Australia should seize the chance to be an undersea cable hub | Top economist in China vanishes after private WeChat comments | TikTok removes Russian state media accounts
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ASPI’s new report ‘Connecting the Indo-Pacific: the future of subsea cables and opportunities for Australia’ examines the role of hyperscalers as drivers of the subcable market and the geostrategic context of subcable systems; it highlights the significance of these developments for Australia, exploring both the potential benefits and challenges. ASPI
A prominent economist at one of China’s top think tanks was placed under investigation, detained and removed from his posts after he allegedly criticized leader Xi Jinping’s management of the world’s second-largest economy in a private chat group, according to people familiar with the matter. The Wall Street Journal
TikTok has removed accounts associated with Russian state media for engaging in “covert influence operations” ahead of the U.S. presidential election. The short-form video sharing company said Monday the changes affect accounts associated with TV-Novosti. Associated Press
ASPI
Connecting the Indo-Pacific: the future of subsea cables and opportunities for Australia
ASPI
Jocelinn Kang and Dr Jessie Jacob
The submarine cable landscape has entered a new era and is now shaped by the rising participation of hyperscalers—hyperscale cloud and content providers— as well as the strategic actions of major powers and minilateral groups. US-based hyperscalers—in particular Google, Meta, Microsoft and Amazon—have an increasing influence on the subcable industry that hasn’t yet been fully recognised or seriously considered. These hyperscalers account for the majority of total submarine cable capacity usage, with that share continuing to grow. The subcable landscape is also deeply affected by the actions of major powers, such as the US and China, minilateral groupings, such as the Quad, and regional infrastructure investment schemes, such as China’s Belt and Road Initiative. These factors are shaping the deployment of new subcable systems and dictating the maintenance of existing systems, with immediate repercussions for connectivity, security and digital investments in the Indo-Pacific..Australia is well positioned to secure its emerging role as a regional digital hub for subcables, and AI and cloud-datacentres in the Indo-Pacific. With more strategic focus, it could capitalise on this new environment of increased subcable connectivity and digital investments by leveraging its digital infrastructure to offer alternative routes for global data traffic. This report makes five key recommendations, including that the Australian Government supports and strengthens regional repair and maintenance capabilities.
Australia should seize the chance to be an undersea cable hub for the region
The Strategist
Jocelinn Kang and Dr Jessie Jacob
Within this changing environment, Australia is well positioned to secure its emerging role as a regional digital hub for subcables, and for AI and cloud-data centres in the Indo-Pacific. It should capitalise on this increased subcable connectivity and these digital investments by leveraging its secure and resilient digital infrastructure to offer alternative routes for global data traffic, away from tense geographic choke points, which would help foster better regional connectivity.
Federal government warned of Chinese EV software security risk
Financial Review
Simon Evans, Tom Rabe and Jessica Sier
A weak stance by the Albanese government on security concerns posed by Chinese automotive software and consumer preferences for cheaper electric vehicles risk leaving Australia adrift on mitigating a new source of spyware. Tilla Hoja, a China analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, warned that failing to take action on the availability of Chinese-made smart vehicles would in effect allow cross-border surveillance capabilities to propagate in Australia.
Australia’s climate ambitions have a modern slavery problem: examining the origins of our big batteries
The Strategist
Tilla Hoja, David Wroe and Justin Bassi
Several big battery projects in Australia vital for storing renewable energy to meet the nation’s climate goals are highly likely to be using materials sourced through the forced labour of Uyghur and other Turkic ethnic groups in China, ASPI research has found.
‘You’ll shut me down with a push of your button’: 21st century sabotage
The Strategist
Chris Taylor
Hezbollah’s pagers and radios surreptitiously changed into anti-personnel explosive devices and detonated across Lebanon and Syria. Russia-linked fires plague European and American factories supporting Ukraine’s defence. Ukrainian nationals implicated in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline bombing. Concerns raised about Chinese components in systems internationally, at moments of future crisis.
Addressing cyber threats & opportunities requires us to work across borders
Australia
Entrepreneur’s warning on ‘cheap’ Chinese batteries’ national security threat wins Senator’s support
The Australian
Jared Lynch
The Albanese government should “urgently act” to protect Australian home batteries and solar systems from potential cyber security attacks after one of the nation’s tech entrepreneurs exposed a key vulnerability in the software of renewable energy systems, Liberal Senator James Paterson says.
