Google & Amazon complicit in Israel-Gaza conflict through Project Nimbus | Huawei's new Shanghai campus to become global R&D hub | Russian disinformation networks spread across Europe

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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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• Public documents and statements by Israeli officials and Google and Amazon employees show that the Israel Defense Forces have been central to Project Nimbus since its inception. Google and Amazon workers protesting Project Nimbus say it makes the companies complicit in Israel’s armed conflicts. WIRED

• With around 30,000 R&D personnel expected to move into campus to work on semiconductors, wireless networks and the IoT, Huawei’s new US$1.4 billion Shanghai campus to serve as the company’s global R&D hub. South China Morning Post

• Researchers have uncovered infrastructure located or registered in Europe that is used by a prolific Russian-language disinformation network dubbed Doppelgänger, as well as by cybercriminals. The Record by Recorded Future

ASPI

What Australia can learn from Europe in addressing hybrid threats
The Strategist
Fitriani
Europe is well ahead of Australia in its understanding of hybrid threats—harmful tactics below the threshold of war. Australia views these acts as isolated attacks across diplomatic, military, economic and technological domains, whereas European governments see them as part of a cohesive strategy aimed at undermining the defence capabilities of the target country and its partners.

Australia

HII hosts congressional and Australian delegation at Newport news shipbuilding
Associated Press
Shipbuilder and all-domain technologies provider hosted Rep. Robert C. Scott, D-Va.; Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va.; and a delegation of Australian parliamentarians at its Newport News Shipbuilding division Friday. The visit was held in support of the AUKUS partnership. HII continues to bolster AUKUS, which set in motion tasking across all three countries to determine the optimal pathway to provide Australia with conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines.

Get ready for AI-supercharged hacking
The Strategist
Niusha Shafiabady and Mamoun Alazab
Cybercrime is causing significant disruption to the Australian economy. According to the Australian Institute of Criminology, cybercrime cost $3.5 billion in Australia in 2019. Around $1.9 billion was lost directly by victims and the rest was the cost of recovery from attacks and of measures to protect systems.

China

Huawei completes US$1.4 billion campus in Shanghai ‘with 100 cafes’ to lure foreign talent
South China Morning Post
Iris Deng
Huawei Technologies has completed construction of its 10-billion-yuan research and development centre in Shanghai, where company founder and chief executive Ren Zhengfei expected foreign scientists to be attracted by perks such as the more than 100 cafes on campus. Around 30,000 R&D personnel are expected to move into Huawei’s new Shanghai campus to work on semiconductors, wireless networks and the Internet of Things.

The smarter way to exploit China’s technical expertise
The Australian Financial Review
Richard McGregor
Western countries such as Australia have long complained that China steals their technology, which raises the obvious question: why can’t we steal theirs? Australian rules prohibit state espionage for commercial gain, but only just.

China's internet cleanup campaigns are going so well it needs a new one to protect kids
The Register
Beijing began an aggressive drive to clean up its internet around 2021, when the nation's internet regulator, the Cyberspace Administration of China, booted apps for violating data laws, ordered purges of content it disapproved of like wealth flaunting, violence and bullying, squashed mean girl online fan clubs, instituted restrictions on time spent on video games, and more.

USA

The gunshots rang out. Then the conspiracy theories erupted online.
The New York Times
Tiffany Hsu, Sheera Frenkel and Ken Bensinger
On July 12 and July 13 — the day of the shooting — there were 83,000 mentions on X of the phrase “inside job,” a 3,228 percent increase compared to the 48-hour period immediately prior, according to NewsGuard, which monitors online misinformation. In a statement, a Biden campaign official said that after “this horrifying attack, anyone — especially elected officials with national platforms — politicizing this tragedy, spreading disinformation, and seeking to further divide Americans isn’t just unacceptable — it’s an abdication of leadership.”

• Election disinformation will lead to chaos
  Time
  Barbara McQuade
  The assassination attempt that narrowly missed Donald Trump at a campaign rally on July 13 has prompted a deluge of misinformation and disinformation online. Predictably, the unique circumstances of the shooting that left one dead and others injured has led to wild conjecture. Failing to secure a rooftop about 150 yards from the stage will no doubt cause hard questions for the Secret Service and their law enforcement partners in Butler, Pa., but it also opens the event to false narratives designed to advance the agendas of their authors.

