It's Time To Tell China To Get Nicked

Zoom says China asked it to censor pro-democracy
activists in US and it obeyed
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Chinese officials had reached out to Zoom in May and early June about four video conference calls that were publicized on social media to commemorate Tiananmen Square protests.​

San Francisco: Zoom Video Communications Inc. said it deactivated accounts of pro-democracy Chinese activists based in the U.S. at the request of China, intensifying concerns that Beijing is extending its censorship clout globally.

Chinese officials reached out to Zoom in May and early June about four videoconference calls that were publicized on social media to commemorate Tiananmen Square protests, the San Jose, California-based company said Thursday in a blog post. Zoom said that China “demanded” the company terminate the meetings and host accounts because of the activity, which it deemed illegal.

Zoom said that at least three of the four meetings contained participants from mainland China, and it made the decision to end three of the meetings and terminate the associated accounts, two in the U.S. and one belonging to an activist in Hong Kong. “Going forward Zoom will not allow requests from the Chinese government to impact anyone outside of mainland China,” the company said.

Zoom announced Wednesday it had reinstated the closed U.S. accounts, and said it was working on technology that could prevent participants from specific countries from joining calls that were deemed illegal in those areas. The company will also outline a new policy to address these types on requests on June 30.

Beijing employs some of the strictest internet controls in the world, rooting out content and blocking websites it deems a threat to stability. It has scaled up the level of censorship in the years since President Xi Jinping came to power, expanding controls on social media, requiring real-name registration of accounts, criminalizing the spread of rumors and punishing influential commentators with millions of followers.

While China’s Great Firewall blocks access to internet sites such as Google, Facebook and Twitter, more of its 1.4 billion citizens are turning to home-grown alternatives such as WeChat and Weibo to express their discontent. Controls have become even more stringent this year, after the coronavirus outbreak unleashed a rare outpouring of criticism of China’s government. Internet controls also typically intensify ahead of major political events or other dates deemed sensitive such as the June 4 anniversary of the deadly student protests in 1989.​

https://theprint.in/world/zoom-says...mocracy-activists-in-us-and-it-obeyed/440148/

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Western allies have condemned China for using the smokescreen of the COVID-19 pandemic to impose a new security law in Hong Kong which violates its international commitments and threatens the "bastion of freedom".

The dire warnings came from the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia and Canada as tensions between the embattled Chinese Communist Party and the west reached rock bottom.

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi says American politicians are taking China-US relations “hostage” and "pushing our two countries to the brink of a new Cold War" – and placing world stability “in jeopardy”.

“It’s time for the US to give up this wishful thinking of changing China or stopping 1.4 billion people’s historic march toward modernisation,” Mr Wang warned.

The joint statement from four of the Five Eyes allies said: “China’s decision to impose the new national security law on Hong Kong lies in direct conflict with its international obligations under the principles of the legally-binding, UN-registered Sino-British Joint Declaration”.

“The proposed law would undermine the One Country, Two Systems framework. It also raises the prospect of prosecution in Hong Kong for political crimes, and undermines existing commitments to protect the rights of Hong Kong people.

“The world’s focus on a global pandemic requires enhanced trust in governments and international cooperation. Beijing’s unprecedented move risks having the opposite effect.”

China Foreign Ministry Spokesman Zhao Lijian warned his country “will take necessary counter-measures” against interference from external forces – an aggressive tactic China has wielded throughout the pandemic to suppress rising anti-China sentiment and hide its early failures.

The most egregious of these was China’s twin billion-dollar trade blows in May on Australian barley and abattoirs after its ambassador issued a threat in response to the Morrison government’s call for an inquiry into the origin of the virus.

As US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo put it – “the Chinese Communist Party chose to threaten Australia with economic retribution for the simple act of asking for an independent inquiry into the origins of the virus”.

China initially perceived the inquiry Australia pushed, which passed the World Health Assembly unanimously, as a witch-hunt created by Washington but eventually bowed to international pressure provided its World Health Organisation “puppet” leads the review​

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'Cyber attacks' point to China's spy agency, Ministry of State Security, as Huawei payback, say former Australian officials
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"Cyber attacks" on Australian government and industry bodies are most likely being directed by China's premier intelligence agency in retaliation for banning telco Huawei from the 5G network, experts have told the ABC.

In August 2018, the Australian Government banned Huawei and other companies from involvement in Australia's 5G network.

The ABC spoke to two former Australian officials who confirmed that the Huawei ban sparked the malicious cyber campaign. Both spoke on condition of anonymity given the sensitive nature of the story.

One of the former officials said evidence suggested the attackers may be linked to China's most powerful intelligence service, the Ministry of State Security (MSS).

However, cyber security researcher Robert Potter — who has spent years investigating MSS intrusions around the world and has previously attributed breaches to them — said the low level of sophistication of the attacks made attribution difficult.

"Based on the evidence, I'd say it strongly leans towards MSS," he said.

"The reality is that the tactics are so simple that it frustrates our ability to make complete attribution."

He agreed with the assessment that the campaign has been going on for a long time.

"The campaign dates back some time and correlates to a deterioration in our relationship with China," he said.

China's government on Friday evening rejected suggestions of a large-scale hacking attack.

