Britain’s plan to save the world from runaway AI | West scrambles to rejig critical minerals supply chains | OpenAI to develop US military tech

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The Daily Cyber & Tech Digest focuses on the topics we work on, including cybersecurity, critical technologies, foreign interference & disinformation.

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• The story of how Britain has come to lead the world in building up the state’s ability to assess the risks posed by powerful artificial intelligence models to national security, such as by lowering the bar to launch cyberattacks or create weapons. POLITICO

• China's trade restrictions on strategic minerals are starting to hit Western companies where it hurts. Two Chinese germanium traders told Reuters they had given up on exports as they were unable to secure licenses either because overseas clients were unwilling to provide specific details on end-users or because they are from the United States. Reuters

• ChatGPT creator OpenAI has announced a partnership with defence technology company Anduril Industries to “develop and responsibly deploy advanced artificial intelligence solutions” for the US military to protect against drone and other aerial attacks. The deal comes after OpenAI removed language from its usage policy in January which had prohibited its technology from being used for military purposes. InformationAge

ASPI

The problems with Australia’s social media youth law
The Strategist
John Coyne and Henry Campbell
Its limitations on social media access fail to acknowledge the nuanced nature of digital harms. What Australia needs is not a blunt instrument such as an age restriction, but a comprehensive, forward-thinking strategy that addresses the full range of digital harms that young people face.

Australia

Homegrown Gilmour Space launching first rocket from Aus in 50 years
Forbes
Shivaune Field
Eris TestFlight1 will lift off from Abbott Point in Queensland no earlier than mid-January, marking the first orbital launch attempt of an Australian-made rocket since the 1970s.

Govt revives ‘citizen watchdog’ missing in Robodebt
InnovationAus
Joseph Brookes
Top legal minds and disability and Indigenous advocates have been appointed to a reinstated administrative decisions watchdog to bolster oversight and tackle systemic issues. The experts arrive as part of the Albanese government’s response to Robodebt and will provide oversight of decisions made under a complex and at times incohesive legislative landscape.

China

Rattled by China, West scrambles to rejig critical minerals supply chains
Reuters
Amy Lv, Divya Rajagopal and Ernest Scheyder
China's trade restrictions on strategic minerals are starting to hit Western companies where it hurts. Two Chinese germanium traders told Reuters they had given up on exports as they were unable to secure licenses either because overseas clients were unwilling to provide specific details on end-users or because they are from the United States.

Baidu launches AI assistant to help civil servants write essays on communist party ideology
South China Morning Post
Coco Feng
The tool, named the “Xuexi Qiangguo official document assistant”, can search for content from President Xi Jinping’s articles and quotes, and ensure that the “information is strictly checked and verified”. The tool will be able to generate and polish-up official documents, according to a report by the state-backed Xinhua News Agency.

YouTuber reveals how CCP buys ‘influencers’
Taipei Times
Chung Li-hua and Esme Yeh
Chen in the video said that China’s United Front Work Department provided him with several templates and materials — such as making news statements — with some mentioning Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) politician Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) and New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) and asking him to write a song criticizing the Democratic Progressive Party.

USA

OpenAI to develop US military tech under new deal
InformationAge
Tom Williams
ChatGPT creator OpenAI has announced a partnership with defence technology company Anduril Industries to “develop and responsibly deploy advanced artificial intelligence solutions” for the US military to protect against drone and other aerial attacks. The deal comes after OpenAI removed language from its usage policy in January which had prohibited its technology from being used for military purposes.

U.S. org suffered four month intrusion by Chinese hackers
Bleeping Computer
Bill Toulas
A large U.S. organization with significant presence in China has been reportedly breached by China-based threat actors who persisted on its networks from April to August 2024. According to Symantec’s threat researchers, the operation appeared to focus on intelligence gathering, involving multiple compromised machines and targeting Exchange Servers, likely for email and data exfiltration.

TikTok defiant after federal court upholds law to force its sale
POLITICO
Christine Mui
TikTok signals it will appeal after a federal court sided with the Justice Department and upheld a law to force its sale or ban it. But Donald Trump could offer a way out.

Trump appoints former PayPal exec David Sacks as AI and crypto czar
Reuters
Costas Pitas
The crypto czar and other officials in Trump's incoming administration such as the chairs of the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission are expected to reshape U.S. policy on digital currency along with a newly created crypto advisory council.

