Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull meets with Australia-US Cyber Security experts in Washington

Thursday 22 February 1000 – 1130 (GMT-8): Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and senior Australian officials met with Kirstjen Nielsen, US Secretary of Homeland Security, Admiral Michael S. Rogers, US Navy, Commander, US Cyber Command, Director, National Security Agency, Chief, Central Security Service, senior US Government officials and industry and think-tank cyber-security experts. The high-level roundtable was hosted by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute and the Center for Strategic and International Studies at CSIS Headquarters in Washington D.C.

Discussion focused on how to deter and respond to unacceptable behavior in cyberspace – particularly by states and their proxies – and how to strengthen coordination between government and the private sector. The outcomes will frame the agenda for the second 1.5 Track Australia-United States Cyber Security Dialogue to be held in April 2018.

“Prime Minister Turnbull is demonstrating real leadership to address the great challenges of cyber security. CSIS is proud to partner with the Australian Government on such a crucial endeavor,” said John Hamre, President and CEO of CSIS.

“We’re delighted Prime Minister Turnbull was again able to participate in the US-Australia 1.5 track cyber dialogue”, the Head of the ASPI International Cyber Policy Centre Fergus Hanson said. “Having the top decision makers in the same room discussing the most pressing cyber challenges means we can get straight to the big issues.”

“Cooperation with likeminded countries is the best way to improve cybersecurity, and cooperation between the U.S. and Australia is crucial for security in the Asia Pacific region,” said James A. Lewis, Senior Vice President at CSIS.


For more information regarding the roundtable or 1.5 Track Australia-United States Cyber Security Dialogue please contact:
 

Renee Jones, Events and Communications Manager, Australian Strategic Policy Institute
E: reneejones@aspi.org.au
P: +61 400 424 323
 

H. Andrew Schwartz, Chief Communications Officer, Center for Strategic and International Studies
E: aschwartz@csis.org

P: 202 775 3242

Roundtable on Practical Futures for Cyber Confidence Building in the ASEAN region

In  this roundtable ASPI brings experts in international affairs and cyber affairs from think-tanks, research institutes and universities from across the ASEAN region together with representatives of ASEAN and ARF Member States, Industry and other non-governmental organisations.

This activity is part of ASEAN-Australia Week, a lead-in event to the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit and is supported by the Australia-ASEAN Council. See: http://dfat.gov.au/people-to-people/foundations-councils-institutes/australia-asean-council/grants/grantees/Pages/practical-futures-for-cyber-confidence-building-in-the-asean-region.aspx

The aim of the event is to discuss ways to move forward with confidence-building measures in cyberspace in our region. The end result is a set of practical policy recommendations that will be presented to the Summit delegations.

Date: 15 March 
Time: 1000 – 1500
Venue: International Convention Centre Sydney 

This is an invitation-only event. Should you wish to attend, please contact Bart Hogeveen

Top US cyber adviser Chris Painter announced as ASPI distinguished fellow

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.