New report: ASPI’s Critical Technology Tracker - The global race for future power | New US cybersecurity strategy assigns responsibility to tech firms | Poland blames Russian hackers for cyberattack
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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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Our research reveals that China has built the foundations to position itself as the world’s leading science and technology superpower, by establishing a sometimes stunning lead in high-impact research across the majority of critical and emerging technology domains. ASPI
The Biden administration plans to issue a cybersecurity strategy on Thursday that calls on software makers and American industry to take far greater responsibility to assure that their systems cannot be hacked, while accelerating efforts by the F.B.I. and the Defense Department to disrupt hackers and ransomware groups around the world. The New York Times
Poland’s tax service website was hit by a cyberattack believed to have been carried out by Russian hackers, according to the country’s top cybersecurity official. The Record by Recorded Future
ASPI
New report: ASPI’s Critical Technology Tracker - The global race for future power
ASPI
Dr Jamie Gaida , Dr Jennifer Wong Leung , Stephan Robin & Danielle Cave
Our research reveals that China has built the foundations to position itself as the world’s leading science and technology superpower, by establishing a sometimes stunning lead in high-impact research across the majority of critical and emerging technology domains.
China gaining a stranglehold on critical tech
The Australian
Cameron Stewart
China is hurtling towards dominance over the west in global technology, raising fears it will soon have a stranglehold on the supply of some of the world’s most critical technologies according to a landmark report. The world-first study by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute has found that China is much further advanced on key technologies compared to the rest of the world than was previously believed.
Excellent new research by @ASPI_org finds China leads the world in 37 out of 44 critical technologies painstakingly studied over the past year, with the US leading in the other 7 technologies. The research shows the importance of partnerships. 🌏 1/4 📖: aspi.org.au/report/critica…🚨 NEW PROJECT 🚨 ASPI is excited to launch the Critical Technology Tracker, a world-first data study of high-impact published research & the movement of global talent. The project includes a report & interactive website which maps the flow of talent 🖥️: https://t.co/Dxq3wIfN14 https://t.co/zHmSEFcIXh
ASPI @ASPI_orgChina trumps US in key technology research, report says
The Wall Street Journal
James T. Areddy
Chinese researchers lead their American counterparts in the study of dozens of critical technologies, according to a new report that proposes Beijing is dominant in some scientific pursuits and positioned to develop key future breakthroughs. The report, published Thursday by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, puts Chinese researchers ahead of Americans in 37 of 44 technologies examined, across the sectors of defense, space, robotics, energy, environment, biotechnology, artificial intelligence, advanced materials and quantum technology.China on track to dominate development of critical future technologies, ASPI report says
ABC
Stephen Dziedzic
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute "critical tech tracker" found China is beating the United States in 37 of 44 technologies which are likely to propel innovation, growth and military power in coming decades, including artificial intelligence, robotics, biotechnology, advanced manufacturing, and quantum technology.
A very troubling paper from @ASPI_org. If China first & most successfully develops these critical & emerging technologies it will hand them a transformative & decisive commercial, economic, strategic & military advantage in the 21st century.Story: new research from @ASPI_org finds China has taken a "stunning" lead in high tech research https://t.co/10qB6sk85P
Stephen Dziedzic @stephendziedzicChina has ‘enormous and widening’ technology research lead
InnovationAus
Joseph Brookes
China’s dominance in high impact research areas like artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, quantum and robotics portends future technology dominance and should be a “wake up call” to democracies, according to the report from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.China leads US in global competition for key emerging technology, study says
Reuters
Kirsty Needham
China has a "stunning lead" in 37 out of 44 critical and emerging technologies as Western democracies lose a global competition for research output, a security think tank said on Thursday after tracking defence, space, energy and biotechnology. The Australian Strategic Policy Institute said its study showed that, in some fields, all of the world's top 10 research institutions are based in China.Video: China leading world in critical technology a ‘wakeup call’ for democratic nations
News.com.au
A report finding China to be leading the world in critical technology is a “wake up call” for democratic nations to have a strategic step in this area, says Australian Strategic Policy Institute Senior Analyst Dr. Jamie Gaida.China holds 'stunning lead' over US in competition for key technology
The Jerusalem PostHat der Westen das grosse Technologie-Wettrennen gegen China bereits verloren?
