China's DeepSeek shakes up global AI industry | US cyber diplomacy funding halted | New US tariffs on chips to heighten geopolitical battle over AI
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Donald Trump has said that the launch of a chatbot by China’s DeepSeek is a “wake-up call” for US tech firms in the global race to dominate artificial intelligence. The emergence of DeepSeek, which has built its R1 model chatbot at a fraction of the cost of competitors such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, wiped $1tn in value from the leading US tech index on Monday. The Guardian
The U.S. State Department’s move to halt nearly all existing foreign assistance applies to the programs and funds of its relatively young cyber diplomacy bureau, according to two people familiar with the matter. Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent the directive to all consular and diplomatic posts on Friday, according to multiple news reports. The Record by Recorded Future
President Donald Trump said he would soon announce new tariffs on computer chips, repeating a campaign promise that if enacted could have deep impacts on the global tech industry and the geopolitical battle over AI with China. “In the very near future we’re going to be placing tariffs on foreign production of computer chips, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals to return production of these essential goods to the United States of America,” Trump said. The Washington Post
ASPI
DeepSeek is a modern Sputnik moment for West
The Strategist
Justin Bassi and David Wroe
The release of China’s latest DeepSeek artificial intelligence model is a strategic and geopolitical shock as much as it is a shock to stock markets around the world. This is a field into which US investors have been pumping hundreds of billions of dollars, and which many commentators predicted would be led by Silicon Valley for the foreseeable future. That a little-known Chinese company appears to have leapfrogged into a neck-and-neck position with the US giants, while spending less money and with less computing power, underscores some sobering truths.
Responsible cyber behaviour in the Indo-Pacific: Views from Cambodia, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Pakistan and Taiwan
The Strategist
Gatra Priyandita and Louise Marie Hure
As cyberspace has become a ubiquitous dimension of social, economic, political and military activities, there’s a need to expand the notion of responsibility in cyberspace. While this has become common language in national and international cybersecurity strategies and practices in Australia, Europe, the UK and the US, it’s less evidently articulated in most other parts of the world, including in most of the Indo-Pacific.
Countering foreign interference: the government should name names
The Strategist
James Corera and Chris Taylor
It didn’t receive much publicity amid summertime’s distractions, but Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke unveiled on 14 January what’s been described as the ‘first ever analysis of foreign interference and espionage threats’. It’s safer to say the first publicly released by the Australian government. It’s a step towards what we need: political leaders explaining these threats and naming the sources of these dangers. But it’s only a step, because the document still doesn’t name names.
Australia
China’s AI leap means security must trump economics for Australia
The Australian Financial Review
Australia now needs to have an urgent conversation about emerging technological threats posed by Chinese AI-enabled technology on consumer devices. The launch of the chatbot app by Chinese AI company DeepSeek presents a new national security challenge for the West. DeepSeek is “AI’s sputnik moment” according to Marc Andreessen, a venture capitalist and tech policy advisor to Donald Trump.
Services Australia draws up 10-year IT architecture strategy
iTnews
The agency has mustered a nine-person taskforce - which includes CIDO Charles McHardie, Defence CIO Chris Crozier, other agency executives and an undisclosed external advisor - to develop a 10-year ICT architecture strategy and plan by June 2025. A document, released just before Christmas under freedom of information and sighted by iTnews, shows that the year-long review of Services Australia's IT landscape and "long-term ICT architecture strategy" came out of an external review of the agency's "budget efficiency".
New CSIRO technology detects more than 20 mysterious signals in space
ABC News
Eleanor Dickinson
More than 20 mysterious signals have been detected in space after a team of Australian researchers began sifting through intergalactic signals. Their success has been likened to sorting through grains of sand at the beach. It was the first trial of new technology developed in Australia by astronomers and engineers at Australia's national science agency CSIRO. International Centre for Radio Astronomy's Andy Wang, who led the research, said his team found more astronomical objects than they had expected.
Almost one in 10 people use the same four-digit PIN
ABC News
Julian Fell and Teresa Tan
Whether it’s to unlock your smartphone, access your online banking or get cash out of the ATM, a four-digit PIN is often there to keep your secrets and your money safe. It’s an important little code, but not all choices are equally secure. That’s why we analysed 29 million of them from Have I Been Pwned? – an Australian-run site that helps people all over the world find out if they’ve been affected by data breaches. The most commonly used PINs turned out to be staggeringly popular.
