Australian senator's among posts X urged to delete | Huawei’s software hampers China’s efforts boost local AI | Korea to investigate Telegram for deepfake sex crime crisis
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During the peak of global controversy in April over demands to remove tweets showing the stabbing of a Wakeley bishop, the Australian online safety regulator asked Elon Musk’s X to delete a tweet of the video posted by Ralph Babet, the lone politician from the conservative United Australia party. The Guardian
Multiple industry insiders, including an AI engineer at a partner company, said the chips still lagged far behind Nvidia’s for the initial training of models. They blamed stability issues, slower inter-chip connectivity and inferior software developed by Huawei called Cann. Financial Times
South Korea faces an escalating crisis of deepfake sex crimes, with requests to block or remove explicit videos nearly quadrupling from 1,913 in 2021 to 7,187 in 2023, according to data from the Korea Communications Standards Commission. Korea PRO
ASPI
Concerns raised over Australians doing research on ethnic minorities in China
The Sydney Morning Herald
Daria Impiombato, an analyst who researches human rights issues in China at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, called the study “absolutely outrageous”. “You’re trying to inculcate a Chinese national identity into ethnic students and make them forget about their original ethnic identity,” she said. “The author is trying to verify whether this program has been effective.”
Technology can serve humanity if we don’t let it outpace our societies
The Strategist
Justin Bassi
And by the end of the Dialogue, I hope that we’re a little bit closer to finding the right rules and norms that translate across borders to foster safe and secure access to transformative technologies; help distribute the benefits equitably; earn the trust of our citizens; and protect individual rights and democratic freedoms. As the power of technology grows—and everyone in this room knows that’s the course we’re on—the stakes are getting higher and the conversations more vital. That’s why we’re all here.
Countering deepfakes: We need to forecast AI threats
The Strategist
Henry Campbell and Daria Impiombato
The issue is not that we can’t foresee these challenges. We can and do. The problem is in the lag between identifying the emergent threat and creating policy to address it before it becomes more widespread. Legislative systems are cumbersome and complex—and policymakers and legislators alike are often focused on current challenges and crises, not those still emerging. Bringing together the right people to identify and effectively prepare for challenges is essential to good law enforcement and protecting victims.
Australia
Australian senator’s post about Wakeley stabbing among those Elon Musk’s X urged to delete
The Guardian
Josh Taylor
During the peak of global controversy in April over demands to remove tweets showing the stabbing of a Wakeley bishop, the Australian online safety regulator asked Elon Musk’s X to delete a tweet of the video posted by an Australian senator, Guardian Australia can reveal.
Albanese declined meeting with Meta's Nick Clegg over media code deals, emails show
Capital Brief
John Buckley
Emails obtained by Capital Brief under freedom of information laws reveal that on 3 May, representatives of the Prime Minister declined an offer from Clegg to discuss Meta’s decision to end deals with media companies, including News Corp, Nine Entertainment, and Seven West Media.
Israeli company delivers first lithium ion batteries for Army Redback IFVs
Defence Connect
The delivery of the first COMBATT 6T lithium ion batteries marks a major milestone in the Australian-build phase of the multi-billion-dollar LAND 400 Phase 3 program set to fundamentally reshape the Australian Army’s combined arms, land warfare capability.
Australia needs a centre of excellence to counter small drones
The Strategist
Carl Rhodes
So Australia must develop a layered defence system, combined with continuous research and development on emerging sUAS and counter-sUAS technologies. Passive defences must also be used, including concealment, deception, hardening and dispersion. Passive measures are particularly important in the near term while the Department of Defence works to deliver active means.
South Korea targets Australian minerals to reduce supply chain risks
Korea PRO
John Lee
A meeting between South Korean and Australian trade officials on Monday underscored new opportunities for ROK businesses to diversify their critical mineral supply chains away from China and enter a growing clean energy market.
China
Huawei’s bug-ridden software hampers China’s efforts to replace Nvidia in AI
Financial Times
Eleanor Olcott, Ryan McMorrow and Tina Hu
Multiple industry insiders, including an AI engineer at a partner company, said the chips still lagged far behind Nvidia’s for the initial training of models. They blamed stability issues, slower inter-chip connectivity and inferior software developed by Huawei called Cann.
How China’s internet police went from targeting bloggers to their followers
The Guardian
Amy Hawkins, Chi-Hui Lin
Duan says that he was detained for 24 hours and interrogated about his relationship to Yang, his use of a VPN and comments that he’d made on Discord. He was released without charge after 24 hours, but he – and other followers of Yang – remain concerned about the welfare of the vlogger, who hasn’t posted online since late July.
China threatens to cut off ASML over new US chip curbs
Asia Financial
Vishakha Saxena
A Beijing mouthpiece warned on Monday that Dutch chip tools maker ASML risks losing access to the Chinese market ‘permanently’ if it implements the latest US export curbs.
