Tuesday, March 28, 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:
In the Americas
Biden Signs Executive Order on Government Use of Commercial Spyware. President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Monday that bans U.S. federal agencies from using commercial spyware deemed a threat to national security and human rights. Biden said the order aims to be a proactive first step towards addressing spyware threats and abuses and setting standards for commercial spyware usage amongst allies. The order does not specify targeted spyware, though it will likely cover spyware makers known to have sold their products to authoritative governments, such as NSO Group. The move comes after a series of incidents where U.S. government personnel found that their devices had been targeted by spyware, including by democratic governments such as Greece. CyberScoop TechCrunch
Lockheed Hypersonic Missile Tests Suffer In-Flight Data Loss. In what constitutes an American setback in the hypersonic arms race, a U.S. hypersonic missile prototype was beset with system failures in transmitting in-flight performance data, according to two people familiar with the results, as reported by Bloomberg. The Lockheed Martin Corp. missile was launched on March 13. Eleven days later the US Air Force issued a statement on the test, but made no mention of the failure, saying that it “met several of the objectives and team engineers and testers are collecting data for further analysis.” Hypersonic weapons are those able to travel at hypersonic speed, roughly between 5 and 25 times the speed of sound, or about 1 to 5 miles per second.Bloomberg
FBI Releases Files on Ivana Trump. Ivana Trump, the late first wife of former president Donald Trump, was under a counterintelligence inquiry regarding her ties to her native Czechoslovakia, according to recently released FBI files. The documents, though heavily redacted, are comprised of 190 pages and cite a number of “highly sensitive and reliable sources,” who “advise” the FBI about her interactions with the former Communist country. The documents delve into her life before and throughout her marriage to Donald Trump, who is again eyeing a run for the U.S. presidency in 2024. Bloomberg
Mexico Migrant Facility Fire Kills 39. A fire at an immigration detention center in Mexico near the U.S. border killed at least 39 migrants on Tuesday. There were 68 men from Central and South America being held in the facility, which was in Ciudad Juarez near El Paso, Texas, at the time of the fire. Mexican authorities are investigating the incident. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said initial findings suggest the migrants started the fire in protest after learning they would be deported. Associated Press BBC Reuters
Western Europe
Hungary Approves Finland NATO Application. Finland is one step closer to joining NATO after the Hungarian parliament approved the country’s application to join the alliance on Monday. The measure passed by a vote of 182 to 6. Finland is now only awaiting approval from Turkey, which is expected soon. Sweden’s membership approval is still being stalled by Hungary, with Hungary’s main party saying it will back Stockholm’s bid at a later date. Sweden’s application is also on hold by Turkey as they are concerned Stockholm is not tough enough on groups that Ankara considers terror organizations. Euronews France24 New York Times Politico
Germany and Britain Deliver Promised Tanks to Ukraine. Both Germany and Britain have reportedly delivered the first set of promised battle tanks to Ukraine on Monday. Germany said it transferred 18 Leopard tanks, as well as Marder infantry fighting vehicles and other armored support vehicles. Oleksii Reznikov, Ukrainian defense minister, confirmed he had inspected the “new addition” to Ukraine’s forces, including the British Challenger tanks, some Marders and armored vehicles from the U.S. Britain, which promised to send 14 of their Challenger 2 tanks in January, also added that Ukrainian tank crews had completed their training of the Challenger 2 tanks and had returned to Ukraine at the same time as the tank transfers. Al Jazeera Defense Post New York Times
UK Raises Northern Ireland Terrorism Threat Level to ‘Severe.’ Britain’s MI5 domestic intelligence agency increased the domestic terrorism threat level in Northern Ireland to “severe.” The move, which deems a terrorist attack is highly likely, comes after recent attacks on police officers in the weeks ahead of the 25th anniversary of the peace deal. While police say some attacks may have been conducted by the new IRA – a smaller regrouping of the Irish Republican Army – it is still undetermined whether the attacks are linked to the anniversary. BBC Reuters The Guardian