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman says he believes the claims of hacking originate from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, which he says is funded by US arms companies and is making fictitious claims about China.​

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06...5g-ban-payback-from-china-spy-agency/12374374

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EU says China behind 'huge wave' of Covid-19 disinformation

Brussels shifts position by accusing Beijing for first time of running false campaigns
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China has been accused by Brussels of running disinformation campaigns inside the European Union, as the bloc set out a plan to tackle a “huge wave” of false facts about the coronavirus pandemic.

The European commission said Russia and China were running “targeted influence operations and disinformation campaigns in the EU, its neighbourhood, and globally”. While the charge against Russia has been levelled on many occasions, this is the first time the EU executive has publicly named China as a source of disinformation.

French politicians were furious when a Chinese embassy website claimed in mid-April, at the height of Europe’s pandemic, that care workers had abandoned their jobs leaving residents to die. The unnamed Chinese diplomat also claimed falsely that 80 French lawmakers had used a racist slur against the head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

“I believe if we have evidence we should not shy away from naming and shaming,” Vĕra Jourová, a European commission vice-president, told reporters. “What we also witnessed is a surge in narratives undermining our democracies and in effect our response to the crisis, for example the claim there are secret US biological laboratories on former Soviet republics has been spread by both pro-Kremlin outlets, as well as Chinese officials and state media.”

“I strongly believe that a geopolitically strong EU can only materialise if we are assertive,” Jourová said, alluding to the aim of the European commission’s president, Ursula von der Leyen, for the body to have more clout on the world stage.

The more assertive stance marks a change in tone from a report in March which merely described Chinese media narratives, while focusing the spotlight on disinformation from Kremlin-backed sources. It comes after lawmakers in the European parliament accused the commission of watering down an earlier report on disinformation under pressure from China – charges EU officials strongly denied.​

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...nd-huge-wave-covid-19-disinformation-campaign​

NSW Labor MP Shaoquett Moselmane says he
is 'not a suspect' in AFP espionage investigation
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NSW Labor MP Shaoquett Moselmane says he is not a suspect in the espionage investigation that saw his Sydney home and office raided last week.​

Mr Moselmane on Friday had his Labor Party membership suspended after the raids, which were part of a joint AFP-ASIO investigation amid allegations his office had been infiltrated by a Chinese government agent.​

"The investigation is into certain other people, allegedly advancing the goals of a foreign Government, namely the Peoples Republic of China," he said.​

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06...moselmane-not-a-suspect-in-afp-probe/12402596​

60 Minutes reveals details of ASIO investigation into alleged Chinese interference plot of NSW politics
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An investigation by 60 Minutes, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age newspaper has confirmed that Labor MP Shaoquett Moselmane's office is now the centre of the most serious ASIO counter foreign interference operation since the Cold War.​

ASIO are investigating the allegation that, whether knowingly or unknowingly, Moselmane is potentially being influenced by the Chinese government.​

No allegations have been proven. It is also possible that Mr Moselmane may only be an unwitting victim of a Chinese government influence operation.​

https://9now.nine.com.au/60-minutes...-minutes/6939c129-181f-4bfd-8228-e4da4d17540b​

Chinese state media accuses Australia of spying campaign, says agents were arrested in 2018​

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China's Government has used state media to launch an extraordinary attack on Australia, claiming Australian spies are waging an intensifying espionage campaign.

Beijing's main attack dog media outlet the Global Times published an article saying an Australian spying operation was disrupted in China two years ago.

The jingoistic tabloid posted pictures of what it claimed were items seized, which included a map of Shanghai and a compass.

It also claimed Australian spies were operating under the cover of diplomatic passports from the embassy in Beijing.

The paper said Chinese authorities arrested the Australian spies involved in the alleged operation.

The claims come amid increasing concern about China's espionage activities in Australia, with China warning it will take stronger measures to crack down on Australian espionage.

Asked about the allegations on Monday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said: "I wouldn't be relying on Chinese state media for your sources for questions."

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has been approached for comment about the Global Times report.

The article was China's sharpest criticism so far of Australia, and marks a new escalation in tensions.

It comes just days after an Australian Federal Police (AFP) raid on the home of NSW Labor MP Shaoquett Moselmane, as part of an investigation into allegations that Chinese government agents had infiltrated his office.​

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06...tralia-is-stepping-up-spy-activities/12402032​

Anonymous Hackers Target TikTok:
‘Delete This Chinese Spyware Now’
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This has been a week that TikTok—the Chinese viral video giant that has soared under lockdown—will want to put quickly behind it. The ByteDance-owned platform was under fire anyway, over allegations of data mishandling and censorship, but then a beta version of Apple’s iOS 14 beta caught the app secretly accessing users’ clipboards and a backlash immediately followed.

Whether India had always planned to announce its ban on TikTok, along with 58 other Chinese apps, on Monday June 30, or was prompted by the viral response to the iOS security issue is not known. But, as things stand, TikTok has been pulled from the App Store and Play Store in India, its largest market, and has seen similar protests from users in other major markets around the world, including the U.S.

One of the more unusual groups campaigning against TikTok is the newly awakened Anonymous hactivist group. As ever with Anonymous, it’s difficult to attribute anything to the non-existent central core of this loosely affiliated hacker collective, but one of the better followed Twitter accounts ostensibly linked to the group has been mounting a fierce campaign against TikTok for several weeks, one that has now gained prominence given the events of the last few days.​

https://www.forbes.com/sites/zakdof...delete-this-chinese-spyware-now/#7a17e4fe35cc​

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