The online ad industry is exposing sensitive personal information of Australians | US chips guide Russian missiles killing Ukrainians | Russia, Iran, China expected to use AI to influence Election
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The personal data of Australia’s national security officials is at risk of being on-sold to foreign actors, and the federal opposition is demanding urgent action. An investigation by the Irish Council For Civil Liberties (ICCL) reveals how the online ad industry is exposing sensitive personal information about Australian politicians and intelligence staff, leaving them susceptible to blackmail and hacking. ABC News
Ukrainian officials say Western semiconductor companies aren’t doing enough to police their supply chains and stop chips from flowing to Russia’s military factories. “If you open up any of these missiles or drones, you’ll see for yourself that they are full of Western components,” says Budanov, whose agency manages the database of foreign components found in Russian weapons. “Companies can say that they’re not selling anything to Russia, that they’re just selling to some intermediaries. But it doesn’t change the fact that those parts are getting into Russia in huge volumes.” Bloomberg
The U.S. sees a growing threat of Russia, Iran and China attempting to influence the Nov. 5 elections, including by using artificial intelligence to disseminate fake or divisive information, according to an annual U.S. threat assessment released on Wednesday. Russian "influence actors" have amplified stories about migrants entering the U.S. in an attempt to stoke discord, according to the Department of Homeland Security report, and have used generative AI to create fake websites that appeared to be authentic U.S.-based media outlets. Reuters
ASPI
Securing Australia’s supply chains through targeted investments in manufacturing
The Strategist
John Coyne
The Australian government must now be clear-minded that a robust manufacturing sector is not just about job creation and economic prosperity; it is an insurance policy to protect the nation. Australia’s vulnerability during the pandemic, when global supply chains faltered and essential goods became scarce, should have served as a wake-up call.
Australia
The sensitive data of Australia's security personnel is at risk of being on-sold to foreign actors
ABC News
Ange Lavoipierre
The personal data of Australia’s national security officials is at risk of being on-sold to foreign actors, according to a new report, and the federal opposition is demanding urgent action. An investigation by the Irish Council For Civil Liberties (ICCL) reveals how the online ad industry is exposing sensitive personal information about Australian politicians and intelligence staff, leaving them susceptible to blackmail and hacking.
Meta, Australian banks tout progress on taking down 'celeb bait' scam ads
Reuters
Byron Kaye
Meta said it has taken down some 8,000 so-called "celeb bait" scam ads from Facebook and Instagram as part of a new effort with Australian banks to curb the practice. The scams use images of famous people, often generated by artificial intelligence, to trick consumers into giving money to non-existent investment schemes. The U.S. social media giant said it took down the scam ads after receiving 102 reports since April from the Australian Financial Crimes Exchange, an intelligence-sharing body run by the country's main banks.
China
Chinese start-up Numemory claims memory chip breakthrough amid US tech sanctions
South China Morning Post
Xinmei Shen
Numemory, formally known as Xincun Technology (Wuhan) Co, recently introduced to the domestic market its 64-gigabyte NM101, a type of storage-class memory (SCM) chip that is “expected to break the long-term monopoly of international giants in this field”, according to a report on Wednesday by the government-run Hubei Daily newspaper, without providing details.
USA
Russia, Iran, China expected to use AI to try to influence US election, report says
Reuters
Ted Hesson
The U.S. sees a growing threat of Russia, Iran and China attempting to influence the Nov. 5 elections, including by using artificial intelligence to disseminate fake or divisive information, according to an annual U.S. threat assessment released on Wednesday. Russian "influence actors" have amplified stories about migrants entering the U.S. in an attempt to stoke discord, according to the Department of Homeland Security report, and have used generative AI to create fake websites that appeared to be authentic U.S.-based media outlets.
Pentagon announces $984M in loans available for U.S. firms developing ‘critical’ tech
Defense Scoop
Billy Mitchell
Specifically, the program is looking to invest in “the construction, expansion, or modernization of commercial equipment in the United States” that will in some way support the development of 31 critical technologies laid out in the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act. The list of technologies includes autonomous mobile robots, cybersecurity, data fabric, a variety of microelectronics applications, mesh networks, quantum computing and more.
