Making sense of the Trump administration’s first 30 days | Wagner's gore information operations | UK demands of Apple will make all phones less safe
Good morning. It's Thursday 27th of February.
The Daily Cyber & Tech Digest focuses on the topics we work on, including cybersecurity, critical technologies, foreign interference & disinformation.
Follow us on X, on LinkedIn, and on BlueSky.
As the Trump administration concludes its first 30 days in office, three worrying trends emerge at the intersection of technology and democratic governance. New America has tracked these trends in federal actions: The weakening of oversight of U.S. government surveillance, the elimination of institutions that protect American consumers and their data, systematic efforts to access some of America’s most vital data systems without regard for individual privacy or data security. New America’s Open Technology Institute
The publication of violence has long been a hallmark of the Wagner Group, On the African continent, however, this content has gone far beyond a few viral videos. Rather, the group’s media channels have evolved into a 24/7 stream of on-demand gore. These Wagner-affiliated accounts post images and videos of their crimes in the most graphic way imaginable with disturbing or mocking commentary. Lieber Institute West Point
Last month, the U.K. government demanded that Apple weaken the security of iCloud for users worldwide. On Friday, Apple took steps to comply for users in the United Kingdom. But the British law is written in a way that requires Apple to give its government access to anyone, anywhere in the world. Once the back door exists, others will attempt to surreptitiously use it. A technical means of access can’t be limited to only people with proper legal authority. Its very existence invites others to try. Foreign Policy
ASPI
ASEAN cyber norms need broad stakeholder engagement
The Strategist
Gatra Priyandita
Malaysia is keen to develop the third iteration of the cybersecurity cooperation strategy, which will guide ASEAN’s collaborative efforts in cyberspace. But to be truly effective, cooperation must remain a multistakeholder affair.
Australia
Westpac works with Accenture to deploy AI agents
The Australian Financial Review
James Eyers
Westpac hired Accenture to develop artificial intelligence-powered agents which are already used in software programming, and which may one day assist its bankers in processing loan applications. Agentic AI is an extension of generative AI that involves bots imitating human decision-making. AI agents can execute actions, moving beyond chatbots which merely surface and communicate data back to a user.
China
A tale of two typhoons: properly diagnosing Chinese cyber threats
War on the Rocks
Erica Lonergan and Michael Poznansky
There are two fundamental problems with the current state of the policy debate. The first is that Volt Typhoon and Salt Typhoon are fundamentally distinct, but policymakers tend to treat them interchangeably. The second problem, which follows from the first, is that policymakers are grasping for the same policy levers — especially deterrence — to address these threats when they suggest different solutions.
China wants tech companies to monetize data, but few are buying in
Rest of World
Lizzi C. Lee
Chinese firms generate staggering amounts of data daily, from ride-hailing trips to online shopping transactions. A recent policy allowed Chinese companies to record data as assets on their balance sheets, the first such regulation in the world, paving the way for data to be traded in a marketplace and boost company valuations. But uptake has been slow.
China says Taiwan seeks to give away chip industry to US
Reuters
Ben Blanchard
Speaking at a regular news conference in Beijing, Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office, said, without offering evidence, that people in Taiwan were concerned TSMC could become "United States Semiconductor Manufacturing Co". "In order to seek selfish gain, the Democratic Progressive Party authorities have freely made demands from external forces, using Taiwan's semiconductor industry and powerful companies to get a foot in the door to relying on foreign countries to seek independence, and even give them away as souvenirs," Zhu said, referring to Taiwan's ruling party.
USA
Trump’s tech governance: making sense of the administration’s first 30 days
New America’s Open Technology Institute
Lilian Coral
As the Trump administration concludes its first 30 days in office, three worrying trends emerge at the intersection of technology and democratic governance. New America has tracked trends in federal actions: The weakening of oversight of U.S. government surveillance, the elimination of institutions that protect American consumers and their data, systematic efforts to access some of America’s most vital data systems without regard for individual privacy or data security
The foundations of America’s prosperity are being dismantled
MIT Technology Review
Karen Hao
10 federal workers who spoke to MIT warn that dismantling the behind-the-scenes scientific research programs that backstop American life could lead to long-lasting, perhaps irreparable damage to everything from the quality of health care to the public’s access to next-generation consumer technologies. The US took nearly a century to craft its rich scientific ecosystem; if the unraveling that has taken place over the past month continues, Americans will feel the effects for decades to come.
Biden Justice Department downplayed U.K. demand for Apple ‘back door’
The Washington Post
Joseph Menn
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard on Tuesday called that British demand an “egregious” violation of American rights, and on Wednesday lawmakers asked the Justice Department to investigate.
Erotica, gore and racism: how America’s war on ‘ideological bias’ is letting AI off the leash
The Conversation
Judith Bishop
Generative AI moderation efforts may go the way of Meta’s fact-checking and expert content moderation programs. This could have an impact on global users of US-made AI products such as OpenAI ChatGPT, Microsoft Co-Pilot and Google Gemini. We might be about to rediscover how essential these efforts have been to keep AI models in check.
American AI is high on its own supply
Foreign Policy
Bhaskar Chakravorti
Americans have derived all the wrong lessons: spend even more on AI; trust Chinese technology even less; and reach back to analogies from the 19th-century English coal industry to justify the seemingly unjustifiable 21st-century expenditures in AI.
Who is Amy Gleason, the woman technically running DOGE?
ABC News
The White House has revealed the identity of the Department of Government Efficiency's (DOGE) acting administrator: a little-known former healthcare technology consultant named Amy Gleason. Ms Gleason has been acting as the leader of DOGE, which has been pushing agencies to fire employees, cancel contracts and make other budget cuts.
