G7 pledges to tackle anti-competitive practices in chip industry | Low-risk social media may escape Australian gov age ban | Russia shares AI images of hurricane as disinformation abounds in US

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• Industry ministers from the Group of Seven advanced democracies agreed on Thursday that non-market practices in the semiconductor industry are an urgent issue to be addressed jointly, the Italian presidency said. Reuters

• Social media companies could escape the Albanese government’s proposed age ban if they can demonstrate a “low risk of harm to children”, the communications minister, Michelle Rowland, has said. The Guardian

• As Hurricane Milton ripped across Florida, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake, trolls and politicians alike spawned misinformation about the storm, questioning government preparations and calling it a “simulation” designed to hurt the Republican state. The Guardian

The World

G7 pledges to tackle anti-competitive practices in chip industry
Reuters
Industry ministers from the Group of Seven advanced democracies agreed on Thursday that non-market practices in the semiconductor industry are an urgent issue to be addressed jointly, the Italian presidency said. At the G7 summit in June, leaders had vowed to take action to address what they said were unfair business practices by China.

Internet history hacked, wayback machine down—31 million passwords stolen
Forbes
Davey Winder
Hackers have compromised the Internet’s past, the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine, stealing 31 million passwords and launching a massive Distributed Denial of Service attack in the process.

Marriott agrees to pay $52 million settlement, improve data security practices
CyberScoop
Derek B. Johnson
Marriott International and its subsidiary Starwood Hotels and Resorts have agreed to a settlement with the federal and state authorities over three separate data breaches between 2014 and 2020. In a 16-page proposed consent order with the Federal Trade Commission, the hotel chains agreed to a series of compulsory actions to improve the way they handle, store and protect personal customer data.

US, UK warn of Russian APT29 hackers targeting Zimbra, TeamCity servers
Bleeping Computer
Sergiu Gatlan
U.S. and U.K. cyber agencies warned today that APT29 hackers linked to Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service target vulnerable Zimbra and JetBrains TeamCity servers "at a mass scale." A joint advisory issued by the NSA, the FBI, the U.S. Cyber Command's Cyber National Mission Force, and the U.K.'s NCSC warns network defenders to patch exposed servers to block these ongoing attacks.

Australia

Social media platforms with ‘low risk of harm to children’ could escape Albanese government age ban
The Guardian
Paul Karp and Rafqa Touma
Social media companies could escape the Albanese government’s proposed age ban if they can demonstrate a “low risk of harm to children”, the communications minister, Michelle Rowland, has said. Rowland will announce on Friday that the “likely” amendments to the Online Safety Act banning children from social media will “place the onus on platforms, not parents or young people” to enforce the ban.

• Labor seeks to pressure platforms as new data shows kids' heavy social media use
  Capital Brief
  John Buckley
  The nation's top online safety official has revealed that the vast majority of Australian children are using social media and restricting usage will be difficult to implement, as the federal government released new details on its proposed age limits for the major platforms.

New law in Australia will require mandatory reporting of ransomware payments
The Record by Recorded Future
Alexander Martin
Australia is set to become the world’s first country to require companies to report to the government any ransomware payments they make as part of a “landmark” new Cyber Security Bill introduced to the Australian Federal Parliament on Thursday. It comes as cybersecurity has shot up the political agenda in Australia, spurred by a series of high-profile cyberattacks against private businesses, including those affecting Optus, Medibank and MediSecure.

• MediSecure warned health officials of weak position before ransom attack
  Canberra Times
  Eleanor Campbell
  The Department of Health was aware MediSecure was on the brink of financial collapse and had concerns about the safe transfer of e-scripts a year before hackers broke into the company's server and stole the data of nearly 13 million people. Documents released under freedom of information have shown extensive back-and-forth communications between senior department officials and the now-defunct e-script company between 2020 and 2023.

Large criminal networks' scamming Australians with fake, imported smartphones
ABC News
Jason Katsaras
Experts say vulnerable Australians are being ripped off by an 'underground economy' of counterfeit phones, being sold on the private market. Cheap phones imported from China are designed to look like premium smartphones, with inferior operating systems.

‘Salesman push’: Chief scientist doubted $1b quantum deal
InnovationAus
Justin Hendry
Australia’s outgoing chief scientist Cathy Foley initially doubted the claims of Californian startup PsiQuantum in its unsolicited proposal to the federal government and was “put off by the ‘salesman’ push”, new documents reveal. But in the space of a year, and after an extensive due diligence process that included a site visit, Dr Foley was convinced that the company was on track to build a fault-tolerant, error-corrected computer and could create a “real quantum industry” in Australia. “This is a high risk, high return venture but one that would position Australia as truly deep tech country that has a focus,” she said of the opportunity in December 2023, describing it as another “PV [photovoltaics] moment” for Australia.

