TITLE: A North Korean government-backed APT actor targets organisations in South Korea and the U.S

CONTENT: A North Korean government-backed threat actor has been linked to attacks targeting government and military personnel, think tanks, policy makers, academics, and researchers in South Korea and the U.S.

Google's Threat Analysis Group (TAG) is tracking the cluster under the name ARCHIPELAGO, which it said is a subset of another threat group tracked by Mandiant under the name APT43.

The tech giant said it began monitoring the hacking crew in 2012, adding it has "observed the group target individuals with expertise in North Korea policy issues such as sanctions, human rights, and non-proliferation issues."

EXCERPT: A North Korean government-backed APT actor targeting government and military personnel in South Korea and the U.S

LINK:

TOPIC: Cyberconflict and warfare

TREND: N/A

PROCESS: N/A

DATE: 5 April, 2023

COUNTRY: North Korea, South Korea, the U.S.

TITLE: Britain uses cyber capabilities to counter enemies online

CONTENT: The UK National Cyber Force (NCF) – a partnership between the country’s armed forces and Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) – for the first time disclosed details about its approach to “responsible cyber operations to counter state threats, support military operations, and disrupt terrorists and serious criminals”.

The document outlines that central to NCF’s approach is the ‘doctrine of cognitive effect’ – using techniques that have the potential to sow distrust, decrease morale, and weaken adversary ability to plan and conduct their activities effectively with the goal of changing their behaviour. This can include preventing terrorist groups from publishing pieces of extremist media online or making it harder for states to use the internet to spread disinformation. NCF’s operations are covert, and the intent is sometimes that adversaries do not realise that the effects they are experiencing are the result of a cyber operation.

"In an increasingly volatile and interconnected world, to be a truly responsible cyber power, nations must be able to contest and compete with adversaries in cyberspace," GCHQ director Jeremy Fleming said. The statement was published alongside a 28-page paper designed "to illustrate aspects of how the UK is being a responsible cyber power". It did not elaborate on the specifics of those operations.

EXCERPT: British government hackers have launched operations against militants, state-backed disinformation campaigns and attempts to interfere in elections, the GCHQ said.

LINK:

TOPIC: Cyberconflict and warfare

TREND: N/A

PROCESS: N/A

DATE: 4 April, 2023

COUNTRY: UK

TITLE: Chinese YMTC to resume chip production amid US restrictions

CONTENT: Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. (YMTC), a Chinese semiconductor manufacturer, is reportedly planning to begin production at a new chip plant in the second half of 2024. The plant is expected to help boost China's efforts towards self-sufficiency in the production of semiconductors, which have become increasingly important in modern technology.

YMTC, which is owned by the state-backed Tsinghua Unigroup, is reportedly relying on more domestic suppliers for the new plant, as China looks to reduce its reliance on foreign technology amid increasing tensions with the US. By opening a new fab the company will be able to improve its competitiveness against its main rivals, Korean Samsung and American Micron.

The country has been investing heavily in its semiconductor industry in recent years, with the aim of becoming a major player in the global market. YMTC has received $7bn in funding since the implementation of new export controls, as Beijing views the company as important for developing its domestic chips industry. Funding came from government-led investment vehicles, such as the National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund (also known as the "Big Fund").

EXCERPT: Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. (YMTC), a Chinese semiconductor manufacturer, is reportedly planning to begin production at a new chip plant in the second half of 2024. The plant is expected to help boost China's efforts towards self-sufficiency in the production of semiconductors

LINK: https://www.ft.com/content/9ad41255-dfa9-419f-9e30-0ab537ab54fd?utm_source=piano&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=22038&pnespid=u7pmBCVKLqNGhaDdoDKwSpTctRegXsd8MvmznPB6tBlmiH9LD7x8hWMnPpLoWULC1uEUk6foiQ

TECHNOLOGY: Semiconductors

DATE: March, 2023

COUNTRY: China, USA

TITLE: Central and East European governments urge tech firms to fight disinformation

CONTENT: Prime ministers of Central and East European countries have signed an open letter urging tech companies to take concrete steps to promote accuracy over engagement on their platforms. The letter is a call to action against foreign information manipulation and interference, given that social media have been used as platforms to spread disinformation campaigns in these countries. The letter was signed by the prime ministers of Ukraine, Moldova, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and released by Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala's office.