Belgium Intelligence Scrutinizing Huawei Operations. Belgium’s State Security Service (VSSE) is increasingly examining the operations of technology giant Huawei as part of its effort to identify how China may be using non-state actors to advance its interests in Europe. Through methods, such as interviews with former lobbyists in Huawei’s office in Brussels, the VSSE is seeking to determine Huawei’s ties to the Chinese government and how much the company is compelled to hand over data to Beijing. The investigation follows a 2022 report by VSSE, which called out China for operating in “a gray zone between lobbying, interference, political influence, espionage, economic blackmail and disinformation campaigns.” The scrutiny also comes amid growing concerns in the EU about foreign interference, especially after the recent Qatar bribery scandal, in which EU politicians allegedly accepted cash and gifts in exchange for votes in key parliamentary resolutions. Politico
U.N. Security Council Votes Against Investigating Nord Stream Blasts. The U.N. Security Council rejected a Russian request to investigate the Nord Stream pipeline blasts. Russia, China and Brazil voted in favor of the investigation, but the other Security Council members abstained from the vote or said a U.N. probe is unnecessary given ongoing investigations into the blasts by Sweden, Denmark and Germany. U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood said the Russian proposal sought to “discredit” the national investigations in favor of a Russian narrative and “was not an attempt to seek the truth.” Wood also reiterated that the U.S. was not involved in the explosions. Al Jazeera Associated Press Reuters
Central and Eastern Europe
Zelenskiy Meets IAEA Chief Grossi on Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy met with IAEA chief Rafael Grossi on Monday ahead of his visit to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant later this week. Zelenskiy told Grossi that Russia’s control of the plant is “the worst thing that could happen in history,” and amounts to “radiation blackmail.” Zelenskiy also said that safety at the plant cannot be ensured unless Russian forces withdraw. Defense Post New York Times Washington Post
Ukrainian Cities Hit by Russian Missiles as Bombings Rock Russian-Occupied Ukraine. Two Russian missiles hit the center of Slovyansk city on Monday, killing at least two people and injuring over 30 more. Local authorities say that the missiles, which destroyed several high-rise buildings, appeared to have been from a Russian S300 air-defense system. In eastern Ukraine, Russian shelling is decimating the town of Avdiivka, which is near the embattled city of Bakhmut. Local officials say the continued attacks are turning Avdiivka into a “scene from post-apocalyptic movies.” As a result, authorities are asking municipal workers in the battered town to evacuate. Elsewhere, several bombings occurred in Russian-occupied cities in southern Ukraine. One blast hit a university in Melitopol, which has reportedly been turned into a barracks and administrative center for Russian forces in the city. Reports say four people were injured in the attack. Another blast hit the eastern port of Mariupol, which reportedly injured the city’s Russian-installed police chief. The incidents show that while Russia continues to bombard Ukrainian cities with missiles as frontline battles stall, Ukraine is also increasing its ability to strike within Russian-held territory. CNN Defense Post Newsweek New York Times Reuters The Guardian Wall Street Journal
Russia Test Fires Anti-Ship Missile in Sea of Japan. The Russian Defense Ministry announced on Tuesday that the country’s Navy had test fired a Moskit cruise supersonic anti-ship missile at a fake target in the Sea of Japan. According to the statement, the target, which was approximately 100 km away, was successfully hit by two of the missiles. The Moskit cruise missiles are Soviet-origin medium-range supersonic cruise missiles with the capability of destroying a ship within a 120 km range. This move comes a week after Russian bomber planes with nuclear carrying capabilities flew over the Sea of Japan for over seven hours. Reuters
Russia Defiant on Nuclear Deployment to Belarus. Russia says it is going forward with plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus, despite the threat of further Western sanctions. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said such plans “cannot be affected” by any retaliatory sanctions. The Belarusian foreign ministry echoed Peskov, saying that Belarus is willing to host the Russian nuclear weapons to strengthen its defenses against perceived security threats from the West. The comments from Moscow and Minsk came in response to EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell saying that the bloc is “ready to respond with further sanctions” if the weapons are deployed. CNN New York Times The Hill Washington Post
Asia
North Korea Reveals New Tactical Nuclear Warheads. North Korea revealed new nuclear warheads on Tuesday and said it will strengthen its nuclear arsenal with the increased production of “weapons-grade nuclear material.” North Korean state media published photos of the new Hwasan-31 warheads, which were showcased during a visit by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to the country’s Nuclear Weapons Institute. Experts say the new warheads are likely designed for at least eight different delivery platforms and are powerful yet small enough to mount on intercontinental ballistic missiles, which could strike the U.S. The publicized escalation of Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program comes amid increased tensions with the U.S. and South Korea, especially over their recent joint military drills. The latest report on the new warheads came as the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Nimitz arrived at the South Korean city of Busan for exercises, which also coincide with the 70th anniversary of the alliance between Washington and Seoul. Barron’s Reuters
