Illicit cellular network threatening UN General Assembly | Russia AI driven disinformation | Syndicates establish scam hubs near Australian border
Plus, Cancel the Hate cancels itself after alleged leak of user data
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The US Secret Service announced the discovery of a secret communications network of more than 100,000 SIM cards and 300 servers capable of carrying out “nefarious” attacks as world leaders began gathering in New York for the annual U.N. General Assembly. The Record by Recorded Future
Russia’s influence operation is behind spoof websites impersonating legitimate Western media and pay “engagement farms” in Africa, while AI bots are deployed to flood comment sections deriding the EU and pro-European party, this is the case for Moldova’s parliamentary election, which will determine whether it will join EU or not. EuroNews
Organised crime groups known for orchestrating large-scale scams in Southeast Asia are now establishing operations in Pacific regions, according to a recent alert from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Insurance Business Magazine
ASPI
Australia’s AI future hinges on Beetaloo gas and decisive policy choices
The Mandarin
John Coyne
Energy, not algorithms, will decide who leads in artificial intelligence. At the AI Horizons Summit in Pittsburgh, the US’ largest natural gas producer, EQT, made the case bluntly: the real contest is between Chinese coal and American natural gas. For Australia, to achieve its own AI capability, the country must anchor it in its own energy, and the gas-rich but largely undeveloped Beetaloo Basin presents an opportunity.
🚀 We’ve rebuilt ASPI’s China Defence Universities Tracker from the ground up. The major expansion adds richer profiles, rankings powered by the Critical Technology Tracker, new mapping of links to China’s state-owned defence industry, analysis of China–Russia research ties, and data on the surge in dual-use research centres—now covering 180+ entities with faster search. Be among the first to subscribe and explore new data and exclusive insights: https://unitracker.aspi.org.au/
World
Secret Service says it disrupted illicit cellular network threatening UN conference
The Record by Recorded Future
Suzanne Smalley
The US Secret Service announced the discovery of a secret communications network of more than 100,000 SIM cards and 300 servers capable of carrying out “nefarious” attacks as world leaders began gathering in New York for the annual UN General Assembly. The devices, which they said were found within 35 miles of the UN, had the potential to shut down the entire cell phone network in New York City, Matt McCool, the special agent in charge of the New York field office, claimed in a videotaped announcement.
Cache of devices capable of crashing cell network is found near UN The New York Times
A ‘global call for AI red lines’ sounds the alarm about the lack of international AI policy
The Verge
Hayden Field and Elissa Welle
More than 200 former heads of state, diplomats, Nobel laureates, AI leaders, scientists, and others all agreed on one thing: There should be an international agreement on “red lines” that AI should never cross, for instance, not allowing AI to impersonate a human being or self-replicate. They, along with more than 70 organizations that address AI, have all signed the Global Call for AI Red Lines initiative, a call for governments to reach an “international political agreement on ‘red lines’ for AI by the end of 2026.” Signatories include British Canadian computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton and OpenAI cofounder Wojciech Zaremba.
Australia
Asian crime syndicates establish scam hubs near Australian border
Insurance Business Magazine
Roxanne Libatique
Organised crime groups known for orchestrating large-scale scams in Southeast Asia are now establishing operations in Pacific regions, according to a recent alert from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. This development follows a law enforcement operation in August 2025 in Oecusse-Ambeno, a Special Administrative Region of Timor-Leste, where authorities identified evidence of scam activities with links to Asian triads.
Project Peacock: inside the secret Optus deal that preceded multiple network crashes
The Australian
Jared Lynch
The seeds of Optus’s fatal outage – sparked by a bungled firewall upgrade – were sown four years ago when the telco signed off on Project Peacock. The contentious move involved the transfer of Optus’s internal technical elite – specialists in cybersecurity, voice systems, cloud technologies, and firewall upgrades – to Indian tech giant Infosys. Codenamed Peacock, the transfer of skilled technical staff to Infosys was part of a broader directive from Optus’s Singaporean owner, Singtel, after it sold its IT service delivery business to the Bengaluru-based titan for $S6m in late 2021.