EXCERPT: Prime ministers of Central and East European countries have signed an open letter urging tech companies to take concrete steps to promote accuracy over engagement on their platforms.

LINK: https://www.reuters.com/technology/east-europe-governments-urge-tech-firms-fight-disinformation-2023-03-29/

TREND: Fake news

DATE: 03/04/2023

COUNTRY: TITLE: (for updates, add a title of your own, different from the original)

CONTENT: Content of your update/resource/event

EXCERPT: Excerpt (a brief, tweet-like summary of your update); excerpts should be no longer than 300 characters

LINK: Link to the original article

TOPIC: Related topic(s)

TREND: Related trend(s)

PROCESS: Related process(es)

DATE:

COUNTRY:

TITLE: Russia publishes new foreign policy concept

CONTENT: A new version of Russia’s foreign policy concept, approved by President Vladimir Putin, was published on Friday. This document defines the priority areas, goals and objectives of the country's international activities, and will serve as a road map for the Foreign Ministry and other ministries and agencies.

The 42-page document consists of six sections and a total of 76 paragraphs. The document also focuses on international information security aspects and, in particular, mentions the right to take asymmetric and symmetric measures in case of risks to the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity, including with the use of modern ICTs (para 26).

The previous version of the concept was adopted in November 2016. The work to update it has lasted for the past few years. In January 2022, the edited document was submitted for discussion with the permanent members of the Security Council. However, as a result of the meeting, the president sent it back for revision. Last December, the head of state considered the draft of the updated concept again at a meeting with the Security Council.

EXCERPT: Russia publishes a new foreign policy concept to outline its national interests in the foreign policy domain,strategic goals, key tasks as well as priority guidelines of its foreign policy.

LINK:

TOPIC: Cyberconflict and warfare

TREND: N/A

PROCESS: N/A

DATE: 31 March, 2023

COUNTRY: Russia

TITLE: (for updates, add a title of your own, different from the original)

CONTENT: AI image generator Midjourney has interrupted free trials of its service after some of its generations went viral online, misleading people to mistake AI generated images for real photographs. The problem was that many of those images generated using Midjourney were politically sensitive, including fabricated pictures of Trump being arrested or the pope wearing a designer jacket.

EXCERPT: AI image generator Midjourney has interrupted free trials of its service after some of its generations went viral online, misleading people to mistake AI generated images for real photographs.

LINK: https://www.theverge.com/2023/3/30/23662940/deepfake-viral-ai-misinformation-midjourney-stops-free-trials

TOPIC: Fake News

DATE: 30/03/2023

TITLE: Google Search is adding new features to help users verify information

CONTENT: Google announced that they will introduce new features to help users verify information on their search engine. The new functionalities include a "Perspectives" button and "About this author" as well as expanding on the currently existing "About this result". The idea behind the "Perspectives" feature is to give users a variety of noteworthy voices on a news topic to broaden their understanding of the subject matter. The “About this author” feature, allows users to learn more about the authors behind the content they are reading.

EXCERPT: Google announced that they will introduce new features to help users verify information on their search engine

LINK: https://techcrunch.com/2023/03/28/google-search-is-adding-new-perspectives-and-about-this-author-features-to-help-users-verify-info/

TOPIC: Content Policy

DATE: 30/03/2023

COUNTRY: United States

In a bid to strengthen their trade partnership, Ukraine and the United Kingdom have signed a digital trade agreement. Notably, Ukraine becomes only the second country after Singapore to enter such an agreement with the UK.

The digital trade deal supplements the Political, Free Trade, and Strategic Partnership Agreement signed by the two nations and will become effective after all interstate procedures are completed.

As per reports by Ukrainian media, the latest agreement aims to prevent any possible trade barriers from arising in the future while guaranteeing Ukrainian IT companies continued and unrestricted access to markets, which is vital to their growth and expansion.

TITLE: A new espionage campaign by a hacking group with suspected ties to Russia spotted targeting Ukraine, Europe, India

CONTENT: The group, known as Winter Vivern, is “highly creative” and operates with limited resources, carefully selecting targets for attacks, according to an analysis by cybersecurity company SentinelOne. The hackers’ activities appear to support the interests of the Russian and Belarusian governments, especially in relation to the ongoing war in Ukraine, the report says.

