China is beating the world at scientific research, ASPI finds | Why ‘paranoid’ Russia’s ties with China should worry Australia | Silicon Valley’s hot talent pipeline is an Israeli army unit
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The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) has released an update to its Critical Technology Tracker, revealing that China leads the way in 89 percent of the technologies it tracks. "The results in this report should serve as a reminder to governments around the world that gaining and maintaining scientific and research excellence isn't a tap that can be turned on and off," warned ASPI. The think tank cautioned: "Building technological capability requires a sustained investment in, and an accumulation of, scientific knowledge, talent and high-performing institutions that can't be acquired through only short-term or ad hoc investments. The Register
The alliance between China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea threatens Western values and security, necessitating unity among democracies, according to NATO official James Appathurai. He highlighted China’s military exercises near European borders, Russia's cyberattacks, and their collaboration with other autocracies, urging strong political, economic, and military partnerships. The Australian Financial Review
Israeli army Unit 8200 alumni, renowned for cybersecurity skills, are highly sought after by venture capitalists, founding billion-dollar tech companies. They leverage military experience to tackle cybersecurity in cloud technology, creating successful startups like Wiz. The 8200 network influences both Israel's tech scene and global cybersecurity, attracting significant investments. The Wall Street Journal
ASPI
China is beating the world at scientific research, think tank finds
The Register
Laura Dobberstein
Leading is one thing – having a research monopoly is another. The project monitors technologies it thinks are "high risk" of becoming monopolised by a single nation and identified 24. Last year, that number stood at 14. Every single one of the newly identified high-risk technologies was not only dominated by China but also could be considered defence applications – including radar, advanced aircraft engines, drones, swarming and collaborative robots, and satellite positioning and navigation. "The results in this report should serve as a reminder to governments worldwide that gaining and maintaining scientific and research excellence isn't a tap that can be turned on and off," warned ASPI. The think tank cautioned: "Building technological capability requires a sustained investment in, and an accumulation of, scientific knowledge, talent and high-performing institutions that can't be acquired through only short-term or ad hoc investments.
India ranks among top countries in terms of key technologies: Report The Statesman
No. 1 in core technology competitiveness' China's 57 great reversals. U.S. overwhelmed by 7 The JoongAng
China, ranked first in competitiveness in 57 sub-documents out of 64 core technologies Yonhap News
AI talent recruitment struggles in India due to high salary demands: Report Business Standard
Let’s take a close look at how we protect our undersea cables
The Strategist
Jessie Jacob
The number of subsea cables landing in Australia has more than doubled since the legislation to create protection zones for these vital pieces of infrastructure was passed in 2005. We rely ever more heavily on the connectivity that cables provide and, with capacity-hungry 6G on the horizon, the need will only grow.
The danger of AI in war: it doesn’t care about self-preservation
The Strategist
Nishank Motwani
Recent wargames using artificial-intelligence models from OpenAI, Meta and Anthropic revealed a troubling trend: AI models are more likely than humans to escalate conflicts to kinetic, even nuclear, war. This outcome highlights a fundamental difference in the nature of war between humans and AI. For humans, war is a means to impose will for survival; for AI the calculus of risk and reward is entirely different, because, as the pioneering scientist Geoffrey Hinton noted, ‘we’re biological systems, and these are digital systems.’
Australia
Why ‘paranoid’ Russia’s ties with China should worry Australia
The Australian Financial Review
Tess Bennett
Recent military drills by Chinese troops in Belarus near the Polish border hammered home to Europeans security concerns over Beijing , NATO acting Assistant Secretary General for Innovation, Hybrid and Cyber James Appathurai told The Australian Financial Review . Mr Appathurai, who will travel to Australia this week for talks with military and cyber officials as well as speak at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s Sydney Dialogue, is on the front line of NATO’s response to so-called grey-zone tactics, when an adversary engages in activities that stop short of military action.
Defending democracy: The case for an integrated fight against disinformation
The Strategist
Meg Tapia
Australia urgently needs an integrated approach to fighting disinformation, especially that involving foreign actors. Relying on isolated regulatory measures, siloed capabilities, and disparate working groups isn’t good enough. Australia could look to international models in balancing the need for security with the protection of fundamental freedoms. This isn’t about setting up an authority to moderate content or creating a ministry of truth. It is about upgrading our institutional architecture to ensure a coordinated, comprehensive and strategic approach that leverages collective resources and expertise, enabling Australia to effectively counter the pervasive threat of disinformation while upholding democratic values.