Aussie chipmaker worth $500m as government, big name investors buy in
The Australian Financial Review
Tess Bennet
Sydney-based Morse Micro was founded in August 2016 by Michael De Nil and Andrew Terry, two engineers who previously worked at US chipmaker Broadcom. It has developed a new microchip that connects devices such as security cameras and sensors to the internet over long ranges. The federal government has taken a stake in Australia’s largest semiconductor company, Morse Micro, as part of an $88 million capital raising led by Japanese chip giant MegaChips, that values it at $500 million.
China
Chinese regulator summons ByteDance, Alibaba's platforms over content violations
Reuters
Eduardo Baptista
China's cyberspace regulator summoned ByteDance's news platform Toutiao and Alibaba's internet browser operator UCWeb over content violations, making them the latest companies to be targeted by a government crackdown on user behaviour online. Both platforms were recently penalised for content that "disrupted the online ecosystem order". Toutiao was deemed to have allowed "harmful content" to appear on its trending topic lists and other locations while UCWeb was charged with "allowing non-authoritative sources and non-mainstream media to flood its main trending topics list with entries related to extremely sensitive and malicious cases and events".
China penalises ByteDance and Alibaba platforms in content crackdown The Straits Times
China tells grumps, trolls, and AIs to stop emoting online
The Register
Simon Sharwood
China’s Cyberspace Administration announced a two-month campaign to quash netizens who “maliciously incite negative emotions”. The administration’s announcement of the campaign explains it will target social media platforms, short video services, the livestreaming platforms used by Chinese e-commerce sites to host infomercials and even delve into comments left across the internet. China also wants to stop “excessively exaggerating negative and pessimistic sentiment” through content that includes themes such as “"hard work is useless" and "studying is useless."
USA
TikTok’s algorithm will be overseen by Oracle in the US after the sale is completed
CNN
Clare Duffy
The deal will expand Oracle’s involvement with TikTok, building on an existing partnership with ByteDance to store TikTok’s US user data domestically as part of an earlier effort to address national security concerns. US officials worried that ByteDance could be forced to manipulate the algorithm on behalf of the Chinese government to influence or generate dissent among Americans. Under the deal, the new ownership group will receive a copy of the algorithm code from ByteDance, review it and retrain it on US user data. Oracle will continuously monitor how it’s pushing content to users, according to the senior White House official.
Trump’s $100,000 visa fee puts many tech start-ups in a bind
The New York Times
Ryan Mac and Natallie Rocha
After President Trump signed a proclamation on Friday to add a $100,000 fee for new applicants of H-1B visas for skilled foreign workers, two technology leaders reacted in opposite ways. While the biggest tech companies have the money to absorb the new fee, start-ups are concerned about their ability to attract and pay for talent, particularly when they have limited funding and agonize over every dollar spent. The different responses show how the Trump administration’s visa change is rippling through the tech industry, which uses H-1Bs to hire thousands of software engineers, artificial intelligence specialists and others.
Alleged Scattered Spider hacker surrenders to US police
iTnews
Juha Saarinen
Following arrests of other alleged group members in the UK, another alleged affiliate of the high-profile Scattered Spider network of cybercriminals has surrendered himself to police in Las Vegas. The unnamed male teenager faces criminal charges of obtaining personally indentifiable information to harm or impersonate, extortion and unlawful computer use. Scattered Spider has been linked to the community of young cybercriminals who connect with each other online using social media and gaming platforms.
Americas
Hikvision to challenge Canadian court endorsement of shutdown order
Reuters
Chinese surveillance camera manufacturer Hikvision said on Tuesday it would challenge a court decision upholding a Canadian government order to cease operations in Canada. The Federal Court on Monday dismissed a request from Hikvision to have the June order set aside. Ottawa says Hikvision operations in Canada could threaten national security. Hikvision sells in Canada through distributors and the court decision does not ban the sale of Hikvision products.
