Foreign-backed Bots in X sowing division in Australia | Twitter takeover deemed worst buyout since Financial Crisis | UK media watchdog starts hiring spree amid pressure to curb misinformation
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Bots backing Linda Reynolds and Gina Rinehart likely a foreign state actor sowing division, expert says. The Guardian
The $13 billion that Elon Musk borrowed to buy Twitter has turned into the worst merger-finance deal for banks since the 2008-09 financial crisis. The Wall Street Journal
Ofcom is increasing hiring for its online safety workforce as concerns rise that the regulator lacks sufficient powers to curb the kinds of misinformation that sparked recent violent unrest in the UK. Financial Times
ASPI
China’s most advanced amphibious assault ship spotted near Japanese waters
South China Morning Post
Seong Hyeon Choi and Sylvie Zhuang
Malcolm Davis, a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said the Type 075 was designed to allow aviation and amphibious forces to operate from sea to shore and support those forces while ashore. “So in a Taiwan crisis, such a vessel could be employed to seize Taiwanese offshore territories, or support a direct invasion of the main island,” Davis said.
Indonesia and Australia finalize new bilateral defense treaty
Associated Press
Rod Mcguirk
Indonesia and Australia on Tuesday finalized a new bilateral defense treaty that will enhance the neighboring nations’ ability to operate their militaries in each other’s territory. Defense Minister Richard Marles said the successful conclusion of negotiations after two years was significant for both countries’ national security. Euan Graham, an analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute think tank, questioned the pact’s strategic value to Australia. “The issue is that Indonesia doesn’t share the same threat perception as Australia towards China,” he added.
The World
Malwarebytes Releases “ThreatDown 2024 State of Ransomware” report highlighting surge in malicious activity across the USA (63% increase) and UK (67% increase)
Associated Press
Manufacturing has become a default target with a 71% year-on-year increase in attacks. Malwarebytes, a global leader in real-time cyber protection, released its “ThreatDown 2024 State of Ransomware” report. The comprehensive report reveals an alarming increase in ransomware attacks over the past year, alongside significant shifts in the tactics and strategies employed by cybercriminals. The US accounts for 48% of all ransomware attacks worldwide but suffers 60% of the world’s attacks on education and 71% of attacks on healthcare.
Treatment of Imane Khelif and Raygun tells a broader story of the dangers of social media
Patricia Karvelas
Two incidents — provide the latest grim proof of the often toxic, menacing and deranged nature of social media. One was the treatment of Australian Rachael "Raygun" Gunn, who broke social media when she became the target of hateful comments from internet trolls after her viral performance during the sport's Olympic debut. The other, Olympic champion boxer Imane Khelif was the subject of a worldwide gender eligibility debate and was publicly trolled with vile and inaccurate bigotry across social platforms. The bullying of them both wasn't isolated to the online world. But it is without a doubt social media where the conspiracies and misinformation about both women grew, festered, and caused acute harm.
Australia
Bots backing Linda Reynolds and Gina Rinehart likely a foreign state actor sowing division, expert says
The Guardian
Paul Karp
A foreign state actor is likely responsible for a swarm of pro-Linda Reynolds and pro-Gina Rinehart bots on the social media site X as they appear intended to sow discord about the health of liberal democracy, an academic expert has said. “It looks like they are politically motivated, but it is more likely to be a foreign state actor [responsible],” said Timothy Graham, an associate professor at the Queensland University of Technology.
Home Affairs collaboration with central agencies and national intelligence community scrutinised
The Mandarin
Melissa Coade
The Home Affairs secretary has vowed “real action” will follow an APSC-backed capability review of her organisation of more than 15,100 public servants, committing to a leadership group that models integrity and can articulate clear strategic direction. “A lack of integrated tools and technology is also getting in the way of sharing information and building networks.” With a view to realising the policy goals of a secure and unified nation, fit-for-purpose cyber and migration strategies, and appropriate national security posture, the department will develop a future-ready workforce strategy and recruit talent who bring deep expertise to core functions.
