OpenAI lobbied the EU to water down AI regulation | Biden meets with tech company critics on AI | Defence, critical tech on agenda as India's Modi heads to the US
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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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OpenAI has lobbied for significant elements of the most comprehensive AI legislation in the world—the EU’s AI Act—to be watered down in ways that would reduce the regulatory burden on the company, according to documents about OpenAI’s engagement with EU officials obtained by TIME from the European Commission via freedom of information requests. Time
President Biden on Tuesday met with a group of civil society leaders who’ve been critical of Big Tech companies in the past to discuss the boom in artificial intelligence, part of a broader push by the US government to get involved in the conversation around AI tech and its potential risks. The Washington Post
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi heads to the United States this week for a visit billed as a turning point for bilateral relations, with deeper cooperation in defence industry and sharing high technology in sharp focus. The visit is expected to give India access to critical American technologies Washington rarely shares with non-allies, strengthening a new bond that is underpinned by not just global politics but also business and economics. Reuters
ASPI
North of 26 degrees south and the security of Australia
The Strategist
John Coyne and Henry Campbell
The Northern Australia Strategic Policy Centre’s latest report, North of 26 degrees south and the security of Australia: views from The Strategist, Volume 7, is a series of articles published in The Strategist over the last six months. It builds on previous volumes by identifying critical intersections of national security, nation-building, resilience and Australia’s north. This issue includes a wide range of articles sourced from a diverse pool of expert contributors writing on topics as varied as critical minerals, rare earth, equatorial space launch, agriculture, advanced manufacturing, fuel and water security, and defence force posturing.
Australia
Medibank's staff details stolen after property manager faces cyber breach
Reuters
Rishav Chatterjee
Medibank in an email told Reuters that one of its property managers that uses file transfer software MOVEit was compromised, and a file containing its employee names, email addresses and phone numbers was stolen. The company added that the file did not have employee bank details, payroll, or home addresses. 'Medibank systems have not been impacted by the MOVEit cyberattack.'
India is a tech superpower that Australia must follow
InnovationAus
Simon Bush
It is well known that India is a technology superpower, with digital transformation and up-skilling core to the economic and social transformation that has been driven over the past decade. This landscape creates fertile opportunities for Australian tech companies – including in investment, research, partnering and exports. With the deepening economic and defence ties between Australian and Indian governments, trade opportunities will grow for Australian companies, which up to now have looked east to America for export growth.
Cyber attacks top Aussie list of international concerns
The Canberra Times
William Ton
Australians consider cyber attacks from foreign countries as the most pressing international concern after a series of high-profile data breaches during the past nine months. About seven in 10 people identified the issue as a 'critical threat' to the nation in the next decade, according to research from the Lowy Institute's 2023 poll which surveys Australians' attitudes on international affairs.
Australia Inc roiled by raft of cyber attacks since late 2022
The Economic Times
Australian firms have suffered many cyber attacks since last September, putting the spotlight on the country's understaffed cybersecurity industry that experts say seems ill-equipped to tackle such hacks, endangering sensitive information of people. This article provides a list of companies that have been hit by data breaches.
China
Inside China's underground market for high-end Nvidia AI chips
iTnews
Josh Ye, David Kirton and Chen Lin
While buying or selling high-end US chips is not illegal in China, US export restrictions have created a de facto underground market with vendors keen not to draw scrutiny from either US or Chinese authorities. As AI booms across the globe after the runaway success of OpenAI's ChatGPT, demand for high-end chips has rocketed, particularly for Nvidia's microprocessors which are widely regarded as the best at handling machine-learning tasks.
Chinese tech giant Alibaba announces new chairman and CEO succession plan in major shakeup
CNN
Laura He
Joseph Tsai, executive vice chairman and cofounder of Alibaba Group, will succeed Daniel Zhang as chairman, according to an announcement by the Chinese tech giant on Tuesday. The succession comes just a few months after the internet giant announced its biggest restructuring in its 24-year history. The company would split into six separate units, including cloud, e-commerce, logistics, media and entertainment, according to a company statement in March. Each unit would be overseen by its own CEO and board directors, and most of them can pursue separate listings or fundraising.
Fake news on the front line
China Media Project
David Bandurski
China’s restrictions on information and content creation in the digital age are formidable, unmatched anywhere in the world. The story of 'Paul Kotzatie', the bogus Russian soldier from Henan, is not just a case of outlandish CGI fakery. It is a reminder that in China the right to speak, and the right to be heard, is ultimately in the hands of those in power.
USA
Biden meets with tech company critics on AI
The Washington Post
Gerrit De Vynck and Cristiano Lima
President Biden on Tuesday met with a group of civil society leaders who’ve been critical of Big Tech companies in the past to discuss the boom in artificial intelligence, part of a broader push by the US government to get involved in the conversation around AI tech and its potential risks. Biden, in brief remarks to reporters before the meeting in San Francisco, said that he was there to learn about the potential controls that could be put in place to protect people from the harms of the new tech.