China
Top economist in China vanishes after private WeChat comments
The Wall Street Journal
Chun Han Wong and Lingling Wei
A prominent economist at one of China’s top think tanks was placed under investigation, detained and removed from his posts after he allegedly criticized leader Xi Jinping’s management of the world’s second-largest economy in a private chat group, according to people familiar with the matter.
A look at Xiaohongshu, China’s answer to Instagram that has Chinese Malaysians glued to their phones
Malay Mail
Kenneth Tee
If you are Chinese Malaysian and fluent in Mandarin, chances are you have a Xiaohongshu account. According to Xiaohongshu’s official data as of February 2023, there are more than 2.5 million Xiaohongshu users in Malaysia, which is the second highest country outside of China after Taiwan.
USA
CrowdStrike executive apologises to congress for massive outage
Bloomberg
Jamie Tarabay
A senior executive for cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. apologised at a Congressional hearing on Tuesday for a disastrous content update that crashed millions of computers around the world.
Exclusive: State Department cyber bureau preps funding blitz aimed at boosting allies' defenses
The Record by Recorded Future
Martin Matishak
The U.S. State Department’s cyber bureau is ready to shell out almost $35 million in foreign aid for an array of projects around the world, as Washington aims to boost the digital acumen of allies and take the lead in shaping international norms for cyberspace ahead of other countries like China.
Justice Department pushes companies to consider AI risks
The Wall Street Journal
Dylan Tokar
Compliance officers should now add artificial intelligence to the list of things they need to worry about, the Justice Department says. The department this week announced changes to guidance prosecutors use to assess a company’s compliance program when it comes under investigation for bribery, fraud or other criminal offenses.
US nuclear plants won't power up Big Tech's AI ambitions right away
Reuters
Laila Kearney and Timothy Gardner
Constellation Energy and Microsoft plan to restart the Three Mile Island nuclear plant, hoping they have scored a quick source of enough climate-friendly energy to power rapidly expanding data centers for artificial intelligence (AI).
One-third of the US population’s background info is now public
Cybernews
Paulina Okunytė
MC2 Data and similar companies run public records and background check services. These services gather, compile, and analyse data from a wide range of public sources, including criminal records, employment history, family data, and contact details. Despite dealing with staggering amounts of sensitive data, it is not always kept secure. Cybernews research reveals that the company left a database with 2.2TB of people’s data passwordless and easily accessible to anyone on the internet.
On US visit, Dutch politician talks importance of ASML, China trade
Reuters
Daphne Psaledakis and Toby Sterling
On a visit to Washington, the Netherlands’ economy minister on Monday underlined the importance of China as a trading partner and repeated that Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASML must be allowed to “do business as freely as possible”. Dirk Beljaarts underlined that his meeting with US Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves was to promote bilateral trade, not to negotiate over export restrictions, which do not fall under his purview.
Southeast Asia
China are the real hackers not us, Taiwan says after cyber accusations
Reuters
China are the real hackers not Taiwan and accusations from Beijing of a Taiwanese hacking group are fake news, senior government officials said in Taipei on Tuesday. China's national security ministry said on Monday a Taiwan military-backed hacking group called Anonymous 64 has been carrying out cyberattacks against targets in China, urging people to report "anti-propaganda sabotage."
US drone makers, officials visit Taiwan on mission to secure supply chain
South China Morning Post
Lawrence Chung
Executives from US drone manufacturers – including Switchblade maker AeroVironment – are visiting Taiwan to explore potential partnerships aimed at establishing a secure supply chain for the uncrewed systems. Representatives of 26 American drone companies, along with officials from the Department of Commerce and the Department of Defence innovation unit, arrived in Taipei on Sunday for a four-day visit, according to the US International Trade Administration.
India’s technology engagement strategy: beyond the Quad
The Diplomat
Trisha Ray
While India’s tech engagements may seem transactional and at times contradictory, they are deeply pragmatic, which is what makes it an attractive partner. On September 21, 2024, the Quad Leaders’ Summit – symbolically held at U.S. President Joe Biden’s home in Wilmington, Delaware – announced ambitious new initiatives cutting across healthcare (“Quad Cancer Moonshot”) and sustainable infrastructure (“Quad Ports of the Future Partnership”).
