Cybersecurity & Technology - International Studies of Strategic and Geopolitics

Self-Driving Truck Start-Up Faces Espionage Investigation Over China Connection

2Feb

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Self-Driving Truck Start-Up Faces Espionage Investigation Over China Connection

TuSimple develops self-driving software for trucking companies, but it might not be keeping those big-brained developments here in the good ol’ U.S. of A. Members of a U.S. national-security panel are urging the Justice Department to bring charges against two of TuSimple’s founders and the company’s current CFO for patents being improperly transferred to China-based startup, Hydron. TuSimple is best known for taking a load of melons on a 1,200-mile journey — 950 of those miles driven autonomously — across four states in the American southwest in 2021. The company seemed to hold a lot of promise in the self-driving tech space until multiple federal organizations began to look closely at the company and, in particular, TuSimple’s founders Xiaodi Hou and Mo Chen and current Chief Executive C...

There are almost 6,000 Russian soldiers in Belarus – Intelligence Agency

26Jan

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Intelligence, Surveillance, and Privacy

There are almost 6,000 Russian soldiers in Belarus – Intelligence Agency

There are almost 6,000 Russian soldiers on the territory of Belarus. According to the press service of the Main Intelligence Agency of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the corresponding statement was made by the representative of the Main Intelligence Agency Vadym Skibitsky on the air of the national telethon. "Today, the land component on the territory of Belarus is 5,800 military personnel. The second mechanized division has now moved to the territory of Russia, and has also entered the territory of Ukraine. This is Luhansk region. Now units of the sixth division, units of territorial troops, are entering there for training. This is not at all like that the contingent that was at the beginning of the aggression. There is no powerful aviation component, despite the training, there is...

Big Ideas From Recent Trends in China’s Data Governance

24Jan

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Data Governance

Big Ideas From Recent Trends in China’s Data Governance

A look at the direction of China’s data governance – and, by extension, the future of its digital economy. By Nanda Min Htin Data will define China. Ever since the State Council enshrined data as a factor of production alongside land, labor, capital, and technology in 2020, the importance of regulating digital information has only continued to grow. Three big ideas have emerged in recent years: First, how China intends to leverage data to drive its economy. Second, the nuances behind increasingly intense data protection enforcement and an accountability blind spot in favor of public bodies, including questions over the Cyberspace Administration of China’s mandate. Finally, the potential influence Chinese data governance ideals have on foreign governments that have become increasingly rel...

Geopolitical Tensions Expected to Further Impact Cybersecurity in 2023

24Jan

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Cybersecurity, Cybersecurity & Technology

Geopolitical Tensions Expected to Further Impact Cybersecurity in 2023

By Beth Maundrill Geopolitics will continue to have an impact on cybersecurity and the security posture of organizations long into 2023. The impact of global conflicts on cybersecurity was thrust into the spotlight when Russia made moves to invade Ukraine in February 2022. Ukraine’s Western allies were quick to recognize that with this came the threat of Russian-backed cyber-attacks against critical national infrastructure (CNI), especially in retaliation to hefty sanctions. While this may not have materialized in the way many expected, geopolitics is still front of mind for many cybersecurity experts looking to 2023. Cyber Power Russia has always been among a handful of states recognized for their cyber prowess and being the source of many cyber-criminal gangs. However, as previ...

Technology remains key to geopolitical success

14Jan

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Technology and Innovation

Technology remains key to geopolitical success

BY BRAD GLOSSERMAN * The quest to master the development of new technologies has been a defining characteristic of modern Japan. Commodore Matthew C. Perry’s 1853 visit demonstrated the necessity of technological superiority to secure the nation’s defense; the naval officer’s “invitation” to open to the outside world was issued by the guns and cannons with which his fleet was armed. It was a compelling request. Recognition of Japan’s backwardness prompted the Meiji Restoration and frantic efforts to catch up. Among the goals of the Iwakura Mission to the United States and Europe between 1871 and 1873 was a study of national industrial structures and the technologies that they produced. While the link between technology and national defense was clear when Perry’s fleet sailed into Ed...