Winter Vivern recently targeted various government agencies and private businesses, including telecom companies supporting Ukraine, SentinelOne said. The list includes Polish government agencies, the foreign ministries of Ukraine and Italy, and individuals in the Indian government.

It is unclear how successful the group's attacks were and what damage they caused. SentinelOne did not respond Thursday morning to The Record's request for comment.

The research report said that organizations directly or indirectly involved in the war should be vigilant against the group’s cyberattacks.

EXCERPT: Russia-aligned ‘Winter Vivern’ APT group spotted targeting Ukraine, Europe, India

LINK:

TOPIC: Cyberconflict and warfare

TREND: N/A

PROCESS: N/A

DATE: 16 March, 2023

COUNTRY: Global

The 18th G20 Heads of State and Government Summit is scheduled on 9th-10th September 2023 in New Delhi, India.

The Summit will culminate all the G20 processes and meetings held throughout the year among ministers, senior officials, and civil societies. A G20 Leaders’ Declaration will be adopted after the New Delhi Summit, stating Leaders’ commitment towards the priorities discussed and agreed upon during the respective ministerial and working group meetings.

For more information, please visit the dedicated web page.

The Freedom not Fear 2023 conference is scheduled for 1-4 September 2023 in Brussels, Belgium.

Freedom not Fear (fnf) is an annual self-organised privacy and digital rights conference. People from all across Europe meet and work towards more freedom in the digitalised world, and plan actions against increasing surveillance and other attacks on civil rights. Freedom not Fear is being supported by a broad alliance, including political parties, professional associations, trade unions, freedom activists, and more than 150 organisations that share a common goal.

In addition, the event will offer an opportunity to visit the European Parliament and engage in discussions with policymakers at the EU level.

Please visit the dedicated page for more information about the event.

The 18th annual International Workshop on Security (IWSEC 2023) will be held hybrid at the Institute of Information Security, Yokohama, Japan and Online on 29-31 August 2023.

IWSEC 2023 is organized by ISEC in ESS of IEICE (Technical Committee on Information Security in Engineering Sciences Society of the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers).

Original papers on the research and development of various security topics, case studies, and implementation experiences are solicited for submission to IWSEC 2023.

Please visit the dedicated page for more information about the event.

The Aspen forum organised by Technology Policy Institute is scheduled on 20-22 August 2023 in Aspen, the USA. TPI Aspen Forum provides a platform for discussing pressing matters, complex policy and economic challenges, and other topics that concern individuals invested in technology policy. Every August, eminent figures from government, industry, and academia convene to deliberate on the lessons learned in the past year and the areas that require attention in the upcoming year. This event caters to individuals passionate about technology policy and troubled by the issues that keep them awake at night.

Please visit the dedicated page for more information about the forum.

The 11th International Conference on Computer and Communications Management (ICCCM) is scheduled for 4-6 August 2023 in Nagoya, Japan. This year, ICCCM is hosted by the Nagoya Institute of Technology, Japan.

ICCCM is a forum for engineers and researchers in Computer and Communications Management, providing an opportunity for all to network, share ideas and present their research to a worldwide community. Discussion on the latest innovations, trends, practical concerns and challenges faced in these fields is also encouraged. Featured with invited speeches, oral presentations, poster presentations and social networking event

Please visit the dedicated page for more information about the agenda and speakers.

The 4th annual East African Cybersecurity Congress is scheduled to take place from 24 July to 25 July 2023 in Kampala, Uganda.

East African Cybersecurity Congress provides a forum for qualified decision-makers, CIOs, CISOs, and CTOs from the government, banking, financial services, healthcare, oil and gas, and other industries to meet and discuss the latest cybersecurity challenges and solutions, as well as learn how to grow their businesses and protect them from potential cyberattacks.

Please visit the dedicated page for more information about the agenda and speakers.

The annual Internet Engineering Task Force meeting, IETF 116, will be held from 22 until 28 July 2023 in San Francisco, the USA and online.

The IETF is an Internet standards body that develops open standards through open processes. As a large open international community of network designers, operators, vendors, and researchers, the IETF is concerned with the evolution of the Internet architecture and the smooth operation of the global Internet. The technical work of the IETF is done in working groups, organised by topic into several areas. The IETF holds meetings three times a year.

