U.S. threatens use of novel export control to damage Russia’s strategic industries | Australia will consider cybersecurity support to Ukraine | Intel plans $20bn 'megasite' in Ohio in chip race
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The Biden administration is threatening to use a novel export control to damage strategic Russian industries, from artificial intelligence and quantum computing to civilian aerospace, if Moscow invades Ukraine, administration officials say. The Washington Post
Australia won’t send military assistance to Ukraine, but is considering cyber security support if Russia does not back down, as a growing chorus of global voices call for a de-escalation of tensions. The Australian
Intel announced an investment of more than $20 billion to build two new chip plants in the U.S. state of Ohio as competition heats up with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Samsung Electronics, which have each committed billions of dollars to capacity expansion this year. Nikkei Asia
ASPI ICPC
Liberal MPs pledge to boycott WeChat after PM blocked from platform
The Age
Lisa Visentin & Eryk Bagshaw
Liberal MPs say they will not use Chinese social media app WeChat in the lead up to the federal election after Prime Minister Scott Morrison was blocked from using the platform in a move some government MPs have likened to foreign interference.
Australia PM Morrison loses control of WeChat Chinese account as election looms
Reuters
Kirsty Needham & Eduardo Baptista
Fergus Ryan, senior analyst with the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said having the Prime Minister’s WeChat account registered under the name of a Chinese citizen was “always risky and ill-advised”, and appeared to be a breach of WeChat rules.Chinese businessman reveals why he bought Scott Morrison's WeChat account
ABC
Echo Hui & Stephen Dziedzic
Fergus Ryan, from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said it was "risky and ill-advised" for the Prime Minister's Office to register a Chinese national for the account but said it would still be best for both Labor and the Coalition to simply boycott WeChat because of the risk of censorship on the platform.
The World
As Putin Threatens Ukraine, Cyber Is the Tip of the Spear
CIGI
Stephanie Carvin
Russian cyberattacks should be understood as a menacing form of diplomatic language employed against states deemed to have crossed it. Russian cyberattacks have become as much about generating fear as about any other objective. While these cyberattacks fall short of an armed attack, they can cause great damage and confusion, and they do violate international law.
Why Is Silicon Valley Still Waiting for the Next Big Thing?
The New York Times
Cade Metz
Silicon Valley’s hype machine has long been accused of churning ahead of reality. But in recent years, the tech industry’s critics have noticed that its biggest promises — the ideas that really could change the world — seem further and further on the horizon. The great wealth generated by the industry in recent years has generally been thanks to ideas, like the iPhone and mobile apps, that arrived years ago.
U.S. threatens use of novel export control to damage Russia’s strategic industries if Moscow invades Ukraine
The Washington Post
Ellen Nakashima & Jeanne Whalen
The Biden administration is threatening to use a novel export control to damage strategic Russian industries, from artificial intelligence and quantum computing to civilian aerospace, if Moscow invades Ukraine, administration officials say.
Facebook Promised Poor Countries Free Internet. People Got Charged Anyway.
The Wall Street Journal
Justin Scheck, Tom McGinty & Newley Purnell
Facebook says it’s helping millions of the world’s poorest people get online through apps and services that allow them to use internet data free. Internal company documents show that many of these people end up being charged in amounts that collectively add up to an estimated millions of dollars a month.
Australia
Marise Payne says Aussie troops won’t be sent to Ukraine, but cyber assistance to be rendered
The Australian
Ellen Ransley
“In the cyber context there has been significant cyber attack already in the Ukraine, understood to have come potentially from Russian sources. And to be very clear, this is a challenge that they have been dealing with for some time. If Australia can assist in that regard, we will.”
Australians urged to leave Ukraine now due to 'increased risk of armed conflict' with Russia
ABC
On Monday, Senator Payne said she had asked Australia's Cyber Affairs Ambassador Tobias Feakin to discuss "possible avenues of assistance" with the Ukrainian authorities.
China
A Visionary Without a Country
ProPublica
Daniel Golden & Jeff Kao
Celebrated scientist Joe Tsien retreated to China after his Georgia university and the U.S. government began investigating him. He says he’s a victim of anti-Asian discrimination, but key parts of his story don’t add up.