U.S., Singapore cooperate on data analytics, Artificial Intelligence
DOD News
David Vergun
The Defense Department's chief digital and artificial intelligence officer and Singapore's deputy secretary for technology signed a new statement of intent for data analytics and artificial intelligence cooperation, said Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III. "This will help both of our countries to source cutting-edge technology quickly and effectively," Austin said.

North Asia

Exclusive: North Korean hackers sent stolen crypto to wallet used by Asian payment firm
Reuters
Tom Wilson
A major Cambodian payments firm received crypto worth over $150,000 from a digital wallet used by North Korean hacking outfit Lazarus, blockchain data shows, a glimpse of how the criminal collective has laundered funds in Southeast Asia. Cryptocurrency allows North Korea to circumvent international sanctions, the United Nations has said. That may in turn help it to pay for banned goods and services, according to the Royal United Services Institute, a London-based defence and security think tank.

TikTok sees K-Culture spend doubling to $143 billion by 2030
Bloomberg
Sohee Kim
Global spending on Korean cultural products is forecast to nearly double to $143 billion by 2030, according to new research released by TikTok and analytics company Kantar. The soaring popularity of so-called K-content has been amplified by social platforms, where users have voiced their appreciation of Korean drama, pop music, cuisine and cosmetics.

Southeast Asia

Indonesian cyberattack signals growing threat in Southeast Asia
Nikkei Asia
Erwida Maulia and Ismi Damayanti
A recent ransomware attack in Indonesia in which hackers locked up government data at more than 200 agencies highlights the need for stronger cybersecurity in Southeast Asia, experts say, as the region's digital boom exposes it to more frequent and sophisticated online threats.

Singapore: MPA fostering maritime digitalisation
OpenGov Asia
Alita Sharon
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore and a Japanese shipping company solidified their commitment to advancing the maritime industry’s sustainability, digitalisation, and manpower development through a new memorandum of understanding. The MoU emphasises the integration of advanced technologies to enhance operational efficiency and sustainability. By leveraging digital tools and innovative solutions, MPA and the company aim to streamline maritime operations, improve safety, and reduce environmental impact.

Banks in Singapore to phase out one-time passwords in 3 months
Bleeping Computer
Bill Toulas
The Monetary Authority of Singapore has announced a new requirement impacting all major retail banks in the country to phase out the use of one-time passwords within the next three months. This initiative was agreed upon between the government and the Association of Banks in Singapore to protect consumers against phishing and other scams.

UNODC launches campaign to promote safe, responsible use of technology for all
Laotian Times
Chono Lapuekou
With the misuse of technology posing a serious threat across Southeast Asia for the past few years, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime is launching a regional campaign for governments and the public to raise awareness about the safe and responsible use of technology. “Technology’s rapid evolution is reshaping our global landscape,” said Joshua James, Regional Counter-Cybercrime Coordinator at UNODC.

South & Central Asia

Why Home ministry and IT ministry want control of India’s cybersecurity agency
The Times of India
Two key ministries in India are reportedly strongly pitching for control over the country's nodal cybersecurity watchdog, the Computer Emergency Response Team. The Information Technology ministry and Ministry of Home Affairs are making a strong pitch for the ownership of Cert-In. This disagreement highlights the growing complexity of cybersecurity, particularly when dealing with online harms. It underscores the need for various stakeholders with differing approaches and mandates to collaborate effectively.

NZ & Pacific Islands

Security agencies admit failures over Parliamentary cyberattack
Stuff
Paula Penfold
A review by security agencies of their handling of a China-backed cyberattack targeting two MPs and an academic admits a series of failings including not communicating with those targeted. The 2021 cyberattack by a hacking group called APT 31 was revealed in May this year, leaving MPs and an academic who were targeted “furious and distressed” that agencies knew about the attack and didn’t tell them.