China
Trump says China’s DeepSeek AI chatbot is a ‘wake-up call’
The Guardian
Mark Sweney
Donald Trump has said that the launch of a chatbot by China’s DeepSeek is a “wake-up call” for US tech firms in the global race to dominate artificial intelligence. The emergence of DeepSeek, which has built its R1 model chatbot at a fraction of the cost of competitors such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, wiped $1tn in value from the leading US tech index on Monday.
DeepSeek and the Strategic Limits of U.S. Sanctions
The Wire China
Lizzi C. Lee
The debut of Chinese tech firm DeepSeek’s cutting-edge AI models has reignited a critical debate over the effectiveness of U.S. export controls as a strategy to curb China’s technological ambitions. Officially, these measures were designed to deny Beijing access to the hardware that fuels advancements in artificial intelligence, with the dual aim of safeguarding U.S. national security and maintaining technological supremacy. However, the emergence of the recently launched DeepSeek-R1 and the earlier V3 reveals a troubling paradox: sanctions that hinder progress in the short term often catalyze innovation in the long term.DeepSeek’s popular AI app is explicitly sending US data to China
WIRED
Matt Burgess and Lily Hay Newman
The United States’ recent regulatory action against the Chinese-owned social video platform TikTok prompted mass migration to another Chinese app, the social platform “Rednote.” Now, a generative artificial intelligence platform from the Chinese developer DeepSeek is exploding in popularity, posing a potential threat to US AI dominance and offering the latest evidence that moratoriums like the TikTok ban will not stop Americans from using Chinese-owned digital services.
DeepSeek shows China playbook to deal an even bigger shock to US
Bloomberg
Yuan Gao and Vlad Savov
The success of DeepSeek’s new AI model points to how China might eventually achieve an even bigger technological breakthrough in the face of US export curbs: Producing its own cutting-edge chips. As tech leaders and politicians marvel at DeepSeek’s apparent ability to build an innovative AI model without spending nearly as much as rivals in the US, a development that roiled markets on Monday, the question now is how exactly the Hangzhou-founded company pulled it off — and what it means for American efforts to stay ahead of China in the tech race.
USA
Cyber diplomacy funding halted as US issues broad freeze on foreign aid
The Record by Recorded Future
Martin Matishak
The U.S. State Department’s move to halt nearly all existing foreign assistance applies to the programs and funds of its relatively young cyber diplomacy bureau, according to two people familiar with the matter. Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent the directive to all consular and diplomatic posts on Friday, according to multiple news reports. It follows President Donald Trump’s executive order on Monday that paused new obligations and disbursements of foreign aid for 90 days, pending a review of the efficiencies and consistency with his foreign policy.
Trump says new tariffs on computer chips, semiconductors are coming soon
The Washington Post
Gerrit De Vynck and Annabelle Timsit
President Donald Trump said he would soon announce new tariffs on computer chips, repeating a campaign promise that if enacted could have deep impacts on the global tech industry and the geopolitical battle over AI with China. “In the very near future we’re going to be placing tariffs on foreign production of computer chips, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals to return production of these essential goods to the United States of America,” Trump said Monday at a retreat of House Republicans at his Doral golf resort in Miami.
Trump’s moves to modernize U.S. technology policy
Centre for Strategic and International Studies
Matt Pearl
During his first week, President Donald Trump did not bring any technology policies to fruition. By issuing a flurry of presidential actions that will affect technology policy, however, he showed that the administration is eager to make significant changes soon. As part of his effort to transform the federal government, President Trump issued an executive order formally establishing the president’s Department of Government Efficiency. This EO marked a pivot, charging DOGE with “modernizing Federal technology and software” to increase efficiency and productivity.
Trump to tariff chips made in Taiwan, targeting TSMC
PC Mag
Michael Kan
President Trump is preparing to place tariffs beyond Chinese assembled electronics to computer chips made in Taiwan, warning the tariffs could reach as high as 100%. “In particular, in the very near future, we’re going to be placing tariffs on foreign production of computer chips, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals to return production of these essential goods to the United States,” Trump said in a speech to Republicans on Monday.
Trump says Microsoft in talks to buy TikTok
Al Jazeera
United States President Donald Trump has said Microsoft is among the companies considering buying TikTok so the platform can avoid a ban on national security grounds. Asked late on Monday if Microsoft was in talks to acquire the popular video-sharing app, Trump said: “I would say yes.” Trump said there was “great interest in TikTok” but declined to provide a full list of US firms interested in the sale.
