US: Enterprise Tech Leaders Prepare for Trump 2.0 | Japan to roll out $65bn in support for chips, AI | Amazon confirms employee data breach after vendor hack
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With President-elect Donald Trump preparing to take office, business technology leaders say they are bracing for immediate and long-term impacts from policies he will likely institute. That is in areas including tariffs, regulating artificial intelligence and mergers and acquisitions. The Wall Street Journal
The Japanese government will provide at least 10 trillion yen ($65 billion) in support through fiscal 2030 to boost the semiconductor and artificial intelligence industries under plans laid out Monday by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. Nikkei Asia
Amazon confirmed a data breach involving employee information after data allegedly stolen during the May 2023 MOVEit attacks was leaked on a hacking forum. The threat actor behind this data leak, known as Nam3L3ss, published over 2.8 million lines of Amazon employee data. Bleeping Computer
The World
Intelligence sharing as an alternative to ‘Asian NATO’
East Asia Forum
Asher Ellis
Calls for an ‘Asian NATO’ overlook regional complexities and risk heightening tensions. Enhanced intelligence sharing frameworks provide a pragmatic alternative for addressing security challenges in the Asia Pacific. By focusing on less sensitive domains like maritime surveillance and cyber threat intelligence, countries can build trust and capability without forcing confrontational choices. This approach respects diverse regional interests while promoting essential security cooperation.
Australia
Behind the scenes of the teen social media bans is a messy fight over science
The Mandarin
Gideon Meyerowitz-Katz and Matthew B. Jane
As governments worldwide move to restrict teenagers’ access to smartphones and social media, a fierce scientific debate has erupted over whether these digital technologies actually harm young people’s mental health. The controversy, sparked by an influential recent book blaming phones for rising youth anxiety, has exposed deep uncertainties in the research evidence — even as policymakers from Arkansas to Australia forge ahead with sweeping bans and restrictions.
Fear of the unknown: Why Australia’s supply chain is under threat
The Mandarin
Mark Jeffries
Concern around Australia’s import-heavy trade relationships is hardly new. Infiltration of our supply chain need not be widespread to cause exponentially disruptive effects. Yet our current options are limited: even the least-worst option is prohibitively expensive and is unlikely to be implementable in the time we need. In September 2024, hundreds of electronic pagers and walkie-talkies allegedly linked to key Hezbollah leaders exploded nearly simultaneously across Lebanon. Despite Western media commentary around the ‘clever’ and ‘targeted’ attacks, the effects were hardly localised.
How ANZ is tapping AI to build a new bank and take on its bigger rivals
The Australian
Jared Lynch
ANZ is using artificial intelligence to write its own code to keep pace with customer demand and eliminate bugs, as chief executive Shayne Elliot reveals the bank has poured $2.5bn into its new online-only offerings. Mr Elliott said his team of 7000 software engineers had used AI to write more than 7 per cent of the bank’s code for apps and other programs in the past six months – “and that number will only increase”. Mr Elliott is positioning ANZ as a more AI-powered bank, saying technology provided “tactical tools that will become table stakes” and enhance its competitive advantage.
Australia: AI solution for livestock welfare monitoring
OpenGov Asia
Alita Sharon
In a new initiative, Australian researchers are leveraging artificial intelligence to enhance animal welfare monitoring systems in livestock processing facilities. This project focuses on using AI-driven technology to assess the well-being of cattle during critical stages of their processing journey, from unloading to holding yards. This approach aims to meet strict welfare standards, making it easier for personnel to identify and manage the health and comfort of each animal more effectively, reducing risks and enhancing productivity while addressing ethical concerns about livestock care.
Ransomware reporting rules aim to protect business
The Australian Financial Review
Tom McIllroy
Information shared with federal agencies about cyber threats and criminal ransomware demands will be ring-fenced from regulators and law enforcement under new rules designed to protect businesses. Labor is moving forward with major new cybersecurity legislation, designed to close long-standing vulnerabilities and require firms with a turnover of $3 million or more to report ransomware payments to the Australian Signals Directorate’s Australian Cyber Security Centre.
