Videos reveal Russian forces closing in on Ukraine | C.I.A. Is collecting in bulk certain data affecting Americans | Australian government introduces ‘troll’ bill in Parliament
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Russian President Vladimir Putin and top Russian officials for months have been denying that Moscow is preparing to mount an invasion of neighboring Ukraine. But videos posted to TikTok and other social media platforms tell another story. The Washington Post
The Central Intelligence Agency has for years been collecting in bulk, without a warrant, some kind of data that can affect Americans’ privacy, according to a newly declassified letter by two senators. The New York Times
The federal government has forged ahead with its plan to amend the country’s defamation laws despite warnings from legal experts that the changes are rushed, poorly drafted and will leave social media users with fewer remedies against defamatory attacks online. The Sydney Morning Herald
ASPI ICPC
Event: Indigenous Technologies: Innovations Powering the Continuation of our Oldest Civilisations
The Sydney Dialogue
Indigenous technology entrepreneurs are blending their ancient cultures with new technologies in ways that are transforming the oldest civilisations on earth and challenging perceptions about the way new and emerging technology can be harnessed. In this panel discussion, Indigenous tech entrepreneurs and thought leaders will look ahead at how the world’s oldest societies will co-exist in a technology fuelled future. Streaming today: Monday 14th February at 12pm AEDT.
More sophisticated breed of hacker to emerge from Russia-Ukraine conflict
News.com.au
Duncan Murray
Australia could face a higher grade of cyber warrior in the wake of a conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which has become a staging for the ‘new cold war’. Cyber attacks being targeted at Ukraine are giving organised, well-funded and allegedly government-backed hackers – otherwise known as Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) – an opportunity to hone their skills, experts believe. “Russian APTs are getting the opportunity to test and apply their skills in anger … and actually hone their tradecraft,” Senior Analyst with ASPI’s International Cyber Policy Centre, Karly Winkler said.
World
NATO and Digital Cooperation with the Indo-Pacific
The German Marshall Fund of the United States
Meia Nouwens
In 2022, NATO finds itself in new territory. It is in the process of writing a new Strategic Concept, which will completed prior to the Madrid summit in June.11NATO, Strategic Concepts, November 29, 2021. While Russia remains a belligerent actor and threat to the alliance’s collective security, other challenges have arisen that the allies have yet to counter collectively. In particular, the political, economic, and military rise of China as well as its authoritarian turn have caused NATO to look further east than it has in the past and to consider whether the alliance as it currently stands is up to the task of countering the multifaceted challenges that China presents.
Australia
Government introduces ‘troll’ bill in Parliament despite widespread criticism
The Sydney Morning Herald
Michaela Whitbourn
The federal government has forged ahead with its plan to amend the country’s defamation laws despite warnings from legal experts that the changes are rushed, poorly drafted and will leave social media users with fewer remedies against defamatory attacks online.
Promise less, deliver more: Quad’s best answer to China
The Sydney Morning Herald
Hayley Channer
Friday’s Quad meeting is sure to rile China. On Friday morning, Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne hosts her US, Japanese and Indian counterparts in Melbourne. Playing host to the Quad is a boon for Australia – the smallest member in some respects – and follows the historic in-person Quad Leaders’ Summit in Washington last September.
Melbourne Quad meeting discusses security, pandemic recovery as India diverges on Ukraine invasion threat
ABC News
Stephen Dziedzic
Foreign Ministers from India, Australia, Japan and the United States met in Melbourne on Friday to discuss how they could coordinate efforts on a vast range of areas, including maritime security, pandemic recovery, vaccination, cyber security and global supply chain challenges.Joint Statement on the Inaugural India-Australia Foreign Ministers’ Cyber Framework Dialogue
Australian Federal Government
The Ministers recognised cooperation in the areas of cyber governance, cyber security, capacity building, innovation, digital economy, and cyber and critical technologies as an essential pillar of the India-Australia relationship.
Neo-Nazi unmasked as former Young Liberal
The Age
Nick McKenzie
On January 19, a propaganda video depicting three masked neo-Nazis burning an Aboriginal flag, performing Sieg Heil salutes and reciting a white supremacist manifesto began circulating on social media. The video was poorly filmed and produced, reeking of a desperate effort to gain publicity and followers for a new extremist group.
‘Defend democracy’: The race to tackle conspiracy theories ahead of federal election
The Sydney Morning Herald
Caitlin Fitzsimmons
A key part of the AEC’s thinking and our role is that if we don’t defend Australia’s democracy from potential disinformation about the electoral process.