Americas
Brazil bans iris scan company co-founded by Sam Altman from paying citizens for biometric data
The Record by Recorded Future
Suzanne Smalley
Brazilian data privacy regulators say they are prohibiting Tools for Humanity, a biometric identity company co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, from paying citizens for iris scans. TFH has been offering cryptocurrency to Brazilians who consent to the scans. The country’s National Data Protection Authority said on Friday that it determined such payments interfere
North Asia
Japan launches industry and academia tie-up to combat online disinformation
Japan Times
Jiji
With viral false information on social media becoming a significant societal challenge, Fujitsu and the National Institute of Informatics are leading a nationwide effort to develop technologies aimed at addressing the issue. They have launched a full-scale industry-academia collaboration to curb the spread of disinformation, including deepfakes created through generative artificial intelligence.
Japan tech stocks fall for a second day on DeepSeek-induced selloff
Nikkei Asia
Lisa Kim
Shares in Japanese tech companies dropped in morning trading on Tuesday, extending losses from previous day amid global sellof of AI stocks spurred by Chinese AI chatbot DeepSeek. The plunge in Japan-listed tech stocks comes a week after many of the same listings were buoyed by Stargate, the $500 million AI infrastructure project in the U.S. led by Japanese tech investor Softbank Group, OpenAI and Oracle that President Trump has touted.
Southeast Asia
DeepSeek disrupts Malaysia’s, Southeast Asia’s data centre dreams amid investment ‘rethink’
South China Morning Post
Joseph Sipalan
The emergence of Chinese start-up DeepSeek into the AI race has raised questions over the viability of data centres across Southeast Asia, experts said, as established tech giants wrangle with the challenge of a cheaper newcomer undercutting their multibillion-dollar development budgets.US tech stocks fell on Monday, after DeepSeek released a free AI chatbot that it claims uses less data and was developed for just US$6 million, a fraction of what Silicon Valley giants like Microsoft have spent to develop their competing versions.
South & Central Asia
Exclusive: First Indian startups picked for Indo-US defence programme, investor says
Reuters
Nivedita Bhattacharjee
Seven Indian privately-held startups have been chosen for a first-of-its-kind India-U.S. space and defence collaboration programme, potentially unlocking a lucrative and strategic market for Indian firms. The companies include space imaging company KaleidEO, rocket makers EtherealX and AI-driven company Shyam VNL. They will participate in a programme for defence and dual-use technology and explore opportunities to work with the U.S. Defense Innovation Unit, the Department of Defense and other government agencies on satellite observation and emerging space and defence technologies.
Europe
Sweden seizes ship suspected of Baltic Sea cable sabotage
The Record by Recorded Future
Alexander Martin
Swedish authorities seized and boarded a ship on Sunday just hours after it was suspected of sabotaging a communications cable in the country’s exclusive economic zone beneath the Baltic Sea. The Vezhen, a cargo ship, is suspected to have damaged a cable owned by the Latvian State Radio and Television Centre running between the Latvian city of Ventspils and the Swedish island of Gotland.
UK
Trump’s war on tech taxes is a big problem for Britain
POLITICO
Joseph Bambridge
Keir Starmer hopes a tight, tech-focused trade deal with Donald Trump could give the British government a much-needed win. But to land it, the British prime minister will have to confront a host of gripes held by U.S. tech billionaires — including Elon Musk — who have made a concerted effort to cozy up to their country’s president. The X owner’s relentless attacks against Starmer won’t make a deal any easier, and he’s not the only tech boss to have befriended Trump with the explicit purpose of pushing back against European governments who have moved to check their power.
AI prototypes for UK welfare system dropped as officials lament ‘false starts’
The Guardian
Robert Booth
Ministers have shut down or dropped at least half a dozen artificial intelligence prototypes intended for the welfare system, the Guardian has learned, in a sign of the headwinds facing Keir Starmer’s effort to increase government efficiency. Pilots of AI technology to enhance staff training, improve the service in job centres, speed up disability benefit payments and modernise communication systems are not being taken forward, freedom of information requests reveal.
Africa
Scammers are creating fake news videos to blackmail victims
WIRED
Matt Burgess
In recent months, cybercriminals have taken their blackmailing efforts up a notch, creating realistic-looking “news” videos that claim their victims are wanted for crimes. Scammers based in West Africa, likely in Nigeria and going under the broad umbrella of the Yahoo Boys, have increasingly been seen sending blackmail victims videos likely using AI-generated news anchors in a bid to pressure victims into paying up.
