Collaborate Disseminate
Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Twitter, WhatsApp, and Zoom have all said they will stop complying with government orders to hand over data. And that’s exactly what Beijing wanted. Continue reading China’s Great Firewall of Censorship Is Already Going Up Around Hong Kong
The Departments of Defense, Justice, and Homeland Security urged U.S. regulators to block an application for an undersea cable connection between Hong Kong and the U.S. over concerns that it could expose sensitive communications to the Chinese government. The federal agencies, known as Team Telecom or the Telecom Committee, on Wednesday recommended the Federal Communications Commission deny the Pacific Light Cable Network (PLCN) undersea cable connection between the U.S. and Hong Kong amid concerns surrounding the Chinese government-linked ownership of the PLCN. A significant investor in the PLCN, Pacific Light Data Co. Ltd., is a subsidiary of the fourth largest telecommunications services provider in China, Dr. Peng Telecom & Media Group Co. Ltd., according to the Justice Department. U.S. intelligence officials have maintained that Chinese intelligence laws can make it compulsory for companies in China to comply with Beijing’s intelligence requests. “The Committee’s recommendation was based on … Dr. Peng Group’s relationship with [People’s Republic of China] […]
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This removal, of 32K accounts, is not the first time Twitter has taken action to protect its users from influence operations. Researchers weighed in on the practice with Threatpost. Continue reading Twitter Disrupts Wide-Ranging Political Disinformation Campaigns
Video conferencing service Zoom has apologized for yielding to Chinese government pressure and suspending U.S.-based user accounts that commemorated the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre in China. The apology comes after an uproar from human rights activists and U.S. lawmakers for Zoom’s role in suppressing dissent outside of mainland China. At the request of the Chinese government, Zoom shut down three video meetings marking the anniversary. Some of the meeting organizers were based in the U.S. and in Hong Kong. “Recent articles in the media about adverse actions we took toward [those commemorating Tiananmen] have some calling into question our commitment to being a platform for an open exchange of ideas and conversations,” Zoom said in a blog post Thursday. “Going forward Zoom will not allow requests from the Chinese government to impact anyone outside of mainland China.” The Zoom users were marking 31 years since Chinese troops fired on pro-democracy […]
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Just because Twitter is banned in mainland China doesn’t mean Beijing won’t use it to influence public opinion around the world. Twitter announced Thursday it removed 23,750 accounts linked to Chinese-backed propaganda campaigns. Those accounts made up the core of the effort, the company said, while another 150,000 sought to amplify the content on those core accounts. Much of the activity was aimed at undermining pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, the coronavirus pandemic and discrediting Chinese dissidents, researchers found. Researchers from Stanford University’s Internet Observatory determined that the Twitter activity focused on COVID-19 accelerated in January and peaked in March. Often, the accounts would praise the Chinese government’s response to the pandemic, call for global unity on the issue and bristle at the notion that Taiwan’s government responded to the health crisis in an effective manner. The themes echo prior propaganda in other suspected Chinese social media operations and official […]
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Zoom has been closing accounts of U.S. residents who are critical of the Chinese Communist Party.
The post Is Zoom the Next Huawei? ‘Puppet of Chinese,’ Say Critics appeared first on Security Boulevard.
Continue reading Is Zoom the Next Huawei? ‘Puppet of Chinese,’ Say Critics
The Chinese government has adopted known disinformation techniques and utilized social media harassment campaigns to try to increase its influence in Asia, according to new findings that add to a growing body of research. In recent months, two distinct Chinese internet campaigns have sought to influence public opinion with fake news ahead of an election in Taiwan, and intimidate pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong by posting their personal data online. Both efforts mimic similar Russian operations, and reflect how governments’ use of social media for propaganda efforts have become an everyday reality for much of the world’s population. The latest research, published Wednesday by the threat intelligence firm Recorded Future, comes after international journalists and nongovernmental organizations also have detailed the interference in semi-autonomous Hong Kong and the disputed region of Taiwan over the past year. “From a tactical standpoint, the mainland Chinese government views both Taiwan and Hong Kong as domestic information space,” […]
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Continue reading How China’s government used social media against movements in Taiwan, Hong Kong
A new spate of iOS and Android mobile malware attacks capable of taking control of devices, and tracking GPS location, phone call history, contacts, and text messages has been unleashed on targets in Hong Kong in the last several months, according to multiple cybersecurity companies. The attackers, which Kaspersky suspects are Chinese-speaking, lure their victims by posting links to local news sites in general discussion sections of forums that are popular among Hong Kong residents. But when victims click through to see the news, attackers deploy a hidden iFrame that runs an iOS malware variant, a modular backdoor. Trend Micro researchers have also found this malware, dubbing it “LightSpy.” Some of the lures include content on protests in Hong Kong. They also touch on information about the novel coronavirus and sex. The Android portion of the campaign is being distributed through Instagram posts and Telegram channels, with lures encouraging victims to download […]
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Continue reading Hong Kong targeted in new sweeping mobile malware campaign
The malware, the work of a new APT called TwoSail Junk, allows deep surveillance and total control over iOS devices. Continue reading Emerging APT Mounts Mass iPhone Surveillance Campaign
The government says the wristband isn’t privacy-invading because it won’t track your location, per se; just if you wander from COVID-19 quarantine. Continue reading Location-tracking wristbands required on all incoming travelers to Hong Kong