Ukraine - Russia

Russian disinformation network’s infrastructure is spread across Europe, report says
The Record by Recorded Future
Daryna Antoniuk
Researchers have uncovered infrastructure located or registered in Europe that is used by a prolific Russian-language disinformation network dubbed Doppelgänger, as well as by cybercriminals. Researchers at digital rights nonprofits Qurium and EU DisinfoLab — say the group is doing business in at least 10 countries across Europe, including Germany, the U.K., and the Czech Republic. This means that European companies, whether knowingly or not, make their services available to a disinformation operation affecting their own nations.

From basement to battlefield: Ukrainian startups create low-cost robots to fight Russia
Associated Press
Derek Gatopoulos and Anton Shtuka
Struggling with manpower shortages, overwhelming odds and uneven international assistance, Ukraine hopes to find a strategic edge against Russia in an abandoned warehouse or a factory basement. An ecosystem of laboratories in hundreds of secret workshops is leveraging innovation to create a robot army that Ukraine hopes will kill Russian troops and save its own wounded soldiers and civilians.

Europe

Trial' DDoS attacks on French sites portend greater Olympics threats
Dark Reading
Nate Nelson
Against the backdrop of the upcoming Paris Olympics, Russian hacktivists have claimed denial-of-service attacks against a few notable French websites. For months now, the news media has warned of both physical and cyber threats to the upcoming Olympic Games. The fears are well-founded: Any major event these days is a target, and prior Olympics have seen their fair share of incidents.

French competition authority confirms investigation into Nvidia
Reuters
The French competition authority confirmed on Monday that an investigation is underway into chipmaker Nvidia, opens new tab over alleged anti-competitive practices. Benoit Coeure, president of the agency, told Reuters on the sidelines of a press briefing that the company would be charged "if the investigation is fruitful".

Middle East

The hidden ties between Google and Amazon’s project Nimbus and Israel's military
WIRED
Caroline Haskins
On April 16, police entered Google offices in New York and California to detain several employees protesting a $1.2 billion cloud contract with Israel’s government called Project Nimbus. The deal, shared with Amazon, has met pushback from some employees at both companies since 2021, but the protests have grown louder since Israel’s renewed conflict with Hamas after the attacks of October 7, 2023. Current and former Google and Amazon workers protesting Project Nimbus say it makes the companies complicit in Israel’s armed conflicts and its government’s illegal and inhumane treatment of civilian Palestinians.

Well-established cybercriminal ecosystem blooming in Iraq
Dark Reading
Tara Seals
A sprawling criminal network has emerged in Iraq, linked to a Telegram bot that dates back to 2022 and contains more than 90,000 messages, mostly in Arabic. According to researchers at Checkmarx, the bot is the key to a larger, sophisticated cybercriminal ecosystem, including a thriving underground marketplace offering social media manipulation services and financial theft tools, and a suite of malicious PyPI packages that exfiltrate user data.

Gender & Women in Tech

She leads LinkedIn’s AI transformation to create more jobs: ‘I am an AI optimist because I believe in humans’
CNA Lifestyle
Annie Tan
If AI is already crafting job descriptions and assessing potential resumes, will it also one day replace these jobs? No, says LinkedIn’s head of AI, Ya Xu, who talks about how humans can thrive amid this tectonic digital disruption. Her advice for humans in the AI-era: “The space is moving so fast. Having a learner-first mindset is probably the most important when you have a very disruptive technology that can change the future in a way that nobody can predict.”

Big Tech

Google near $23 billion deal for cybersecurity startup Wiz
The Wall Street Journal
Lauren Thomas and Berber Jin
Google parent Alphabet is in advanced talks to acquire cybersecurity startup Wiz for roughly $23 billion, according to people familiar with the matter, in what would be its largest acquisition ever. Alphabet is eyeing the deal at a time of intense antitrust scrutiny of the search company and other tech giants. The acquisition could also help boost Alphabet’s efforts in cloud computing, an important and growing business but one where it has lagged behind peers.

Apple’s India sales surge 33% to record as China shift persists
Bloomberg
Sankalp Phartiyal
Apple Inc.’s annual sales in India hit a record of almost $8 billion, underscoring a rapidly growing market where the iPhone maker now assembles more of its devices and operates two flagship stores. The increase signals steady progress in Apple’s effort to win users in the world’s most populous country.

