White House backs Senate bill to boost US ability to ban TikTok | China plans to form a national data bureau | Australia demands Russia crack down on cyber criminals
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A bipartisan group of 12 U.S. senators will introduce legislation on Tuesday that would give Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo new powers to ban Chinese-owned video app TikTok and other foreign-based technologies if they pose national security threats, Senator Mark Warner said. Reuters
China has announced plans to form a national data bureau, as part of President Xi Jinping’s vision for a “digital China”. The bureau is expected to coordinate the sharing and development of the country’s data resources, with the aim of fostering a digital economy. Engineering and Technology
One of Australia's top government bureaucrats on Wednesday demanded Russia crack down on the large number of cyber criminals operating in the country, saying their actions posed a threat to national security. The comments come as Canberra reforms its cybersecurity policy following a raft of cyber attacks on some of the country's largest companies. Reuters
ASPI
Getting cybersecurity right requires a change of mindset
The Strategist
Lesley Seebeck
As we’ve been reminded each day of the Robodebt royal commission, our government systems quickly and unaccountably encode expectations, prejudices and behaviours into digital systems. How we think about and interact with technology—not just the management problem of cybersecurity—matters.
TikTok banned at nearly 70 federal government agencies as 'patchwork approach' raises concern
Canberra Times
Sarah Basford Canales
Australian Strategic Policy Institute China analyst Fergus Ryan says it's time for the government to issue a sector-wide direction given the risks posed."I think there should be a uniform rule about this," Mr Ryan told The Canberra Times."It doesn't really make sense to me why there would be such a patchwork approach to the problem."
It’s not xenophobic to call time on TikTok, it’s vital
The Sydney Morning Herald
Fergus Ryan
As governments around the world set their sights on TikTok, the company is defending itself with what it does best – distraction. Last week, TikTok chief operating officer Vanessa Pappas said that social media apps needed industry-wide legislation and that calls for TikTok to be banned were xenophobic.
Cybersecurity ‘crowded pitch’ creates complexity
The Mandarin
Tom Ravlic
Coordination is one thing but providing a broader analysis of threats from a cybersecurity perspective is also important for understanding, according to Bart Hogeveen, the head of cyber capacity building at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. Hogeveen said the recent practice adopted by the Australian Cyber Security Centre of providing an annual assessment of cybersecurity threats is useful in establishing an understanding of challenges Australia faces.
World
Global leaders discuss staggeringly wide digital divide between nations
Africanews
The Fifth UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries in Doha, Qatar, turned its attention Monday to one of the most nettlesome global challenges: closing the staggeringly wide digital divide between nations.
Australia
Australia demands Russia crack down on cyber criminals
Reuters
Alasdair Pal and Byron Kaye
One of Australia's top government bureaucrats on Wednesday demanded Russia crack down on the large number of cyber criminals operating in the country, saying their actions posed a threat to national security. The comments come as Canberra reforms its cybersecurity policy following a raft of cyber attacks on some of the country's largest companies.
China
China plans to form a national data bureau
Engineering and Technology
E&T editorial staff
China has announced plans to form a national data bureau, as part of President Xi Jinping’s vision for a “digital China”. The bureau is expected to coordinate the sharing and development of the country’s data resources, with the aim of fostering a digital economy.
China has a digital grand strategy. Does the president know?
Pacific Forum
Dr. David Dorman and Dr. John Hemmings
The answer to the above question is, regrettably, no. We have been unable to find anyone in government, who has heard of this strategy, which raises a few questions: Does China have a digital grand strategy? If so, is it part of our calculations in the current grand strategic competition over technology?
Digital eyes: China bids to capture the miniature camera market
Marco Polo
AJ Cortese
Although camera sensor technology was once difficult to master, recent progress in image sensor fabrication has enabled China to become a global contender. As Chinese suppliers become increasingly competitive, that will naturally reduce its foreign dependence, particularly on Japanese and South Korean suppliers, and create another significant technology export for China.
Chinese police target U.S.-based woman who signed a critical Change.org petition
Radio Free Asia
Mia Ping-chieh Chen
Chinese state security police recently targeted a U.S.-based Chinese national after she signed a petition critical of Communist Party leader Xi Jinping on Change.org, raising questions over how they managed to get hold of her personal details, Radio Free Asia has learned.
AI proposals at ‘Two Sessions’: AGI as ‘Two Bombs, One Satellite’?
ChinaTalk
Irene Zhang
The “Two Sessions,” during which the National People’s Congress and Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference convene, is the most important annual event on China’s political calendar. Delegates descended upon Beijing on March 4, bringing with them a wide range of policy proposals. Here’s a roundup of what has been discussed on the AI front so far
USA
White House backs Senate bill to boost US ability to ban TikTok
Reuters
David Shepardson
A bipartisan group of 12 U.S. senators will introduce legislation on Tuesday that would give Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo new powers to ban Chinese-owned video app TikTok and other foreign-based technologies if they pose national security threats, Senator Mark Warner said.
NSA chief warns of TikTok’s broad influence
The Hill
Ines Kagubare and Rebecca Klar
Testifying before a Senate panel, NSA Director Gen. Paul Nakasone said he was worried about the type of data and algorithms the social media platform holds.TikTok asks creators to help win over lawmakers
The Information
Kaya Yurieff
TikTok sent a message to some creators this week inviting them to join top company executives in Washington D.C. in late March as the ByteDance-owned company continues to fight calls for a ban of the app in the U.S. The trip would include “standing side by side with creators and the TikTok team at the U.S. Capital” to show TikTok’s positive impact, according to a message reviewed by The Information.