Opinion: Intel should not have apologized to China
Washington Post
Editorial Board
Intel has been a vocal supporter of the Innovation and Competition Act, which the House is considering. The bill includes tens of billions of dollars to boost the U.S. semiconductor industry — helping the United States keep its technological advantage over China, and democracy its edge over autocracy. Intel might argue that the proposed subsidies would lessen its dependence on China, which demands that the company compromise on this country’s values. But it is hard to see Intel as the United States’ national champion when it bows so obsequiously to China’s noxious, repressive regime.
The Quantum Edge
The Wire China
Anastasiia Carrier & Chloe Fox
While the U.S. government has moved to promote quantum science domestically, the Commerce Department’s sanctions represented the first time the federal government was acting defensively, and it underscored what observers in the field have been warning about for years: China is rapidly closing the quantum gap. “It’s a recognition that quantum computing is a very crucial technology for the military in the future, and also for the capabilities of the U.S. in the strategic competition with China.”
USA
Intel plans $20bn 'megasite' in Ohio in chip race with TSMC
Nikkei Asia
Yifan Yu
Intel announced Friday an investment of more than $20 billion to build two new chip plants in the U.S. state of Ohio as competition heats up with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Samsung Electronics, which have each committed billions of dollars to capacity expansion this year.
DHS warns of potential Russia cyberattacks amid tensions
CNN
Sean Lyngaas
Russia would consider conducting a cyberattack on the US homeland if Moscow perceived that a US or NATO response to a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine "threatened [Russia's] long-term national security," according to a Department of Homeland Security intelligence bulletin obtained by CNN.
Google deceived consumers about how it profits from their location data, attorneys general allege in lawsuits
The Washington Post
Cat Zakrzewski
The lawsuits, expected to be filed in the District of Columbia, Texas, Washington and Indiana, allege the company made misleading promises about its users’ ability to protect their privacy through Google account settings, dating from at least 2014. The suits seek to stop Google from engaging in these practices and to fine the company.
South Asia
Why India-Australia technology cooperation is a welcome development
Policy Forum
Arjun Gargeyas
Both states have their own areas of expertise in the technology domain that can serve as a solid foundation for technology transfer agreements. This can help both the countries in developing and improving capabilities in different critical and emerging technologies. By partnering on technology, the two countries could also broaden their economic and political relationship, which for many years was considered under-developed.
Watch Prime Minister Modi’s speech to ASPI’s Sydney Dialogue here
North Asia
Japan steps up quantum push as U.S. and China forge ahead
Nikkei Asia
Akira Oikawa and Natsumi Iwata
Japan will revamp its national quantum computing strategy, aiming to become self-sufficient in the area as the U.S. and China continue to make progress on mastering the critical next-generation technology.
Move over, Toyota: Japan's chip industry exports match carmakers'
Nikkei Asia
Kosuke Takami
Japan's semiconductor industry exports are now on par with those of the country's passenger vehicles following a raft of orders from China and the U.S.
Europe
Dutch university scandal taps into fears of Chinese influence peddling
POLITICO
Lukas Kotkamp
A major Dutch university’s decision to sever a Chinese funding stream has reignited political debate in the Netherlands about the methods Beijing is using to try to steer human rights discussions in Europe. Following an investigation by Dutch broadcaster NOS last week, the Free University of Amsterdam, the country’s fourth largest, is paying back a subsidy granted to the Cross Cultural Human Rights Center (CCHRC), an independent research institute operating under the university’s mantle, over funding connections to the Chinese Communist Party. The link is problematic because the center’s website cites views championing China’s human rights policy.
German publishers oppose Google plan to phase out third-party cookies
Financial Times
Javier Espinoza
Axel Springer, the publisher of titles such as Bild and Politico, is among the hundreds of publishers, advertisers and media groups that have argued to the bloc’s competition chief, Margrethe Vestager, that Google is breaking EU law with its move to phase out third-party cookies from its Chrome browser by next year.
Russia
Events
Jobs
ICPC Analyst / Project Lead - Cyber Capacity Building
ASPI ICPC
ASPI’s International Cyber Policy Centre (ICPC) has a unique opportunity for a talented Analyst / Project Lead to support a new project that looks at supporting states in the Indo-Pacific in defending against cyber-enabled theft of intellectual property. The successful candidate will work in a small, high-performing team to produce original research and analysis that directly informs broader diplomatic and cyber capacity building activities on the topic of equipping countries globally with tools to defend against the use of cyber tools to steal IP for commercial purposes.Together with a project lead on Learning and Development and the Project Director, the analyst will also participate in international workshops, provide training to foreign governments and present to other external stakeholders.
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.