Former Taiwanese President Ma Makes ‘Unofficial’ Visit to China. Taiwan’s former President, Ma Ying-jeou, arrived in China yesterday. Although the trip is unofficial, it marks the first visit to China by any sitting or former Taiwanese leader since China’s civil war ended in 1949. Ma’s trip is the latest in a series of engagements between Taiwan’s main political opposition party Kuomintang (KMT). He is also visiting China just days before current Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen is set to visit the United States. Beijing has said it “strongly opposes” Tsai’s planned US trip, as well as any contact between the U.S. and Taiwan’s authorities. New York Times South China Morning Post Washington Post
Study Reveals China Spent $240 Billion on Bail-out of Belt & Road Countries. A study by researchers at the World Bank, Harvard Kennedy School, AidData and the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, have revealed that China has spent $240 billion bailing out 22 developing countries from 2008 to 2021 as part of the Belt and Road Initiative. According to the report, that amount has grown especially in recent years, as many countries have failed to repay the loans. The study also found that debt distress loans soared from <5% in 2010 to 60% in 2022, with Argentina, Pakistan, and Egypt receiving the most. China is currently negotiating debt reconstructions with several countries, and has also called on the World Bank and IMF to provide debt relief. Reuters
Supply Chain Issues Delay Production of China’s Next-Gen Engines. China has completed development of its next generation of indigenous military aircraft engines. However, officials report that Beijing is unable to begin mass production of the new WS-19 and WS-20 engines until supply chain problems with advanced alloys are resolved. China is increasingly aiming to replace foreign produced components in its aircraft with Chinese-made components to address such production obstacles. Defense News
China Launches New AI Research Program. China is launching a new plan to accelerate the use of artificial intelligence in research and development. The Artificial Intelligence for Science plan, which is being launched by the Ministry of Science and Technology and the National Natural Science Foundation of China, will use AI in key science and technology areas, including drug development, gene research and biology breeding. Chinese scientists say the new plan will explore opportunities in integrating AI into research to promote innovation. The plan comes as China races to expand its AI industry amid the tech competition with the U.S. South China Morning Post
Middle East and Northern Africa
Israel Postpones Controversial Judicial Reforms Over Unprecedented Unrest. Late on Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the delay of judicial reforms until after the Passover holiday next month. The announcement follows the most widespread unrest Israel has experienced in decades. Although the primary labor union agreed to conclude their strike in the wake of the announcement, other groups have pledged to continue protests until the legislation is withdrawn. The proposed plan, should it be resubmitted, would give the government greater power to choose judges, effectively undermining checks and balances on the executive and legislature. The proposal has split the country, pitting the religiously conservative factions that are critical to Netanyahu’s coalition against secular Israelis. BBC Washington Post New York Times
Sub Saharan Africa
Pirates Attack and Board Danish-Owned Ship in Gulf of Guinea. The shipping company Monjasa relayed today that pirates in the Gulf of Guinea attacked and boarded a Danish-owned ship, and all communications are down. The Liberian-flagged oil and chemical tanker was attacked on Saturday, approximately 140 miles west of Republic of Congo’s Pointe-Noire. Although piracy cases in the Gulf of Guinea have fallen since 2021, as local authorities stepped up security efforts with the aid of foreign naval ships, the area remains dangerous. Montec, the ship’s Dubai-based operator, is working with all relevant maritime authorities in the region, including several navies. Reuters
Cyber & Tech
Australia’s Latest Data Breach: 8 Million Driver License, Passport Numbers Stolen from Latitude Group. Australian digital finance firm Latitude Group Holdings Ltd suffered a recent data breach in which hackers stole 7.9 million Australian and New Zealand drivers license numbers. The company added that 53,000 passport numbers and over 6 million customer records, mostly from between 2005 to 2013, were also exposed in the attack. The Latitude breach is now one of the largest data thefts in Australian history, surpassed only by last year’s attacks on telecommunications giant Optus and medical insurer Medibank Private Ltd. (Editor’s note: Read more about those attacks in Australia Under Cyber Siege at The Cipher Brief.) CNN Reuters The Cipher Brief
