Top News of the Week – Another Chinese Cyber Attack Uncovered
The United Kingdom and United States have accused Chinese intelligence services of waging a global campaign to steal personal information and wage cyber-attacks against politicians and dissidents.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Top News of the Week
The Briefing
Latest News
Technology Strategy and Policy
Artificial Intelligence
Telecommunications Networks and Infrastructure
Critical Minerals
Synthetic Biology
Quantum
Advanced Aerospace Technology
Semiconductors and Microelectronics
Energy and Climate
Opinion and Commentary
The Last Word
Top News of the Week – Another Chinese Cyber Attack Uncovered
This week, the United Kingdom and the United States accused Chinese intelligence services of waging a global campaign to steal personal information and wage cyber-attacks against UK politicians and political dissidents. Between August 2021 and October 2022, the PRC Ministry for State Security and contractors associated with the intelligence service conducted a cyber-attack on the UK Electoral Commission, perhaps the most significant attack in British history.
Key Takeaways:
The United Kingdom accused Chinese intelligence services of hacking the UK’s electoral register to steal the personal details of tens of millions of UK voters. The UK implemented sanctions on those responsible.
UK officials do not believe that the attacks changed the outcomes of the elections that took place during that time.
The United States filed criminal charges and imposed financial sanctions on companies and individuals involved in the attack.
Within hours the PRC Government’s spokesperson denied all wrongdoing and accused the UK and the US of “political manipulation” and called on the countries to “stop smearing China.”
The United States charged that seven PRC nationals were responsible for waging targeted cyber-attacks against U.S. and foreign critics of the PRC, as well as business and politicians.
More Background:
U.S. Charges Alleged Chinese Hackers as U.K. Says Voter Files Accessed – WSJ, March 26, 2024
US and UK go after Chinese hackers accused of state-backed operation against politicians, dissidents – Associated Press, March 25, 2024
Seven Hackers Associated with Chinese Government Charged with Computer Intrusions Targeting Perceived Critics of China and U.S. Businesses and Politicians – U.S. Department of Justice, March 25, 2024
Millions of Americans caught up in Chinese hacking plot – US – BBC, March 25, 2024
Chinese hackers’ access 40 MILLION Brit voters’ personal details in shocking strike at heart of our democracy – The Sun, March 24, 2024
China targets group of MPs and peers with string of cyber-attacks – The Guardian, March 23, 2024
China accused of ‘malign attack’ after Electoral Commission hack – Times of London, March 23, 2024
The Briefing
The CCP’s Three New Things
The Chinese Communist Party is projecting 5% growth in 2024. How is the CCP planning to achieve this aggressive goal? "Three New Things" – electric vehicles, lithium batteries, and solar panels. Is that likely?
Latest News and Announcements
UN Security Council demands Gaza ceasefire– Reuters, March 25, 2024
U.S. Support for the Philippines in the South China Sea – U.S. Department of State, March 23, 2024
China and Russia: Exploring Ties Between Two Authoritarian Powers – Council on Foreign Relations, March 20, 2024
China and North Korea applaud Putin's election victory – Nikkei Asia, March 18, 2024
Technology Strategy and Policy
South Korea Targets Multi-Country Talks for Chip Export Controls – Bloomberg, March 22, 2024
Cyber-diplomacy: A Field in Flux – Universiteit Leiden, March 22, 2024
Japan begins cybersecurity push in the Pacific – Japan Times, March 22, 2024
Lawmakers pass milestone privacy bill overshadowed by TikTok fever – Politico, March 20, 2024
Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia wants ‘AI factories.’ China is building lots of them. – A/symmetric, March 23, 2024
In One Key A.I. Metric, China Pulls Ahead of the U.S.: Talent – NYTs, March 22, 2024
Chinese Big Tech firms from Tencent to Kuaishou tout advancing generative AI models in race to catch up – SCMP, March 22, 2024