Woolworths, Westpac funds back controversial $500m anti-crime start-up
The Australian Financial Review
Paul Smith
Woolworths-backed venture capital fund W23 Global, Westpac’s Reinventure and a Nasdaq-listed weapons company are the lead investors in a $72.6 million funding round for controversial retail crime intelligence software maker Auror, which values it at more than $500 million. Auror’s software is used by more than half of Australia’s retailers to track and share details of criminals operating in stores including Bunnings, Coles, Myer and Woolworths. Australia’s Information Commissioner announced an investigation into privacy concerns related to data sharing with police earlier this year, but ultimately decided not to pursue it.
China
Videos about Taiwan upset China: source
Taipei Times
Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said.
USA
From AI to Hardware Costs: Enterprise Tech Leaders Prepare for Trump 2.0
The Wall Street Journal
Belle Lin and Isabelle Bousquette
With President-elect Donald Trump preparing to take office, business technology leaders say they are bracing for immediate and long-term impacts from policies he will likely institute. That is in areas including tariffs, regulating artificial intelligence and mergers and acquisitions. For chief information officers, AI continues to be top of mind. While the urgency to deploy the technology inside their organizations continues unabated, CIOs are keeping a keen eye on how the federal government might play a role in reining in the technology, or encouraging it to thrive.
Discord leaker Jack Teixeira sentenced to 15 years for sharing U.S. secrets
The Washington Post
Stephanie Morales and Dan Lamothe
Jack Teixeira, the Massachusetts Air National Guard member responsible for a sprawling leak of classified information, was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in prison in a case that shook the U.S. national security community and exposed the ease with which government secrets can spread online. Teixeira arrived in U.S. District Court here in a buzz-cut and wearing an orange jumpsuit, appearing before Judge Indira Talwani after pleading guilty in March to six federal charges, including the willful retention and transmission of national defense information that the U.S. government classified as top secret.
Not a fan of EVs: Trump’s comeback to hurt Chinese EV makers, expect ‘rough seas’
South China Morning Post
Yujie Xue
Donald Trump’s return to the White House is likely to complicate the outlook for the Chinese electric vehicle makers that are seeking to enter the US market after being hit with new tariffs from the Joe Biden administration. The president-elect has promised to raise tariffs on imports from “countries that have been ripping us off for years” to protect US car makers. He has also vowed to repeal Biden’s policies to drive EV adoption on his first day in office, saying EVs “do not work.”
Biden administration to support controversial UN cyber treaty
Bloomberg
Jamie Tarabay
The Biden administration plans to support a controversial cybercrime treaty at the United Nations this week despite concerns that it could be misused by authoritarian regimes, according to senior government officials. The agreement would be the first legally binding UN agreement on cybersecurity and could become a global legal framework for countries to cooperate on preventing and investigating cybercriminals. However, critics fear it could be used by authoritarian states to try to pursue dissidents overseas or collect data from political opponents.
North Asia
Japan to roll out $65bn in support for chips, AI
Nikkei Asia
Mari Ishibashi
The Japanese government will provide at least 10 trillion yen ($65 billion) in support through fiscal 2030 to boost the semiconductor and artificial intelligence industries under plans laid out Monday by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. "We will formulate a new assistance framework to attract more than 50 trillion yen in public and private investment over the next 10 years," Ishiba said in an evening news conference.
South Korea's ruling party plans chips law to avert Trump threat
Nikkei Asia
South Korea's ruling party proposed a special chips act on Monday to give chipmakers subsidies and an exemption from a national cap on working hours, to tackle potential risks from measures threatened by incoming U.S. President Donald Trump. The semiconductor industry is critical for the trade-dependent economy, Asia's fourth biggest, with chips making up 16% of total exports last year.
Trend Micro and Japanese partners reveal hidden connections among SEO malware operations
Trend Micro
Makoto Shimamura and Shingo Matsugaya
Trend Micro researchers recently conducted a research project that analysed the relationship amongst multiple blackhat search engine optimisation malware families. By analysing data from command-and-control servers of different types of SEO malware and fake shopping sites, they were able to identify distinct groups of SEO malware families, how these share infrastructure to maximise the effectiveness of SEO poisoning attacks, and their role in orchestrating e-commerce scams.
