5:30 PM ET, Monday, October 9, 2023
The Cipher Brief curates open source information from around the world that impacts national security. Here's a look at today's headlines, broken down by region of the world:
THE TOP STORIES:
Vietnam Reportedly Attempted Hack of U.S. Officials, CNN. A consortium of news outlets have found that Vietnamese government agents attempted to plant spyware on the phones of members of Congress, American policy experts, and U.S. journalists. The two most high profile targets were Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) and member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT). Asia experts in Washington think tanks and CNN journalists were also targeted. According to the probe, the hackers used posts on social media network X to try and lure targets to visit sites designed to install the “Predator” hacking software on their devices. None of the intended victims who responded to media outlets on the matter said their devices were infected. The reported hacking came as Vietnamese and American diplomats were negotiating a major cooperation agreement aimed at countering China, which President Joe Biden signed in September. Documents show that Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security signed a deal for “infection solutions” with a company known as the Intellexa Alliance in 2020. Documents indicating an extension of the deal mentioned “Blue Arrow,” a phrase that Intellexa used when marketing Predator. Experts say the documents raise questions about the effectiveness of E.U. spyware regulation. Vietnam has been implicated in previous hacking campaigns, including against human rights activists in other countries. The State Department did not comment on the reported hacking but said the agreement it had with Vietnam offered a forum for discussion on the matter. The Vietnamese government declined to comment. Washington Post
Israel Continues Gaza Air Strikes, Hamas Threatens to Kill Hostages. Israel is continuing airstrikes on the Gaza Strip in response to the Hamas attack on Saturday. An Israeli embassy spokesperson said at least 900 people in Israel have been killed from the attack. The Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip says over 680 people in the territory have been killed by Israeli air strikes. Israeli forces say they have regained control of all communities around Gaza and largely regained control in southern towns. Hamas fighters announced Monday that they will begin executing Israelis they are holding hostage in retaliation against any new Israeli bombing of civilian structures in Gaza without pre-warning. President Joe Biden said 11 Americans have been killed in the Hamas attacks and that it is “likely” Americans are among the hostages taken by Hamas. Qatari mediators have been working to try and secure the release of Israeli women and children taken hostage by Hamas in exchange for the release of 36 Palestinian women and children in Israeli prisons. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed continued retaliatory attacks, saying, “We have only started striking Hamas. What we will do to our enemies in the coming days will reverberate with them for generations.” Senior Hamas official Moussa Abu Marzouk, speaking to Al Jazeera, claimed that the militant group “achieved its targets” and is open to discussions and “all political dialogues” over a possible truce. In an expansion of the conflict, the Al Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) movement, also claimed responsibility for a cross-border attack from Lebanon. The Israeli military said its helicopters launched strikes into Lebanese territory in response. Hezbollah denied involvement, though it fired rockets and mortars at Israeli military posts after claiming Israeli shelling on Lebanon killed three of its members. Israeli forces said it responded with artillery fire to “launches” from Lebanon into Israel. Al Jazeera Associated Press Financial Times NBC News Reuters
Russian Lawmakers Looking at Revoking Ratification of Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Russian lawmakers were told Monday that they have 10 days to discuss how to best revoke Moscow’s ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), which bans nuclear testing. Russia’s envoy to the CTBTO on Friday said Russia would revoke its ratification of the agreement, which the U.S. strongly denounced. Experts say a nuclear test by Russia could cause others, such as the U.S. and China, to follow suit, potentially sparking a new nuclear arms race. Vyacheslav Volodin, chairman of Russia’s State Duma lower house of parliament, discussed the matter with parliamentary leaders on Monday and said that the revocation of ratification would be in Moscow’s interest. Russian state media and some officials have repeatedly threatened the use of nuclear weapons over the Ukraine war. Deutsche Welle Reuters
THE UKRAINE UPDATE:
Zelensky Replaces Territorial Defense Forces Commander. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksy has replaced General Ihor Tantsyura as Territorial Defense Forces Commander with Major General Anatoliy Barhylevych. No reason was given for the change. Since last year, Barhylevych was chief of staff of troops in Eastern Ukraine where the majority of the fighting against Russia has taken place since 2022. Now, as Territorial Defense Forces Commander, Barhylevych will be in charge of protection of critical facilities, combating sabotage and enemy intelligence forces, and maintaining overall security for Ukraine. Reuters Kyiv Independent