TikTok e-commerce grows fourfold in ASEAN, narrows gap with Shopee
Nikkei Asia
Tsubasa Suruga
TikTok, the viral short video app owned by China's ByteDance, is becoming one of the largest e-commerce platforms in Southeast Asia, a market long dominated by local players like Shopee and Alibaba's Lazada, an annual study released Tuesday showed. The app's e-commerce platform TikTok Shop increased its gross merchandise volume nearly fourfold from $4.4 billion in 2022 to $16.3 billion last year, the fastest growth rate among regional rivals.

Artificial Intelligence

AI will deliver gains to a limited group of winners
The Strategist
Dambisa Moyo
The current pace of advances in generative artificial intelligence makes it difficult to forecast how the technology will affect the economy, business, and society. Nonetheless, it already seems clear that the new AI applications will produce a narrow cohort of winners and lead to a smaller workforce, confronting governments with big policy challenges.

AI’s ‘Oppenheimer moment’: autonomous weapons enter the battlefield
The Guardian
Nick Robins-Early
Growing conflicts around the world have acted as both accelerant and testing ground for AI warfare, experts say, while making it even more evident how unregulated the nascent field is. The expansion of AI in conflict has shown that national militaries have an immense appetite for the technology, despite how unpredictable and ethically fraught it can be.

Researchers call for "child-safe AI" after Alexa tells little girl to stick penny in wall socket
Futurism
Victor Tangermann
Researchers are urging tech companies and regulators to come up with new rules to protect children from AI chatbots that lack any kind of emotional intelligence. This "empathy gap," as detailed in a new paper authored by University of Cambridge sociology PhD Nomisha Kurian, could put young users at risk, prompting the need for "child-safe AI.

Misc

Internal Disney communications leaked online after hack
The Wall Street Journal
Sarah Krouse and Robert McMillan
Data from Disney’s internal Slack workplace collaboration system have been leaked online, including discussions about ad campaigns, studio technology and interview candidates. Nullbulge bills itself as a hacktivist group that advocates for artist rights and chooses its targets based on a set of social, economic or political values. A spokesperson for the group said via an online message that it targeted Disney “due to how it handles artist contracts, its approach to AI, and it’s pretty blatant disregard for the consumer.”

• Artists should exploit AI’s capabilities, say creators of new Tate Modern show
  The Guardian
  Lanre Bakare
  Artists should see the advance of AI technology as an opportunity and not a new existential threat for creativity, according to the team behind Tate Modern’s new tech-based show. Catherine Wood, the museum’s director of exhibitions and programmes, said the Electric Dreams exhibition showed the decades-long relationship between artists and technology – and the fact the two worlds would probably always be intertwined.

Events & Podcasts

The Sydney Dialogue
ASPI
The Sydney Dialogue was created to help bring together governments, businesses and civil society to discuss and progress policy options. We will forecast the technologies of the next decade that will change our societies, economies and national security, prioritising speakers and delegates who are willing to push the envelope. We will promote diverse views that stimulate real conversations about the best ways to seize opportunities and minimise risks.

Jobs

Director of Cyber, Technology & Security (CTS)
ASPI
ASPI is looking for an exceptional and experienced senior leader to lead our largest team focused on emerging security challenges in the Indo-Pacific. 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 emerging security issues, and our region. The role provides a unique opportunity for a strategic and creative leader to drive the team’s evolution and to continue influencing public policy making in Australia and across the globe. The role is responsible for the oversight and delivery of a wide range of data-driven research projects. The closing date for applications is 28 July 2024 – an early application is advised as we reserve the right to close the vacancy early if suitable applications are received.

Program Manager - Cyber, Technology & Security (CTS)
ASPI
The team has an exciting role for a talented and proactive individual to work with the CTS Director and Deputy Director on program and research coordination, strategic engagement and grants. This is a key role within the CTS team working with the Director, Deputy Director and Program Coordinator on project delivery, fundraising and coordination of team activities. The focus of the role is to help manage and support the individual researchers to collectively deliver projects, accurately, on time and in the most effective way to impact policy. The closing date for applications is 25 July 2024 – an early application is advised as we reserve the right to close the vacancy early if suitable applications are received.

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