Southeast Asia
Singtel expands its suite of quantum-safe offerings ‘to protect enterprises against cyber attacks’
iTWire
Gordon Peters
Singaporean telecommunications company Singtel has announced that it will be enhancing its suite of quantum-safe offerings to help enterprises fortify their defenses against cyber threats and scale more securely in the quantum age. Singtel says this involves integrating Post-Quantum Cryptography technology, which is algorithms engineered to resist the computational power of attacks from quantum computers, from leading cybersecurity solutions providers, Palo Alto Networks and Fortinet, into Singtel’s nationwide Quantum Safe Network.
IBM to accelerate Thailand's AI adoption
Bangkok Post
Suchi Leesa-Nguansuk
IBM Thailand wants to bring Thai organisations to the next frontier of artificial intelligence by removing obstacles to adoption. Anothai Wettayakorn, country general manager of IBM Thailand, estimates 5-6% of organisations in Thailand this year adopted generative AI. IBM wants to help increase adoption to 15-20% next year in order to improve Thai competitiveness. Around 10% of organisations globally have embraced AI, according to IBM.
UK
University of Bristol-based cyber security initiative, CyBOK, enters ‘exciting new chapter’
University of Bristol
The Cyber Security Body of Knowledge, a project that has been pivotal in the UK’s national cyber security efforts for over seven years, is set to transition from a research initiative based at the University of Bristol to a Community Interest Company. This development marks an important milestone, securing CyBOK’s long-term role in shaping professional standards and educational pathways in the field of cyber security in the UK, with a growing influence internationally.
Middle East
Anti-Israel hacker claims hack on Ministry of National Security, posts settler IDs online
CyberDaily
David Hollingworth
A hacker or hacking group calling itself Radwan Cyber Pal has claimed to have successfully hacked Israel’s Ministry of National Security and has published the stolen data online. The documents appear to relate to firearms licences held by 5,000 Israeli settlers. Each data set contains PDFs of several licence documents, complete with signatures, alongside scans of other documents and photo ID cards.
Gender and Women in Cyber
How diversity standards can boost the tech workforce
Technology Magazine
Kitty Wheeler
The global technology industry has been grappling with diversity and inclusion challenges for decades, with women and other underrepresented groups often finding themselves marginalised in a predominantly male-dominated field. This issue is particularly acute in Australia, where the tech sector is experiencing rapid growth but faces a significant skills shortage. In response to these challenges, the Tech Council of Australia has partnered with Project F, the social impact business, to launch a new set of standards aimed at improving diversity in the country's tech sector.
Big Tech
Amazon confirms employee data breach after vendor hack
Bleeping Computer
Sergiu Gatlan
Amazon confirmed a data breach involving employee information after data allegedly stolen during the May 2023 MOVEit attacks was leaked on a hacking forum. The threat actor behind this data leak, known as Nam3L3ss, published over 2.8 million lines of Amazon employee data, including names, contact information, building locations, email addresses, and more. Amazon spokesperson Adam Montgomery confirmed Nam3L3ss' claims, adding that this data was stolen from systems belonging to a third-party service provider.
MOVEit vulnerability sees Amazon, McDonald’s, HSBC, and more employee data leaked
CyberDaily
Daniel Croft
A threat actor using the moniker Nam3L3ss leaked 25 CSV datasets of companies, including Amazon, HSBC, Cardinal Health, MetLife, Fidelity, U.S Bank, McDonald’s, Delta Airlines, Leidos, HP, and more, according to Israeli cyber security firm Hudson Rock.
TikTok and its owner ramped up their hiring from China, even as Congress raised national security concerns
Business Insider
Dan Whateley
TikTok didn't shy away from hiring employees from China last year, even as US officials accused the app of being a national security risk because its owner, ByteDance, is headquartered in Beijing. Of the roughly 1,000 non-US employees that TikTok and ByteDance sought to hire for its US teams via H-1B visa applications between October 2022 and September 2023, most were from China.
