China to crack down on stock market fake news | CommBank invests in $97b AI lab Anthropic | FCC launches national security unit to counter state-linked threats to US telecoms

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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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• China's securities watchdog will step up monitoring fake information in the stock market and work with the police and cyberspace regulators to crack down on those who disseminate false news, which is being made easier by AI, official media reported on Saturday. Reuters 

• Commonwealth Bank on Friday morning announced it has made an investment in Anthropic, the AWS-backed artificial intelligence lab pursuing artificial general intelligence. It is part of an expanded partnership that will see Commonwealth Bank's engineers work with Anthropic to develop AI for areas like customer support and fraud detection. Capital Brief

• Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr announced Thursday the launch of a Council on National Security, designed to counter growing cyber threats from foreign adversaries against the U.S. telecommunications sector. Cybersecurity Dive

ASPI

RedNote: the Chinese app shaping the Australian election
The Saturday Paper
Fergus Ryan, senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, says that for Australian users, RedNote’s exposure to censorship is greater than WeChat and TikTok, which are the international versions of their Chinese prototypes, to comply with Western data and privacy regulations. “TikTok at least pretends to separate its international and Chinese versions, but RedNote doesn’t. It follows Beijing censorship rules globally. So if the Chinese Communist Party wants something taken down or something to be shadow banned, that will happen, whether you’re in Sydney or Shanghai.”

Australia

CommBank invests in $97b AI lab Anthropic
Capital Brief
Commonwealth Bank on Friday morning announced it has made an investment in Anthropic, the AWS-backed artificial intelligence lab pursuing artificial general intelligence. It is part of an expanded partnership that will see Commonwealth Bank's engineers work with Anthropic to develop AI for areas like customer support and fraud detection. CommBank has been using Anthropic AI Agent to source data and information and execute other tasks for its workers, something the bank's chief data officer recently said had significantly increased efficiency across the organization.

China

China to crack down on stock market fake news as AI spurs misinformation, says state media
Reuters
China's securities watchdog will step up monitoring fake information in the stock market and work with the police and cyberspace regulators to crack down on those who disseminate false news, which is being made easier by AI, official media reported on Saturday. Regulators will "hit early, hit hard, and hit at the heart" of the issue, the Securities Times said. Artificial intelligence has become a new tool for creating and spreading misleading information to con investors or manipulate stocks, luring investors with the prospect of getting rich quickly, the Shanghai Securities News said in a separate article.

Chip war: Chinese start-up aims to break Nvidia’s grip on AI with new model framework
South China Morning Post
Ann Cao
A new artificial intelligence framework developed by teams associated with China’s Tsinghua University is said to be able to reduce reliance on Nvidia chips for AI model inference, marking the latest effort by the country to enhance technological self-sufficiency. Chitu, a high-performance inference framework for large language models, can operate on chips made in China, challenging the dominance of Nvidia’s Hopper series graphics processing units in supporting certain models, such as DeepSeek-R1, according to a joint statement by start-up Qingcheng.AI and a team led by computer science professor Zhai Jidong at Tsinghua University on Friday.

Venture capital funds flock to China’s eastern Zhejiang province amid hi-tech push
South China Morning Post
Ann Cao
China’s eastern Zhejiang province emerged as the biggest recipient of venture capital funding in 2024, buttressing its efforts to become a major hub for advanced technologies including artificial intelligence and robotics. A total of 41 new corporate venture capital funds were registered in the coastal province last year, the highest number among those recorded in 18 mainland provinces in the same period, according to the latest data from CYZone Research Centre in China. Zhejiang has been attracting more investments amid the province’s evolution from e-commerce hub into a new haven for entrepreneurs involved in advanced technologies.

USA

FCC launches national security unit to counter state-linked threats to US telecoms
Cybersecurity Dive
David Jones
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr announced Thursday the launch of a Council on National Security, designed to counter growing cyber threats from foreign adversaries against the U.S. telecommunications sector. The council will leverage the full range of regulatory, investigatory and enforcement authorities to help promote national security in the face of growing threats, particularly those linked to the People’s Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), according to the FCC. “Today the country faces a persistent and constant threat from foreign adversaries, particularly the CCP,” Carr said in a statement. “These bad actors are always exploring ways to breach our networks, devices and technology ecosystem.”