Forget TikTok, AI is the latest obsession in Congress
Bloomberg
Anna Edgerton
Dire warnings about TikTok dominated conversations on Capitol Hill earlier this year, with both Republicans and Democrats describing the Chinese-owned app as one of the gravest national security threats to the US. But the congressional concern has quieted down in the months since a contentious March hearing with TikTok Chief Executive Officer Shou Chew. There was the US debt limit to raise. House Republicans are busy investigating President Joe Biden’s administration and family. And lawmakers have turned their attention to the potentially epic impact of artificial intelligence.
South & Central Asia
Defence, critical tech on agenda as India's Modi heads to US for landmark visit
Reuters
Krishn Kaushik, Sarita Chaganti Singh and David Brunnstrom
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi heads to the United States this week for a visit billed as a turning point for bilateral relations, with deeper cooperation in defence industry and sharing high technology in sharp focus. The visit is expected to give India access to critical American technologies Washington rarely shares with non-allies, strengthening a new bond that is underpinned by not just global politics but also business and economics.
PM Modi to meet Elon Musk for the first time after his twitter takeover
NDTV
Akhilesh Sharma
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be meeting Tesla CEO and Twitter owner Elon Musk during his landmark US trip. This upcoming meeting with Musk comes at a time when Tesla is scouting for a location for its India factory. During an interview by The Wall Street Journal, Musk was asked if the automaker was interested in the Indian market. 'Absolutely,' he replied. He added that Tesla is likely to finalise a location to set up its India factory by the end of this year.
Challenges faced by cyber security in 2023
Times of India
Shubham Mishra
The year 2023 presents a multitude of challenges for cyber security in India. With cyber-attacks growing in complexity, the proliferation of IoT devices, the shortage of skilled professionals, and the need for robust data privacy and regulatory compliance, organisations must prioritise and invest in comprehensive cybersecurity strategies to safeguard their digital assets.
Europe
EU to target export controls on military use goods, outbound investment risks
Reuters
Philip Blenkinsop
In a document entitled 'European Economic Security Strategy', seen by Reuters ahead of its presentation on Tuesday, the Commission sets out its view on how the European Union can make its economy more resilient and identify emerging risks. It said these could come from exports and investments that let know-how leak to foreign rivals in a 'narrow set of key enabling technologies with military implication', giving quantum computing, artificial intelligence, 6G, biotechnology and robotics as examples.
Huawei kicks off 2023 Tech Arena competitions in Europe
Huawei
Huawei launched the 2023 Tech Arena competitions in Europe at Viva Technology, one of Europe's biggest tech summits, on Friday. Tech Arena competitions are sponsored and designed by Huawei's worldwide labs in partnership with top universities to give students from around the world more opportunities to experience and learn how to solve real-world problems. 10 more competitions will be hosted in countries including France, the UK, Ireland, Sweden, Germany, Finland, Belgium, Poland, Switzerland, and Israel.
Only business unusual will help Europe fill the cyber skills gap
Euractiv
Nanna-Louise Linde
The European cybersecurity skills shortage is well recognised and so are the consequences. The skills shortage means that organisations of all shapes and sizes have weaker security than they should, putting themselves and everyone they interact with in harm’s way. The recently launched EU Cybersecurity Skills Academy has the potential to make an impact on addressing the skills gap. It sets out to streamline different cyber skills initiatives and boost their overall effectiveness.
UK
The UK-Singapore cyber dialogue
GOV.UK
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, National Cyber Security Centre, Cabinet Office, Home Office, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, and Department for Business and Trade
The UK-Singapore cyber dialogue was held in London on 13 June 2023 to discuss cyber priorities and deliverables for both countries. The dialogue included exchanges on the cyber threat landscape, deterrence strategies against cyber threats, international cyber capacity building, international cyber policy issues including in the UN, and the role of public-private partnerships in cybersecurity. Both sides explored opportunities to deepen cooperation and further align approaches towards Internet of Things security, app security and cyber skills development.
ICO urges companies to use privacy enhancing technologies
Tech Monitor
Ryan Morrison
The Information Commissioner’s Office has urged companies to practice caution when dealing with AI and to deploy privacy enhancing technologies when dealing with personal information. The new guidance from the data watchdog comes as the government pushes for faster adoption of AI to grow the economy and boost productivity. The guidelines are aimed at data, protection offices, and those getting involved in large personal data sets across finance, healthcare, research and government.