The Canberra Convoy and the ‘War of Influencers’
Institute for Strategic Dialogue
Elise Thomas
Protesters inspired by Ottawa’s ‘Freedom Convoy’, an ongoing protest against COVID-19 vaccine mandates for truckers crossing the Canadian-US border, have now been camping out in the Australian capital Canberra for more than a week, periodically venturing out to rally in front of Parliament House. Reflective of protest dynamics in the social media era, what has evolved is part protest, part reality TV show, as prominent personalities tussle for influence and followers on social media. As a case study, the so-called ‘Canberra Convoy’ raises interesting questions about analysing protest movements in the social media age, some of which are explored in this article.
China
YouTube’s Olympics Highlights Are Riddled With Propaganda
WIRED
Morgan Meaker
Sports fans who tuned in to watch the Beijing Winter Olympics on YouTube are instead being served propaganda videos. An analysis of YouTube search results by WIRED found that people who typed “Beijing,” “Beijing 2022,” “Olympics,” or “Olympics 2022” were shown pro-China and anti-China propaganda videos in the top results. Five of the most prominent propaganda videos, which often appear above actual Olympics highlights, have amassed almost 900,000 views.
Read our new report, ‘Borrowing Mouths on Xinjiang’
Shenghe Resources plans to buy stake in Australia's Peak Rare Earths
Reuters
Min Zhang and Twinnie Siu
Chinese rare earth producer Shenghe Resources Holding Co Ltd 600392.SS said on Friday it planned to buy a 19.9% stake in Australian firm Peak Rare Earths PEK.AX to secure more overseas resources amid surging pries.
Eileen Gu defends China’s internet freedom. Her message is censored.
Protocol
Shen Lu
Controversy has swirled around U.S.-born skier Eileen Gu ever since she said she would compete in the Olympics as a member of the Chinese team rather than for the U.S., and all that chatter only got louder after she won a gold medal Tuesday. Amid the internet furor over her citizenship and her identity, a comment she made intended to defend China’s internet freedom backfired.
Eileen Gu's Instagram comment causes fury in China
Yahoo News
Jay Busbee
Viewers who tuned in to the English-language version of CNN on Chinese television one night shortly after the Olympic Opening Ceremony would have seen Jake Tapper excoriating China for its human rights violations and authoritarian rule. When Tapper mentioned Chinese president Xi Jinping, the screen was suddenly replaced with color bars and the message “No Signal Please Stand By.” The signal resumed moments later, as Tapper was wrapping up his remarks.Olympic Websites Scrub Conflicting Citizenship Info on China’s Star Winter Athlete
VOA News
Michael Lipin
The mystery surrounding the citizenship of U.S.-born Chinese Olympic team star Eileen Gu has deepened, with VOA learning that two Olympic websites scrubbed contradictory information about her status shortly after she won her first gold medal of the Beijing Winter Games.
A Beijing think tank offered a frank review of China’s technological weaknesses. Then the report disappeared
Science
Dennis Normile
A prominent Peking University think tank posted a surprisingly frank assessment of China’s technological strengths and weaknesses on 30 January—and took it down less than 1 week later. The report, titled China-US Strategic Competition in Technology: Analysis and Prospects in Mandarin, warns China has more to lose than the United States if technological cooperation between the countries should wither, a process called “decoupling.” It acknowledges that China still lags the United States in key technologies—particularly high-end semiconductors, operating systems and software, and aerospace.
USA
C.I.A. Is Collecting in Bulk Certain Data Affecting Americans, Senators Warn
The New York Times
Charlie Savage
The Central Intelligence Agency has for years been collecting in bulk, without a warrant, some kind of data that can affect Americans’ privacy, according to a newly declassified letter by two senators.
As U.S. ‘trucker convoy’ picks up momentum, foreign meddling adds to fray
NBC News
Ben Collins
Facebook said Friday it removed trucker and convoy groups run by overseas actors. Many anti-vaccine and conspiracy-driven groups have moved to embrace convoy organizing.
The Rabbit Hole Beneath the Crypto Couple Is Endless
VICE
Tim Marchman, Jordan Pearson, Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai, Joseph Cox, & Jason Koebler
Earlier this week, federal prosecutors accused Morgan, 31, and her husband, 34-year-old Ilya Lichtenstein, of conspiring to launder around $5 billion in stolen bitcoins.
CNN screenshot altered to add fake chyron about Putin and Biden
Associated Press
Karena Phan
The altered screenshot shows CNN anchor Kate Bolduan alongside an image of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The chyron reads, “Sources: Putin to delay invasion until Biden delivers weapons to Ukraine for Russia to capture.” “Actual CNN headline,” reads one post with over 22,000 likes on Twitter. While some users noted that the caption was a joke, and some weren’t sure if it was real, others shared it as an authentic CNN story. It’s not clear where the doctored image first emerged, but a reverse image search shows it has been circulating on Reddit and other message boards for several days.
Russia could hit U.S. chip industry, White House warns
Reuters
Alexandra Alper and Karen Freifeld
The White House is warning the chip industry to diversify its supply chain in case Russia retaliates against threatened U.S. export curbs by blocking access to key materials, people familiar with the matter said.
