Presidential Campaigns Targeted by Suspected Chinese, Iranian Hackers | Europe Nears Tipping Point on Russian Hacking | Facebook Places State Media Labels on Russian, Chinese Outlets
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Staffers working on the presidential campaigns of Donald Trump and Joe Biden have been targeted with online attacks coming from Iran and China. WSJ
The European Union is getting ready to slap sanctions on a group of Russian hackers, a move that would mark a turning point in the bloc’s efforts to address foreign hacking. Politico
Facebook will start labelling Russian, Chinese and other state-controlled media organisations, and later this summer will block any ads from such outlets that target U.S. users. Reuters
ASPI ICPC
India–China tensions flare up on new front: TikTok
The Strategist
@Darilmpio
As tensions on the border between India and China have once again lit up, so too has anti-Beijing sentiment among Indians. Calls to boycott Chinese products have precedents in India, and this time Hindu nationalists are uniting against the Chinese-owned short-video streaming platform TikTok.
The World
Facebook places state media labels on Russian, Chinese outlets
Reuters
Facebook Inc will start labelling Russian, Chinese and other state-controlled media organizations, and later this summer will block any ads from such outlets that target U.S. users, it said on Thursday. The world’s biggest social network will apply the label to Russia’s Sputnik, Iran’s Press TV and China’s Xinhua News, according to a partial list Facebook provided. The company will apply the label to about 200 pages at the outset. Facebook will not label any U.S.-based news organizations, as it determined that even U.S. government-run outlets have editorial independence, Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook’s head of cybersecurity policy, said in an interview.
Australia
India and Australia sign military base and cyber accords
Reuters
India and Australia sealed an accord on Thursday to grant access to each other’s military bases in order to facilitate mutual defence exchanges and exercises. Accords were also struck to enhance cooperation on cyber and related technologies.
Queensland's long-time government CIO quietly departs
IT News
The Queensland government’s long-time chief information officer Andrew Mills has left the top job after more than six years at the helm of the state’s IT estate.
Cyber Security needs to be on the agenda of all our company boards
The Australian
It is the responsibility of executives , business leaders and boards to be aware of the risks, ensure appropriate measures are in place and foster a culture that cyber security really does matter. That it is more than ones and zeros. It is something that involves them.
A resilient nation demands a cyber-smart approach
The Australian
John Paitaridis: While we cannot understate the pandemic’s financial and social impacts, COVID-19 has opened our eyes to the need for Australia to increase its cyber security capability and enhance supply chain sovereignty.
China
Coronavirus is no excuse for companies to ignore Uighur exploitation
Nikkei Asian Review
In late April, Reuters revealed that e-commerce giant Amazon had recruited Dahua Technology, a video technology manufacturer recently blacklisted by the U.S. government, to supply thermal equipment for its warehouses. Amazon bought around 1,500 video cameras to monitor the temperature of staff on its premises.. By enlisting controversial suppliers in the fight against COVID-19, American companies run the risk of ignoring human rights abuse and emboldening Beijing. Even in the midst of a crisis, the international community must remain firm in its commitment to maintaining ethical supply chains.
China and US headed for ‘very different semiconductor stacks’
Technode
Can China gain semiconductor independence while the US escalates the “Great Chip War”? “It’s going to be a big hit while China works it out,” TechNode contributor Stewart Randall said at a webinar on May 28, “but given time and money, yeah, it’s possible.”
Huawei hid business operation in Iran after Reuters reported links to CFO
Reuters
China’s Huawei Technologies acted to cover up its relationship with a firm that had tried to sell prohibited U.S. computer gear to Iran, after Reuters in 2013 reported deep links between the firm and the telecom-equipment giant’s chief financial officer, newly obtained internal Huawei documents show.
China's Sovereignty and Internet Governance
Estonian Foreign Policy Institute
China’s readiness to impose itself and its determined actions to this end over the past decade can be seen in many areas, cyberspace certainly not the least of them. Despite a vocabulary similar to that used by the West, China’s vision of cyberspace and its future differs quite fundamentally from Western interests and values. Therefore, we ask: If China is in pursuit of global power, what should we pay attention to? What should we consider and perhaps even worry about, in cyberspace?
US
Presidential Campaigns Targeted by Suspected Chinese, Iranian Hackers
The Wall Street Journal
Campaign staffers working on the presidential campaigns of Donald Trump and Joe Biden have been targeted with online attacks coming from Iran and China respectively, Google said, in a sign that the meddling four years ago in the U.S. presidential election by Russia could be pursued more widely this time.
Pentagon intelligence employees raise concerns about supporting domestic surveillance amid protests
Yahoo
The government’s increasingly militarized response to nationwide protests has sparked concern among employees of a Pentagon intelligence agency, who fear they might be compelled to help conduct surveillance on Americans participating in demonstrations, sources tell Yahoo News.
White House Forced to Retract Claim Viral Videos Prove Antifa Is Plotting Violence
The Intercept
Within minutes, journalists discovered that most of the viral clips of bricks included in a White House video had already been investigated and debunked.
Trump supporters on Twitter spread Covid-19 rumors about China
Politico
Clusters of Twitter groups that back Trump and the QAnon conspiracy theory shared allegations that Beijing had created the virus as a bioweapon.
The Feds Are Now Using 'Stingrays' in Planes to Spy on Our Phone Calls
WIRED
According to a new report from the Wall Street Journal indicating that the US government has been using Cessna planes outfitted with special phone surveillance equipment to track suspects. But the surveillance system is designed to pick up the phone signals of anyone within range.
Mark Zuckerberg Believes Only in Mark Zuckerberg (opinion)
WIRED
Why is he abetting Trump while civil rights leaders and his own employees rebuke him? It's about dominance.
