World Economic Forum warns cyber risks add to climate threat | China to crack open 'Great Firewall' for Winter Olympic athletes | EU to stage large-scale cyberattack exercise on supply chains
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Cyberthreats and the growing space race are emerging risks to the global economy, adding to existing challenges posed by climate change and the coronavirus pandemic, the World Economic Forum said in a report Tuesday. Associated Press
Chinese authorities are pledging unrestricted internet access for foreign athletes at February's Beijing Winter Olympics, but rights advocates say athletes will likely be cautious about exploiting the rare crack in China's "Great Firewall." VOA News
European Union governments will launch later this week a large-scale simulation of cyberattacks against multiple member states. Bloomberg
ASPI ICPC
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Australia
Bunnings drive and collect customers exposed by FlexBooker cyber attack
news.com.au
Alex Druce
People who use the drive and collect system at Bunnings Warehouse may have had their personal data compromised after a third-party software firm suffered a massive cyber security breach. The scheduling platform FlexBooker, which is used by many companies and underpins Bunnings’ popular drive-by collection service, apologised this week after the private information of 3.7 million users was exposed.
World
World Economic Forum warns cyber risks add to climate threat
Associated Press
Kelvin Chan
Cyberthreats and the growing space race are emerging risks to the global economy, adding to existing challenges posed by climate change and the coronavirus pandemic, the World Economic Forum said in a report Tuesday.
Fact-checkers label YouTube a 'major conduit of online disinformation'
BBC
Alistair Coleman
Fact-checking organisations around the world say that YouTube is not doing enough to prevent the spread of misinformation on the platform. Some 80 groups have signed a joint letter to the Google-owned platform's chief executive Susan Wojcicki. The letter says it is "one of the major conduits of online disinformation and misinformation worldwide". The organisations want YouTube to take firmer action against anti-vaccine videos, and election disinformation.
China
China's cabinet says it will promote transformation of digital economy
Reuters
China's cabinet issued a plan on Wednesday for the development of the country's digital economy, aiming to increase this sector's share of national GDP by pushing technologies like 6G and big data centers. The State Council set several targets for 2025, namely the increase of the digital economy's share of the national GDP from 7.8% in 2020 to 10% in 2025.
China to Crack Open 'Great Firewall' for Winter Olympic Athletes
VOA News
Michael Lipin
Chinese authorities are pledging unrestricted internet access for foreign athletes at February's Beijing Winter Olympics, but rights advocates say athletes will likely be cautious about exploiting the rare crack in China's "Great Firewall."
The Army of Millions Who Enforce China’s Zero-Covid Policy, at All Costs
The New York Times
Li Yuan
Since Wuhan, the Chinese internet has devolved into a parochial platform for nationalists to praise China, the government and the Communist Party. No dissent or criticism is tolerated, with online grievances attacked for providing ammunition for hostile foreign media. Red, the social media platform, censored a post by the daughter of the man who died of a heart attack because “it contained negative information about the society,” according to a screenshot on her account.
Didi struggles with Hong Kong IPO challenges
Financial Times
China’s leading ride-hailing app has begun negotiations — but obstacles are significant.
USA
Exclusive: Smart guns finally arriving in U.S., seeking to shake up firearms market
Reuters
Daniel Trotta
Personalized smart guns, which can be fired only by verified users, may finally become available to U.S. consumers after two decades of questions about reliability and concerns they will usher in a new wave of government regulation.
California DMV to review Tesla’s ‘Full Self-Driving’ and other technology to determine software’s future use
The Washington Post
Faiz Siddiqui
California’s Department of Motor Vehicles has opened a new review into Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving” and other driver-assistance software as it seeks to determine whether it should consider the features “autonomous,” a spokeswoman said Tuesday night.