Europol Warns of Potential Misuse of ChatGPT. Europol is warning that OpenAI’s new AI-powered chatbot ChatGPT can be potentially abused for phishing attacks, disinformation campaigns and cybercrime operations. Europol highlighted these three areas of crime where ChatGPT could be used due to its remarkable ability to generate complex text as well as code. Europol’s warning comes amid an AI craze, which has caused widespread concern about the security, legal and ethical ramifications of the proliferation of this new technology. Reuters
Amazon, Microsoft, Google to Use Generative AI in Cloud Services. Despite concerns of misuse and abuse, technology companies are diving head-first into the escalating artificial technology race. The three largest cloud companies – Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabet Google – say they are moving to incorporate generative AI into their cloud services. The companies hope that this AI will improve efficiency and provide new computing abilities to boost their cloud-computing businesses. The proliferation of AI is also driving consumption of cloud services, as startups using AI need cloud providers to provide badly needed computing power. The developments surrounding the cloud and AI show how the entire technology sector is working to tap into the potential of AI. Wall Street Journal
Japan Looking at Ban on Social Networking Platforms, Like TikTok, Used for Disinformation. A group of lawmakers from Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) are reportedly preparing a proposal that calls on the government to ban social networking services that are used for disinformation campaigns. Lawmakers from the group said the proposal will not target any particular platform, but highlighted TikTok as an example of a service that could be banned. The LDP proposal comes after a number of Western countries banned TikTok from government devices. TikTok and other social networking services are already banned on government devices in Japan that handle confidential information. Reuters
Cl0p Ransomware Gang Claims Data Theft Against Virgin Group. The ransomware syndicate Cl0p added British conglomerate Virgin Group to its list of victims on its dark web blog. Cl0p said in its listing that it believes Virgin Group’s revenue is $18 billion, a figure potentially linked to a ransomware demand. Virgin Group maintains that only its rewards club system Virgin Red was hit by a data breach from Cl0p, which reportedly exploited a vulnerability in third-party service GoAnywhere, and that no customer or employee data was exposed in the theft. Cybernews
New Zealand Intelligence Becoming Increasingly Concerned over Foreign Interference. Andrew Hampton, director general of the New Zealand Government Communications Security Bureau, revealed that the country’s intelligence chiefs are becoming increasingly concerned about foreign interference. The concern comes ahead of the country’s elections in October. In his testimony before parliament, Hampton also revealed concerns over malicious cyber activity. Reuters
Fake IRS W-9 Forms Used to Distribute Emotet Malware. Security researchers at Malwarebytes and Palo Alto Networks Unit42 have uncovered a new phishing campaign that is targeting US taxpayers. In the campaign, hackers are using fake W-9 tax forms and posing as the IRS and companies that the victims work with. The email, which is titled ‘IRS Tax Forms W-9,’ is encrypted with Emotet malware stored in a malicious Word document titled ‘W-9 form.zip.’ BleepingComputer
FTC Cracking Down on Telehealth Apps Sharing User Data. The Federal Trade Commission announced that it was starting to crack-down on telehealth companies over user data sharing practices. This announcement comes after the FTC and BetterHelp, a subsidiary of Teladoc Health Inc. reached a settlement after the company was found to be sharing user data with advertising partners. According to privacy specialists, other health apps have similar practices in regards to sharing user data. Wall Street Journal
Estonia Defense Firm Takeover by UAE Group Tests EU Defense Technology Rules. The Estonian defense tech firm Milrem Robotics is testing the European Union’s rule on defense tech cooperation being strictly European after the UAE company Edge Group purchased a majority stake in the company. Edge Group announced the purchase in February, saying that it will help Milrem grow internationally and “bolster Edge’s technological prowess,” as well as give the Emirati company access to Northern Europe. According to a Milrem spokesperson, the company created “strict legal boundaries” that would prevent the sharing of sensitive EU and NATO intellectual property with Edge to comply with the EU’s defense tech rules. Defense News
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