

.@David_Speers on a hideous crime and the Government's plan to use spies to track down offenders #SpeersTake #Insiders #auspol

The Australian behind technology that could 'end privacy as we know it' says it is being used here
ABC News
@alextighe_ @julia_andre7
The technology, developed by Australian Hoan Ton-That, uses a database of 3 billion pictures of people that have been harvested from websites across the internet.

Australia Has 17 Million Facebook Users And Seven Facebook Fact Checkers
BuzzFeed News
@cameronwilson
"It's incredible the sheer speed at which lies travel, particularly when they’re targeted at groups," one fact checker said.

Vodafone and Optus complain of 5G equipment 'duopoly'
AFR
@NGillezeau
Vodafone and Optus executives say they want more viable 5G network equipment suppliers beyond Sweden's Ericcson and Finland's Nokia now that Huawei has been knocked out of the Australian mix.

Encrypted messages favour the worst of the worst
The Australian
@rachael_falk
Imagine arriving in a new city to discover the police no longer patrol its streets. They don’t walk the beat or watch neighbourhoods from the safety of their cars. This city is home to the worst of the worst: child traffickers, child pornographers who groom children and share images, and terrorists who plot to kill and maim large numbers of Australians.

China

China finds a use abroad for Twitter, a medium it fears at home
The Economist
As the crisis deepened over the outbreak of covid-19, China’s leader, Xi Jinping, convened a meeting of the country’s most powerful body, the Politburo Standing Committee. One topic the seven men discussed on February 3rd was how to manage publicity. Officials, they agreed, must “tell the story of China’s fight against the epidemic, and show the Chinese people’s spirit of unity and togetherness”. In response, Chinese diplomats have been turning to a medium that most of them eschewed until just a year ago: Twitter. Blocked in China, it is fast becoming a favoured tool for the Communist Party as it tries to amplify its voice globally.

USA

Russia Backs Trump’s Re-election, and He Fears Democrats Will Exploit Its Support
The New York Times
@adamgoldmanNYT @julianbarnes @maggieNYT @npfandos
A classified briefing to lawmakers angered the president, who complained that Democrats would “weaponize” the disclosure.

U.S. defense agency personal data may have been 'compromised': letter
Reuters
The U.S. defense agency responsible for secure communications for the U.S. president and other high-level officials said social security numbers and other personal data in its network may have been “compromised”, in a letter seen by Reuters that was sent to potential victims.

Attorney General Barr blasts Big Tech, raising prospect that firms could be held liable for dangerous, viral content online
The Washington Post
U.S. Attorney General William P. Barr on Wednesday questioned whether Silicon Valley companies for too long have dodged accountability for dangerous, harmful content posted on their sites and services

Details of 10.6 million MGM hotel guests posted on a hacking forum | ZDNet
ZDNet
@campuscodi
MGM Resorts said security incident took place last summer and notified impacted guests last year.

Navy, Beset by Aging Tech, Pushes for Rapid Modernization
The Wall Street Journal
@dnvolz @glubold
Aging and fragmented technology has left the U.S. Navy unable to fully defend itself from persistent cyberattacks from China and elsewhere, defense officials said, prompting an effort across the service to upgrade and secure computer networks.

Sanders implies Russia, not his supporters, may be to blame for online vitriol. Experts aren’t so sure.
Washington Post
@TonyRomm @isaacstanbecker
Sanders' language was indirect, offered on the debate stage here as his opponents faulted him for the behavior of his most strident fans. It quickly drew criticism from experts in disinformation, who said they had no evidence that the Kremlin had masqueraded as Sanders voters.

Twitter is testing new ways to fight misinformation — including a community-based points system
NBC News
@oneunderscore__
Twitter is experimenting with adding brightly colored labels directly beneath lies and misinformation posted by politicians and public figures, according to a leaked demo of new features sent to NBC News.

Ben Collins @oneunderscore__

Here's what it might look like when a politician tweets "harmfully misleading" content after March 5th. Big red/orange flag underneath the offending tweet. These are screenshots from that were left on a public testing site. Twitter confirmed they're possible iterations.

@U.S.CyberCommand @US_CYBERCOM

“‘We’re not fighting an enemy that people can see,’ said CNO ADM Gilday. ‘And we’re not fighting a war where international norms exist. But make no mistake, we are in conflict day-in and day-out in the cyber realm and you all are on the front lines.’” https://t.co/bPM6snWxgj

Fleet Cyber Command @USFLEETCYBERCOM

NCWDG Celebrates Opening of Cyber Foundry https://t.co/qkz3grIR8R

South Asia

India Is In The Middle Of A Coronavirus YouTube Frenzy, And It’s Going To Get People Killed
BuzzFeed News
@broderick @pranavdixit
The most popular YouTube video in the world about the coronavirus was created by a channel called Wonderful Secrets of the World, which typically publishes Hindi-language videos about sports and cars, as well as roundups like “Top 5 Secret Places Hidden in Famous Locations" or “30 Amazing Facts About Human Body." The channel, the logo of which looks uncannily like that of Volkswagen, hides its subscriber count, but 16 of its videos have been viewed over a million times — the most popular being the coronavirus explainer, which has been seen 13.6 million times as of Wednesday.

UK

Google users in UK to lose EU data protection - sources
Reuters
@josephmenn
Google is planning to move its British users’ accounts out of the control of European Union privacy regulators, placing them under U.S. jurisdiction instead, sources said.

Europe

EU Proposes Rules for Artificial Intelligence to Limit Risks
AP
The European Union unveiled proposals Wednesday to regulate artificial intelligence that call for strict rules and safeguards on risky applications of the rapidly developing technology.

EU Commission to staff: Switch to Signal messaging app
Politico
The move is part of EU’s efforts to beef up cybersecurity, after several high-profile incidents shocked diplomats and officials.

Meanwhile, WhatsApp cofounder Brian Acton has injected $50 million into Signal & joined the newly founded Signal Foundation as executive chairman. WIRED

Middle East

How Saudi Arabia Infiltrated Twitter
BuzzFeed News
From May 2015 until he was exposed that December, Alzabarah spied for the Saudi Arabian government inside Twitter, a criminal complaint from the FBI alleges. (Unless explicitly attributed to other sources, the details and allegations that follow are taken from the FBI’s criminal complaint.) Alzabarah and Ahmad Abouammo, a colleague on Twitter’s global media team, regularly accessed and delivered information that could’ve led Saudi intelligence to identify anonymous dissidents.

The criminal complaint

Misc

Larry Tesler: Computer scientist behind cut, copy and paste dies aged 74
BBC
Larry Tesler, an icon of early computing, has died at the age of 74. Mr Tesler started working in Silicon Valley in the early 1960s, at a time when computers were inaccessible to the vast majority of people. It was thanks to his innovations - which included the "cut", "copy" and "paste" commands - that the personal computer became simple to learn and use.

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