United Nations General Assembly Adopts by Consensus U.S.-Led Resolution on Seizing the Opportunities of Safe, Secure and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence Systems for Sustainable Development – U.S. State Department, March 21, 2024
UN adopts first global artificial intelligence resolution – Reuters, March 21, 2024
Saudi Arabia Plans $40 Billion Push into Artificial Intelligence – NYTs, March 19, 2024
Telecommunications Networks and Infrastructure
'Dangerous product': Taiwan declares TikTok national security threat – Times of India, March 23, 2024
Behind the fight against TikTok – The Spectator, March 21, 2024
Critical Minerals
India in undersea race to mine world’s battery metal – BBC, March 20, 2024
Deep-sea mining talks to resume as interest swells from China to U.S. – Nikkei Asia, March 18, 2024
From the Deep Sea to D.C.—How China Fears Have Put Ocean-Floor Mining on Washington’s Radar – WSJ, March 15, 2024
Synthetic Biology
Patients Hate ‘Forever’ Drugs. Is Wegovy Different? – NYTs, March 24, 2024
China Urges Lilly to Boost Investing Amid US Cutoff Threat – Bloomberg, March 22, 2024
First Genetically Engineered Pig Kidney Transplanted into Living Patient – Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News, March 21, 2024
Brain chips: the Sydney researchers ‘miles ahead’ of Elon Musk’s Neuralink – The Guardian, March 16, 2024
Red Genes: Assessing WuXi AppTec’s Ties to the Party-Army-State in China – China Brief, February 9, 2024
Quantum
The Best Qubits for Quantum Computing Might Just Be Atoms – Quanta Magazine, March 25, 2024
Source Says New Legislation To Accelerate DoD’s Quantum Efforts ‘To The Next Level’ – Quantum Insider, March 23, 2024
EU leaders want to make Europe a global quantum powerhouse – Silicon Republic, March 22, 2024
Advanced Aerospace Technology
Boeing CEO to step down in broad management shake-up as 737 Max crisis weighs on aerospace giant – CNBC, March 25, 2024
Taiwan showcases tech prowess at Satellite 2024 in Washington – Focus Taiwan, March 20, 2024
Drones are key to gain advantage over Russia, Ukraine army chief says – Reuters, March 18, 2024
Spanish startup Sateliot joins race for cheap space connections – Reuters, March 8, 2024
Semiconductors and Microelectronics
China blocks use of Intel and AMD chips in government computers, FT reports – Reuters, March 24, 2024
Huawei Tests Brute-Force Method for Making More Advanced Chips – Bloomberg, March 22, 2024
Chinese chip maker SMIC ‘potentially’ broke US law to make Huawei’s 7-nm smartphone processor, lawmaker says – SCMP, March 22, 2024
Lam Research eyes Vietnam chip supply chain as China curbs bite – Nikkei Asia, March 22, 2024
At major China chip fair, firms ramp up call to buy domestic – Reuters, March 22, 2024
TSMC, Intel suppliers delay U.S. plants on surging costs, labor crunch – Nikkei Asia, March 19, 2024
The Global Effort to Make an American Microchip – NYTs, March 19, 2024
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang unveiled a 'very big' new chip at his company's 'Woodstock of AI' – Quartz, March 18, 2024
Energy and Climate
Decarbonising the Grid: Three scenarios for achieving Net Zero Power – Policy Exchange, March 25, 2024
Nuclear fusion backers meet in US capital as competition with China looms – Reuters, March 20, 2024
Opinion and Commentary
Beijing Is Ruining TikTok – Michael Schuman, The Atlantic, March 24, 2024
Yes, TikTok sucks. But the rules for tech giants must be better than ‘it’s only bad if China does it’ – Samantha Floreani, The Guardian, March 19, 2024
New Tools Are Needed to Address the Risks Posed by AI-Military Integration – Sarah Shoker, Andrew Reddie, Alan Hickey, and Leah Walker, Lawfare, March 18, 2024
Joe Biden has just dealt a big defeat to big tech – Joseph Stiglitz, The Guardian, March 18, 2024
“It is completely unacceptable that China state-affiliated organisations and individuals have targeted our democratic institutions and political processes. While these attempts to interfere with UK democracy have not been successful, we will remain vigilant and resilient to the threats we face.” - Lord Cameron, UK Foreign Secretary
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