Clinton campaign paid to 'infiltrate' Trump Tower, White House servers to link Trump to Russia: Durham
Fox News
Brooke Singman
Lawyers for the Clinton campaign paid a technology company to ""infiltrate"" servers belonging to Trump Tower, and later the White House, in order to establish an ""inference"" and ""narrative"" to bring to government agencies linking Donald Trump to Russia, a filing from Special Counsel John Durham says.
US security and intelligence agencies prep for potential Russian hacking threats
CNN
Sean Lyngaas
Intelligence and national security agencies across the US government met on Friday to discuss how the Biden administration might respond to cyberattacks from Russia in light of the Ukraine crisis, three US officials familiar with the meeting told CNN.
The US must broaden its internet strategy beyond China
Brookings
Konstantinos Komaitis and Justin Sherman
Though beset by delay, the Alliance for the Future of the Internet has been pitched by the Biden administration as an effort to “provide an affirmative positive agenda for the future of the global internet.” At least, that’s the official position. Many in civil society view the initiative skeptically and are concerned that amid growing competition between Washington and Beijing, the alliance is more about countering Chinese influence over strategic technologies than it is about articulating a positive vision for the future of the internet.
Pacific Islands
Health officials confirm Omicron variant spreading through Tonga as Pacific Island nation records 31 new cases of COVID-19
ABC News
Health officials have confirmed the Omicron variant of COVID-19 has entered Tonga for the first time after last month's volcanic eruption, as the number of cases almost doubles to 64. Communications remain a problem in the kingdom after the eruption cut the undersea cable linking Tonga to the rest of the world. Tonga Cable Limited said this week that a cable repair ship had found the broken ends of the link but damage was worse than expected, meaning it was unlikely to be fixed before February 20.
South Asia
India’s Semiconductor Pursuit
Observer Research Foundation
Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries including India have come to recognize the importance of global supply chains and the vulnerabilities in the absence of any concrete action to diversify supply chain partners. This is particularly true in the case of semiconductors.
UK
The UK’s homegrown conspiracy groups with links to QAnon
The Guardian
Mark Townsend
The most comprehensive analysis of the UK’s anti-vax community reveals that just 0.32% of the population is active in the movement, contradicting its claim to represent “the 99%”. The first analysis of its kind shows that the anti-vax movement is far smaller than expected, with about 220,000 unique active users identified within a network of 427 groups on the messaging app Telegram, its preferred platform.
Former spy chief urges UK to ‘strain every sinew’ to keep Arm in London
Financial Times
Sir Alex Younger, the former head of British secret service MI6, has weighed into the political and corporate battle over the future home of Arm Holdings, saying the British government needed to “strain every sinew” to ensure that the world-beating chip designer stayed in the UK.
Europe
There is no cyber 'shock and awe': Plausible threats in the Ukrainian conflict
War on the Rocks
Lennart Maschmeyer and Nadiya Kostyuk
The specter of cyber war is back. Not only does Russia’s massive military buildup along Ukraine’s borders bring a growing risk of the largest-scale military clash since World War II, but many analysts stress the potential for destabilizing and devastating cyber-attacks in its wake. Jason Healey predicts that if Russia invades, “the opening salvo is likely to be with offensive cyber capabilities.” William Courtney and Peter A. Wilson from RAND warn of the “massive employment” of cyber warfare tools to create “shock and awe causing Ukraine’s defenses or will to fight to collapse.”
European, U.S. regulators tell banks to prepare for Russian cyberattack threat
Reuters
John O'Donnell and Huw Jones
The European Central Bank is preparing banks for a possible Russian-sponsored cyber attack as tensions with Ukraine mount, two people with knowledge of the matter said, as the region braces for the financial fallout of any conflict.
Human activity' behind Svalbard cable disruption
The Barents Observer
Atle Staalesen
Norwegian police has made discoveries that indicate human involvement in the Svalbard cable disruption that took place on 7th January this year. “Preliminary investigations strengthen our hypothesis about human impact leading to the loss of communication in one of the cables,” police lawyer Ronny Jørgensen told newspaper Bergens Tidende.
TikTok censored the word "re-education camp."
Netzpolitik
While the Chinese government is detaining members of the Uyghur minority in camps, TikTok has restricted words like "labor camp" and "re-education camp" in Germany: they have been replaced with asterisks in automatic captions.
Russia
The TikTok buildup: Videos reveal Russian forces closing in on Ukraine
The Washington Post
Paul Sonne, Joyce Sohyun Lee, Mary Ilyushina, Ruby Mellen and Atthar Mirza
Russian President Vladimir Putin and top Russian officials for months have been denying that Moscow is preparing to mount an invasion of neighboring Ukraine. But videos posted to TikTok and other social media platforms tell another story.