Latin America, Caribbean Achieves Capability in Using Nuclear Techniques to Respond to Natural Disasters

9Jan

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Technology and Innovation

Latin America, Caribbean Achieves Capability in Using Nuclear Techniques to Respond to Natural Disasters

It is the second-most-disaster-prone region in the world. Latin America and the Caribbean is vulnerable to natural events like earthquakes, floods and hurricanes owing to its unique tectonic structure and weather patterns. With climate change further exacerbating the impact of these vulnerabilities, the region urgently needed capacity to assess the safety and integrity of built structures following natural disasters, particularly in urban areas. With the IAEA’s help, the region has achieved self-reliance in these capacities. Four response centres, able to evaluate the integrity of civil structures like roads and bridges in their own and neighbouring countries using nuclear non-destructive testing (NDT) techniques, have been established in Argentina, Chile, Mexico and Peru, with IAEA assis...

US, Japan Sign Agreement for Operational Collaboration on Cybersecurity

7Jan

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Cybersecurity

US, Japan Sign Agreement for Operational Collaboration on Cybersecurity

The United States and Japan have signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen their operational collaboration on cybersecurity, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The memorandum was signed by Japan’s Trade Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura and U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas during their meeting in Washington on Friday, DHS said in a statement. According to the DHS, the agreement will allow their agencies to enhance the security of critical infrastructure, foster more partnership opportunities, and continue sharing best practices with Indo-Pacific partners on cybersecurity. “We will work closely to harmonize security systems between Japan and the United States for software and IoT devices, including cooperation in human resource developm...

Rafael upgrades Spyder system to counter tactical ballistic missiles

7Jan

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Military Technology

Rafael upgrades Spyder system to counter tactical ballistic missiles

The Spyder air defense system can now counter tactical ballistic missiles thanks to an upgrade by its Israeli manufacturer, Defense News reported. The new feature by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems comes amid the war in Ukraine, which has featured a barrage of aerial attacks, as well as missile tests by North Korea and Iran. “The new capability involves the Derby LR missile interceptor, which underwent both hardware and software upgrades,” a company official said. In a separate statement, Rafael noted the additional capability “involved researching and analyzing the lessons learned from recent and ongoing armed conflicts involving extensive use of tactical ballistic missiles.” Rafael is one of Israel’s largest defense companies and is behind the successful Iron Dome system, which is a ...

Russia plans to mobilize 500,000 soldiers in days. If they don’t deliver victory, then ‘Putin will collapse,’ says Ukrainian spy chief.

7Jan

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Intelligence, Surveillance, and Privacy

Russia plans to mobilize 500,000 soldiers in days. If they don’t deliver victory, then ‘Putin will collapse,’ says Ukrainian spy chief.

The Ukrainian military is warning that Putin is planning to mobilize up to half a million new troops in preparation for a new offensive in Ukraine. Speaking to the German news site T-Online, Andriy Chernyak, a Ukrainian Military Intelligence Service representative, said that they believe the mobilization will be announced on January 15, after the Orthodox Christian Christmas. Chernyak estimated 500,000 people would be mobilized, with those living in cities such as Moscow and St Petersburg to be most impacted. Vadym Skibitsky, Ukraine's deputy military intelligence chief, said the recruits would be used in attacks that will begin in the spring in the east and south of Ukraine, reported the Evening Standard. "We expect them to conduct offensives in Donetsk and Kharkiv regions, as well as...

The secret life of MI5 spy who infiltrated the New IRA

7Jan

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Intelligence, Surveillance, and Privacy

The secret life of MI5 spy who infiltrated the New IRA

A family man posing as an NHS worker and hotel inspector infiltrated the violent New IRA dissident group and spilled its secrets to MI5 for more than a decade before vanishing into thin air. Dennis McFadden – 'the man who was always there but was never there' – bugged meetings and gleaned information from suspected terrorists by treating them to Spanish holidays and Celtic tickets, according to a sensational series of court hearings in Northern Ireland. In an effort to loosen the tongues of suspected New IRA members, the Glaswegian plied them with Guinness and gin in a Covid lockdown bar in the back garden of a suburban bungalow where he lived with his wife and young son. As part of 'Operation Arbacia', he also hosted the group's so-called army council of senior figures in rented Air...