U.S. warning on North Korean hacking / Hackers selling Zoom zero-day for $500k / U.N. backs down on partnership with Tencent
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The U.S. government warned that North Korea’s digital activities, including cybertheft and extortion, threatens the “integrity and stability of the international finance system.” Bloomberg
People who trade in zero-day exploits say there are two Zoom zero-days, one for Windows and one for MacOS, on the market. VICE
The U.N. has backed down on a partnership with Tencent after U.S. officials and human rights advocates complained that Tencent aids Beijing in surveillance. Foreign Policy
ASPI ICPC
ASPI ICPC’s Elise Thomas and ASPI’s Dr John Coyne speak with Peta Lowe about the potential impact of Covid-19 on far right-wing extremism, recruitment and radicalisation.
ASPI
Returning to work during the pandemic
ASPI
@michael_ASPI
This Strategic Insight sketches out that path, with the answers involving mass testing, and companies funded and supported to do rapid testing, data collection and analysis. It will rely on smartphone apps for data collection to enable outbreak suppression and contact tracing.
Insta wars: China tensions in Southeast Asia flare online in battle of memes | The Japan Times
The Japan Times
"While #Nnevvy started off as an intense overnight Twitter war between Thailand and China, it's now turned into meaningful diplomatic engagement with Hong Kong and Taiwan," said Tracy Beattie of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.
Coronavirus
Surveillance Won’t Stop the Coronavirus
The New York Times
@_pmolnar @dnbsevilla
Access to adequate health care, including protective equipment and sufficient testing, will do more good than another hackathon.
Has coronavirus opened the door to mass electronic surveillance in the UK?
The Guardian
@gabyhinsliff
An app that, once downloaded, lets you escape lockdown may sound tempting, but its implications could be dystopian
The Apple-Google Contact Tracing Plan Won't Stop Covid Alone
WIRED
@sidneyfussell @willknight
Putting the privacy of these smartphone apps aside, few Americans have been tested—and there's a risk of false positives.(
Would you give up health or location data to return to work?
AP
@larsonchristina @mattoyeah
As countries around the world edge toward ending lockdowns and restarting their economies and societies, citizens are being more closely monitored, in nations rich and poor, authoritarian and free.
Australia
Coronavirus tracking app to be rolled out in Australia only with privacy safeguards – minister
The Guardian
@farrm51
The federal government has promised a systematic assessment of the privacy impacts of a controversial app identifying contacts with victims of the coronavirus, which could delay the prime minister’s preferred two-week deadline for its rollout in Australia.
China
U.N. Backs Down on Partnership With Chinese Firm for 75th Anniversary
Foreign Policy
@columlynch @RobbieGramer
The decision comes after U.S. officials and human rights advocates complained that Tencent aids Beijing in surveillance.
China’s Central Bank to Run Simulations of Digital Currency Use
Bloomberg
China’s central bank has given the green light for some commercial lenders to run trials of its digital currency, according to people familiar with the matter, bringing it a step closer to becoming the world’s first major monetary authority to issue its own digital tender.
Tencent and Huawei join new national committee on blockchain standards
TechNode
Government, private sector and academic are coming together to standardize China's messy blockchain industry.
Inside China's Plan to Power Global Blockchain Adoption
CoinDesk
China is about to launch its national blockchain platform, part of Beijing’s grand strategy to lead the digital transformation of the world economy.
Hosuk Lee-Makiyama @leemakiyama
My comments in @ftchina on China Mobile 5G allocating nearly 90% to Chinese vendors. Key point cut out from the piece – until the EU markets takes off, the reverse applies to the market outside China where Huawei has only 8%. Bifurcation fait accompli. https://t.co/CBCO4IoOMsUSA
Google to Slow Hiring for Rest of 2020, CEO Pichai Tells Staff
Bloomberg
@mhbergen
Google parent Alphabet Inc. is slowing hiring for the remainder of the year, the most drastic action by the web search giant since the Covid-19 pandemic began battering its advertising business several weeks ago.
North Asia
U.S. Warns North Korean Hacking Threatens International Finance
Bloomberg
@asebenius
The U.S. government warned that North Korea’s digital activities, including cybertheft and extortion, threatens the “integrity and stability of the international finance system.”
Southeast Asia
Insta wars: China tensions in Southeast Asia flare online in battle of memes | The Japan Times
The Japan Times
Social media anger from Chinese nationalists over a Thai internet model's comments on the coronavirus has set off a storm, uniting pro-democracy campaigners against pro-Beijing cyberwarriors, with insults and mocking memes flying.
NZ & Pacific Islands
Fears of digital inequality as governments use technology in the face of coronavirus
ABC Pacific Beat
@iamprianka
Faced with the coronavirus pandemic and stay-at-home orders, governments and organisations around the Pacific are embracing online tools to share information, broadcast news alerts and shift their work online.
UK
Russian disinfo targets UK Prime Minister’s hospitalization
DFRLab
Russian campaign transforms Boris Johnson’s supplemental oxygen support into far more ominous ventilator treatment.
BT delays Huawei strip out despite signing Ericsson deal
The Financial Times
BT has delayed the timetable for stripping out Huawei-made equipment from its existing systems despite awarding a new contract to Ericsson to provide a new core network. The telecoms group said at the end of 2018 that it would strip out all equipment made by the Chinese company from the most sensitive part of its EE mobile phone network within two years but has now abandoned that target.
Former BT chairman Mike Rake joins Huawei UK board
The Financial Times
Mike Rake, the former BT chairman and president of the CBI, has joined Huawei’s UK board as a non-executive director after defending the Chinese company against a political onslaught in recent weeks.. The government resisted pressure from the US to ban the use of Huawei equipment altogether on national security grounds in January. But a rebellion by some Conservative politicians over the issue has reopened the debate over Huawei’s role in Britain’s critical national infrastructure.
Europe
Uncovering Operation NEPTUN, the Cold War’s Most Daring Disinformation Campaign
WIRED
@RidT
Rumored Nazi treasure, a dark Bohemian lake, an unsuspecting TV crew—and a brilliant spy.
Russia
Putin’s Long War Against American Science
The New York Times
@WilliamJBroad
A decade of health disinformation promoted by President Vladimir Putin of Russia has sown wide confusion, hurt major institutions and encouraged the spread of deadly illnesses.
Misc
The Internet Archive Is Being Used As A Disinformation Mule
Medium
@C_3PJoe
Within the last week or so, I have observed an influx of stories shared from people that link to one of my favorite internet resources, especially from the lens of Open Source Intelligence (OSINT), and that is The Internet Archive (archive.org.) From Wikipedia, ‘The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of “universal access to all knowledge.”’ I have observed links to direct disinformation campaigns being shared on social media with links to the Internet Archive. At first, I scoffed it off then began to see a pattern. Below is the analysis.
Hackers Are Selling a Critical Zoom Zero-Day Exploit for $500,000
VICE News
@lorenzofb
People who trade in zero-day exploits say there are two Zoom zero-days, one for Windows and one for MacOS, on the market.
Houseparty Vies With Zoom to Be Homebound Chatters’ App of Choice
Bloomberg
@KurtWagner8
The Epic Games-owned startup has seen 50 million signups in the past month.
Social-media companies must flatten the curve of misinformation
Nature
The pandemic lays bare the failure to quarantine online scams, hoaxes and lies amid political battles.
The Devastating Decline of a Brilliant Young Coder
WIRED
@sandraupson
Lee Holloway programmed internet security firm Cloudflare into being. But then he became apathetic, distant, and unpredictable—for a long time, no one could make sense of it.
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