Neue Zürcher ZeitungChina leads US globally in 37 out of 44 critical, emerging technologies: Study
Alarabiya NewsChina takes 'stunning lead' in global competition for critical technology, report says
SBS News
Australia
Australia's Space Command pushes for 'soft kill' capability to take out enemy satellites
ABC
Andrew Greene
The head of the ADF's Space Command says Australia is working on a plan to acquire "soft-kill" capabilities to take out enemy satellites without creating dangerous debris.
Home Affairs to be restructured in response to new threats: O’Neil
Australian Financial Times
Tom McIlroy
Clare O’Neil has ordered a restructure of the massive Home Affairs department’s work, part of efforts to better respond to a deteriorating global geopolitical outlook and threats from foreign interference and cyber crime.
China
China plans to inject $1.9 billion into top memory chipmaker
Bloomberg
China has pledged to invest an additional $1.9 billion in the country’s biggest maker of memory chips, a deal that may herald a renewed influx of government capital into an industry hemmed in by US sanctions.
Chinese ChatGPT ambitions threatened by lack of advanced AI chips like Nvidia A100 GPU, experts say
South China Morning Post
Che Pan
To train the large language models necessary for artificial intelligence bots like ChatGPT, China may have to rely on quantity over quality in graphics processing units after being cut off by the US from the most advanced chips, entrepreneurs and engineers in the country say.
Linux support expands cyber spy group's arsenal
Dark Reading
A pervasive cyber-espionage group known as Iron Tiger, believed to be out of China, has updated one of its malware frameworks to attack Linux-based systems.
Huawei returns to global stage with focus on 5G and the cloud
Nikkei Asia
Yifan Yu and Cheng Ting-Fang
Huawei Technologies is in Spain pitching its cloud services and 5G technologies to global clients, emerging from three years of COVID restrictions and working around multiple US trade sanctions that have hindered its expansion ambitions.
USA
New Biden cybersecurity strategy assigns responsibility to tech firms
The New York Times
David E. Sanger
The Biden administration plans to issue a cybersecurity strategy on Thursday that calls on software makers and American industry to take far greater responsibility to assure that their systems cannot be hacked, while accelerating efforts by the F.B.I. and the Defense Department to disrupt hackers and ransomware groups around the world.
Secret Service and ICE conducted warrantless stingray surveillance, says watchdog
TechCrunch
Zack Whittaker
A government watchdog has found that the Secret Service and ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations unit repeatedly failed to obtain the correct legal paperwork when carrying out invasive cell phone surveillance.
FTC order bars BetterHelp from sharing data with social media platforms
Axios
Ashley Gold
Online counseling service BetterHelp will be banned from sharing consumer health data for advertising purposes and fined $7.8 million under a proposed Federal Trade Commission order issued Thursday.
US and China can show world leadership by safeguarding military AI
South China Morning Post
Paul Scharre
The recent balloon incident highlights the fragility of US-China relations and the risk of accidents and miscalculation. While balloons are a 200-year-old technology, the United States and China are developing new technologies that come with new risks. Chief among these is artificial intelligence, which has many military applications but also can lead to accidents or humans overtrusting in machines.
House Republicans advance TikTok ban along party lines
The Hill
Rebecca Klar
House Republicans advanced a bill Wednesday that would give President Biden the ability to ban TikTok after a contentious Tuesday meeting, where Democrats slammed the GOP over accusations of trying to rush through text that opponents said is flawed.
US regulators rejected Elon Musk’s bid to test brain chips in humans, citing safety risks
Reuters
Rachael Levy and Marisa Taylor
Musk has said his brain implant company, Neuralink, will make the paralyzed walk, the blind see and eventually turn people into cyborgs. But the firm still struggles to secure clinical-trial approval for the relatively modest goal of helping disabled people type.
Why the US Supreme Court is struggling with a case about YouTube's algorithms
Quartz
Scott Nover
In the case at hand, Gonzalez v. Google, for which the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Feb. 21, the nine justices are considering Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, an integral law in internet history that generally protects the owners of websites from being sued for content posted by third-party users.
