ASPI Cyber Masterclass ‘In Conversation: The future of cyber and emerging technologies’

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Media are invited to attend a special event featuring former US top cyber adviser Chris Painter hosted by ASPI’s International Cyber Policy Centre (ICPC) on the future of cyberspace and emerging technologies. Question our panel on some of the world’s pressing global issues including the impact of emerging tech on national security, cyber threats to our election process, the changing nature of cyber-conflict and the rise of censorship and strict information control in the Asia-Pacific.

Panel:

• Chris Painter, former US State Department Coordinator for Cyber Issues and White House Senior Director for Cybersecurity Policy;
• Dr Tobias Feakin, Australian Ambassador for Cyber Affairs, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
• Professor Elanor Huntington, Dean, College of Engineering and Computer Science, Australian National University
• Fergus Hanson, Head of the International Cyber Policy Centre (chair)

Date: 28 February 2018
Time: 1630 – 1730
Venue: ASPI, Level 2, 40 Macquarie St Barton Canberra 

A canapes and drinks reception will conclude the event. Chris Painter is in Australia as the inaugural distinguished fellow at ASPI’s International Cyber Policy Centre (ICPC). His visit is made possible thanks to the generous support of DFAT’s Cyber Affairs Special Visits Program, Macquarie Telecom Group and ICPC core sponsors

To register your attendance please contact:

Renee Jones, Events and Communications Manager, ASPI

E: reneejones@aspi.org.au

M: 0400 424 323

Top US cyber adviser Chris Painter announced as ASPI distinguished fellow

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Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s International Cyber Policy Centre (ICPC) is pleased to announce Chris Painter – former State Department Coordinator for Cyber issues and former White House Senior Director for Cybersecurity Policy – as its inaugural distinguished cyber fellow for 2018.

Chris has been on the vanguard of US and international cyber issues for over 25 years – first as a leading federal prosecutor of some of the most high-profile cybercrime cases in the country, then as a senior official at the Department of Justice, the FBI, the National Security Council and finally as the world’s first top cyber diplomat at the State Department.

“I am very happy to come back to Australia and spend time with my friends at ASPI’s ICPC and my many friends and colleagues in government, business and civil society. Australia has always been a strong partner on cyber policy and combatting cyber threats. As technical and policy threats increase in cyberspace it is imperative that we work together to promote an open and secure cyberspace, promote stability in cyberspace, and find new ways to deter bad actors,” Chris Painter said.

“Chris has made an extraordinary contribution to the world of cyberspace and national security and we’re delighted to host him at ASPI. Chris’s research at the centre will look at some of the big strategic issues in cyber affairs,” Head of ICPC Fergus Hanson said.

Chris will be in Australia from the 20th Feb until the 10th March. He will participate in a range of meetings, roundtables and events including the ASPI Cyber Masterclass on 28 February. Watch our event page and @ASPI_ICPC for more information. For media enquiries please contact reneejones@aspi.org.au / 0400 424 323

Chris’s visit is made possible thanks to the generous support of DFAT’s Cyber Affairs Special Visits Program, Macquarie Telecom Group and ICPC core sponsors.

What He Did on His Summer Break: Exposed a Global Security Flaw – The New York Times

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Danielle Cave, a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said that Twitter is playing an increasingly important role in open-source intelligence, the collection of sensitive information from publicly available sources. Researchers from think tanks, nongovernmental organizations and the corporate sector who are at the cutting edge of cybersecurity work gravitate to the platform to exchange information, she said.

Read the full story here.

US military to review policies after fitness tracker exposes base locations – Channel 9 News

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According to Tom Uren, cyber security expert from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s ‘International Cyber Policy Centre’, the discovery revealed potentially unknown bases. “It’s one thing to be able to see people walking in and out of offices in Canberra…it’s another thing to know where people run, where they go into buildings, and what buildings are important.” He described the map as piece of a puzzle “bad actors would try and use to further their ends”. “Anything that gives you a pattern of life can be used against you by bad actors. It makes it easier, and when you are making it easier for your opposition, that’s never a great thing.”

Check out the interview here.

A fitness-tracking app has released data that reveals secret military bases – ABC Radio National

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Radio National’s Patricia Karvelas discusses Strava’s global heatmap with Danielle Cave, Senior Analyst at ICPC.

Listen to the full interview here.

Strava has published details about secret military bases, and an Australian was the first to know – ABC News

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Danielle Cave, a senior analyst at the International Cyber Policy Centre at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, called the heatmap an “open source intelligence gold mine”. She suggested the data also raised a cyber security risk. “A hacking group, state or non-state, could very easily now target Strava knowing how valuable the data is that they are holding,” she said. “If it does turn out that people can strip out the personal details of some of these Strava users, then I think it’s getting into a very dangerous place.”

Read the full story here.

ASPI to bring out China defence & Artificial Intelligence specialist with Fulbright grant

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The Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s (ASPI) International Cyber Policy Centre (ICPC) is pleased to announce it’s been awarded a 2018 Fulbright Specialist Grant. With this grant ICPC will bring out Elsa Kania, adjunct fellow in the Technology and National Security Program at the Center for a New American Security.

Elsa’s expertise lies in Chinese defence innovation and emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence. Her research interests include Chinese military modernisation, information warfare and defence science and technology. Her most recent publication “Battlefield Singularity: Artificial Intelligence, military revolution and China’s future military power” was accompanied by an essay in Foreign Affairs magazine.

Elsa is also an independent analyst, consultant and co-founder of the China Cyber and Intelligence Studies Institute (CCISI). A graduate of Harvard College, her thesis focused on the evolution of the PLA’s strategic thinking on information warfare. She speaks Mandarin and in 2014-15 was a Boren Scholar in Beijing.

ICPC senior analyst Danielle Cave said: “We are delighted to host Elsa Kania and her visit couldn’t be better timed. Last year, the Chinese Government committed to expand its AI industry to USD 150 billion by 2030. And as Elsa states in her recent report, the People’s Liberation Army ‘is pursuing advances in impactful and disruptive military applications of AI’. Such investments will have profound security, political, economic and social implications for the entire Asia-Pacific region. It’s imperative Australia invests in understanding how such emerging technologies will re-shape our economy and the potential impacts on regional security. Elsa is perfectly positioned to make a valuable and timely contribution as Australia, and our wider region, seek to navigate both the opportunities and challenges presented by the proliferation of AI technologies.”

Elsa will be in Australia from mid-March to mid-April. She will participate in ASPI events, roundtables and have meetings with government, business and civil society. Watch our event page and @ASPI_ICPC for more information. For event, meeting and media enquires please contact reneejones@aspi.org.au / 0400 424 323

China hits back over criticism of its aid to Pacific islands

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China has responded angrily to Australia’s criticism of its loans and aid to Pacific island nations.

The Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, has raised concerns Chinese funds are being used to build unnecessary infrastructure and the developing nations will struggle to repay the resulting debts to China.

A Chinese Government spokesman says the Senator’s remarks are irresponsible and show little knowledge of the facts.

Fergus Hanson from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute says China regards its aid program as a state secret.

Bitcoin Can’t Save World’s Autocrats From the Sanctions Squeeze

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Bloomberg’s David Tweed discusses Bitcoin with Tom Uren, visiting fellow with ICPC. 

Think about how many U.S. dollars are in circulation and how much each bitcoin would have to be worth to match that value — it would be a ludicrously big number.

Read the full story here. 

Notorious website with naked photos of Aussie schoolgirls returns months after being shut down

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Fergus Hanson of the ICPC talks with Channel 7 News.