Trump will try to deal with TikTok in current time frame, US Commerce chief says
Reuters
U.S. President Donald Trump will try to deal with TikTok in the time frame that he has, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told Fox Business in an interview on Friday, without offering any further detail. On Sunday, Trump told reporters that his administration was talking to four different groups about the sale of the Chinese-owned social media platform. He signed an executive order in January seeking to delay by 75 days the enforcement of a U.S. law requiring TikTok owner ByteDance to either sell it on national security grounds or face a ban.

• Vice President Vance expects framework of TikTok deal by April 5
  Reuters
  Andrea Shalal and Trevor Hunnicutt
  U.S. Vice President JD Vance expects the general terms of an agreement to resolve the ownership of social media platform TikTok in time for an April 5 deadline, according to two White House officials. TikTok's fate has been up in the air since a law requiring its Chinese owner ByteDance to either sell it on national security grounds or face a ban took effect on January 19.U.S. President Donald Trump, after taking office on January 20, signed an executive order seeking to delay by 75 days the enforcement of the law.

• White House seriously considering deal from Oracle to run TikTok
  POLITICO
  Dasha Burns, Megan Messerly, Brendon Bordelon and Meredith Lee Hill
  The software company Oracle is accelerating talks with the White House on a deal to run TikTok, though significant concerns remain about what role the app’s Chinese founders will play in its ongoing U.S. operation, according to three people familiar with the discussions. Vice President JD Vance and national security adviser Mike Waltz, the two officials President Donald Trump has tasked with shepherding a deal to bring TikTok under U.S. ownership, are taking the lead in negotiations, while senators have voiced a desire to be read in on any talks, two of the people said. A third person described the White House discussions as in advanced stages.

Cybersecurity officials warn against potentially costly Medusa ransomware attacks
Associated Press
Sarah Parvini
The FBI and the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency are warning against a dangerous ransomware scheme. In an advisory posted earlier this week, government officials warned that a ransomware-as-a-service software called Medusa, which has launched ransomware attacks since 2021, has recently affected hundreds of people. Medusa uses phishing campaigns as its main method for stealing victims’ credentials, according to CISA. To protect against the ransomware, officials recommended patching operating systems, software and firmware, in addition to using multifactor authentication for all services such as email and VPNs. Experts also recommended using long passwords, and warned against frequently recurring password changes because they can weaken security.

Under Trump, AI scientists are told to remove 'ideological bias" from powerful models
WIRED
Will Knight
The National Institute of Standards and Technology has issued new instructions to scientists that partner with the US Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute that eliminate mention of “AI safety,” “responsible AI,” and “AI fairness” in the skills it expects of members and introduces a request to prioritize “reducing ideological bias, to enable human flourishing and economic competitiveness.” The information comes as part of an updated cooperative research and development agreement for AI Safety Institute consortium members, sent in early March. Previously, that agreement encouraged researchers to contribute technical work that could help identify and fix discriminatory model behavior related to gender, race, age, or wealth inequality.

Is US losing plasma engine race to China and Russia ahead of long journey to Mars?
South China Morning Post
Victoria Bela
A powerful new plasma engine has just been unveiled by Chinese engineers – and it is expected to propel China ahead of the United States in the race to develop plasma technology for Mars and other deep space missions. The new engine also brings China’s technology closer to that of leader in the field Russia, which recently released an advanced prototype plasma engine capable of taking a ship to Mars in less than two months. China’s “high-thrust magnetic plasma thruster”, designed by the Xian Aerospace Propulsion Institute, was able to achieve stable operation at its full power of 100 kilowatts.