The IETF Hackathon and IETF Codesprint will occur on 22 – 23 July 2023. New Participants’ training and technical tutorials take place on 26 March.

The meeting’s agenda has yet to be released and will be available soon. For more details, please visit the dedicated page.

The 17th European Summer School on Internet Governance (EuroSSIG) will take place on 16 – 22 July 2023 in Meissen, Germany.

EuroSSIG aims to help interested individuals (students, academics, representatives of the business sector, and public entities) better understand the global Internet governance ecosystem and get comprehensive and structured knowledge on the various aspects of Internet governance. The academic course covers the political, legal, economic, socio-cultural, technological, and other dimensions of Internet governance.

The curriculum includes academic lectures, case presentations, and breakout sessions for interactive discussions, as well as a multistakeholder practicum on the following topics: History of Internet governance Internet governance ecosystem Multistakeholder model - how it works Technical regulation and management of the Internet Cyber security and human rights The business dimension of Internet governance Future challenges, perspectives and diplomacy

Application for a fellowship (full or partly) is possible for fellows from countries of emerging economies until 31st March 2023. Applications from self-paying fellows will be accepted until 31st May 2023.

For more information, please visit the dedicated web page.

The 9th International Conference on Connected Smart Cities will be held in Porto, Portugal, from July 16-18, 2023.

The conference will bring together scholars from various disciplines to discuss issues related to the ecosystem of future smart cities, including M2M infrastructure, cloud platforms, big data analytics, mobile applications, citizen needs, user engagement, and new business and economic models. The conference will also focus on smart city applications and services' social, behavioural, technical, economic, and environmental impacts. All types of research, including interdisciplinary studies, are encouraged.

For more information, please visit the dedicated web page.

The 11th Global Summit on Artificial Intelligence and Neural Networks is scheduled to take place on August 17-18, 2023, in Dublin, Ireland. The conference, under the central theme 'The Next Evolution in Digital Transformation', will explore AI as a cross-cutting topic in other areas, such as AI and Ethics, AI for cybersecurity, and deep learning.

The conference will include keynote sessions, oral and poster presentations, workshops, and symposiums. The target audience includes researchers, scientists, engineers, students, innovators, architects, software developers, data labelling professionals, robotic technologists, computer vision engineers, and more. The conference aims to bring together experts in the field of AI and Neural Networks to exchange knowledge and discuss technological advances, scientific innovations, and regulatory programs.

For more information, please visit the dedicated web page.

TITLE: European Parliament event: Tackling online misogyny against politically active women

CONTENT: Upcoming event in the European Parliament on technology-facilitated violence against female politicians. It will be live-streamed and is open to the public with previous registration.

EXCERPT: Upcoming event in the European Parliament on technology-facilitated violence against female politicians

LINK:https://europeanparliament.webex.com/ec3300/eventcenter/mobile/eventInfoMobile.do?siteurl=europeanparliament&confID=251811284177036414&meetingKey=27409941848&backUrl=%2Fmw3300%2Fwireless%2Fmeetinglist.do%3Fsiteurl%3Deuropeanparliament&t=a&MTID=e9beb898fc496bbba232ecf956e12daf0&rnd=0.3879212664317607&isIPADAsMobile=null&fromModernViewMobile=null

TOPIC: Content Policy

DATE: 15/03/2023

The 8th IEEE European Symposium on Security and Privacy will be held on July 3-7, 2023, in Delft, Netherlands and is organised by the TU Delft Cybersecurity group.

The IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy, established in 1980, has been recognised as the leading platform for sharing advancements in computer security and electronic privacy, as well as for connecting experts and professionals in the industry. Building on top of it, IEEE launched the European Symposium on Security and Privacy (EuroS&P), an annual event held in various European cities.

For more information, please visit the dedicated web page.

Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Consumer Protection Law and Policy, the seventh session is scheduled to take place on 03 - 04 July 2023 in Geneva, Switzerland.

This intergovernmental group was established under the United Nations Guidelines for Consumer Protection to monitor the application and implementation of the guidelines, provide a forum for consultations, produce research and studies, provide technical assistance, undertake voluntary peer reviews, and periodically update the guidelines.