Only 7pc of scam victims are getting their money back from Australia's banks
ABC Business
A new report has called a number of Australian banks "immature" for how they respond to scammers, revealing scam reports are frequently mishandled and many customers bear the cost themselves. The Australian Securities and Investment Commission released the report on Tuesday, detailing the methods of 15 Australian banks, outside of the major four banks, and their approach to scams. "Of the 15 banks reviewed, only one-third had organisation-wide scam strategies, and many did not have an organisation-wide policy for determining reimbursement," an ASIC spokesperson said.
China
Beijing E-Town accelerates the construction of a national robotics industry innovation hub
Associated Press
Recently, at the press conference for the 2024 World Robot Conference, it was announced that Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area will focus on key segments of the industrial chain, intensify efforts in tackling critical technologies, implement 50 demonstration projects for application scenarios, launch a series of “Robotics+" application demonstrations, expand typical application scenarios, and accelerate the construction of a national robotics industry innovation hub.
China must decide whether to rein in exploitive 'Apple Tax'
Nikkei Asia
Vivian Toh
After losing major regulatory battles in the European Union, Japan and South Korea, Apple is now taking heat from global regulators to lower its stiff 30% App Store fees. The focus is now shifting to China, the tech group's second largest market. China stands out for continuing to allow some of the highest App Store fee rates in the world. In 2023, Apple's revenue from China was CNY 529.8 billion yuan, triple that of Japan.
USA
North America sees 70% jump in data center supply in construction, CBRE report says
Reuters
Laila Kearney
The amount of data center supply under construction in North America's top markets jumped by about 70% compared to a year ago to a record 3.9 gigawatts, according to CBRE Group research. In the first half of 2024, more than 500 megawatts of new data centers, or roughly equivalent to all of the existing capacity in Silicon Valley, were rolled out in the eight biggest markets in the United States and Canada.
US appeals court revives Google privacy class action
Reuters
Jonathan Stempel
U.S. appeals court said Google, opens new tab must face a revived lawsuit by Google Chrome users who said the company collected their personal information without permission, after they chose not to synchronize their browsers with their Google accounts. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said the lower court judge who dismissed the proposed class action should have assessed whether reasonable Chrome users consented to letting Google collect their data when they browsed online.
KBR transforming cyber capabilities for Department of Defense with $199M contract win
Associated Press
Under the terms of this new contract, KBR will transform the zero-trust capability of the Department of Defense. This state-of-the-art security measure ensures secure data flow and edge protection, a critical requirement for military operations. KBR will address critical technology areas, including future generation wireless technology, trusted artificial intelligence and autonomy, integrated sensing and cyber, integrated network systems-of-systems, space technology and quantum science. These technologies enable autonomous computer information technologies that help protect the nation’s networks and enhance information dominance.
North Asia
Aging workforce threatens to dull South Korean conglomerates’ competitive edge
KoreaPro
John Lee
Employees at South Korea’s top conglomerates are aging at an alarming rate, according to a report from Leaders Index, a research institute that focuses on corporate analysis. This demographic shift poses a serious threat to South Korea’s chaebol — large family-owned conglomerates that include Samsung, Hyundai, LG and SK Group. As the pool of young workers shrinks, these companies risk losing the innovation and agility needed to maintain their competitive edge in a rapidly evolving global market.
Southeast Asia
In US lockstep, Philippines ‘de-risking’ from China
Asia Times
Richard Javad Heydarian
The Philippines and China have capped their tensions in the South China Sea after a series of incidents brought the two rival claimants dangerously close to armed conflict. But the fragile sea truce masks a more fundamental shift in Philippine-China relations. The Ferdinand Marcos Jr administration is quietly yet proactively “de-risking” relations with China in line with US-led decoupling and in apparent anticipation of a future conflict with the Asian superpower.