Gender & Women in Tech
Growing and nurturing Black technology entrepreneurship with CEO Pariss Chandler
Forbes
Goldie Chan
Pariss Chandler is a dynamic force in the tech industry as the Founder and CEO of Black Tech Pipeline, an inclusive platform offering job opportunities, educational resources, and more for Black technologists. She is the creator of #BlackTechTwitter, a viral movement that mobilised a global community of Black tech professionals.
Big Tech
OpenAI lobbied the EU to water down AI regulation
Time
Billy Perrigo
OpenAI has lobbied for significant elements of the most comprehensive AI legislation in the world—the EU’s AI Act—to be watered down in ways that would reduce the regulatory burden on the company, according to documents about OpenAI’s engagement with EU officials obtained by TIME from the European Commission via freedom of information requests. In several cases, OpenAI proposed amendments that were later made to the final text of the EU law—which was approved by the European Parliament on June 14, and will now proceed to a final round of negotiations before being finalised as soon as January.
Intel spends $33 billion in Germany in landmark expansion
Reuters
Friederike Heine, Supantha Mukherjee and Andreas Rinke
Intel will spend more than 30 billion euros to develop two chip-making plants in Magdeburg as part of its expansion push in Europe, a deal Chancellor Olaf Scholz hailed on Monday as Germany's biggest ever foreign investment. Berlin has agreed subsidies worth nearly 10 billion euros with the US chipmaker, a person familiar with the matter said, more than the 6.8 billion euros it had initially offered Intel to build two leading-edge facilities in the eastern city.
It is make or break for Intel’s giant bet on Germany
The Economist
Rarely do Germany's stop economists see eye to eye on a big economic-policy controversy. But when it comes to the government’s decision to spend billions on subsidies for Intel’s mega semiconductor factory in Magdeburg, Reint Gropp of the Halle Institute for Economic Research, Marcel Fratzscher of the German Institute for Economic Research and Clemens Fuest of the Ifo Institute all agree. They consider lavishing billions on the American firm a spectacular waste of taxpayers’ money.
Intel makes new quantum chip available to research community
All About Circuits
Aaron Carman
Intel recently announced the release of its Tunnel Falls quantum computing chip built to enable next-generation research into quantum computing and quantum algorithms. The Tunnel Falls chip will be made available to the quantum research community to increase the breadth of ongoing quantum research, a field that can come with significant learning curves.
Artificial Intelligence
AI-generated child sex images spawn new nightmare for the web
The Washington Post
Drew Harwell
Generative-AI tools have set off what one analyst called a 'predatory arms race' on pedophile forums because they can create within seconds realistic images of children performing sex acts, commonly known as child pornography. Thousands of AI-generated child-sex images have been found on forums across the dark web, a layer of the internet visible only with special browsers, with some participants sharing detailed guides for how other pedophiles can make their own creations.
Samsung using AI in product design
ChannelNews
Nathan Jolly
Samsung Electronics is using artificial intelligence in its product design process, according to the company’s chief designer. The Korean giant has has established two Computational Design Labs in order to 'enhance the traditional design processes', using AI, machine learning, and computation. 'With the diffusion of new AI capabilities, new relationships need to be established between people and products,' explained Federico Casalegno, Samsung’s executive vice president of design, at a Wall Street Journal forum.
Make friends with this technology': Yes, AI is coming for your job. Here's how to prepare
Morningstar
Zoe Han
Why are companies excited about AI? Generative AI or other machine-learning tools are not new to companies, but this generation of tools allows the technology to better replicate human-like output because they are able to digest complex tasks. And why are employees concerned? On Wednesday, McKinsey & Co. said AI could generate $4.4 trillion in value a year, equivalent to 4.4% of global economic output. Most of that would be felt in customer operations, marketing and sales, software engineering, and R&D.
Misc
How smart office technology enhances productivity, collaboration, and wellbeing
Times of India
Sammeer Pakvasa
Smart office technology is revolutionising the way we work, offering a wide range of benefits in terms of productivity, collaboration, and wellbeing. Smart office technology can significantly improve productivity by automating routine tasks and integrating various tools and platforms. Smart office technology can also have a positive impact on employee wellbeing by creating more comfortable and personalised work environments.
Events & Podcasts
What AI means for global power
Foreign Policy
Who will win the AI race? What does it mean for critical minerals and mining? How will it impact global trade, sanctions, and great-power competition? To discuss his lead essay in FP’s summer print issue, 'The Scramble for AI', join FP’s Ravi Agrawal in conversation with Paul Scharre, author of Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.
Jobs
Deputy Director of Cyber, Technology and Security
ASPI is currently recruiting for a Deputy Director, Cyber, Technology and Security. This is an exceptional opportunity for a talented and experienced individual to contribute to the work of Australia's leading think-tank on cyber, information, technology and other national security issues in a unique leadership role.
The Daily Cyber & Tech Digest is brought to you by the team at ASPI’s International Cyber Policy Centre.