Deliberations at the seventh session of the Intergovernmental Group of Experts will focus on the following topics: Report on the implementation of the United Nations guidelines for consumer protection by member States and relevant stakeholders. Latest developments in legal and institutional frameworks: UNCTAD world consumer protection map. Reports of the working groups on: Consumer product Consumer protection in electronic Consumer protection Building trust in digital markets through enhanced consumer protection on online Consumer protection and the transition to clean Voluntary peer review of consumer protection law and policy: Review of capacity-building in and technical assistance on consumer protection law and For more information, visit the dedicated web page.

The annual International Conference on Cloud Computing (CLOUD 2023), organised by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), will be held 2-7 June 2023 in Chicago, USA.

The event will bring together researchers and industry practitioners to exchange information and experiences on the latest advances in the field of cloud computing, identify emerging research topics, and define the future of cloud computing.

The event is a part of SERVICES 2023 and is solely sponsored by the IEEE Computer Society under the auspice of the Technical Community on Services Computing (TCSVC). Centred around services computing, SERVICES 2023 covers various systems and networking research pertaining to cloud, edge and Internet-of-Things (IoT), as well as technologies for intelligent computing, learning, Big Data and blockchain applications, addressing critical issues such as knowledge network, high performance, security, privacy, dependability, trustworthiness, and cost-effectiveness.

For more information, please visit the dedicated web page.

The 35th annual Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST) conference will be held on 4-9 June 2023 in Montreal, Canada.

FIRST is an international confederation of trusted computer incident response teams who cooperatively handle computer security incidents and promote incident prevention programmes. Annual FIRST conferences promote worldwide coordination and cooperation among Computer Security Incident Response Teams (CSIRTs). The 2023 conference will provide a forum for sharing goals, ideas and information on improving global computer security.

For more information, please refer to the official web page.

António Campinos, the President of the European Patent Office, and Thierry Breton, the European Commissioner for Internal Market, have signed a working arrangement in accordance with EU Regulation 1257/2012, Article 14, on European patents with unitary effect.

The arrangement is designed to foster cooperation and exchange of views between the two institutions, with the aim of maximizing the benefits of the Unitary Patent system and promoting its widespread use.

The arrangement includes a provision for the EPO and European Commission to share relevant data and information, including insights from surveys and case studies concerning the promotion and use of the Unitary Patent, and to conduct regular meetings to facilitate and support their cooperation activities.

IEEE WORLD CONGRESS ON SERVICES (SERVICES 2023) is scheduled to take place from 2 to 8 June in Chicago, the USA and online.

SERVICES 2023 is sponsored by the IEEE Computer Society, focused on services computing and applications. It covers various systems and networking research related to cloud, edge, IoT, intelligent computing, learning, Big Data, and blockchain applications, with an emphasis on critical issues such as security, privacy, trustworthiness, and cost-effectiveness. The event will include papers on the impact of COVID-19 on services and infrastructure, as well as symposia and workshops discussing emerging topics. Additionally, there will be industry presentations and panels.

For more information, refer to the dedicated web page.

The 6th edition of The EU-Africa Business Summit is scheduled to take place on 22 June 2023 in Brussels, Belgium and online.

This year's theme, 'Africa-Europe: Re-energising a Common Future', mindful of the critical role of sustainability and the green transition, will create the opportunity to follow up on the discussions and pursue the mission of promoting and facilitating the dialogue between the EU and African stakeholders.

European Business Summits organise the event to promote the voices of enterprises in Europe and Africa. In recent years, the Summit has expanded into a leading annual platform where prominent figures from the business world meet high-level policymakers to discuss the current global trends and challenges affecting the EU and Africa.

For more information, please visit the dedicated web page.

TITLE: Russian court fines Wikipedia over spreading misinformation

CONTENT: After Russia invaded Ukraine last year, they introduced new laws restricting what people can report about the conflict. Since then, they have fined or blocked websites that publish information conflicting with the Kremlin's official narrative. The Wikimedia Foundation was fined 2 million roubles ($27,000) by a Russian court after the authorities accused it of failing to delete alleged misinformation about the Russian military from Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation was already fined on the same grounds, after it failed to delete two articles related to the war. The organisation may appeal the ruling.