North Asia

Palantir CEO says Japan should build AI defense targeting system with U.S.
Nikkei Asia
Ryotaro Yamada
Japan and the U.S. should "fast-track" partnerships on using artificial intelligence in defense systems, CEO Alex Karp of American data analytics Palantir said, urging tech companies to work with Washington. The Japanese side can supply hardware, with the "U.S. side providing software infrastructure companies that make AI valuable," Karp told Nikkei. Karp's comments came in the wake of Chinese startup DeepSeek's claim that it had matched American generative AI models in performance at far lower costs. "It is a wake-up call for the U.S.," Karp said. "I think what it's going to mean is more investment in AI across our country."

Southeast Asia

Vietnam PM urges tech giants Nvidia, Meta and Google to invest
Nikkei Asia
Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Friday urged global tech giants like Nvidia, Meta and Google to invest in the country and help shape the nation's policies as it aims to gain a stronger footing in the global technology supply chain. The Southeast Asian country held its first AI-Semiconductor Conference, which attracted 1,000 delegates and global tech companies, for three days in Hanoi. Vietnam is betting on its tech-savvy young population, relatively cheaper labor, fast economic growth, proximity to China plus billions of dollars in investments from global technology and electronic companies like Samsung.

‘Lip service’: Philippines’ cyber defences lag amid Chinese attack claims
South China Morning Post
Sam Beltran
In a world where wars are no longer fought on battlefields alone, the Philippines is confronting an invisible but no less dangerous threat. Amid a marked growth in cyberattacks that officials blame on Beijing, observers warn the Southeast Asian nation is running out of time to shore up its digital defences. The most recent wave of cyber threats targeted the Philippines’ military and government agencies. In February, the Philippine military confirmed that it had detected attempts to breach its networks, after a cybersecurity advocacy group, Deep Web Konek, claimed “highly sensitive personal and operational data of military personnel” had been exposed. The military insisted that no sensitive data was compromised.

South & Central Asia

The battle against disinformation and push for digital literacy in Sri Lanka
Center for the Study of Organized Hate
Deeksha Udupa
Deepanjalie Abeywardana is the Deputy Director of Media and Politics at Verité Research, an independent interdisciplinary think tank in Sri Lanka. With extensive expertise in media ethics and behavior, she has collaborated with local and international stakeholders to help them better understand Sri Lanka’s media landscape, media ownership, and the press’s role in promoting reconciliation.In this interview, Abeywardana discusses the impact of social media in mobilizing Sri Lankans during the 2022 mass uprising, the spread of disinformation during the recent presidential election, and the critical role of education in combating misinformation and disinformation.

UK

Court hearing reported to be Apple's appeal against UK order held in secret
Reuters
A London court hearing, reported to be Apple's appeal against a British government order to create a "back door" to its encrypted cloud storage systems, was held in secret on Friday, with media not allowed to attend despite a formal request. In February, The Washington Post reported that Britain had issued a "technical capability notice" to the tech firm to enable access to encrypted messages and photos, even for users outside the country. The iPhone maker in response removed its most advanced security encryption for cloud data, called Advanced Data Protection, for new users in Britain. Details of the case have been shrouded in secrecy, and neither Apple nor the British government has publicly confirmed the technical capability notice.

Activists challenge UK demand for Apple to create data ‘back door’
Financial Times
Tim Bradshaw, Lucy Fisher and Michael Acton
Two human rights groups have launched a legal challenge against the UK government’s bid to force Apple to create a “back door” in its security systems, as the iPhone maker prepares to go to court to fight the secret order on Friday. In legal submissions to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, which probes complaints against the UK’s security services, Privacy International and Liberty argue that Apple’s appeal should be heard in public. They add that ordering the company to compromise the security of its products breaches its customers’ free expression and privacy rights.

