White House pushes for AUKUS to move to ‘pillar two’ weapons focus | Social media giants face big fines in plan to ban kids | China courts Taiwanese influencers to enhance Xinjiang image
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The US is pushing for the AUKUS partnership to launch some world-leading new military technology projects before Joe Biden’s presidency ends, amid signs of growing impatience with the initiative. The Sydney Morning Herald
The South Australian government has drafted a bill to ban children 13 and under from using social media, by putting the responsibility back on corporations. ABC News
China has been inviting Taiwanese celebrities to visit Xinjiang to counter negative perceptions of its control over the region. While influencers have praised the area, Taiwan warns citizens about potential risks. Devdiscourse
ASPI
White House pushes for AUKUS to move to ‘pillar two’ weapons focus
The Sydney Morning Herald
Peter Hartcher
The US is pushing for the AUKUS partnership to launch some world-leading new military technology projects before Joe Biden’s presidency ends, amid signs of growing impatience with the initiative.
Australia’s climate ambitions have a modern slavery problem: examining the origins of our big batteries
The Strategist
Tilla Hoja, David Wroe and Justin Bassi
Several big battery projects in Australia vital for storing renewable energy to meet the nation’s climate goals are highly likely to be using materials sourced through the forced labour of Uyghur and other Turkic ethnic groups in China, ASPI research has found.
The World
U.S., Japan, S. Korea discuss ways to counter N. Korea cyber threats
Kyodo News
U.S., Japanese and South Korean officials met on Friday in Seoul to discuss ways to counter cyber threats posed by North Korea, the State Department said.
Bill Burns and Richard Moore: Intelligence partnership helps the US and UK stay ahead in an uncertain world
Financial Times
Maintaining technological advantage is vital to ensuring our shared intelligence advantage. SIS and the CIA cannot do this alone — our partnership is augmented by a network of partnerships with the private sector.
Australia
Social media companies to face fines for allowing children under 14 on their platforms under proposed SA laws
ABC News
Josephine Lim
The South Australian government has drafted a bill to ban children 13 and under from using social media, by putting the responsibility back on corporations.
New joint advisory on Russian military cyber tactics released
Australian Signals Directorate
Australian Signals Directorate's Australian Cyber Security Centre released a joint cyber security advisory – Russian Military Cyber Actors Target U.S. and Global Critical Infrastructure – in collaboration with our international partners. This advisory outlines the tactics, techniques, and procedures of Russian cyber actors to conduct espionage, sabotage, and reputational harm against global critical infrastructure.
No laws against that': Pocock produces fake videos of PM, Dutton to make a point
Canberra Times
Steve Evans
Senator David Pocock has had completely fake videos produced showing the Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader making false statements to show how easy it is to manipulate images in a dangerous way.
Senator David Pocock creates AI deepfakes of Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton to call for ban ahead of election
ABC News
Jake Evans
ACT senator David Pocock created and shared AI-generated videos of the prime minister and opposition leader as a warning to pass urgent legislation on artificial intelligence.
AirTrunk was sold on an Australian AI boom. How will it be powered?
Capital Brief
Daniel Van Boom
AirTrunk’s blockbuster $24 billion sale signalled strong market confidence that artificial intelligence will spark a boom in Australia’s data centre industry. What's less clear is how that boom will be powered.
Technology groups say proposed beefed-up cyber attack law ‘a step too far’
The Australian
Giuseppe Tauriello
A move to expand controversial government powers to take control of critical infrastructure during a cyber attack has been slammed by technology groups, describing the measure as a “frightening” step too far in the fight against hackers.
China
China courts Taiwanese influencers to enhance Xinjiang image
Devdiscourse
China has been inviting Taiwanese celebrities to visit Xinjiang to counter negative perceptions of its control over the region. While influencers have praised the area, Taiwan warns citizens about potential risks. Critics see this as propaganda aimed at masking China's repression of minority groups.
Travel warning issued over CCP Xinjiang efforts
Taipei Times
Chen Yun, Chung Li-hua and Jonathan Chin
The Executive Yuan yesterday warned against travelling to or doing business in China after reports that Beijing is recruiting Taiwanese to help conceal the use of forced Uighur labour.
After 30 years, China’s BeiDou is a GPS rival. Will the world enter its orbit?
South China Morning Post
Frank Chen
In the more than 30 years since the Chinese ship Yinhe was stranded in international waters, its global positioning system jammed by the United States, the world's second-largest economy has developed its own satellite navigation network to capture a share of the lucrative, highly technological market – and ensure such an incident can never be repeated.
Time’s AI list names China’s cyberspace chief, ByteDance CEO among most influential
South China Morning Post
Coco Feng
Time Magazine has ranked China’s internet watchdog head and the chairman of TikTok owner ByteDance among the 100 most influential people working in artificial intelligence for their impact on the sector in the world’s second-largest economy.
Chinese laser display company rides EV boom amid geopolitical pressures
Nikkei Asia
Wataru Suzuki
The Chinese electric vehicle boom has boosted sales of an unlikely infotainment device: laser projectors installed in cars. They may become a new geopolitical flashpoint amid growing tensions as the country's EV supply chain aims to penetrate overseas markets.
USA
YouTube takes down right-wing channels linked to DOJ Russia indictments
The Washington Post
Gerrit De Vynck
YouTube took down several right-wing politics channels that had been linked with allegations from the Justice Department that Russian government employees were paying right-wing influencers in the United States to produce content.
