Cyber criminals are increasingly helping threat actors target US | Chinese cyber association calls for review of Intel products | North Korean hackers use newly discovered malware to raid ATMs

Good morning. It's Thursday 17th of October.

The Daily Cyber & Tech Digest focuses on the topics we work on, including cybersecurity, critical technologies, foreign interference & disinformation.

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• Russia, China and Iran are increasingly relying on criminal networks to lead cyberespionage and hacking operations against adversaries like the U.S., according to a report on digital threats published Tuesday by Microsoft. Associated Press

• Intel products sold in China should be subject to a security review, the Cybersecurity Association of China (CSAC) said on Wednesday, alleging the U.S. chipmaker has "constantly harmed" the country's national security and interests. Reuters

• In the beginning, North Korean hackers compromised the banking infrastructure running AIX, IBM’s proprietary version of Unix. Next, they hacked infrastructure running Windows. Now, the state-backed bank robbers have expanded their repertoire to include Linux. ArsTechnica

Australia

Cyber envoy Andrew Charlton wants to end Australia's 'digital chill'
Capital Brief
Anthony Galloway
Australia’s envoy for cybersecurity, Andrew Charlton, has warned that a “digital chill” is harming the nation’s productivity, as businesses grow increasingly wary of the online world. In an exclusive interview with Capital Brief, Charlton said the world needed a global consensus on the cyber threat — similar to how the G20 was created in response to the Global Financial Crisis, or how the Bretton Woods agreement was forged in the wake of World War II.

South Australia to introduce laws to tackle sexually explicit deep fakes
Nine News
Samantha Hogan
The South Australian government is introducing new legislation to criminalise sexually explicit deepfakes generated by artificial intelligence. The proposed bill will see offenders face severe penalties, including up to four years in prison and fines of up to $20,000. High school teacher Hannah Grundy became a victim of deep fake technology when explicit images of her face superimposed on another woman's body surfaced online.

‘Sobering reminder’ as Holey Moley owner Funlab and local businesses targeted by cyber threats
The West Australian
Simone Grogan
A flurry of ransomware attacks that hit the owner of Holey Moley, an aged care facility and a trucking business should serve as a warning that companies of all sizes need to be vigilant, says a cyber defence firm. Funlab — which owns popular mini golf chain Holey Moley, Strike Bowling and arcade bar B. Lucky & Sons with several in the metro area — was targeted by a cyber attack on September 20 that created two days of IT system issues.

How your old, dormant bank accounts can cost you big
The Sydney Morning Herald
Caterina Hrysomallis
If you’re one of the thousands of people with a bank account sitting around going unused, it might be time to close it, with experts warning dormant bank accounts are like “honey pots” to hackers.

China

Chinese cyber association calls for review of Intel products sold in China
Reuters
Eduardo Baptista
Intel products sold in China should be subject to a security review, the Cybersecurity Association of China said on Wednesday, alleging the U.S. chipmaker has "constantly harmed" the country's national security and interests. While CSAC is an industry group rather than a government body, it has close ties to the Chinese state and the raft of accusations against Intel, published in a long post on its official WeChat account, could trigger a security review from China's powerful cyberspace regulator, the Cyberspace Administration of China.

From China with love: coastguard’s ‘creepy’ message to Taiwan during military drills
The Guardian
Helen Davidson and Chi-hui Lin
A Chinese propaganda image dispersed during Monday’s military drills around Taiwan was supposed to send a positive message to the island’s people, but instead has been decried as weird, creepy, and akin to “sexual harassment”.

US invented Volt Typhoon to hide its own cyber espionage, China says
Cybernews
Ernestas Naprys
China claims that US intelligence agencies crafted the Volt Typhoon narrative “to win public support and pressure policymakers to allow the extension of invasive US surveillance powers.” Beijing also blames the US for widespread cyber espionage, disinformation operations around the world, and even “choking the internet.”

