TikTok loses bid for emergency halt to looming US ‘divest or ban’ law | EU opens investigation into TikTok and the Romanian election | UK looks at forcing greater transparency on AI training models
Good morning. It's Wednesday 18th of December.
The Daily Cyber & Tech Digest focuses on the topics we work on, including cybersecurity, critical technologies, foreign interference & disinformation.
Follow us on Twitter and on LinkedIn.
TikTok has lost an emergency bid to temporarily halt a fast-approaching deadline under a US “divest or ban” law. Financial Times
EU opens investigation into TikTok and the Romanian election. POLITICO
Tech companies in the UK face being forced to open up their artificial intelligence models to greater scrutiny. Financial Times
China
China wants to dominate in AI — and some of its models are already beating their US rivals
CNBC
Arjun Kharpal
China’s attempts to dominate the world of artificial intelligence could be paying off, with industry insiders and technology analysts telling CNBC that Chinese AI models are already hugely popular and are keeping pace with — and even surpassing — those from the US in terms of performance.
USA
TikTok loses bid for emergency halt to looming US ‘divest or ban’ law
Financial Times
Hannah Murphy
TikTok has lost an emergency bid to temporarily halt a fast-approaching deadline under a US “divest or ban” law, leaving the fate of the popular video app owned by China’s ByteDance in the country ever more uncertain.
TikTok’s CEO meets Donald Trump as it seeks to avert US ban
Financial Times
Hannah Murphy, Christopher Grimes & James Politi
TikTok chief executive Shou Zi Chew met Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Monday, according to two people familiar with the matter, as the popular video app pins its hopes on the president-elect saving it from a looming US ban.
CISA releases first draft of updated National Cyber Incident Response Plan
The Record by Recorded Future
Jonathan Greig
The first draft of the long-awaited update to the National Cyber Incident Response Plan was published on Monday — marking the first proposed changes to the plan since it was released in 2016.
Biden administration takes first step to retaliate against China over hack
The New York Times
David E. Sanger
The Commerce Department is banning the few remaining operations of China Telecom in the United States, a move that appears unlikely to deter Beijing from conducting sophisticated cyberoperations.
North Asia
Taiwan in talks with Amazon’s Kuiper on satellite communications amid China fears
Financial Times
Kathrin Hille
Taiwan’s government is in talks with Amazon’s Project Kuiper subsidiary about co-operating on satellite-based communications, as Taipei broadens its efforts to make its mobile phone and internet infrastructure less vulnerable to a potential Chinese attack.
AI near-aces college entry-level Korean exam
The Korea Herald
Yoon Min-sik
An artificial intelligence program has gotten a near-perfect score on the Korean language test of the state-run college entrance exam, according to the company behind the software.
Ukraine - Russia
Russia bans Viber, claiming app facilitates terrorism and drug trafficking
The Record by Recorded Future
Daryna Antoniuk
Russia has blocked access to the popular messaging app Viber, citing alleged legal violations. Internet censor Roskomnadzor claimed in a statement last week that the app is used for terrorism, extremism, drug trafficking, and the distribution of illegal content.
Europe
EU opens investigation into TikTok and the Romanian election
POLITICO
Eliza Gkritsi
The European Commission on Tuesday announced a formal investigation into how the Chinese-owned platform managed risks of elections meddling — notably in Romania.
TikTok disinformation falsely accuses von der Leyen of cancelling Romania’s presidential run-off
Euronews
Mared Gwyn Jones
Disinformation circulating on Chinese-owned platform TikTok falsely claims that European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen personally intervened to call off the second round of voting in Romania’s presidential elections.
EU issues first-ever sanctions over ‘Russian hybrid threats’
The Record by Recorded Future
Alexander Martin
The European Council announced on Monday it was sanctioning 16 individuals and three entities “responsible for Russia’s destabilising actions abroad.” It is the first time the bloc’s political executive is issuing sanctions under powers established in October.
Meta fined $263 million for alleged GDPR violations that led to data breach
The Record by Recorded Future
Suzanne Smalley
Ireland’s data privacy regulator on Tuesday announced it has fined Meta €251 million for alleged data security failures that led to about 29 million worldwide Facebook accounts being breached in 2018.
Serbian government cracked phones with Cellebrite to install spyware, report says
The Record by Recorded Future
Suzanne Smalley
Serbian authorities used Cellebrite software to covertly unlock phones belonging to civilians and then infect them with spyware, digital privacy researchers said Monday.