Amazon “Stands in Solidarity” Against Police Racism While Selling Racist Tech to Police
The Intercept
It is a week of renewed social crisis in the United States, which means American companies are quickly lining up to pay lip service to the cause. But Amazon is arguably singular among its mega-tech peers in its determination to provide American law enforcement with tools experts say only enable racist policing.
North Asia
K-pop stans are flooding right-wing hashtags like #BlueLivesMatter and #MAGA
The Verge
K-pop stans have a fearsome reputation online, able to mobilise in vast numbers in support of their chosen cause. Usually that just means spreading the gospel of K-pop, but as protests have erupted across America in response to the police killing of George Floyd, and President Trump has threatened to send in the military against those on the streets, fans have found a new cause: flooding right-wing hashtags like #MAGA and #BlueLivesMatter with memes, GIFs, and videos of their favourite K-pop artists.
Southeast Asia
Indonesia’s Jokowi must apologise for Papua internet throttling amid last year’s unrest, court rules
SCMP
An Indonesian court on Wednesday ordered President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to make an official apology after ruling that his government’s decision to rein in internet speeds to contain civil unrest in the Papua region last year was unlawful. As unrest flared across the provinces of Papua and West Papua, the government said it slowed internet access to ‘prevent hoaxes from spreading’.
Pacific Islands
Full benefits of cheaper and faster internet to Solomon Islands and PNG still to come
ABC Radio
It's been four months since the Australian-funded Coral Sea Cable was switched on, with great promises about bringing faster internet to Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. But customers are still waiting for those promised benefits, with the rollout in PNG held up by internet companies refusing to switch over because of a pricing stoush, with reports they have been reluctant to use the cable because they still get better prices from satellite-providers.
UK
New Cyber Regiment will protect frontline operations with 'digital armour', MoD announces
The Telegraph
A new 'Cyber Regiment' will protect frontline operations with a 'digital armour', the Ministry of Defence has announced, 25 years after a similar unit was disbanded at the end of the Cold War. The Armed Forces’ 13th Signal Regiment will be its first dedicated Cyber Regiment with the aim to protect defence networks at home and on operations overseas.
Europe
Europe nears tipping point on Russian hacking
POLITICO
The European Union is getting ready to slap sanctions on a group of Russian hackers, according to three diplomats involved — a move that would mark a turning point in the bloc’s efforts to address foreign hacking.
Univ. Amsterdam Students File Lawsuit Over Test-Taking Software, Privacy Concerns
NL Times
The Central Student Council (CSR) of the University of Amsterdam filed a lawsuit against the university's board of directors regarding the use of surveillance software Proctorio when students are taking online exams. The CSR wants students to be able to refuse the use of this software, citing privacy concerns.
Africa
Facebook deactivates accounts of Tunisian political bloggers and activists
The Guardian
The Facebook accounts of several high-profile bloggers and activists in Tunisia were among those deactivated without warning over the weekend. Up to 60 accounts are understood to have been deactivated, including that of journalist and political commentator Haythem El Mekki. At least 14 accounts have since been restored, but no explanation has been given for the action by the social media giant.
Misc
Signal announces new face-blurring tool for Android and iOS
The Verge
Encrypted messaging app Signal has announced a new face-blurring tool that will be incorporated into the latest Android and iOS versions of the software. Users sharing pictures through the app will be able to quickly blur faces, adding another layer of privacy to pictures, though not necessarily hiding the subject’s identity completely.
To Really 'Disrupt,' Tech Needs to Listen to Actual Researchers
WIRED
Earlier this month, Tristan Harris, cofounder of the Center for Humane Technologies, proposed a whole new field of study: "Society & Technology Interaction." The engineers building the technologies we all rely on, he argued, lack social and cultural knowledge. The problem: That well-established field already exists.
Events
National security agencies and the cloud: An urgent capability issue for Australia Webinar
ASPI
ASPI is delighted to invite you to the webinar discussion: National security agencies and the cloud - An urgent capability issue for Australia. ASPI's special report, National security agencies and the cloud: An urgent capability issue for Australia, released last month, argues for rapid, large-scale investment in secure cloud infrastructure for Australia’s national security community, with the intelligence agencies an early focus. The report seeks to shift perceptions of new technology as capabilities, rather than as business enablers, and calls on agency executives to drive the required change.
10 June 2020 - 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm (Online)
Deep Technology in Africa Webinar
Chatam House
At this online event, speakers will discuss African deep technology, the support that start-ups require and the investment landscape, as well as the transformative potential of such innovation. To express your interest in attending, please follow this link. You will receive a Zoom confirmation email should your registration be successful. Alternatively, you can watch the event live on the Africa Programme Facebook page.
8 June 2020 - 1:00pm to 2:00pm (Online)
Jobs
Program Manager/Senior Analyst
ASPI’s International Cyber Policy Centre (ICPC) has an outstanding opportunity for a talented, proactive and super efficient program manager/senior analyst to join its growing centre. The successful candidate will need to have a proven track record of leading teams and experience in project management including financial and stakeholder management (which will include industry, the Australian Government, Parliament and foreign governments). To succeed in this position candidates should have exceptional communication and problem-solving skills and experience in research, policy analysis or policy development.
Analyst
ASPI’s International Cyber Policy Centre has an outstanding opportunity for a talented and proactive allrounder to join its growing centre. The ICPC is looking for someone who is an excellent writer and researcher and who is a team player - you will need to juggle multiple research projects that could span the range of topics listed above. This is not an entry level position. Analysts in ICPC have between 5-15 years’ relevant work experience and, depending on experience, are involved in stakeholder and project management, fundraising and the management of small teams.