EXCERPT: The Wikimedia Foundation was fined 2 million roubles ($27,000) by a Russian court after the authorities accused it of failing to delete alleged misinformation about the Russian military from Wikipedia.

LINK: https://www.reuters.com/technology/russian-court-fines-wikipedia-over-military-misinformation-2023-02-28/

TOPIC: Fake news

DATE: 14/03/2023

COUNTRY:Russia

Luxembourg's annual ICT Spring event is scheduled to take place on June 28th and 29th, 2023.

The primary aim of ICT Spring is to foster competition and collaboration among European business leaders, startup founders, innovation managers, venture capitalists, and researchers. The event serves as a platform for showcasing startups, emerging companies with disruptive ideas, global technology leaders, and international pavilions.

This year's main theme is 'Time for Change', while other topics will include: Growing sustainability to catalyse transformation Redefining money in a digital world Hunting down emerging & future cyber threats Pulling the tech levers to sustain digital transformation Reaching new heights by empowering customers Turning Web3 hype into a new reality Embracing AI for a future-proof business Shaping the evolution of healthcare systems through new technologies For more information, please visit the dedicated web page.

Lithuania's Radio and Television Commission has ordered internet providers to block access to IP addresses used to watch Russian TV channels, which have been targeted by European Union (EU) sanctions. The decision was made on 8 March after discussions with internet provider representatives, and following confirmation of their technical ability to comply. Lithuania banned the rebroadcasting and online dissemination of TV and radio channels owned or financed by Russia and Belarus following amendments to the law on public information in 2022.

South Korea establishes a fund to expand its metaverse sector

South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT has announced a new fund, called the Metaverse Fund, to drive metaverse initiatives in the country. The South Korean government has invested 24 billion Korean won ($18.1 million) to create a fund of more than 40 billion Korean won ($30.2 million) towards metaverse development. The fund will support mergers and acquisitions of various firms in the metaverse ecosystem and help domestic metaverse-related companies compete with global players. South Korea sees the metaverse as a new economic growth engine and is actively supporting it. However, the country is also keeping checks and balances on cross-border threats in the physical world, such as cryptocurrency thefts and cyberattacks against specific North Korean groups and individuals.

TITLE: TikTok announced a policy update to tackle community safety.

CONTENT: TikTok announced an update on how they will tackle community safety. Leading social media companies have been accused of enabling criminal networks to misuse online platforms to promote human smuggling or trafficking, and to take advantage of vulnerable people trying to escape conflict and poverty. In this context, Tiktok has put forward proactive steps intended to improve community safety. This means they will adopt a zero-tolerance policy with content that violates human rights. The company said they are working closely with law enforcement agencies to overcome the difficulties that may arise when it comes to putting this policy in practice.

EXCERPT: Tiktok has put forward proactive steps intended to improve community safety. This means they will adopt a zero-tolerance policy with content that violates human rights.

LINK: https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-gb/an-update-on-our-work-to-tackle-human-exploitation

TOPIC: Content policy

DATE: 10/03/2023

TITLE: Multiple fingerprint scanning on touchscreen display granted to Jenetric

CONTENT: The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office awarded the patent for Jenetric’s new technology which involves scanning biometrics from multiple fingers on touchscreen displays such as smartphones. Jenetric is exploring use of Thin Film Transistor optical technology for in display fingerprint sensors on mobile phones along with use of traditional scanners for homeland security market. The technology uses simultaneous recognition of multiple fingers by a touchscreen fingerprint sensor.

EXCERPT: The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office grants multiple fingerprint scanning on touchscreen display patent to Jenetric

LINK:

TOPIC: Finger print scanenr

TREND: Fingerprint

DATE: 3 March 2023

COUNTRY: USA

TITLE: Rail providers in Switzerland push back on false face recognition information.

CONTENT: The rail providers SBB GmbH and Swiss Rail have pushed back claims by media that the new customer frequency measurement systems installed at the rail stations will use face recognition to capture personal data which which will put privacy at risk. Both SBB and Swiss Rail have clarified that the computer vision technology will be used to record the flow of commuters more accurately. The head of Estate management for SBB said that the they want to know how subgroups of their customers behave on the rail station especially those with skis or bicycles. However, critic have still insisted that the language used in the original tender indicated that the person should clearly be recognized including their traits such as gender and age-implying collection of biometric data via facial scans.