Telegram confirms it gave U.S. user data to the cops
404 Media
Jospeh Cox
The news is the first glimpse into Telegram’s policy shift around providing data to law enforcement agencies. Historically, Telegram has gained a reputation for not cooperating with the authorities on criminal investigations. After the arrest of Telegram’s CEO Pavel Durov by French police in August, the company changed its privacy policy to expand data requests from only applying to terror cases to crimes more broadly.
Ford most at risk from China exposure among 250 American firms
Bloomberg
Karoline Kan
As the US and China square off over everything from tech to military might, Ford Motor Co. has emerged as the American firm most at risk from its exposure to the world’s No. 2 economy, according to Strategy Risks, beating the likes of Apple Inc. and Tesla Inc.
North Asia
Japan's chip revival is on track. The real challenge begins now
Nikkei Asia
Wee Chian Koh
The mood was somber in 2019 when Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) held initial discussions to formulate a new national semiconductor strategy. Many METI council members had little faith in a successful revival. However, two events triggered a turnaround -- TSMC's decision to build a fab in Kumamoto and IBM's call to propose a partnership with Rapidus.
Southeast Asia
Cambodian reporter who investigated online scam centers has been arrested
Voice of America
Cambodian freelance reporter Mech Dara, noted for investigative reporting in a country with limited press freedom, was arrested Monday, a leading local human rights organization and a journalists association said. Known especially for investigating online scam centers, Mech Dara's arrest followed posts he made about a rock quarry — that local officials denounced Monday as an attempt to foment dissent.
South & Central Asia
India shuts down the internet far more than any other country
Rest of World
Ananya Bhattacharya
While some authoritarian regimes, such as those in China, North Korea, and Russia systematically censor, surveil, or limit the internet, India’s citizens have relatively free access. But India is unique among democratic countries for its frequent enforcement of blackouts. Between 2016 and 2023, India shut down the internet 771 times, Access Now’s data shows.
NZ & Pacific Islands
DFAT puts $51m into Google Pacific cable
iTnews
Eleanor Dickinson
This part of the project, connecting Tuvalu, comes from $50 million funding from the federal government and $25 million from “likeminded partners”, as announced in May. Last month, the government announced the formation of the Quad Indo-Pacific Logistics Network pilot project, which is formed by Australia, the United States, Japan and India. According to a recent announcement, named the Wilmington declaration, the partnership is exploring collaboration with the Tuvalu Telecommunications Corporation to “ensure the country’s readiness for nationwide 5G deployment”.
Ukraine-Russia
US Chips Guide Russian Missiles Killing Ukrainians
Bloomberg
Stephanie Baker and Daryna Krasnolutska
Ukrainian officials say Western semiconductor companies aren’t doing enough to police their supply chains and stop chips from flowing to Russia’s military factories. Kyrylo Budanov, a lieutenant general who heads Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, voices his frustration with the continued sale of technology to Russia. “If you open up any of these missiles or drones, you’ll see for yourself that they are full of Western components,” says Budanov, whose agency manages the database of foreign components found in Russian weapons. “Companies can say that they’re not selling anything to Russia, that they’re just selling to some intermediaries. But it doesn’t change the fact that those parts are getting into Russia in huge volumes.”
Europe
Why Europe is losing the tech race
Foreign Policy
Agathe Demarais
The United States is the world’s dominant financial and technological power. China is the global manufacturing hegemon. What is Europe’s economic leverage? That question lies at the core of a recent report by former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi. In a nutshell, Draghi argues that the European Union is facing huge economic challenges that could soon make the bloc irrelevant on the global economic scene.
Mercedes, BMW urge Germany to vote against China EV tariffs
Bloomberg
Wilfried Eckl-Dorna
Mercedes-Benz Group AG and BMW AG are pressing Berlin to vote against imposing significantly higher European Union tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles as German carmakers push to avoid a spat with their most important market.
UK
UK regulator preparing for ‘strong action’ against tech giants
Financial Times
The UK’s online safety regime, the first of its kind globally, will require websites to set and enforce clear content moderation policies, and to quickly remove illegal content. Ofcom can levy fines on websites that violate the Online Safety Act or shut them down in extreme cases. “We will absolutely be prepared to use them,” Dawes said of the new powers.