China buys more chip tools than South Korea, Taiwan, U.S. combined
Nikkei Asia
Cheng Ting-Fang, Lauly Li
China spent more on chipmaking equipment in the first half of the year than South Korea, Taiwan and the U.S. combined amid a frantic push to localize chip supplies and mitigate the risk of further Western export restrictions, according to global chip industry association SEMI. China, the world's biggest semiconductor equipment market, spent a record $25 billion on chip tools in the first six months of 2024, SEMI data showed. China maintained robust spending into July, and could be on track for another full-year record.
USA
Trump and allies plant seeds for ‘chaos and discord’ if he loses, experts warn
The Guardian
Peter Stone
Given Trump’s unending false claims about 2020 election fraud, ex-Republican congressman Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania told the Guardian that if Trump loses, “I expect he will do the same thing in 2024. If he loses he will raise Cain in state capitals and he will descend on state capitals with his allies to make the case for fraud.”
China-linked ‘Spamouflage’ network mimics Americans online to sway US political debate
Associated Press
David Klepper
China, however, has taken a more cautious, nuanced approach. Beijing sees little advantage in supporting one presidential candidate over the other, intelligence analysts say. Instead, China’s disinformation efforts focus on campaign issues particularly important to Beijing — such as American policy toward Taiwan — while seeking to undermine confidence in elections, voting and the U.S. in general.
Americas
Starlink backtracks, complies with order blocking X in Brazil, says regulator
Reuters
Luciana Magalhaes and Juby Babu
Elon Musk's satellite broadband firm, Starlink, on Tuesday said that it is complying with Brazil's top court order to block access to social media platform X in the country, a day after informing the country's regulator it would not obey the order. Starlink had emerged as a fresh battleground between Musk and Brazil, as top court judge Alexandre de Moraes ordered the freeze of the company's accounts for possible use to pay fines owed by X, which is also owned by Musk.
North Asia
South Korea to investigate Telegram for allegedly abetting deepfake sex crimes
Korea PRO
South Korea faces an escalating crisis of deepfake sex crimes, with requests to block or remove explicit videos nearly quadrupling from 1,913 in 2021 to 7,187 in 2023, according to data from the Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC).
Inside the deepfake porn crisis engulfing Korean schools
BBC
Jean Mackenzie and Leehyun Choi
Ms Ko discovered these groups were not just targeting university students. There were rooms dedicated to specific high schools and even middle schools. If a lot of content was created using images of a particular student, she might even be given her own room. Broadly labelled “humiliation rooms” or “friend of friend rooms”, they often come with strict entry terms. Ms Ko’s report in the Hankyoreh newspaper has shocked South Korea.
Taiwan top chipmakers plan to localize neon gas supply by 2025
Nikkei Asia
Cheng Ting-Fang
Taiwan's leading chipmakers are working with local steel and gas companies to begin producing neon gas domestically by 2025, in an effort to secure supplies of key chipmaking materials.
Southeast Asia
TNI commander receives president's order to form cyber military force
ANTARA News
His side has so far planned to establish a cyber military center at the TNI headquarters and in each military branch. High school and university graduates will be recruited to be the personnel in the cyber centers, Subiyanto revealed. He explained that the cyber unit would be different from other units in the TNI, as more civilians would be roped in, and their recruitment would prioritize skills.
South & Central Asia
How Bangladesh’s tech industry navigated an unprecedented political crisis
Rest of World
Faisal Mahmud and Nayem Shaan
Bangladesh’s tech industry faced unprecedented challenges in July after the five-day internet blackout was followed by sociopolitical instability, culminating in the ouster of the country’s longest-serving prime minister, Sheikh Hasina. In addition to protecting property and staff from protesting mobs, and a reputational hit from global clients, the Bangladeshi tech industry is dealing with estimated losses of at least $300 million in July, according to the E-commerce Association of Bangladesh and the Bangladesh Association of Contact Center and Outsourcing.
NZ & Pacific Islands
Cyber threats: SMEs don’t know where to start
RNZ
Small and medium sized businesses have a one in three chance of being the target of a cyber attack. New research from the National Cyber Security Centre, which is part of New Zealand's Government Security Bureau, reveals that despite the high risk, many businesses do not put cyber security measures in place until it was too late.
UK
Transport for London dealing with cyber-attack
The Guardian
Nadeem Badshah
The organisation, which runs most of London’s transport network, said it had undertaken immediate action to prevent any further access to its systems and was working closely with the relevant government agencies, including the National Crime Agency and the National Cyber Security Centre. TfL said it had found no evidence that any customer data had been compromised, and that there was no impact on its transport services.
Big Tech
Telegram: 'The dark web in your pocket'
BBC
Joe Tidy
About nine months ago while researching a story, I found myself added to a large Telegram channel which was focused on selling drugs. I was then added to one about hacking and then one about stolen credit cards. I realised my Telegram settings had made it possible for people to add me to their channels without me doing anything. I kept the settings the same to see what would happen. Within a few months, I had been added to 82 different groups.
Global data center industry to emit 2.5 billion tons of CO2 through 2030, Morgan Stanley says
Reuters
Laila Kearney
A boom in data centers is expected to produce about 2.5 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions globally through the end of the decade, and accelerate investments in decarbonization efforts, according to Morgan Stanley research.
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.
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