Vietnam's FPT invests $200m to launch AI services in Japan
Nikkei Asia
Koji Nozawa
Vietnamese tech major FPT is expanding its operations in Japan by investing $200 million to start cloud operations for artificial intelligence businesses and solution services for Japanese companies' digital transformations early next year. "We not only provide human resources but also GPU computing infrastructure to create the cutting-edge AI solutions for the Japanese market," Pham Minh Tuan, chief executive officer and president of FPT Corp.'s tech subsidiary, FPT Software, said in an interview in Tokyo. "AI is one of our growth engines."
NUS and A*STAR unveil advanced wearable biomarker sensor
OpenGov Asia
Alita Sharon
Researchers from the National University of Singapore and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research have unveiled a novel wearable sensor designed for continuous, non-invasive detection of solid-state biomarkers directly from the skin. This advancement promises to revolutionise health monitoring by overcoming the limitations associated with traditional biomarker detection methods.
South & Central Asia
India, Japan to boost defence tech collaboration, including stealth antenna systems for warships
The Times of India
Rajat Pandit
India and Japan will crank up their defence-industrial collaboration for cutting-edge technologies, which includes the “Unicorn” stealth antenna system for warships, as well as enhance military interoperability through combat exercises and cooperation in space and cyber domains, with an eye firmly on China’s aggressive moves in the Indo-Pacific region.
Ukraine-Russia
Russia's FSB detains scientist on suspicion of treason
Reuters
Russia's Federal Security Service has detained a scientist in Moscow on suspicion of treason. The FSB did not name the scientist, who it said had carried out distributed denial-of-service attacks on critical infrastructure on behalf of Ukrainian security services. The domestic security agency said that the scientist had also sent money to the Ukrainian military, as well as gathering information on the Russian armed forces.
Russia-linked Vermin hackers target Ukraine with new malware strain
The Record by Recorded Future
Daryna Antoniuk
A pro-Russian hacker group known as Vermin is using lures related to Ukraine’s offensive across the border to infect devices with malware, according to a new report from Kyiv’s cyber agency. To deceive their victims into clicking on malicious emails, the hackers have been using images of alleged Russian war criminals from the Kursk region, which was recently invaded by Ukraine.
Ukrainian bank's service for military donations targeted by ‘massive’ DDoS attack
The Record by Recorded Future
Daryna Antoniuk
Hackers targeted one of Ukraine’s most popular online banks with a massive, distributed denial-of-service attack, primarily focusing on a service used by Ukrainians to raise donations for the military. According to Monobank CEO Oleh Horokhovskyi, the attack lasted from Friday evening to Monday morning, reaching a total volume of 7.5 billion requests per second. He said the incident didn’t affect the bank’s operations but noted that the company worked with Ukraine’s security services and specialists from U.S.-based cloud computing company Amazon Web Services to mitigate the flood of junk internet traffic.
Europe
Germany ties itself to Taiwan on chips. It comes with risks.
POLITICO
Pieter Haek
German and European Union leaders flanked by Taiwanese business tycoons broke ground on a multibillion-euro microchips factory in the eastern German city of Dresden on Tuesday — a major moment for Europe to strengthen ties with the Asian island on critical technology. The challenge? To prevent the plant from spoiling Germany's delicate relationship with China.
Swiss engineering firm Schlatter says IT systems back up after cyberattack
Reuters
Swiss engineering company Schlatter Industries opens new tab said on Tuesday that its computer network had been back up since Monday following a cyberattack nearly two weeks back. The group said on Aug. 9 that it was hit by a malware-based cyberattack and that unknown perpetrators were attempting to blackmail it
UK
UK media regulator on hiring spree amid pressure to bolster online safety
Financial Times
Anna Gross
Ofcom is ramping up hiring for its online safety workforce as concerns rise that the regulator lacks sufficient powers to curb the kinds of misinformation that sparked recent violent unrest in the UK. The hiring spree comes amid a wider debate in the wake of violent unrest across the country this month over whether the government can effectively tackle the rise of false information online.