Big tech faces ‘reckoning’ over online harms, says eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant
The Australian
James Madden
Tech giants could be accountable for “the horrific and real-world consequences of online harms” and might be forced to do more to protect users of their social media platforms after a landmark ruling by a US court, according to Australia’s eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant. Last week a US federal appeals court ruled a lawsuit could proceed against TikTok over the “blackout challenge” – a dare that encouraged people to choke themselves until they passed out.
‘Go elsewhere’: news of student caps hits Chinese social media
The Australian Financial Review
Julie Hare
Prospective students in China reacting to limits on overseas students coming to Australia are weighing up studying in other countries amid fears their fees will rise and uncertainty over their applications. Tracking of sentiment on social media reveals a growing frustration among some young Chinese people with Australia, as a swath of migration changes over the past year makes them feel increasingly unwelcome, says Angela Lehmann, head of research for consultancy The Lygon Group.
China
China's chip capabilities just 3 years behind Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., teardown shows
Nikkei Asia
Kotaro Hosokawa
An analysis of China's current semiconductor technology revealed that the country is approaching a level three years behind industry leader Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., showing the limitations of U.S. efforts to stem Beijing's development of cutting-edge chips. Hiroharu Shimizu, CEO of Tokyo-based TechanaLye, a semiconductor research company that disassembles 100 electronic devices a year, told Nikkei about China's capabilities.
Researchers uncover ‘SlowTempest’ espionage campaign within China
The Record by Recorded Future
Jonathan Greig
People and organizations in China are being targeted as part of a “highly coordinated” espionage operation, according to new research from Securonix. Tim Peck, senior threat researcher at Securonix, told Recorded Future News that the goal of the campaign — which they named SlowTempest — appears to be espionage, persistent access and potential sabotage. But the access the hackers gained could have allowed them to launch ransomware attacks or exfiltrate data, Peck explained.
China-focused ‘Red Ventures’ pilot brings tech gaps message for next US president: analyst
South China Morning Post
Shi Jiangtao
Washington’s new China-focused programme to address economic security concerns underscores its focus on the innovation and hi-tech race with Beijing ahead of US presidential elections, according to a Chinese observer. “Red Ventures”, a pilot programme focused on mapping gaps in technological innovation with China, has entered its second phase, months after being launched by the National Security Agency, according to US news website Defense One.
USA
Hacking blind spot: States struggle to vet coders of election software
POLITICO
John Sakellariadis
When election officials in New Hampshire decided to replace the state’s aging voter registration database before the 2024 election, they knew that the smallest glitch in Election Day technology could become fodder for conspiracy theorists. So they turned to one of the best — and only — choices on the market: A small, Connecticut-based IT firm that was just getting into election software. But last fall, as the new company, WSD Digital, raced to complete the project, New Hampshire officials made an unsettling discovery: The firm had offshored part of the work. That meant unknown coders outside the U.S. had access to the software that would determine which New Hampshirites would be welcome at the polls this November.
North Asia
Taiwan warns of China’s use of influencers in info war
TVBS
TVBS News Staff
Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council on Thursday (Aug. 29) warned that the Chinese Communist Party has increasingly used Taiwanese influencers to promote its narrative, emphasizing its close monitoring of this trend, highlighting the growing concern over information warfare.
Chunghwa, NTT connect Taiwan, Japan
Mobile World Live
Joseph Waring
Chunghwa Telecom and NTT claimed a world first in lighting an all-photonics network between the cities of Taipei and Musashino using the Japanese operator’s Innovative Optical and Wireless Network technology. In a joint statement, the pair noted the 3,000km link between Taiwan and Japan delivered ultra-low latency, no jitter and stable communication in about 17 milliseconds one way.
Southeast Asia
Cambodian scam giant handled $49 billion in crypto transactions since 2021, researchers say
The Record by Recorded Future
Jonathan Greig
A notorious online marketplace allegedly tied to cyber scam operations and linked to the family ruling Cambodia has processed more than $49 billion in cryptocurrency transactions since 2021, according to a new report. Blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis published its mid-year crypto crime update on Thursday and spotlighted Huione Guarantee, an online marketplace tied to the Cambodian conglomerate Huione Group. In July, blockchain security firm Elliptic exposed the platform as a key player in the now industrial-scale pig-butchering economy — serving as a “guarantor or escrow provider for all transactions.”