Australia needs its own BioMADE
The Strategist
Thom Dixon and Dirk van der Kley
Boston Consulting Group estimates that biomanufacturing will displace 40 percent of the global economy over the next 30 years. This is equivalent to $30 trillion in global economic potential. Currently, Australia is on the wrong side of this global economic reality.

China

How China is using antisemitic conspiracies to influence down-ballot races
The Washington Post
Jeremy B. Merrill, Aaron Schaffer and Naomi Nix
China is increasingly targeting down-ballot elections in America, according to a Washington Post analysis and senior U.S. intelligence officials, using fake accounts on social media to spread divisive and sometimes explicitly antisemitic claims and conspiracy theories about politicians — part of an effort to inflame tensions in the country just one month before the 2024 election.

USA

Russia shares AI images of Hurricane Milton as disinformation abounds in US
The Guardian
Ben Makuch
As Hurricane Milton ripped across Florida, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake, trolls and politicians alike spawned misinformation about the storm, questioning government preparations and calling it a “simulation” designed to hurt the Republican state. But after it made landfall and exited into the Atlantic Ocean, there’s a new propaganda target among conspiracists: Walt Disney World in Orlando.

• Disinformation stirred by Musk and Trump adds strain to hurricane recovery
  Bloomberg
  Michael Shepard, Daniel Zuidijk and Jennifer Epstein
  State and federal officials, already grappling with back-to-back hurricanes that have killed hundreds across the Southeast, are now contending with another disaster-related threat: disinformation over their relief efforts and the cause of the storm.

Violent threats against FEMA swirl on social media
The Verge
Justine Calma
FEMA employees scrambling to respond to the devastation caused by hurricanes Milton and Helene are facing a new, unexpected challenge: violent threats on social media.TikTok posts either calling for violence or applauding unverified claims about physical attacks against FEMA personnel have garnered millions of views, according to a report yesterday from nonprofit Media Matters for America.

PRIVACY ALERT: MoneyGram Under Investigation for Data Breach Potentially Affecting 150 Million Customer Records
Associated Press
Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe LLP is investigating a data breach impacting the private personal information of up to 150 million customers of MoneyGram Payment Systems, Inc., a Texas-based peer-to-peer payment and money transfer company.

US and UK announce joint children’s online safety group to push for common fixes
TechCrunch
Natasha Lomas
The U.S. and U.K. governments announced Thursday they will set up a joint children’s online safety working group to cooperate on safeguarding efforts in the digital realm by sharing evidence and expertise, and pushing for “common solutions” to child safety challenges.

Fidelity Investments says data breach affects over 77,000 people
Bleeping Computer
Sergiu Gatlan
Fidelity Investments, a Boston-based multinational financial services company, disclosed that the personal information of over 77,000 customers was exposed after its systems were breached in August. As one of the largest asset managers in the world, with $14.1 trillion in assets under administration and $5.5 trillion under management, Fidelity employs over 75,000 associates across 11 countries in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.

Americas

Brazil suggests reform to tighten antitrust regulation for big techs
Reuters
Brazil's government on Thursday recommended a reform to its competition law that would allow antitrust authority CADE to designate certain digital platforms as systemically relevant, subjecting them to new obligations if necessary.

Ukraine-Russia

Russian foreign intelligence poses global threat with cyber campaign exploiting established vulnerabilities
National Cyber Security Centre
Cyber chiefs in the UK and US have today (Thursday) published advice to help organisations guard against online attacks by Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service. In a new advisory, the National Cyber Security Centre – part of GCHQ – and agencies in the United States have shared the latest tactics being used by SVR actors to collect foreign intelligence for future cyber operations, including in support of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

Europe

Exclusive: Musk's X to dodge requirements of landmark EU tech rules, sources say
Reuters
Foo Yun Chee
Elon Musk's X will not be designated as a gatekeeper under landmark EU tech rules known as the Digital Markets Act which would have subjected it to an onerous list of obligations, people with direct knowledge of the matter said on Thursday. The European Commission, which opened an investigation into online social media platform X in May, will announce its decision next week, the people said.

Antitrust challenge to Facebook’s ‘superprofiling’ finally wraps in Germany — with Meta agreeing to data limits
TechCrunch
Natasha Lomas
A multi-year competition challenge to Facebook (aka Meta), which saw Germany’s antitrust authority become a pioneering champion for privacy rights in 2019 after it sought to block the social media giant’s ‘superprofiling’ of users on the grounds that consentless cross-site tracking of users is an “exploitative abuse” of Facebook’s monopoly position, finally concluded Thursday with Germany’s federal competition regulator, Bundeskartellamt, announcing the procedure’s end.