Internet sleuths hunt for clues on murder of UnitedHealth's Brian Thompson
Reuters
Deborah Mary Sophia
Wednesday's shocking murder in Manhattan of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson - what police called a targeted killing - brought out a bevy of sleuths and true-crime fans across social media looking for clues about the killer's motivation and how he managed to flee from the scene and seemingly disappear into the city of more than 8 million people.

a16z-backed Toka wants to help US agencies hack into security cameras and other IoT devices
TechCrunch
Charles Rollet
U.S. government agencies legally hack into cell phones or emails all the time: think of the FBI wiretapping a suspected drug lord or the NSA monitoring emails for terrorism plots. But now there’s rising interest in hacking other kinds of devices people use, like Wi-Fi-connected security cameras and other IoT products.

Uber will need to fingerprint drivers in California to transport teens
TechCrunch
Rebecca Bellan
Uber has 30 days to require certain drivers to get fingerprinted if the ride-hail giant intends to continue transporting unaccompanied teens in California. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) issued a ruling Thursday that requires taxi and ride-hail drivers who are carrying unaccompanied minors in the state to pass a fingerprint background check. The ruling also requires transport companies to pay for the cost of those background checks.

North Asia

Taobao Ads in Taipei MRT Criticized as Illegal
NewBloom
Brian Hioe
One of the reasons as to why Taobao ads in Taipei are a hotbed issue is because the current mayoral administration of Taipei is KMT-controlled. As such, the Chiang mayorship, which has otherwise defended the approval of the ads, is likely to see criticism with the allegation that it is allowing for Chinese United Front activity in Taiwan.

South & Central Asia

“Shakti” semiconductor plant a key (first) step US-India cooperation
The Pacific Forum
Nidhi Singh
The deal with the US to set up India’s first-ever national security semiconductor fabrication plant, announced after the Quad summit in late September, is poised to project India into the big leagues of the semiconductor value chain by producing chips for use in military hardware, critical telecommunication networks, and electronics for both countries.

UK

Inside Britain’s plan to save the world from runaway AI
POLITICO
Vincent Manancourt
This is the story of how Britain has come to lead the world in building up the state’s ability to assess the risks posed by powerful artificial intelligence models to national security, such as by lowering the bar to launch cyberattacks or create weapons.

Gender and Women in Cyber

“Your Body, Their Choice”: gender-based violence and the authoritarian agenda
Human Rights First
Hanah Stiverson
Digital harassment, violence against women, girls, and gender minorities, and a rollback in reproductive rights—these might seem like a random grab bag of issues impacting our world, but they are in fact deeply connected.

She Escaped an Abusive Marriage—Now She Helps Women Battle Cyber Harassment
WIRED
Kanika Gupta
In 2012, Nighat Dad established the Digital Rights Foundation, an NGO that aims to address the digital divide and fight online abuse of women and other gender minorities in Pakistan. She began by helping women who reached out to the organization, providing advice on digital safety and emotional and mental support. In 2016—the same year Pakistan finally passed legislation against online crimes—Dad and her team launched a cyber-harassment helpline.

Microfeminism: The next big thing in fighting the patriarchy
NPR
Alana Wise
Research has shown that everyday instances of sexism affect women at all levels, including in matters of physical and mental health. Microfeminist proponents hope to mitigate some of those effects in their own personal ways. "When you start to adjust society's norms, then that has a lasting effect. That has a conscious and a subconscious effect," Kazem-Stojanovic said.

Big Tech

On these apps, the dark promise of mothers sexually abusing children
The New York Times
Michael H. Keller
The livestream apps downloaded from Apple and Google illustrate an even darker aspect of the social media technology boom, particularly for children living in poverty in developing countries. There, with the ease of a smartphone, parents and other adults can connect with pedophiles in the United States and elsewhere who pay to watch — and direct — criminal behavior.

Jobs

ASPI Director – Defence Strategy Program
ASPI
ASPI is recruiting for one of its key leadership positions - the Director of its Defence Strategy Program. This is an exceptional opportunity for a talented senior leader to contribute to the work of one of the Indo-Pacific’s top think-tanks with a focus on military strategy and capability, emerging security issues and our region. The incoming Director of Defence Strategy is expected to have strong knowledge in at least some of the issues covered by the team, in addition to superior management (including project and stakeholder management) skills, a proven ability to build senior and global relationships and the capacity to fundraise to support the team’s work.

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