Ukraine-Russia
Powerful spyware exploits enable a new string of ‘Watering Hole’ attacks
WIRED
Lily Hay Newman
In recent years, elite commercial spyware vendors like Intellexa and NSO Group have developed an array of powerful hacking tools that exploit rare and unpatched “zero-day” software vulnerabilities to compromise victim devices. And increasingly, governments around the world have emerged as the prime customers for these tools, compromising the smartphones of opposition leaders, journalists, activists, lawyers, and others. On Thursday, though, Google's Threat Analysis Group is publishing findings about a series of recent hacking campaigns—seemingly carried out by Russia's notorious APT29 Cozy Bear gang—that incorporate exploits very similar to ones developed by Intellexa and NSO Group into ongoing espionage activity.
Europe
Netherlands to weigh ASML's interests in China export restriction decision, PM says
Reuters
Reuters
The Dutch government will take the economic interests of ASML, opens new tab into account when deciding on further tightening the rules governing the export of ASML computer chip making equipment to China, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said on Friday. "We are in talks, good talks and we are also watching out very specifically for the economic interests of ASML, those need to be weighed against other risks and the economic interests are extremely important," Schoof said, in response to questions about possible further restrictions on ASML exports to China.
UK
Police Ombudsman apologises to staff after data leak
Independent
David Young
Northern Ireland’s police watchdog has apologised to its staff after their details were inadvertently shared with almost two dozen job applicants. The data leak at the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland involved the details of 160 current and former employees. The information, which contained details of the workforce in May 2022, was contained in a three-page Word document that was released to 22 people who had been invited to participate in an interview as part of a recruitment exercise.
Tech giants fight crackdown on strangers contacting children
The Telegraph
Matthew Field
Social media giants are fighting an attempt by the UK’s technology regulator to stop children receiving friend requests from strangers over the internet. Ofcom has urged technology companies to ban children from being presented with lists of suggested users to add, known as “network expansion prompts”. The proposals are designed to tackle “illegal harms” such as grooming under the Online Safety Act.
Middle East
Silicon Valley’s hot talent pipeline is an Israeli army unit
The Wall Street Journal
Miles Kruppa and Alex Perry
Where you come from matters in the quest for Silicon Valley investment money, be it the sandstone arcades of the Stanford University campus or the graffitied offices of early Facebook. Venture capitalists are now coveting a new class of founders—those who served in a specialized unit of the Israeli army. Members of Unit 8200, known for its advanced cybersecurity and cyberwarfare capabilities, have founded dozens of cybersecurity companies. Others have become influential venture capitalists in their own rights and are mentors to entrepreneurial graduates.
Saudi Arabia seeks Chinese tech as it reinvents itself as car and automation hub
South China Morning Post
Kandy Wong
Saudi Arabia is seeking cooperation with Chinese companies in the car sector and automation as a top industrial official kicks off a tour of East Asia this week. Saudi industry and mineral resources minister Bandar Alkhorayef is leading a delegation to visit Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Singapore from Sunday until September 8, according to a statement from his office. The trip is aimed at improving relations and exploring joint venture opportunities.
Africa
From InstaDeep to Paystack: here are Africa’s biggest startup exits and how much they raised
TechCrunch
Tage Kene-Okafor
Startups globally have faced challenges over the last couple of years when trying to exit, due to factors like a frozen IPO market and reduced attractiveness to buyers. In addition, large mergers-and-acquisitions deals have faced heightened regulatory scrutiny, particularly involving Big Tech or multi-billion-dollar conglomerates.
Big Tech
Brazil judge bans X as Musk challenges top court’s orders
Bloomberg
Andrew Rosati and Daniel Carvalho
Brazil’s top court determined the immediate suspension of X in the country after its billionaire owner Elon Musk refused to name a legal representative for the social network in Latin America’s largest nation. The banning of the platform formerly known as Twitter caps a months-long feud between Musk and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is spearheading efforts to combat fake news and hate speech that he says are harming Brazil’s democracy.