Russian drones shot down over Ukraine were full of Western parts. Can the U.S. cut them off?
The Washington Post
Jeanne Whalen
Surveillance drones contained computer chips and components made in the U.S. and Europe. Washington is considering steps to block this trade.Macron refused Russian COVID test in Putin trip over DNA theft fears
Reuters
Michel Rose
French President Emmanuel Macron refused a Kremlin request that he take a Russian COVID-19 test when he arrived to see President Vladimir Putin this week, to prevent Russia getting hold of Macron's DNA, two sources in Macron's entourage told Reuters.
U.S. intelligence report details 'indirect' Russian government support for Western neofascist groups
Yahoo News
Zach Dorfman and Jana Winter
A U.S. intelligence community assessment obtained by Yahoo News concluded that the Russian government is providing “indirect and passive support” to neofascist groups operating in the U.S. and elsewhere, but stops short of accusing the Kremlin of supplying financial or material assistance to Western extremist groups.
Americas
Latin American NGOs Denounce 'Perverse' Facial Recognition
IPVM
Robert Wren Gordon
A consortium of 11 Latin American NGOs, released a report on what it labels as "perverse" facial recognition implementations by nine Latin American governments, including criticism of major manufacturers such as Dahua and Hikvision.
The Canadian ‘Freedom Convoy’ is backed by a Bangladeshi marketing firm and right-wing fringe groups
Grid News
Steve Reilly, Matt Stiles, Benjamin Powers, Anya van Wagtendonk, and Jason Paladino
A Bangladeshi firm appears to have played a key role in promoting the Ottawa protest online, and Grid has found increasing evidence of fringe conspiracies and violent extremism throughout the movement.
Middle East
Israel's Mossad Used Pegasus Spyware to Hack Cellphones Unofficially
Haaretz
Chaim Levinson
NSO employees tell Haaretz that Mossad officials frequently visited its HQ under former head Yossi Cohen, sometimes with foreign officials. They asked to hack certain phones with Pegasus spyware
Deleted Logs? How Israel Can Discover the Truth About Pegasus
Haaretz
Josh Breiner and Oded Yaron
Digital forensic reports have revealed with high certainty that the phones of at least two senior Israeli officials were hacked in some capacity using spyware technology.
Misc
Meta Wouldn’t Tell Us How It Enforces Its Rules In VR, So We Ran A Test To Find Out
Buzzfeed News
Emily Baker-White
Facebook’s parent company declined to answer our questions about how it moderates content in VR, so we created a test Horizon World filled with content banned from Facebook and Instagram. Content moderators said the world was fine — until we told Meta’s PR team about it.
The next microchip crisis will be bigger
Axios
Margaret Harding McGill
The global chip shortage that's kept automobiles, iPads and game consoles in short supply is nothing compared to what could happen if the global economy's key maker of high-end microchips, based in Taiwan, is jeopardized.
NFT marketplace suspends most sales, citing 'rampant' fakes and plagiarism
Reuters
Elizabeth Howcroft
The platform which sold an NFT of Jack Dorsey's first tweet for $2.9 million has halted most transactions because people were selling tokens of content that did not belong to them, its founder said, calling this a "fundamental problem" in the fast-growing digital assets market.
Events
Indigenous Technologies: Innovations Powering the Continuation of our Oldest Civilisations
The Sydney Dialogue
Indigenous technology entrepreneurs are blending their ancient cultures with new technologies in ways that are transforming the oldest civilisations on earth and challenging perceptions about the way new and emerging technology can be harnessed. In this panel discussion, Indigenous tech entrepreneurs and thought leaders will look ahead at how the world’s oldest societies will co-exist in a technology fuelled future. Streaming on Monday 14th February at 12pm AEDT.
Increasing Resilience in a Post-Pandemic World
The Sydney Dialogue
Covid-19 has created unprecedented disruption to our economic, health, and travel systems. The pandemic has demonstrated the importance of governments, scientists, and industry leaders working together to ensure healthy and thriving communities. How will this relationship re-write itself in the wake of the pandemic? In this panel discussion, speakers will look at how governments, scientists and industry leaders can better work together to protect global health and promote economic recovery using technology. Streaming on Monday 21st February at 5:30pm AEDT.
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.
JAPAC Public Policy Fellowship
Twitter
The Public Policy Fellowship is a nine-month program that strives to prepare new professionals for policy careers at Twitter. It provides an opportunity to learn about, help with, and influence Twitter’s approach to public policy challenges and opportunities across the world. During their tenure, fellows will gain direct experience by supporting substantive projects. They will also benefit from programming, mentorship, and education designed to drive their professional development. Note: This is a contract role with tentative start/end dates as follows: April 2022 - December 2022.