Big Tech
Fact-checkers under fire as Big Tech pulls back
POLITICO
Mathieu Pollet
Civil society groups fighting falsehoods online have faced a barrage of political attacks ever since social media giant Meta announced it was moving away from fact-checking. The community of fact-checkers — groups of journalists and researchers that work tirelessly to debunk disinformation on social media like Facebook, X, YouTube and TikTok — have become a prime target of populist firebrands and anonymous haters online.
Google rages over ‘Grave’ EU errors in €4.3 billion Android fine
Bloomberg
Samuel Stolton
Google accused European Union antitrust watchdogs of blundering their way through a probe that culminated in a record €4.3 billion fine for allegedly abusing the market power of its Android mobile-phone ecosystem. At an appeals hearing at the EU’s Court of Justice on Tuesday, lawyers for the Alphabet Inc. unit slammed the European Commission for making “grave errors,” failing to take into account that Android’s success stemmed from successful innovation rather than brute force.
Artificial Intelligence
Former OpenAI safety researcher brands pace of AI development ‘terrifying’
The Guardian
Dan Milmo
A former safety researcher at OpenAI says he is “pretty terrified” about the pace of development in artificial intelligence, warning the industry is taking a “very risky gamble” on the technology. Steven Adler expressed concerns about companies seeking to rapidly develop artificial general intelligence, a theoretical term referring to systems that match or exceed humans at any intellectual task.
DeepSeek crashes Nvidia stock with prospect of cheaper AI
Nikkei Asia
Cissy Zhou and Jack Stone Truitt
Shares in Nvidia plummeted 17% on Monday to wipe out nearly $600 billion in market cap, the biggest single-day loss in U.S history, in a broad sell-off after China's DeepSeek shook confidence on the outlook for spending on artificial intelligence.
OpenAI seeks to block Indian media groups from copyright lawsuit
Reuters
Arpan Chaturvedi and Aditya Kalra
Microsoft-backed OpenAI sought to block on Tuesday India's biggest media organisations, including those of billionaires Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani, from joining a copyright lawsuit that is set to shape the legal framework for AI in India. Courts globally are hearing cases from authors, news organisations and musicians who accuse technology firms of using their copyrighted work to train artificial intelligence services without permission or license. India is OpenAI's second-largest market by number of users, after the United States.
AI in cybersecurity: weapon or shield?
iTnews
Madura Malwatte
The rapid adoption of artificial intelligence has triggered both excitement and unease in the cybersecurity community. On one hand, AI promises to revolutionise defences by enabling faster detection of threats and automating labour-intensive tasks. On the other, it offers attackers new tools to execute sophisticated and scalable cyberattacks. This dual nature raises a critical question: Is AI a weapon that amplifies cyber risks or a shield that strengthens our defences?
The future of public relations: top trends to watch in 2025 (Agentic AI, Micro-Influencers & more)
Medianet
Gopika B. Nair
As 2025 unfolds, the public relations landscape is undergoing a seismic transformation. Emerging technologies and shifting audience expectations are redefining how brands communicate. From AI-powered storytelling to the rise of micro-influencers, 2025 promises to be a game-changer for PR professionals. As PR professionals adapt to emerging trends they will be better equipped to foster deeper, more meaningful connections with their audiences.
Events & Podcasts
Safeguarding Australian elections: Addressing AI-enabled disinformation
ASPI
As artificial intelligence advances, it creates new challenges for democracy and electoral integrity. AI-enabled disinformation, deepfakes, and influence operations are increasingly being weaponised to distort political discourse and erode public trust. This event on Thursday 6 February, 5:30-6:30pm, co-hosted by ASPI and CETaS, will focus on the intersection of AI, electoral integrity and democratic resilience.
Foreign Interference, Election, and AI
ISACA Canberra
Join us for the ISACA Canberra Chapter's upcoming event, "Foreign Interference, Elections, and AI," where we'll explore the pressing challenges to Australia's democratic processes. As the nation approaches its next federal election, understanding the evolving landscape of disinformation campaigns and the role of artificial intelligence in shaping public perception is paramount. Our expert speakers will delve into recent attacker trends, including AI-generated content, and discuss proactive measures the industry is taking to combat these threats. Gain insights into what we can expect in Australia and how we can collectively safeguard the integrity of our elections.
The Daily Cyber & Tech Digest is brought to you by the Cyber, Technology & Security team at ASPI.