Musk's X banned in Brazil after disinformation row
BBC
Sofia Ferreira Santos
Alexandre de Moraes ordered the "immediate and complete suspension" of the social media platform until it complies with all court orders and pays existing fines. The row began in April, with the judge ordering the suspension of dozens of X accounts for allegedly spreading disinformation. Reacting to the decision, X owner Elon Musk said: "Free speech is the bedrock of democracy and an unelected pseudo-judge in Brazil is destroying it for political purposes."
Elon Musk is out of control. Here is how to rein him in
The Guardian
Robert Reich
Elon Musk is rapidly transforming his enormous wealth – he’s the richest person in the world – into a huge source of unaccountable political power that’s now backing Trump and other authoritarians around the world. Musk owns X, formerly known as Twitter. He publicly endorsed Donald Trump last month. Before that, Musk helped form a pro-Trump super political action committee. Meanwhile, the former US president has revived his presence on the X platform.
Artificial Intelligence
Dating apps develop AI ‘wingmen’ to generate better chat-up lines
Financial Times
Stephanie Stacey
Online dating giants are racing to create AI-powered “wingmen” that can coach frustrated Gen Z users on how to craft better chat-up lines and develop a budding romance. Tinder, Hinge, Bumble and Grindr said they are building or testing AI tools and chatbot assistants to do everything from generate icebreakers and building profiles to providing feedback on user flirting.
AI hit by copyright claims as companies approach ‘data frontier’
Financial Times
George Hammond
Top artificial intelligence companies are facing a wave of copyright litigation and accusations that they are aggressively scraping data from the web, a problem exacerbated as start-ups hit a “data frontier” hindering new advances in the technology.
A tech firm stole our voices - then cloned and sold them'
BBC
Ben Derico
The notion that artificial intelligence could one day take our jobs is a message many of us will have heard in recent years. But, for Paul Skye Lehrman, that warning has been particularly personal, chilling and unexpected: he heard his own voice deliver it. In June 2023, Paul and his partner Linnea Sage were driving near their home in New York City, listening to a podcast about the ongoing strikes in Hollywood and how artificial intelligence (AI) could affect the industry.
Why A.I. isn’t going to make art
The New Yorker
Ted Chiang
Roald Dahl's story explores the mechanization of art creation, raising questions about AI-generated content's artistic value. The argument asserts that art involves numerous conscious decisions, which AI cannot replicate. While AI-generated work may seem sophisticated, it lacks the intention and unique life experience that define true artistic expression.
Research
Keeping value chains at home
Merics
Rebecca Arcesati, FrancoisChimits and Antonia Hmaidi
China is not the only country seeking to manage foreign access to ‘sensitive’ technology and the associated value chains, but it stands out for its comprehensive and opaque approach. Many OECD economies have stepped up measures to protect economic security, on top of traditional national security and non-proliferation goals. What makes China unique is the breadth of the instruments it has and the lack of transparency and predictability surrounding their application. The CCP’s sweeping definition of national security, coupled with its track record of forcefully extracting geopolitical and strategic gains from economic interactions, are causes for concern.
Events & Podcasts
Stop the World: TSD Summit Sessions: Defence, intelligence and technology with Shashank Joshi
ASPI
Justin Bassi and Shashank Joshi
In the final lead-in episode to the Sydney Dialogue (but not the last in the series!), ASPI’s Executive Director, Justin Bassi, interviews Shashank Joshi, Defence Editor at the Economist. They discuss technology, security and strategic competition, including the impact of artificial intelligence on defence and intelligence operations, the implications of the no-limits partnership between Russia and China and increasing alignment between authoritarian states. They also cover the challenge of protecting free speech online within a framework of rules which also protects public safety.
Jobs
ASPI Research Internship
ASPI
Have you recently completed your studies (undergraduate or postgraduate) and want to develop your expertise in defence, foreign and national security policy, including in areas such as strategic competition, defence, deterrence, foreign interference, technology, and security? Do you want to inform the public and government on the critical strategic choices facing Australia and learn what it takes to be a professional analyst? If so, apply for the ASPI Research Internship Program! Please note that this is a paid internship program. Applications will close at midnight Friday 27 September 2024.
The Daily Cyber & Tech Digest is brought to you by the Cyber, Technology & Security team at ASPI.