Dutch economy minister pushes for European chip industry coalition
Reuters
The Dutch economy minister said on Thursday he wants to form a European Union "coalition of the willing" to strengthen their domestic computer chip industries and remain competitive with the U.S. and China. On the sidelines of a G7 meeting of industry ministers in Rome, Dirk Beljaarts said that while the Netherlands is home to leading chip tool maker ASML, it wants to "facilitate other (EU) countries having several plants in production, assembly, and packaging."

EU delays new biometric travel checks as IT systems not up to speed
Reuters
The European Union has delayed the introduction of a new biometric entry-check system for non-EU citizens, which was due to be introduced on Nov. 10, after Germany, France and the Netherlands said border computer systems were not yet ready. "Nov. 10 is no longer on the table," EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson told reporters. She said there was no new timetable, but that the possibility of a phased introduction was being looked at.

AI is coming for European bank jobs with Italy taking a hit
Bloomberg
Sonia Sirletti
European banks are beginning to cut staff by deploying artificial intelligence tools, with BPER Banca SpA becoming one of the first to put hard numbers on the impact.

Middle East

Exploding pagers and spy chips: the rising risk of hardware tampering
Financial Times
Chris Miller
The explosives that Mossad slipped into thousands of Hizbollah pager batteries and detonated last month in Lebanon should send a jolt of fear through the otherwise staid world of global supply chain management. Surely adversaries of the west will have their own tactics to compromise our electronics hardware. Most companies think only about cyber and software vulnerabilities. It is time they take hardware security more seriously.

Big Tech

TikTok owner ByteDance launches US$170 earbuds in China in push into AI wearables
South China Morning Post
Coco Feng
ByteDance, owner of popular short-video app TikTok, on Thursday launched its first earbuds, which enable users to talk directly with the company’s generative artificial intelligence chatbot without waking up their smartphone.

Tesla is unveiling its long-awaited robotaxi amid doubts about the technology it runs on
Associated Press
Tom Krisher
Expectations are high for the long-awaited unveiling of Tesla’s robotaxi at a Hollywood studio Thursday night. Too high for some analysts and investors. The company, which began selling software it calls “Full Self-Driving” nine years ago that still can’t drive itself, is expected to show off the so-called “Cybercab” vehicle, which may not have a steering wheel and pedals.

Meta expands AI Chatbot to UK, Brazil in further push for growth
Bloomberg
Aisha Counts
Meta Platforms Inc. is expanding its AI-powered chatbot to 21 new locations, including the UK and Brazil, where the social media giant has significant numbers of users, the company announced Wednesday.

Fast cars, lions and death threats: Skopje’s crime gangs take to TikTok
Balkan Insight
Afije Sherifi
TikTok has become the place to be for the once-secretive crime gangs of North Macedonia’s capital, Skopje. Death threats are particularly popular, as well as photos of lions and Vito Corleone.

Artificial Intelligence

Cognizant partners with Palo Alto Networks to deliver AI-led cybersecurity services and strengthen security posture of global enterprises
PR Newswire
Cognizant and Palo Alto Networks are partnering to deliver AI-driven cybersecurity capabilities and services for enterprises across industries. The partnership combines Cognizant's longstanding track record of providing cybersecurity services with Palo Alto Networks industry-leading, AI-powered platforms to drive better security outcomes.

ChatGPT maker OpenAI raises $6.6 billion in fresh funding as it moves away from its nonprofit roots
Associated Press
Matt O’brien
OpenAI said Wednesday it has raised $6.6 billion in venture capital investments as part of a broader shift by the ChatGPT maker away from its nonprofit roots. Led by venture capital firm Thrive Capital, the funding round was backed by tech giants Microsoft, Nvidia and SoftBank, according to a source familiar with the funding who was not authorized to speak about it publicly.

Google's Nobel prize winners stir debate over AI research
Reuters
Martin Coulter
The award this week of Nobel prizes in chemistry and physics to a small number of artificial intelligence pioneers affiliated with Google has stirred debate over the company's research dominance and how breakthroughs in computer science ought to be recognised. Google has been at the forefront of AI research, but has been forced on the defensive as it tackles competitive pressure from Microsoft-backed OpenAI and mounting regulatory scrutiny from the U.S Department of Justice.

Events & Podcasts

The Great Balancing Act: Technology and Geopolitics in the Asia-Pacific Region
Thursday 17 October 2024: 5.30pm for 6-7pm AEDT - Level 13, 356 Collins Street, Melbourne VIC 3000 The world of applications, content, the internet and AI all depend on communications networks, submarine cables and data centres that make up digital public and private infrastructure. This ecosystem enables the digitisation that supports prosperity, inclusion, security and democracy itself.After introductory remarks from Luke Slattery, Director, Telecommunications Policy, DFAT, Mohammad Chowdhury, CEO of Long Street Advisors and Catherine Quaden, Consultant, will discuss the issues.

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

The Daily Cyber & Tech Digest is brought to you by the Cyber, Technology & Security team at ASPI.