Analysis: Crypto companies bet new mayor will make New York digital asset hub
Reuters
Hannah Lang
With U.S. cities such as Miami and Austin trying to court digital asset companies, John Wu was unsure whether to make New York City the permanent home of his cryptocurrency and blockchain start-up Ava Labs - until Eric Adams was elected mayor in November. Wu said the election of Adams, a bitcoin-enthusiast who has pledged to turn the Big Apple into a crypto hub, played "a big part" in his decision to set-up a permanent office in New York City in November.
Europe
EU to Stage Large-Scale Cyberattack Exercise on Supply Chains
Bloomberg
Alberto Nardelli
European Union governments will launch later this week a large-scale simulation of cyberattacks against multiple member states. Participants will be confronted with attacks on their supply chains and some spillover socio-economic effects in other member states, before having to coordinate public communications and a diplomatic response, according to people familiar with the matter and documents seen by Bloomberg. The aim of the six-week exercise is to stress-test Europe’s resilience, strengthen preparedness and cooperation among member states, and improve the effectiveness of a joint response.
Macron goes after online platforms, foreign ‘propaganda’ media
POLITICO
Laura Kayali
French President Emmanuel Macron says online platforms and foreign "propaganda" media are the main drivers behind the spread of disinformation in the country — and he wants to rein them in.
Europe’s surveillance crisis
POLITICO
Vincent Manancourt
Law enforcement and security agencies are bristling at orders to limit their data collection practices.
Quantum Startups Pasqal and Qu&Co Announce Merger
The Quantum Insider
Kenna Castleberry
Pasqal, a developer of neutral atom-based quantum technology, and Qu&Co, a quantum algorithm and software developer, today announced a merger to accelerate progress on achieving business advantage through quantum computing by leveraging their complementary solutions.
Russia
Putin Is Ramping Up His War on Google
Slate
Justin Sherman
Russia’s pressure tactics offer a less-technical, more traditionally coercive alternative to Beijing’s rather technical internet control model. Recent developments indicate Moscow’s approach may be working.
Americas
Digital services are the new growth model Latin America urgently needs
Financial Times
Pierpaolo Barbieri
Over-reliance on commodity exports worsened inequality, creating super-rich elites. Local capitalism has long been held back by cartels and monopolies, so the Latin middle class is relatively small and underserved. Digital services can change this. Domestic markets are only part of the story. What begins with the provision of more efficient and competitive services can produce economies of scale to build global businesses, as has been the case in Asian technology. Latin America has both the market size and the margins to attract the needed investment.
Africa
Internet blimps are coming to Zanzibar. But can a UK company succeed where Google failed?
CNN
Tom Page
The Tanzanian islands of Zanzibar and Pemba are about to become a test site for a mobile internet network its creators hope will not just revolutionize lives there, but possibly across sub-Saharan Africa and beyond... UK company World Mobile is launching a hybrid network using aerostats -- blimp-like tethered balloons that it says will provide near-blanket coverage across the islands.
Misc
The Humanities Can't Save Big Tech From Itself
WIRED
Elena Maris
Hiring sociocultural workers to correct bias overlooks the limitations of these underappreciated fields.
The Biggest Deepfake Abuse Site Is Growing in Disturbing Ways
WIRED
Matt Burgess
A deepfake website that generates “nude” images of women using artificial intelligence is spreading its murky tentacles across the web—spawning look-alike services through partner agreements and recruiting new users through a referral system. The expansion efforts have allowed the service to proliferate despite bans placed on its payment infrastructure.
Why Did Facebook Reject These Ads?
The New York Times
Valeriya Safronova
A new report found that the social network has rejected ads from 60 companies focused on women’s sexual health, citing policies on “adult products and services.”
Cryptocurrency is suddenly everywhere — except in the cash register
The Washington Post
Tory Newmyer
While interest in crypto has exploded, few people are using it for its intended purpose: to pay for things.
Research
Events & Podcasts
A look inside Australia’s secret services
The Sydney Morning Herald
Nathanael Cooper
Today on Please Explain, National Security and Foreign Affairs correspondent Anthony Galloway joins Nathanael Cooper to find out more about Aussie spooks.
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.
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