EXCERPT: Rail service providers push back against media claims on facial recognition data in Switzerland

LINK: https://www.biometricupdate.com/202303/rail-providers-push-back-on-false-info-about-facial-recognition

TOPIC: Facial recognition

TREND: Digital identity

DATE: 3 March 2023

COUNTRY: Switzerland

TITLE: IEEE calls for biometric papers for the International Joint Conference on Biometrics and US universities are seeking for biometric tools

CONTENT: The IEEE is seeking for papers for the International Joint Conference on Biometrics that will take place in Slovenia between 25 and 28th September 2023. The calls for papers falls in a range of topics including; face and action recognition; multi-spectral biometrics; demographic bias and large-scale ID management and biometric law enforcement and anti-spoofing. Meanwhile, two universities in New York are holding a competition for non contact fingerprint algorism and systems and the registrations close on March 2023 and all participants have till March 24th 2023 to submit their entries.

EXCERPT: IEEE calls for biometric papers as US universities call for biometric tools

LINK:

TOPIC: Digital identity, Finger print

TREND: Digital identity

DATE: 3 March 2023

COUNTRY: USA

TITLE: Idemia finalizes more US states for digital finger printing.

CONTENT: Idemia has signed contracts with seven states in US to support finger print capture. The states include; Washington, West Virginia, South Carolina, Louisiana and Texas. In Washington state, Idemia is supporting finger print capture to support criminal background checks for services such as insurance, social, health, child and family services. In West Virginia, Texas and South Carolina, checks for licensing, employment and volunteers activities using Idemia's Identogo technology in line with the regulations in these states.

EXCERPT: Idemia signs more finger print contracts with more US states.

LINK:

TOPIC: Digital identity, Finger print

TREND: Digital identity

DATE: 3 March 2023

COUNTRY: USA

TITLE: Signatories of the 2022 Code of Practice on Disinformation launch Transparency Centre.

CONTENT: The signatories of the 2022 Code of Practice on Disinformation have launched the new Transparency Centre. This novel Centre aims at ensuring accountability of signatories' efforts to fight disinformation and the implementation of commitments taken under the Code. With the launch the Transparency published for the first time the baseline reports on how the signatories are turning the commitments from the Code into practice. All signatories have submitted their reports on time, using an agreed harmonised reporting template aiming to address all commitments and measures they signed onto. This is however not fully the case for Twitter, whose report is short of data, with no information on commitments to empower the fact-checking community. The next set of reports is due in July, providing further insight on the Code's implementation and more stable data covering 6 months.

EXCERPT: Excerpt (a brief, tweet-like summary of your update); excerpts should be no longer than 300 characters

LINK: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/news/code-practice-disinformation-new-transparency-centre-provides-insights-and-data-online

TOPIC: Fake news

DATE: 02/03/2023

COUNTRY: European Union

TITLE: OpenAi raised controversies for outsourcing data labelling to underpaid Kenyan labourers.

CONTENT: Last December, OpenAI launched ChatGPT, a powerful artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot that can generate text on almost any topic. The new AI received praise all over the world. However, several institutions and scholars also raised concerns about the widespread use of the AI chatbot disrupting academia and an investigation by TIME revealed that in order to make ChatGPT less toxic, OpenAI used outsourced Kenyan labourers earning less than $2 per hour, through a company called Sama. Outsourced Kenyan workers were also subject to graphic sexual content to clean the platform of violence and hate speech. The labourers were sent snippets of text for labelling content depicting graphic content like murder, suicide, torture, and other toxic content that left employees mentally scarred by the work. An OpenAi spokesperson said in a statement that the company did not issue any productivity targets. A Sama spokesperson stated that they were responsible for managing the payment and mental health provisions for employees, explaining that workers were entitled to attend sessions with “wellness” counselors.

EXCERPT: Last December, OpenAI launched ChatGPT, a powerful artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot that can generate text on almost any topic. An investigation by TIME revealed that in order to make ChatGPT less toxic, OpenAI used outsourced Kenyan labourers earning less than $2 per hour.