North Asia
Why Carlyle, Blackstone, MBK are vying for stake in this little-known tech firm
The Korea Herald
Jo He-rim
Often referred to as "Korea’s ASML," HPSP dominates the market for high-pressure hydrogen annealing equipment, securing major global chipmakers such as Samsung Electronics, TSMC and Intel as clients — similar to how Dutch firm ASML dominates the lithography equipment sector.
Korean agency HYBE signs accord with police to combat deepfake crimes targeting its artists
Manila Bulletin News
Jonathan Hicap
The enterntainment company signed a memorandum of understanding with South Korea’s Northern Gyeonggi Provincial Police Agency (NGPPA) to combat the rising threat of deepfake cybercrimes targeting the company’s artists across its multi-labels within the HYBE Music Group APAC.
South-East Asia
Apple Reaches Pact With Indonesia to End iPhone Sales Ban
Bloomberg
Faris Mokhtar
Apple has signed an agreement with Indonesia to invest in the country, paving the way for sales of the iPhone 16 to resume in Southeast Asia’s largest nation. The ministry for industry will begin a process to issue Apple with a permit allowing it to sell its latest smartphone, news outlet Kompas reported.
UK
What the U.K. wants from Apple will make our phones less safe
Foreign Policy
Bruce Schneier
Last month, the U.K. government demanded that Apple weaken the security of iCloud for users worldwide. On Friday, Apple took steps to comply for users in the United Kingdom. But the British law is written in a way that requires Apple to give its government access to anyone, anywhere in the world. Once the back door exists, others will attempt to surreptitiously use it. A technical means of access can’t be limited to only people with proper legal authority. Its very existence invites others to try. In 2004, hackers—we don’t know who—breached a back-door access capability in a major Greek cellphone network to spy on users, including the prime minister of Greece and other elected officials.
Surge in UK university students using AI to complete work
Financial Times
Peter Foster and Amy Borrett
More than nine out of 10 students are now using AI in some form, compared with two-thirds a year ago, according to a survey published by the Higher Education Policy Institute think-tank on Wednesday. Experts warned that the sheer speed of take-up of AI among undergraduates required universities to rapidly develop policies to give students clarity on acceptable uses of the technology.
Europe
Cellebrite suspends Serbia as customer after claims police used firm’s tech to plant spyware
TechCrunch
Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai
Cellebrite announced on Tuesday that it stopped Serbia from using its technology following allegations that Serbian police and intelligence used Cellebrite’s technology to unlock the phones of a journalist and an activist, and then plant spyware.
Africa
Terror, chaos, and shame: when Information Operations constitute war crimes
Lieber Institute West Point
Lindsay Freeman
The publication of violence has long been a hallmark of the Wagner Group, which became infamous for sharing videos of brutal sledgehammer murders and beheadings in Syria and Ukraine. On the African continent, however, this content has gone far beyond a few viral videos. Rather, the group’s media channels have evolved into a 24/7 stream of on-demand gore. These Wagner-affiliated accounts post images and videos of their crimes in the most graphic way imaginable with disturbing or mocking commentary that not only serves as evidence of their crimes but amount to potential crimes in and of themselves.
Nigerians are building affordable alternatives to AWS and Google Cloud
Rest of World
Damilare Dosunmu
Okra set up cloud infrastructure with servers in data centers in Nigeria and South Africa in 2024. Later that year, the cloud operations were spun off into a new company called Nebula, which allows anyone in Nigeria to run their website, app, or workflow on its cloud and pay in naira
Middle East
Why one of the world’s major AI pioneers is betting big on Saudi Arabia
Rest of World
Anup Kaphle
His arrival coincides with Saudi Arabia’s push to become a global tech and AI hub, even as China and the U.S. jostle for global influence. Since launching a blueprint to modernize its economy and society, known as Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia has committed to and launched ambitious infrastructure and futuristic projects, adding up to more than a trillion dollars.
Big Tech
The future of the internet is likely smaller communities, with a focus on curated experiences
The Verge
The Verge partnered with Vox Media’s Insights and Research team, along with Two Cents Insights, to better understand how American consumers are embracing this shift. The goal of the work was to redefine what online communities will be in a post-social media era of emerging AI and Google Zero. A survey of 2,000 US adults found 42% say that search engines like Google are becoming less useful, 60% view the state of social media negatively, and more
Why is YouTube boosting anti-US, pro-Chinese communist propaganda
The Hill
Matthew Tye
This type of huge drop in viewership across multiple channels is highly irregular and very likely be explained by a shift in YouTube’s recommendation algorithm to stop recommending all videos critical of the Chinese government. We conducted an experiment. Winston continued creating his normal content, but gave his videos misleading titles and thumbnails apparently supportive of the Chinese government and critical of the U.S. His first video received 655,000 views, a nearly five-fold increase in views compared to his videos overtly critical of the Chinese government.
Artificial Intelligence
Paris AI Summit: Stage for power struggles, not regulation
The Daily Sabah
Gloria Shkurti Özdemir
The Paris Summit was deliberately positioned as an “AI Action Summit,” bringing investment, innovation and economic opportunities to the fore. With that in mind, it can be said that the Paris AI Summit brought to the fore two main issues, namely the emergence of a new era in the AI race and the increasing power of big tech companies.
AI uprising - Will we even see it coming? Shocking video of AI assistants speaking in ‘secret code’ sparks debate
Economic Times
In the conversation, an AI assistant posing as a human calls a hotel to inquire about booking a wedding venue. However, the receptionist on the other end quickly reveals that it, too, is an AI assistant. What follows next is both fascinating and unsettling: the two AI systems agree to switch to a “superior audio signal” called Jibber Link for more efficient communication—completely bypassing human language altogether.
The Daily Cyber & Tech Digest is brought to you by the Cyber, Technology & Security Programs team at ASPI and supported by partners.