Argentina wants to be an AI powerhouse, but its tech experts are leaving
Rest of World
David Feliba
Argentina is known for its beef and soy exports. Now, in the age of artificial intelligence, it is also shipping talent overseas. President Javier Milei pitched Argentina as an AI hub, but the few jobs and research opportunities are not enough to keep engineers at home. The president’s ambitious plan to turn the country into an AI hub is undermined by deep budget cuts. Local AI experts are looking for opportunities in the US, the UK, and the EU.
North Asia
Japanese city's decree caps daily smartphone use at 2 hours
Nikkei Asia
Yosuke Kawaji
A city in central Japan became the first in the nation to enact an ordinance limiting the amount of smartphone use, looking to improve sleep and academic performance among children. The Toyoake city council in Aichi prefecture enacted the ordinance with 12 of 19 members voting in favor. All residents may use their smartphones for recreational purposes no more than two hours per day. "We hope citizens perform self-checks on smartphone usage and the accompanying reduction in sleep time," Mayor Masafumi Kouki told reporters following the enactment.
South & Central Asia
India is betting $18 billion to build a chip powerhouse
CNBC
Priyanka Salve
Ten semiconductor projects are currently underway across six states in India, with a total investment of $18.2 billion. These include two semiconductor fabrication plants, and multiple testing and packing factories. The country wants to reduce dependence on imports, secure chips for strategic sectors, and capture a bigger share of the global electronics market shifting away from China. But experts say neither the country’s investment nor talent pool is enough to make India’s chip ambitions a reality.
Ukraine – Russia
Inside Russia’s AI-driven disinformation machine shaping Moldova’s election
Euronews
In the wake of Russia’s full invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Moldova applied to join the EU and was granted candidate status that year, and Brussels agreed to open accession negotiations last year. Moldovans are facing a flood of disinformation driven by AI ahead of a critical parliamentary election, which will determine whether the small country can stay on its path toward the European Union or is pulled back into Moscow’s orbit. Spoof websites impersonate legitimate Western media and pay “engagement farms” in Africa, while AI bots are deployed to flood comment sections deriding the EU and pro-European party.
Russia floods Czech election with disinformation as Babiš leads in polls POLITICO
How Russian-funded fake news network aims to disrupt election in Europe BBC
Europe
Denmark suffers ‘serious attack’ on infrastructure with drones closing airport
Financial Times
Richard Milne
Denmark’s prime minister said the country had suffered the “most serious attack to date” on its critical infrastructure after its biggest airport was shut down by unknown drones in its airspace. Mette Frederiksen said Denmark did “not rule out any options” over who piloted the drones that flew over Copenhagen airport on Monday, halting operations for several hours. Nato and the EU on Tuesday blamed Russia’s “irresponsible” behaviour in similar recent incidents with drones and fighter jets breaching their airspace.
UK
UK chancellor put in the blame on Russia for cyber chaos
The Register
Carly Page
UK chancellor Rachel Reeves is blaming Moscow for Britain's latest cyber woes, an attribution that seems about as solid as wet cardboard given the trail of evidence pointing to attackers much closer to home. Days prior, the UK's National Crime Agency announced that it had cuffed four suspects over the Marks & Spencer breach: three Brits and a Latvian. Investigators allege the quartet belong to Scattered Spider, an English-speaking social engineering crew that has plagued companies on both sides of the Atlantic. The NCA claimed it had also linked the four suspects to the recent attacks on Co-op and Harrods.