Baidu bolsters AI lineup with text-to-image generator, no-code app builder
Reuters
Liam Mo and Brenda Goh
China's Baidu Inc unveiled a slew of new applications for its artificial intelligence technology on Tuesday, including a text-to-image generator and a tool that enables users to develop software applications without coding expertise. The country's leading search engine company is among tech firms shifting their focus to the commercialization of large language model applications after nearly two years of heavy investment in research and development in models that they tout as alternatives to OpenAI's GPT.
Apple faces Chinese developer’s lawsuit in echo of Fortnite case
Bloomberg
Pei Li
A Chinese court has agreed to hear a lawsuit filed by a local developer against Apple Inc.’s app store practices, only the second time the iPhone maker has had to defend its decade-old model in the world’s biggest mobile arena. Beijing’s intellectual property court has accepted a complaint filed by the company behind the Bodyreader app, which Apple removed from the iPhone store in 2020, according to a filing seen by Bloomberg News.
From OpenAI to WiseTech: Does sector have a governance problem?
The Sydney Morning Herald
David Swan
That reality of “key man risk” hit home for WiseTech and board members last month when co-founder and chief executive Richard White resigned after multiple allegations of inappropriate behaviour. He remains the company’s largest shareholder and is staying on full-time as a consultant, reporting directly to the board. WiseTech’s shares, which were initially savaged, have bounced back. However, the company’s governance has come under scrutiny.
Artificial Intelligence
Auction house claims to sell first painting by a 'humanoid robot artist' for $1.6 million
ABC News
Emilia Terzon
Almost 75 years ago, Alan Turing pre-empted today's debate about artificial intelligence by trying to answer the question: can machines think? Now a $US1.08 million ($1.64 million) portrait of the deceased British computer science pioneer is prompting yet another curler. Can robots also make art? Titled A.I. God, the 2.3-metre brown-hued portrait of Turing hails from the mechanised hands of an anthropomorphised robot called Ai-Da.
AI is being trained on art without permission. Now, artists are fighting back
Crikey
Cam Wilson
If you look at Stephen Cornwell’s art, you’ll see some familiar themes: fantasy-inspired digital images of figures, typically women, in gothic and horror-inspired settings. But when artificial intelligence is shown Cornwell’s art, it sees something different altogether — and that’s on purpose. The Australian surrealist is one of the many artists who are using clever tools to fight back against people training AI on their work without permission.
Composing music with AI isn't new, but recent advances have serious implications for the music industry
ABC News
Ria Adriani
Artificial Intelligence has become part of our digital lives; our social media accounts, our messaging services and now our search engines. But computers have been composing music for decades. Computer assisted composition has been around since the 1970s, spearheaded by influential musicians such as Pierre Boulez, one of the early leaders in the electronic music field.
Research
Tech advancements in the region heighten cyber threats as Middle East leaders act, according to new PwC report
PwC
PwC Middle East issued its regional findings of the 2025 Global Digital Trust Insights report, which highlights the growing importance of digital and cyber risks for organisations across the Middle East. As GCC countries like the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar accelerate their digital transformation, they attract significant investments from global tech giants. However, this rapid adoption of new technologies brings heightened risks, prompting organisations to manage tech disruptions proactively.
Unlocking government's technology future
KPMG
Unlocking government’s technology future is based on data from KPMG's 2024 global tech report which includes results of a survey of 118 senior government technology executives and decision-makers around the world. It shows that government and public sector organisations are building – and maintaining – change momentum, particularly in key capabilities such as cloud enablement, cyber security, and data and analytics.
Events & Podcasts
Navigating digital safety: Exploring security and trust in online spaces for young Australians
ASPI
As technology evolves, so do the challenges of privacy, internet security, and online safety. As users of online platforms, young Australians are exposed to varied and increasing risks, including risks to their personal data privacy. Online spaces are also increasingly threatened by criminal and state-backed actors, and challenges to social cohesion. In our current digital context, what does it truly mean to be secure online, and how can we create a safer digital environment? Join us for an important discussion from 6:00 – 8:30pm on 27 November at ASPI in Canberra. This event is the final instalment of a joint series hosted by Future Privacy Forum, AARNet, and ASPI, dedicated to exploring privacy, safety, and security standards in Australia.
The Daily Cyber & Tech Digest is brought to you by the Cyber, Technology & Security team at ASPI.