Georgia Tech severs ties with blacklisted Chinese university
The Washington Post
Susan Svrluga
The Georgia Institute of Technology will end a partnership with a blacklisted university in China that lawmakers say has ties to the Chinese military and shut down its degree programs there, school officials announced Friday.
Iranian-linked websites set up targeting US minority, veteran voters
POLITICO
Maggie Miller
A network of fake news websites with pro-Iranian leanings is spreading disinformation linked to the upcoming U.S. elections, targeting minority and veteran voters among other groups, according to findings from a hawkish think tank made public Friday.
Americas
Meet the right-wing Canadian influencers accused of collaborating with an alleged Russian propaganda scheme
CBC News
Jonathan Montpetit, Aloysius Wong
The social media accounts of two of Canada's most vocal far-right pundits have fallen unusually silent after U.S. officials accused them of being collaborators of a covert Russian propaganda campaign.
North Asia
Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong sign cybersecurity deal to boost Greater Bay Area ties
South China Morning Post
Ng Kang-chung
Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China’s Guangdong province have struck a deal on cybersecurity aimed at enhancing cooperation in technological exchange, information sharing and emergency response measures in the Greater Bay Area.
Japan tries to reclaim its clout as a global tech leader
The New York Times
Patricia Cohen and River Akira Davis
Japanese chip companies are tapping billions of dollars and collaborating with foreign firms as part of new government policies that look outward. Tokyo’s industrial policy focus today is on advanced forms of technologies ranging from batteries to solar panels, but the priority is reclaiming a bigger share of the global semiconductor industry, for which the Japanese government earmarked more than $27 billion over the past three years.
Southeast Asia
Malaysia denies web traffic rerouting plan ‘draconian’ as censorship fears rise
South China Morning Post
Malaysia’s communications regulator has defended a plan for local telecommunications firms to divert web traffic through their own domain name system servers, saying the move was meant to protect users from harmful online content.
Ukraine-Russia
Russian dark web marketplace admins indicted after arrest in Miami
The Record by Recorded Future
Jonathan Greig
Two men have been indicted for their role in managing a popular Russian dark web marketplace known for selling troves of stolen credit card information and offering cybercrime classes.
Europe
Netherlands curbs more ASML exports, in line with U.S. rules
Nikkei Asia
Cheng Ting-Fang
The Netherlands is tightening restrictions on exports of advanced chipmaking machines from top European semiconductor equipment maker ASML to bring the country's curbs in line with those of the U.S.
Dutch government takes ASML export measures off Uncle Sam's hands
The Register
Dan Robinson
ASML has moved to assure customers and investors that it is subject to no new restrictions following an announcement that expands the Netherlands government's own role in export control measures.
Middle East
Major Iranian IT vendor paying large ransom to resolve recent cyberattack
CyberScoop
AJ Vicens
An Iranian IT vendor that works with many of the nation’s top banks and some of its government entities suffered a severe cyberattack and is in the process of paying a ransom in installments, according to emails and blockchain data reviewed by CyberScoop, contrary to claims from the Iranian government that a hack never occurred.
Big Tech
YouTube removes Tenet Media channel over alleged ties to Russian disinformation effort
The Record by Recorded Future
Jonathan Greig
Google has shut down several YouTube channels belonging to a company the Justice Department linked this week to a Russian disinformation campaign.
Artificial Intelligence
New AI supply chain standard brings together Ant, Tencent, Baidu and Microsoft, Google, Meta
South China Morning Post
Wency Chenin andCoco Fengin
China’s Ant Group, Tencent Holdings, and Baidu have teamed up with US tech giants Microsoft, Google, and Meta Platforms to develop the world’s first international standard for large language model security for supply chains, as the need for artificial intelligence governance grows more urgent.
Research
Governance of artificial intelligence in the military domain: a multi-stakeholder perspective on priority areas (policy brief)
UNIDIR
Yasmin Afina and Giacomo Persi Paoli
This Policy Brief aims to lay the foundation for future work that will bring to life recommendations revolving around the six priority themes that the meeting identified, and which it agreed would serve as a basis for cooperation and collective action that transcends geopolitical rivalry, cross-sectoral divides and competition.
Events & Podcasts
AI and data in a US election year: The future of US technology policy and implications for Australia
United States Studies Centre
The United States Studies Centre is delighted to invite you to hear from a leading expert on US technology and national security policy, Helen Zhang, Non-Resident Fellow at the USSC. Helen co-founded the popular international relations media organisation International Intrigue. Helen is a former ‘Googler’ and ex-diplomat with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Report highlights how tech targets and abuses women and girls
ABC Radio National
A new report out today examines ways technology is being exploited to perpetuate gender based violence around the world. Australia's e-safety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, is featured in it.
Jobs
ASPI Research Internship
ASPI
Have you recently completed your studies (undergraduate or postgraduate) and want to develop your expertise in defence, foreign and national security policy, including in areas such as strategic competition, defence, deterrence, foreign interference, technology, and security? Do you want to inform the public and government on the critical strategic choices facing Australia and learn what it takes to be a professional analyst? If so, apply for the ASPI Research Internship Program! Please note that this is a paid internship program. Applications will close at midnight Friday 27 September 2024.
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