Africa
Taiwan curbs chip exports to South Africa in rare power move
Bloomberg
Debby Wu, Yian Lee, and Loni Prinsloo
South Africa began pressuring Taiwan to relocate its embassy from Pretoria to Johannesburg in 2023, shortly after hosting a BRICS summit attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping, a Foreign Ministry official in Taipei told Bloomberg News. Taiwan now requires pre-approval for the bulk of chips sold to the African nation, its trade regulator said in a statement. The move reflects both the island’s economic clout and a growing frustration with getting sidelined by Beijing in the diplomatic community. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing makes the majority of the world’s most sophisticated chips, essential to cars, AI and industrial production.
Big Tech
Microsoft, Apple, Google and Booking to answer EU questions on scams
Euronews
Cynthia Kroet
US tech giants Microsoft, Apple and Google and hotel booking website Booking have received questions from the European Commission regarding their mitigation measures to police financial fraud. The European Commission wants to know if the companies comply with the Digital Services Act, which entered into force in 2023.
Meta to access your Wi-Fi history with European laws paving the way
The Australian
Jared Lynch
Facebook owner Meta is demanding unprecedented access to Apple users’ daily Wi-Fi history, leveraging new European Union laws that Apple warns are causing disastrous “unintended consequences.” These “unintended consequences” include requests for Wi-Fi logs, which Apple warns could allow Meta and other companies to effectively track users, revealing visits to sensitive locations like courthouses, hotels, or fertility clinics.
Artificial Intelligence
OpenAI teams up with Oracle and SoftBank to build 5 new Stargate data centers
WIRED
Zoë Schiffer, Will Knight and Lauren Goode
OpenAI is planning to build five new data centers in the United States as part of the Stargate initiative, the company announced on Tuesday. The sites, which are being developed in partnership with Oracle and SoftBank, bring Stargate’s current planned capacity to nearly 7 gigawatts—roughly the same amount of power as seven large-scale nuclear reactors.
Nvidia to invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI, linking two artificial intelligence titans
Reuters
The move underscores the increasingly overlapping interests of the various tech giants developing advanced AI systems. The deal gives chipmaker Nvidia a financial stake in the world’s most prominent AI company, which is already an important customer. At the same time, the investment gives OpenAI the cash and access it needs to buy advanced chips that are key to maintaining its dominance in an increasingly competitive landscape.
Misc
Cancel the Hate cancels itself after alleged leak of user data
CyberDaily
David Hollingworth
A website created to “out” professionals not sufficiently full of praise for murdered conservative firebrand Charlie Kirk appears to have taken itself offline following allegations that it was leaking user data. A security researcher who calls themselves BobDaHacker got the scoop and shared details of the leak with media outlet and since then, the app has been taken down.
Research
What happens when AI comes to the cotton fields
The Conversation
Debra Lam, Atin Adhikari and James E. Thomas
Precision agriculture uses tools and technologies such as GPS and sensors to monitor, measure and respond to changes within a farm field in real time. This includes using artificial intelligence technologies for tasks such as helping farmers apply pesticides only where and when they are needed.
Events & Podcasts
The Sydney Dialogue 2025
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute is pleased to announce the Sydney Dialogue, the world’s premier policy summit for critical, emerging and cyber technologies, will return on 4-5 December. Now in its fourth year, the dialogue attracts the world’s top thinkers, innovators and policymakers, and focusses on the most pressing issues at the intersection of technology and security. TSD has become the place where new partnerships are built among governments, industry and civil society, and where existing partnerships are deepened.
Stop the World: Armies key to Indo-Pacific deterrence, says former US general
The Indo-Pacific is a strategic theatre named after two oceans, but according to retired US four-star general Charles Flynn, land forces would be crucial in any conflict, including over Taiwan. In this episode, David Wroe speaks with Charles, who retired last year as commanding general of the US Army Pacific, about the often misunderstood and overlooked importance of land power. They consider scenarios including a Chinese full-scale invasion of Taiwan and the crucial hard power that only armies could deliver in such a conflict.
The Daily Cyber & Tech Digest is brought to you by the Cyber, Technology & Security Programs team at ASPI and supported by partners.