U.S. Army Chief Urges Congress to Act to Ensure Aid for Both Israel, Ukraine. U.S. Army Secretary Christine Wormouth urged Congress to approve additional funding to ensure military assistance for both Ukraine and Israel. She said the aid would go to increasing the U.S. military’s production capacity and paying for new munitions to transfer, without adding specifics. Her comments come as Republicans in the U.S. House need to nominate a new speaker. Politico Reuters
THE CYBER AND TECH RUNDOWN:
Gaza-Based Hackers Actively Targeted Israeli Infrastructure Throughout 2023. A Gaza-based hacking group, tracked as Storm-1133, has been identified by Microsoft as launching cyberattacks on Israeli infrastructure systems in the lead-up to Hamas’ attack on Saturday. Microsoft said the group engaged in a “wave of activity” in 2023 targeting Israeli energy, defense, and telecommunications sectors. Microsoft said Storm-1133 supported Hamas’ interests as its cyber actions “largely affected organizations perceived as hostile to Hamas.” Microsoft’s recent Digital Defense Report noted that researchers observed Storm-1133 cyberattacks targeting third party organizations with public ties to Israeli targets while employing new techniques to evade detection. Throughout 2023, the report continued, Storm-1133 attempted to deliver backdoor malware, including one enabling the group “to dynamically update C2 infrastructure hosted on Google Drive. This technique enables operators to stay a step ahead of certain static network-based defenses.” Cybernews
New Chinese Plan Targets 50 Percent Compute Power Increase by 2025. China targets 50% growth in computing power in race against U.S. – China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and five other Chinese government departments have launched a plan to increase the country’s computing power more than 50 percent by 2025 it was announced Monday. The move comes as Beijing continues to strengthen its supercomputing and AI sectors. The target set by the plan is to reach 300 EFLOPS by 2025. In August, the MIIT reported that China’s compute power in 2023 rose to 197 EFLOPS from 180 ELOP the previous year. The Chinese plan calls for the construction of multiple data centers across the country to support organizations’ access to computing power. Promotion of the AI sector also factors into Beijing’s plans to improve computational infrastructure in western China. Improving the speed and efficiency of computing networks is another priority of the plan, which specifies that transmission speeds between critical computing facilities cannot have a latency of more than 5 milliseconds. Reuters Bloomberg
South Korean Chip Firms Receive U.S. ‘Indefinite’ Waiver on Equipment Use in China. South Korea’s government and the Samsung and SK Hynix companies Monday announced that the U.S. will permit the use of the manufacturers’ chip equipment in their Chinese factories for an indefinite period without separate waivers. South Korea’s presidential secretary for economic affairs commented, "uncertainties about South Korean semiconductor firms' operations and investments in China have been greatly eased; they will be able to calmly seek long-term global management strategies." The U.S. has notified Samsung and SK Hynix of the decision. Samsung and SK Hynix welcomed the decision. A statement from SK Hynix said," we believe the decision will contribute to the stabilization of the global semiconductor supply chain." Nikkei Asia Reuters
EU Official Sees ‘Convergence’ in European, Japanese Approaches to Generative AI Vera Jourova, a European Commission vice-president, told Reuters that the EU recognizes a “convergence” with Japan in thinking about generative AI. She contrasted her experience in Japan with what she encountered in China, noting “it’s a totally different thing. I could discuss with our Japanese partners because we do not have to explain to each other basic, basic things.” Jourova made the remarks to Reuters at a Kyoto forum on internet governance. Jourova also said that G7 plans to launch consultations on a framework for AI are proceeding, but a code of conduct for companies involved in AI requires additional work. South China Morning Post
ELSEWHERE IN THE WORLD:
Iran, Sudan Resume Diplomatic Relations. Iran and Sudan announced in a joint statement Monday that they have agreed to resume diplomatic relations seven years after ties were cut, and three months following a meeting between their foreign ministers. In 2016, Sudan severed diplomatic ties with Iran after the Saudi Embassy in Tehran was stormed, and in March the two nations agreed to resume ties under a pact mediated by China. Both sides said in a joint statement that they will open embassies and exchange official delegations soon. The Sudanese foreign ministry also said that the agreement "came after a number of high-level communications” and “will serve their mutual interests.” Reuters ABC News
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