UK
UK looks at forcing greater transparency on AI training models
Financial Times
Daniel Thomas & Anna Gross
Tech companies in the UK face being forced to open up their artificial intelligence models to greater scrutiny in an attempt to help the creative industries stop work being ripped off or reproduced without compensation.
UK consults on opt-out model for training AIs on copyrighted content
TechCrunch
Natasha Lomas
The UK government is consulting on an opt-out copyright regime for AI training that would require rights holders to take active steps if they don’t want their intellectual property to become free AI training fodder.
Scotland bans WhatsApp on government phones
POLITICO
Andrew McDonald
Scotland's devolved government will stop using WhatsApp on official phones, it announced Tuesday. The ban will include all messaging apps not used for official government communications, including WhatsApp, Signal and Facebook Messenger.
Africa
Congo files criminal complaints against Apple in Europe over conflict minerals
Reuters
Sonia Rolley
The Democratic Republic of Congo has filed criminal complaints against Apple subsidiaries in France and Belgium, accusing the tech firm of using conflict minerals in its supply chain, lawyers for the Congolese government told Reuters.
Namibia’s state telecom provider says hackers leaked data after it refused to pay ransom
The Record by Recorded Future
Daryna Antoniuk
Namibia’s state-owned telecom provider confirmed Monday that some of its customers’ data was leaked on the dark web following a ransomware attack. Telecom Namibia attributed the attack to a threat actor known as Hunters International.
Demand for Starlink in Zimbabwe is overwhelming capacity
Rest of World
Chris Muronzi
Traditional internet in Zimbabwe is slow, unreliable, and expensive. Elon Musk’s satellite service sold out within weeks of launching in the country.
Artificial Intelligence
OpenAI brings its o1 reasoning model to its API — for certain developers
TechCrunch
Kyle Wiggers
OpenAI is bringing o1, its “reasoning” AI model, to its API — but only for certain developers, to start. Unlike most AI, reasoning models like o1 effectively fact-check themselves, which helps them avoid some of the pitfalls that normally trip up models. As a drawback, they often take longer to arrive at solutions.
Bosses struggle to police workers’ use of AI
Financial Times
Stephanie Stacey
Employers have been scrambling to keep up as workers adopt generative AI at a much faster pace than corporate policies are written.
Jobs
ASPI Director – Defence Strategy Program
ASPI
ASPI is recruiting for one of its key leadership positions - the Director of its Defence Strategy Program. This is an exceptional opportunity for a talented senior leader to contribute to the work of one of the Indo-Pacific’s top think-tanks with a focus on military strategy and capability, emerging security issues and our region. The closing date for applications is Friday, 10 January 2025 – an early application is advised as we reserve the right to close the vacancy early if suitable applications are received.
Researcher/Analyst/Senior Analyst - Defence Strategy
ASPI
There are a small number of potential roles available in ASPI’s Defence Strategy Program, across multiple levels including researcher, analyst and senior analyst. This is an exceptional opportunity for talented individuals to contribute to the work of Australia's leading think tank on defence and strategic policy issues. The closing date for applications is 15 January 2025 – an early application is advised as we reserve the right to close the vacancy early if suitable applications are received.
ASPI Deputy Director – Cyber, Technology & Security Program
ASPI
ASPI is seeking a talented leader for the Deputy Director of Cyber, Technology & Security (CTS) Operations. This is an exceptional opportunity to contribute to one of the Indo-Pacific’s leading think tanks, focused on advancing policy and research at the intersection of cyber, technology, and national security. The CTS Program is ASPI’s largest program, and includes ASPI’s China Investigations and Analysis team. The closing date for applications is Friday, 17 January 2025 – an early application is advised as we reserve the right to close the vacancy early if suitable applications are received.
ASPI Analyst – Hybrid Threats – Cyber, Technology & Security Program
ASPI
ASPI is seeking a motivated and detail-oriented individual to join the Cyber, Technology & Security (CTS) program as an Analyst – Hybrid Threats. This role involves contributing to the analysis of hybrid threats and information manipulation, including election integrity, resilience of critical technologies, and cybersecurity. The closing date for applications is Friday, 17 January 2025 – an early application is advised as we reserve the right to close the vacancy early if suitable applications are received.
The Daily Cyber & Tech Digest is brought to you by the Cyber, Technology & Security team at ASPI.