GOP senators: Computer chip money underwriting ‘woke’ agenda
Associated Press
Josh Boak and Kevin Freking
Republican senators are accusing the Biden administration of using $39 billion meant to build computer chip factories to further “woke” ideas such as requiring some recipients to offer child care and encouraging the use of union labor.
Senate Democrats urge Meta to halt plans to open metaverse app to teens
The Hill
Jared Gans
Two Senate Democrats sent a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday calling on him to halt the Facebook parent company’s plans to offer a metaverse app to teenagers.
US Cyber Command developing own intelligence hub
C4risnet
Colin Demarest
US Cyber Command, tasked with defending Department of Defense IT networks and coordinating cyberspace operations, is developing its own intelligence hub, after years of relying on other information-gathering sources.ing.
Americas
‘Noah’ and ‘Daren’ report good news about Venezuela. They’re deepfakes.
The Washington Post
María Luisa Paúl
Researchers say the videos are part of the Venezuelan government’s attempts to spin the narrative on social media, considered one of the last bastions of free speech in a nation where outlets are censored and journalists are often persecuted. The incorporation of AI, experts told The Washington Post, seems to be a new addition to the government’s disinformation campaigns, which range from incentivizing Twitter users to post specific talking points to using bots that spit out the regime’s messaging.
Trudeau's TikTok ban to curb social media reach of opposition leaders
Reuters
Jenna Zucker
The fallout from Canada's ban on Chinese-owned TikTok on government-issued devices looks set to hurt the leaders of the country's two main opposition parties, who have used the app more actively than the ruling Liberals to win over supporters.
Ukraine - Russia
Europe
Poland blames Russian hackers for cyberattack on tax service website
The Record by Recorded Future
Daryna Antoniuk
Poland’s tax service website was hit by a cyberattack believed to have been carried out by Russian hackers, according to the country’s top cybersecurity official.
UK
Cyber-attack on WH Smith targets personal staff details
The Guardian
Sarah Butler
WH Smith has been the target of a cyber-attack in which company data was accessed illegally, including the personal details of current and former employees, the retailer has revealed.
UK Supreme Court hears landmark patent case over AI "inventor"
Reuters
Sam Tobin
An American computer scientist on Thursday urged the United Kingdom’s Supreme Court to rule he is entitled to patents over inventions created by his artificial intelligence system, in a landmark case about whether AI can own patent rights.
Africa
Big Tech on notice as regulators in Africa group to investigate their market conduct
TechCrunch
Annie Njanja
Several competition watchdogs in Africa plan to collectively interrogate the market conduct of global digital firms, putting big techs firms like Google and Meta, which have faced investigations and remedial action in other jurisdictions, on alert.
Big Tech
Platforms can optimize for metrics beyond engagement
WIRED
Jonathan Stray and Gillian Hadfield
Many critics argue that platforms should not try to maximize engagement, but instead optimize for some measure of long-term value for users. Some of the people who work for these platforms agree: Meta and other social media platforms, for example, have for some time been working on incorporating more direct feedback into recommender systems.
Artificial Intelligence
Tech rivals chase ChatGPT as AI race ramps up
Yahoo News
Chasing Microsoft, global tech giants have rolled out announcements on how they will implement ChatGPT-like artificial intelligence into their world leading platforms and applications, with YouTube the latest to present plans.
Misc
A key post-quantum algorithm may be vulnerable to side-channel attacks
The Record by Recorded Future
Daryna Antoniuk
As companies and governments around the world work on creating usable quantum computers, security researchers are also devising ways to protect data once those machines are available.
Research
Jobs
ICPC Senior Analyst or Analyst - China
ASPI ICPC
ASPI’s International Cyber Policy Centre (ICPC) has a unique opportunity for exceptional and experienced China-focused senior analysts or analysts to join its centre. This role will focus on original research and analysis centred around the (growing) range of topics which our ICPC China team work on. Our China team produces some of the most impactful and well-read policy-relevant research in the world, with our experts often being called upon by politicians, governments, corporates and civil society actors to provide briefings and advice.
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