Middle East

How disinformation intensified Syria's weekend of violence
DW
Over the weekend, Syria saw its worst violence since the end of the dictatorship — along with significant social media disinformation. AI fakes and manipulated historical images online inflamed the real-life fighting. "They're burning the village now," one Syrian user reported on Facebook."Which village?" another asked."Please, we want the shooting to stop so we can bury the bodies that are filling up the streets," somebody else from Jableh, a town near the coastal city of Latakia, where the violence that killed about 800 people over the weekend apparently began. "I am in Jableh. Nothing is wrong. There's no shooting," another man wrote, adding to the confusion. After supporters of ousted President Bashar Assad launched attacks on the new Syrian security forces late last week, Syria saw its worst wave of violence since Assad's fall in early December.

Iran ramps up efforts to target women and girls by using technology
Forbes
Dr. Ewelina U. Ochab
The Iranian regime continues to ramp up efforts to restrict the rights of citizens across the country, and this is to crush dissent. According to a new report of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran (Fact-Finding Mission), Iranian authorities have committed gross human rights violations, some of which amount to crimes against humanity. The Fact-Finding Mission was established by the UN Human Rights Council in November 2022 with a mandate to “thoroughly and independently investigate alleged human rights violations” related to the protests that began in September of that year. Sara Hossain, Chair of the Fact-Finding Mission, commented on the findings, stating: “We heard many harrowing accounts of harsh physical and psychological torture and a wide range of serious fair trial and due process violations committed against children, including some as young as seven years old.”

NZ & Pacific Islands

Russian disinformation targets NZ with te reo Māori news site
New Zealand Herald
David Fisher
The Russian-flagship media brand Pravda is being used to push two New Zealand news sites - including one in te reo Māori - that experts say resemble a disinformation campaign to divide our communities. The New Zealand-focused sites are among more than 100 subdomains set up across the world in a global campaign dubbed “Portal Kombat”, reflecting the multitude of country-specific internet portals. Content posted to the New Zealand site includes content sourced from Russia’s state-owned Sputnik news agency on the potential break up of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance to which New Zealand belongs.

Big Tech

OpenAI and Musk agree to fast tracked trial over for-profit shift
Reuters
OpenAI and Elon Musk have agreed to fast-track a trial over OpenAI's for-profit shift, the latest turn in a grudge match between the world's richest person and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman playing out publicly in court. Billionaire Elon Musk and OpenAI jointly proposed a trial in December, according to a federal court filing on Friday. The parties agreed to delay a decision on whether the expedited case will be decided by a jury or solely by the judge, said the filing in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The judge this month denied Musk's request to pause the artificial intelligence group's transition to a for-profit model but agreed to an expedited trial in the autumn, the latest turn in the high-stakes legal fight.

Artificial Intelligence

Deepfake detectors struggle to tell real from fake using real world data
ABC News
Jacinta Bowler
It could be a weird pixel in the corner, or a slight facial change, but that could be all a deepfake detector needs to tell if an image or video is real or fake. At least, that's the idea, but a new study by Australian and South Korean researchers has found that might not be the case. When tested in the real world, deepfake detectors struggled to tell the difference between what was real and what was fake, getting it right just two thirds of the time. "In our evaluation, the current generation of deepfake detectors are not up to the mark for detecting real world deepfakes," Shahroz Tariq, one of the authors on the new paper and a deepfake researcher at CSIRO, said.

Events & Podcasts

Disinformation and Democracy Forum Sydney
Australian Democracy Network
Disinformation and Democracy Forum: Tackling the threat of disinformation campaigns. Access to reliable, accurate information is essential for democracy. It empowers citizens to make informed decisions, debate issues, and hold leaders accountable. But the rise of big tech platforms and their algorithms has brought a new challenge to the forefront: the spread of harmful disinformation campaigns. From misleading health advice to conspiracy theories, unchecked disinformation risks jeopardising public health, swaying elections, and even inciting violence.

2025 Cyber Career Symposium
Canberra Cyber Hub
The Canberra Cyber Career Symposium returns on March 19, 2025 at the Canberra Rex Hotel! Whether you're a student, looking to change careers, or curious about opportunities in this exciting field, this event offers a unique chance to: discover diverse career pathways in cyber, engage with industry leaders, government agencies, and education providers, and gain hands-on experience through interactive skills sessions and live demonstrations.

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