Big Tech
Elon Musk’s Twitter Takeover Is Now the Worst Buyout for Banks Since the Financial Crisis
The Wall Street Journal
Alexander Saeedy and Dana Mattioli
The $13 billion that Elon Musk borrowed to buy Twitter has turned into the worst merger-finance deal for banks since the 2008-09 financial crisis. The seven banks involved in the deal, including Morgan Stanley and Bank of America, lent the money to the billionaire’s holding company to take the social-media platform, now named X, private in October 2022. The banks haven’t been able to offload the debt without incurring major losses—largely because of X’s weak financial performance—leaving the loans stuck on their balance sheets, or “hung” in industry jargon.
TSMC breaks ground on first Europe chip fab with eye on auto sector
Nikkei Asia
Hideaki Ryugen
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. on Tuesday broke ground on its first fabrication facility in Europe to provide a steady supply of automotive chips for one of the region's core industries. The ceremony for the plant in Dresden, Germany, was attended by TSMC Chairman and CEO C.C. Wei, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. TSMC chose Dresden because it is ""very close to our customers,"" and also offers ""access to many talented people,"" Wei said.
Microchip Technology says certain operations disrupted by cyber incident
Reuters
Microchip Technology, opens new tab said on Tuesday an "unauthorized party" disrupted the company's use of certain servers and some business operations, marking the latest security incident at a U.S. chipmaker this year. This comes at a time when the company is grappling with slowing orders for chips as clients work through excess inventory built up during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Toyota confirms third-party data breach impacting customers
Bleeping Computer
Sergiu Gatlan
Toyota confirmed that customer data was exposed in a third-party data breach after a threat actor leaked an archive of 240GB of stolen data on a hacking forum. "We are aware of the situation. The issue is limited in scope and is not a system wide issue," Toyota told BleepingComputer. The company added that it's "engaged with those who are impacted and will provide assistance if needed," but has yet to provide information on when it discovered the breach, how the attacker gained access, and how many people had their data exposed in the incident.
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence at war
The Strategist
Peter Layton
There’s a global arms race under way to work out how best to use artificial intelligence for military purposes. The Gaza and Ukraine wars are now accelerating this. These conflicts might inform Australia and others in the region as they prepare for a possible AI-fuelled ‘hyperwar’ closer to home, given that China envisages fighting wars using automated decision-making under the rubric of what it calls ‘intelligentization’.
Authors sue Anthropic for copyright infringement over AI training
Reuters
Blake Brittain
Artificial intelligence company Anthropic has been hit with a class-action lawsuit in California federal court by three authors who say it misused their books and hundreds of thousands of others to train its AI-powered chatbot Claude. The lawsuit joins several other high-stakes complaints filed by copyright holders including visual artists, news outlets and record labels over the material used by tech companies to train their generative artificial intelligence systems.
Misc
The new bioweapons
Foreign Affairs
Roger Brent, T. Greg McKelvey, Jr., and Jason Matheny
The world is facing a growing number of biological threats. Some of them, such as avian flu, come from nature. But plenty come from scientific advances. it is clear that biological technology, now boosted by artificial intelligence, has made it simpler than ever to produce diseases. Should a human-made or human-improved pathogen escape or be released from a lab, the consequences could be catastrophic. Some synthetic pathogens might be capable of killing many more people and causing much more economic devastation than the novel coronavirus did.
Events & Podcasts
The Sydney Dialogue
ASPI
The Sydney Dialogue was created to help bring together governments, businesses and civil society to discuss and progress policy options. We will forecast the technologies of the next decade that will change our societies, economies and national security, prioritising speakers and delegates who are willing to push the envelope. We will promote diverse views that stimulate real conversations about the best ways to seize opportunities and minimise risks.
Jobs
ASPI Internship
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! Applications will close at midnight Friday 27 September 2024.
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