The daring ruse that exposed China’s campaign to steal American secrets
The New York Times
Yudhijit Bhattacharjee
Although China publicly denies engaging in economic espionage, Chinese officials will indirectly acknowledge behind closed doors that the theft of intellectual property from overseas is state policy. The U.S. government’s response increasingly appears to be a mirror image of the Chinese perspective: In the view of U.S. officials, the threat posed to America’s economic interests by Chinese espionage is a threat to American national security.
Biden to host Australian, British leaders on AUKUS defence pact
Reuters
David Brunnstrom and Renju Jose
Despite an 18-month consultation period since AUKUS was first announced, questions remain over strict U.S. curbs on technology sharing needed for the project. These are a particular concern for its so-called pillar two dealing with advanced technology programs such as artificial intelligence and hypersonic weapons. British and Australian officials said last week work was still needed to break down bureaucratic barriers to technology sharing in pillar two and the top Pentagon official for Asia, Ely Ratner, referred to "antiquated systems" governing U.S. technology.
New room-temperature superconductor offers tantalizing possibilities
The New York Times
Kenneth Chang
Scientists announced this week a tantalizing advance toward the dream of a material that could effortlessly convey electricity in everyday conditions. Such a breakthrough could transform almost any technology that uses electric energy, opening new possibilities for your phone, magnetically levitating trains and future fusion power plants.
The FBI just admitted it bought US location data
WIRED
Dell Cameron
The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation has acknowledged for the first time that it purchased US location data rather than obtaining a warrant. While the practice of buying people’s location data has grown increasingly common since the US Supreme Court reined in the government’s ability to warrantlessly track Americans’ phones nearly five years ago, the FBI had not previously revealed ever making such purchases.
AllTrails data exposes precise movements of former top Biden official
VICE
Joseph Cox
A security researcher appears to have tracked the physical location of a former top Biden administration official through his apparent usage of AllTrails, a popular hiking app with more than 30 million registered users. The AllTrails records appear to show the official visiting sensitive locations such as the White House, and also suggests the specific house where he or his family lives.
North Asia
Taiwan suspects Chinese ships cut islands’ internet cables
AP News
Huizhong Wu and Johnson Lai
For connecting to the outside world, Matsu’s 14,000 residents rely on two submarine internet cables leading to Taiwan’s main island. The National Communications Commission, citing the island’s telecom service, blamed two Chinese ships for cutting the cables. It said a Chinese fishing vessel is suspected of severing the first cable some 50 kilometers (31 miles) out at sea. Six days later, on Feb. 8, a Chinese cargo ship cut the second, NCC said.
Southeast Asia
CBA's Indonesian subsidiary hit by cyber attack
iTnews
Kate Weber
The Commonwealth Bank's Indonesian subsidiary PT Bank Commonwealth (PTBC) has experienced a "cyber incident". The bank said in a brief statement that attackers gained unauthorised access to a web-based project management tool used by PTBC.
South & Central Asia
Europe
ASML chief warns of IP theft risks amid chip sanctions
Financial Times
Anna Gross and Tim Bradshaw
The head of ASML, the chip toolmaker that is Europe’s biggest tech company, said he was guarding against intellectual property theft more fiercely than “ever before”, as a geopolitical tussle forces China to bolster its homegrown semiconductor industry.
Europe’s borders are a surveillance testing ground. The AI Act could change that
Coda
Isobel Cockerell
The European Union is currently drafting a new omnibus framework — the first of its kind in the world — to regulate the use of artificial intelligence for border control. The Artificial Intelligence Act is an attempt to create a legal framework that tech companies and governments would have to adhere to when testing new AI-powered technologies along European borders.
UK
Ex-minister’s texts lift the veil on U.K. Covid policy. It isn’t pretty.
The New York Times
Mark Landler
A trove of more than 100,000 WhatsApp messages exchanged between Matt Hancock, then the British health secretary, and other government figures revealed the scramble to coordinate the virus response.
Gender & Women in Tech
#IWD2023: Retaining and advancing women in the cyber security industry: moving from theory to impact by measuring inclusion
Infosecurity Magazine
Katherine Hutton and Zoe Mackenzie
Getting women into the cyber industry has been spoken about at great lengths, yet organizations are still struggling with unfilled positions and a lack of diverse teams.
Big Tech
TikTok unveils new European data security regime
Reuters
Martin Coulter
TikTok has announced out a new data security regime, nicknamed “Project Clover”, amid growing pressure from lawmakers on both sides of the Atlantic.
Acer confirms breach after hacker offers to sell stolen data
SecurityWeek
Eduard Kovacs
Electronics giant Acer has confirmed getting hacked after a hacker offered to sell 160 Gb of files allegedly stolen from the company’s systems. The cybercriminal claims the files include confidential slides, staff manuals, confidential product documentation, binary files, information on backend infrastructure, disk images, replacement digital product keys, and BIOS-related information.
Artificial Intelligence
This website wants to use AI to make models obsolete
VICE
Chloe Xiang
The site reminds us of the limitations of AI—how AI-generated images are very stiff and easy-to-spot, but also biased in many ways.
Noam Chomsky: The false promise of ChatGPT
The New York Times
Noam Chomsky, Ian Roberts and Jeffrey Watumull
OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Bard and Microsoft’s Sydney are marvels of machine learning. Roughly speaking, they take huge amounts of data, search for patterns in it and become increasingly proficient at generating statistically probable outputs — such as seemingly humanlike language and thought.
Research
Reducing the risks of artificial intelligence for military decision advantage
CSET
Wyatt Hoffman and Heeu Millie Kim
Militaries seek to harness artificial intelligence for decision advantage. Yet AI systems introduce a new source of uncertainty in the likelihood of technical failures. Such failures could interact with strategic and human factors in ways that lead to miscalculation and escalation in a crisis or conflict.
Events & Podcasts
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.
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