Beware fake news and be ready to resist: how Taiwanese citizens are preparing for a Chinese invasion
The Independent
Arpan Rai
At a summit held by the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China in Taipei in July, the largest gathering of foreign lawmakers ever assembled in Taiwan heard that in many respects war with China is already here – from misinformation and vitriol spread online and through the media to the military drills around the island that have become a daily occurrence.

Hong Kong police bust group running $46M crypto investment scam using deepfakes
CoinDesk
Callan Quinn
Hong Kong police have shut down a group running a HK$360 million ($46.35 million) cryptocurrency investment scam out of an office in the Hung Hom area of the city. A total of 27 people between the ages of 21 and 34 were taken into custody suspected of conspiracy to defraud and possession of weapons last week, according to a police conference on October 14.

USA

Cyber criminals are increasingly helping Russia and China target the US and allies, Microsoft says
Associated Press
David Klepper
Russia, China and Iran are increasingly relying on criminal networks to lead cyberespionage and hacking operations against adversaries like the U.S., according to a report on digital threats published Tuesday by Microsoft. The growing collaboration between authoritarian governments and criminal hackers has alarmed national security officials and cybersecurity experts who say it represents the increasingly blurred lines between actions directed by Beijing or the Kremlin aimed at undermining rivals and the illicit activities of groups typically more interested in financial gain.

Biden admin to provide $750 million to North Carolina-based Wolfspeed for advanced computer chips
Associated Press
Josh Boak
The Biden-Harris administration announced plans Tuesday to provide up to $750 million in direct funding to Wolfspeed, with the money supporting its new silicon carbide factory in North Carolina that makes the wafers used in advanced computer chips and its factory in Marcy, New York. Wolfspeed’s use of silicon carbide enables the computer chips used in electric vehicles and other advanced technologies to be more efficient.

U.S. curbs export of more AI chips, including Nvidia H800, to China
CNBC
Kif Leswing
The U.S. Department of Commerce announced Tuesday that it plans to prevent the sale of more advanced artificial intelligence chips to China in the coming weeks. The U.S. government says the new rules are intended to close loopholes that popped up after last year’s restrictions on AI chip exports went into effect.

Elon Musk’s $75 million gift cements role as a top Trump donor
Bloomberg
Bill Allison and Dana Hull
Elon Musk poured $75 million into the super political action committee he created earlier this year, launching the Tesla Inc. and SpaceX chief executive officer into the top tier of political donors as he pays for much of the ground game for Donald Trump’s campaign.

US urges five years for mastermind of $6 billion crypto heist
Bloomberg
Sabrina Willmer
The mastermind of one of the biggest cryptocurrency heists ever should spend five years in prison for a money-laundering conspiracy tied to the $6 billion hack of the Bitfinex exchange, US prosecutors told a judge.

AI is spawning a flood of fake Trump and Harris voices. Here’s how to tell what’s real.
The Washington Post
Pranshu Verma, Rekha Tenjarla and Bishop Sand
Artificial intelligence has made it extraordinarily simple to copy someone’s voice — allowing thousands of audio impersonations, known as “deepfakes,” to flood the internet since early last year. With a razor-thin margin in the presidential race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump, experts are preparing to counter fabricated audio that could confuse voters in the hectic days leading up to the election.

Americas

Astaroth banking malware resurfaces in Brazil via spear-phishing attack
The Hacker News
Ravie Lakshmanan
A new spear-phishing campaign targeting Brazil has been found delivering a banking malware called Astaroth (aka Guildma) by making use of obfuscated JavaScript to slip past security guardrails.

North Asia

North Korean hackers use newly discovered Linux malware to raid ATMs
ArsTechnica
Dan Goodin
In the beginning, North Korean hackers compromised the banking infrastructure running AIX, IBM’s proprietary version of Unix. Next, they hacked infrastructure running Windows. Now, the state-backed bank robbers have expanded their repertoire to include Linux.