South & Central Asia
Scam Facebook ads posing as brokerages surge in Japan
Nikkei Asia
Masaharu Ban, Manami Ogawa And Akinobu Iwasawa
Fake Facebook accounts posing as leading Japanese brokerages ran roughly 10,000 ads to scam users between August 2023 and May 2024, Nikkei has found, as the nation grapples with the spread of investment fraud. Investment scams on social media began to surge around the summer of 2023. Fake ads, including ones using the names and logos of real companies, are one way to draw victims in.
Europe
Battery maker Northvolt to cut 1,600 jobs in restructuring
The Guardian
Miranda Bryant
The Swedish battery maker Northvolt is to cut 1,600 jobs in restructuring, in response to “headwinds” blowing through the electric car industry. The battery company announced redundancies across three of its sites on Monday, including 1,000 in Skellefteå, in northern Sweden, where it is suspending the expansion of Northvolt Ett, Europe’s first homegrown battery gigafactory.
Sweden says Iran behind cyberattack calling for revenge on Quran burners
The Record by Recorded Future
Alexander Martin
Sweden’s domestic intelligence agency announced on Tuesday that hackers acting on behalf of the Iranian government were behind a cyberattack last year aimed at provoking divisions in the country following a stunt by a far-right political figure.
Big Tech
TikTok removes Russian state media accounts for ‘covert influence operations’ ahead of US election
Associated Press
Haleluya Hadero
TikTok has removed accounts associated with Russian state media for engaging in “covert influence operations” ahead of the U.S. presidential election. The short-form video sharing company said Monday the changes affect accounts associated with TV-Novosti — the parent organization of the Russian state media RT — and Rossiya Segodnya, the entity behind Kremlin news agencies RIA Novosti and Sputnik.
‘It’s not a solution for teen girls like me’: Instagram’s new under-18 rules met with skepticism
The Guardian
Alaina Demopoulos
Sevey Morton first got an Instagram account when she was 10 years old. She used it to keep up with friends, but also to follow pop culture trends. Now 16, the San Diego high schooler says all the airbrushed perfection and slickly edited selfies from celebrities and influencers made her hyper-focused on her appearance, causing anxiety and body image issues.
How meta distanced itself from politics
The New York Times
Sheera Frenkel and Mike Isaac
In January 2021, after pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol, Mark Zuckerberg announced a new priority for Meta: He wanted to reduce the amount of political content on the company’s apps, including Facebook and Instagram. As the United States hurtles toward November’s election, Mr. Zuckerberg’s plan appears to be working.
Artificial Intelligence
Unlocking AI’s potential for all through global collaboration
The Strategist
Carme Artigas and James Manyika
Like the steam engine and electricity, artificial intelligence is a transformative, foundational technology. If developed to its full potential, AI can create opportunities for people around the world, enable businesses, power economic growth, advance science and help humanity make significant strides toward achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Russia, Iran use AI to boost anti-U.S. influence campaigns, officials say
The Washington Post
Joseph Menn
Russia, Iran and China are using artificial intelligence tools as they increase their effort to sway the American population ahead of the November election, U.S. intelligence officials said Monday, with Moscow especially set on denigrating Vice President Kamala Harris.
Meta will not immediately join EU's AI Pact ahead of new law
Reuters
Meta Platforms will not immediately join the European Union's AI Pact, a company spokesperson said on Tuesday. The pact is a temporary measure before the bloc's AI Act comes into full effect.
Exclusive: Meta's AI chatbot to start speaking in the voices of Judi Dench, John Cena, others, source says
Reuters
Katie Paul
Facebook owner Meta Platforms is planning to announce this week that it has secured deals with actors including Judi Dench, Kristen Bell and John Cena to give voice to its Meta AI chatbot, a source familiar with the company's plans told Reuters on Monday.
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.
Research Assistant
University of Oxford
The Oxford Internet Institute is offering 1 full-time or 2 part-time fixed term contract positions, to start immediately and to end on March 2025. The successful candidate will be based in Oxford but you will be able to agree a pattern of regular UK based remote working with your line manager.
The Daily Cyber & Tech Digest is brought to you by the Cyber, Technology & Security team at ASPI.