AUKUS eyes opportunities for expansion — on a ‘project-by-project’ basis
Defense Scoop
Bradi Vicent
The AUKUS trilateral security partnership is making progress in new discussions with Japan about deepening collaboration to jointly advance the interoperability of their militaries’ maritime drone systems. Additionally, the partnership — launched in 2021 between Australia, the U.K. and the U.S. — is also in ongoing consultations with Canada, New Zealand and Korea to pinpoint possible new areas of cooperation under AUKUS Pillar 2, which entails the co-development of disruptive defense technologies across six focus areas
Worker shortage hampers datacentre boom
BBC
Joe Fay
But while demand is surging, says Dame Dawn Childs, chief executive of UK-based operator, Pure Data Centres Group, “delivering and satisfying that demand is challenging. Just finding enough land or power for new datacentres is a problem. Labour’s election manifesto promised to overhaul planning to encourage the building of infrastructure, including datacentres and the power networks they rely on. But the industry is also struggling to find the people to build them.
Middle East
S&P downgrades Israel's long-term ratings to 'A' amid Hezbollah conflict
Reuters
Aatrayee Chatterjee
S&P Global downgraded Israel's long-term ratings to 'A' from 'A+' on Tuesday, citing risks to the country's economy and public finances from the escalating conflict with Iran-backed armed movement Hezbollah in Lebanon. The rating agency highlighted concerns over potential security threats, including retaliatory rocket attacks against Israel, which could worsen the economic impact. Peer Moody's cut the country's credit rating two notches to "Baa1" last week and warned of a drop to 'junk' if the current heightened tensions with Hezbollah turned into a full-scale conflict.
UAE, Saudi Arabia become plum cyberattack targets
Dark Reading
Robert Lemos
Both Saudi Arabia and the UAE topped the chart of targeted nations in a March analysis of two years of attacks in the region. The UAE alone faces an average of 50,000 cyberattacks every day, the head of cybersecurity for the UAE government said earlier this year, while the country also has a rapidly growing attack surface.
Big Tech
Someone put facial recognition tech onto Meta's smart glasses to instantly dox strangers
404 Media
Joseph Cox
The technology, which marries Meta’s smart Ray Ban glasses with the facial recognition service Pimeyes and some other tools, lets someone automatically go from face, to name, to phone number, and home address.
Inside the $621 million legal battle for the ‘soul of the internet’
Rolling Stone
Jon Blistein
A set of music-industry clients — led by major record labels Universal Music Group and Sony Music — filed their own copyright-infringement lawsuit over another Archive endeavor, the Great 78 Project: an unprecedented effort to digitize 78 rpm records, the obsolete shellac discs that emerged in the 1890s and remained the dominant format for audio recordings until vinyl surpassed them in the 1940s and 1950s.
Apple’s A.I. is landing soon on iPhones. Here’s what it’s like.
The New York Times
Brian X. Chen
The initial version of Apple Intelligence, which Apple is publishing as an unfinished “beta,” will include a slightly improved version of Apple’s virtual assistant, Siri, and tools that automatically summarize text, transcribe audio recordings and remove distractions like photo bombers from pictures.
Huawei’s Meng Wanzhou back at the helm of firm ahead of next flagship smartphone launch
South China Morning Post
Xinmei Shen
Meng, daughter of Huawei founder and chief executive Ren Zhengfei, on Tuesday assumed the position of rotating and acting chairwoman at the company for a six-month tenure ending on March 31 next year, the Shenzhen-based firm said in a statement published on Monday.
Artificial Intelligence
ByteDance said to be turning to Huawei chips to train AI model amid US curbs, sources say
South China Morning Post
TikTok’s Chinese parent ByteDance plans to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) model trained primarily with chips from compatriot Huawei Technologies, said three people familiar with the matter, as US curbs turn the social media giant homeward in search of chips. ByteDance has diversified to domestic suppliers of chips used in artificial intelligence and accelerated development of its own since the US in 2022 started restricting exports of advanced AI chips, such as those from market leader Nvidia.
Events & Podcasts
Ally-shoring and South Korea’s high-tech industry
SIS Korea in Global Affairs Initiative
Against the backdrop of U.S.-China competition, industrial policy has returned to the global stage, significantly shaping the future of the U.S. alliance network in the Indo-Pacific. South Korea is a key player, with its leading global firms driving innovation in high-tech industries such as semiconductors and information technology.
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