Southeast Asia

Tempering the Philippines’ AI disinformation storm
East Asia Forum
Jose Miguelito Enriquez
The potential for AI-driven misinformation, notably deepfakes, is high in the Philippines' 2025 elections — especially given the febrile political atmosphere after the collapse of the country's ruling coalition. A multi-pronged coalition of civil society, the tech sector and the government shows promise at combatting the worst of AI-fuelled misinformation. For the Philippines' already-wounded democratic process, its success will be paramount.

South & Central Asia

Pro-Modi media spread fake news, targeted Sikhs after Nijjar killing
The Quint
Aditya Menon
A report by the Global Affairs department of the Canadian government has accused "pro-Narendra Modi media" in India of "spreading disinformation" and "propaganda" regarding the killing of pro-Khalistan activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June 2023.

Europe

Moldova votes on whether to join EU as Russia intensifies vast disinformation campaign
The Conversation
Stefan Wolff
Moldova is emerging as a major strategic battleground in a fierce competition between Russia and the west. A Kremlin-backed disinformation campaign has intensified over the last few months, in the run-up to Moldova’s presidential elections. One of the key reasons for this is that a referendum on EU membership has been scheduled for the same day, October 20.

Sweden, Finland partner to take down Sipulitie criminal marketplace
The Record by Recorded Future
Jonathan Greig
An online haven for the sale of narcotics and other criminal goods in Scandinavia was shut down and had its servers seized by law enforcement agencies in Sweden and Finland. Launched in February 2023 on the Tor network, the Sipulitie marketplace originally focused on Finland before expanding to cover other Scandinavian countries. A predecessor was created in April 2019 but was shut down by Finnish Customs and Polish authorities in December 2020.

Russian disinformation is growing in Germany
Deutsche Welle
Janosch Delcker
Germany remains a central focus of Russian disinformation efforts, and Kremlin-backed campaigns continue to grow in scope and intensity. That was the warning that senior security officials and lawmakers issued this week during a public session of the German parliament's committee responsible for overseeing the country's intelligence agencies.

UK

Man, 21, arrested in cyber crimes investigation
BBC
A 21-year-old man has been arrested in connection with an investigation into cyber crimes. Officers from the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit held the man at an address in Newbury, Berkshire, on Tuesday. Police said the arrest was in connection with an ongoing inquiry, with officers remaining at the scene in Huntingdon Gardens. The force added there was no threat to the wider public and the man remained in custody.

Middle East

The UAE can guarantee the ‘safety and the security’ of U.S.-made chips, G42 CEO says
CNBC
Emma Graham and Natasha Turak
The CEO of the United Arab Emirates’ premier AI firm stressed that the Gulf country is a reliable partner to the U.S. when it comes to keeping sensitive technology safe, as Washington reportedly mulls curbs on chip sales to certain countries — particularly those in the Middle East. The UAE has shown it can “guarantee the safety and the security” of chips “if and when they are being deployed and used here,” Peng Xiao, CEO of UAE AI firm G42, told CNBC at a conference in Dubai on Tuesday.

How Israel’s bulky pager fooled Hezbollah
Reuters
Maya Gebeily, James Pearson and David Gauthier-Villars
The batteries inside the weaponised pagers that arrived in Lebanon at the start of the year, part of an Israeli plot to decimate Hezbollah, had powerfully deceptive features and an Achilles' heel. The agents who built the pagers designed a battery that concealed a small but potent charge of plastic explosive and a novel detonator that was invisible to X-ray, according to a Lebanese source with first-hand knowledge of the pagers, and teardown photos of the battery pack seen by Reuters.

Africa

U.S. charges Sudanese men with running powerful cyberattack-for-hire gang
The Washington Post
Joseph Menn
Federal prosecutors charged two Sudanese brothers Wednesday with running one of the most prolific cyberattack-for-hire gangs of all time, a small group they blamed for a stunning 35,000 denial-of-service attacks in a single year.

Strengthening cybersecurity in South Africa’s public sector
Telecom Review Africa
South Africa’s public sector has emerged as a prime target for cybercriminals, following a wave of cyber-attacks on state-owned enterprises and government institutions. Cybersecurity specialists at ESET Southern Africa say more secure security measures and greater awareness among public sector workers are needed to help close the gaps in cybersecurity.

Big Tech

Cyber onslaught: Microsoft reports 600M attacks a day, urges stricter penalties
Cybernews
Ernestas Naprys
Microsoft alone handles 600 million cyberattacks daily, ranging from ransomware to identity theft or phishing. The tech giant says that both cybercriminals and state-sponsored actors are undeterred by consequences when inducing harm. The Microsoft Digital Defense Report 2024 paints a grim picture of a complex, challenging, and increasingly dangerous threat landscape.

Artificial Intelligence

Lenovo partners with Meta, Nvidia for AI outside China
South China Morning Post
Xinmei Shen
Lenovo Group is partnering with Meta Platforms and Nvidia to boost its artificial intelligence offerings in markets outside China, as the world’s biggest personal computer maker seeks to maintain an edge amid fierce competition and geopolitical constraints.

EU AI Act checker reveals Big Tech's compliance pitfalls
Reuters
Martin Coulter
Some of the most prominent artificial intelligence models are falling short of European regulations in key areas such as cybersecurity resilience and discriminatory output, according to data seen by Reuters. The EU had long debated new AI regulations before OpenAI released ChatGPT to the public in late 2022. The record-breaking popularity and ensuing public debate over the supposed existential risks of such models spurred lawmakers to draw up specific rules around "general-purpose" AIs (GPAI).

Anthropic just made it harder for AI to go rogue with its updated safety policy
Venture Beat
Michael Nunez
Anthropic, the artificial intelligence company behind the popular Claude chatbot, today announced a sweeping update to its Responsible Scaling Policy, aimed at mitigating the risks of highly capable AI systems. The policy, originally introduced in 2023, has evolved with new protocols to ensure that AI models, as they grow more powerful, are developed and deployed safely.

Anyone can turn you into an AI chatbot. There’s little you can do to stop them
WIRED
Megan Farokhmanesh and Lauren Goode
Drew Crecente's daughter died in 2006, killed by an ex-boyfriend in Austin, Texas, when she was just 18. Her murder was highly publicized—so much so that Drew would still occasionally see Google alerts for her name, Jennifer Ann Crecente. The alert Drew received a few weeks ago wasn't the same as the others. It was for an AI chatbot, created in Jennifer’s image and likeness, on the buzzy, Google-backed platform Character.AI.

This LLM framework takes a first stab at benchmarking Big AI’s compliance with the EU AI Act
TechCrunch
Natasha Lomas
While most countries’ lawmakers are still discussing how to put guardrails around artificial intelligence, the European Union is ahead of the pack, having passed a risk-based framework for regulating AI apps earlier this year. The law came into force in August, although full details of the pan-EU AI governance regime are still being worked out — Codes of Practice are in the process of being devised, for example.

Misc

Cisco launches investigation into IntelBroker’s cyber attack
Cyber Daily
Daniel Croft
Earlier this week, infamous threat actor IntelBroker posted on a popular dark web hacking forum, claiming to have breached the systems of Cisco with the assistance of two other threat actors, EnergyWeaponUser and zjj. Now, Cisco has told several media outlets that it is aware of the incident and has launched an investigation.

Events & Podcasts

ISACA Canberra Conference 2024
ISACA
Join us at the ISACA Canberra Conference 2024 to explore 'Building Trust in our Digital Future'. Bringing subject matter experts and industry professionals together, we'll examine the opportunities and challenges behind The Australian Government's Data and Digital Government Strategy 2030.

Jobs

Head of Events
ASPI
ASPI has an exciting opportunity for an experienced and motivated events professional to join the organisation as Head of Events. Lead a small, dedicated, tight-knit team to deliver a program of internationally renowned events on a variety of topics ranging from defence and national security to critical technologies and space. The closing date for applications is 18 October 2024

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