LINK: https://time.com/6247678/openai-chatgpt-kenya-workers/

TOPIC: Content policy

DATE: 03/03/2023

COUNTRY: Kenya

TITLE: US Supreme Court ruling could make social media platforms liable for online content

CONTENT: On Tuesday the US Supreme Court began hearing arguments in a case called Gonzalez v. Google. This case could have global implications, since it questions whether tech companies can be held legally responsible for content promoted by their algorithms. If the Supreme Court weakens the law that protects companies from liability for content produced by others, platforms may need to revise or eliminate the recommendation algorithms that govern their feeds. And if the Court scraps the law entirely, tech companies could face lawsuits based on user content.

EXCERPT: On Tuesday the US Supreme Court began hearing arguments in a case that questions whether tech companies can be held legally responsible for content promoted by their algorithms.

LINK: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-googles-supreme-court-case-could-rattle-the-internet/

TOPIC: Content policy

DATE: 23/02/2023

COUNTRY: United States

TITLE: Report finds RT videos are still spreading Ukraine disinformation on YouTube

CONTENT: A report published on Wednesday by a US-based disinformation watchdog called Newsguard found 250 uploads of 50 RT-created videos about the war in Ukraine across more than 100 YouTube channels. This issue is problematic because YouTube had banned all Russian state-funded media from its platform globally in March 2022. However, despite the ban, Russia-controlled publications have found their way on to YouTube. Researchers expressed their concern regarding the scale of disinformation being produced by RT despite global efforts to combat its spread.

EXCERPT: Report finds RT videos are still spreading Ukraine disinformation on YouTube. The study found 250 uploads of 50 RT-created videos about the war in Ukraine across more than 100 YouTube channels.

LINK: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/feb/22/rt-ban-youtube-videos-google-disinformation

TREND: Fake news

DATE: 22/02/2023

COUNTRY: Russia

TITLE: Ireland establishes working group to combat disinformation

CONTENT: The Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media in Ireland, Catherine Martin TD, announced the establishment of a working group to develop a National Counter Disinformation Strategy. The creation of this multi-stakeholder working group was among the recommendations in The Future of Media Commission report. Ms. Martina Chapman, National Coordinator of Media Literacy Ireland and an independent media literacy consultant, has been nominated to independently chair the Group

EXCERPT: Ireland announced the establishment of a working group to develop a National Counter Disinformation Strategy.

LINK: https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/6ece9-unpublished-multi-stakeholder-working-group-established-to-develop-a-national-counter-disinformation-strategy/

TREND: Fake news

DATE: 21/02/2023

COUNTRY: Ireland

TITLE: Rise in ransomware attacks against US manufacturing plans

CONTENT: A recent report by Dragos, one of the leading companies in critical infrastructure protection, highlights the rise in ransomware attacks against critical infrastructure and in particular against the manufacturing systems. The report shows that the manufacturing sector had at least 437 ransomware attacks in 2022, accounting for more than 70% of these disruptive attacks that industrial organizations experienced the previous year with two emerging groups, Chernovite and Bentonite, that focus on attacking the industrial sector.

EXCERPT: A recent report by Dragos, one of the leading companies in critical infrastructure protection, highlights the rise in ransomware attacks against critical infrastructure and in particular against manufacturing systems.

LINK: https://cyberscoop.com/ransomware-manufacturing-dragos/

TOPIC: Protection of Critical Infrastructure

TREND: Ransomware attacks

PROCESS: -

DATE: 14 February 2023

COUNTRY: United States

The 9th edition of ISUW 2023 is scheduled to take place from 28 Feb – 04 March 2023 in New Delhi, India, as an International Conference and Exhibition on Smart Energy and Smart Mobility.

ISUW 2023 will bring together India’s leading electricity, gas and water utilities, policymakers, regulators, investors and smart energy experts and researchers to discuss trends, share best practices and showcase next-generation technologies and products in smart energy and smart cities domains.

ISUW 2023 will include plenaries, interactive workshops, keynotes, technical sessions, tutorials, and paper presentations.

For more information about the event, please visit the official web page.

The 8th edition of 'Data Innovation Summit 2023' will take place in Stockholm, Sweden, and Online from 11 to 12 May, 2023.

The Data Innovation Summit is an annual Data and AI event that gathers participants from Nordics and beyond and brings together innovative minds, enterprise practitioners, technology providers, start-up innovators and academics working with Data Science, Big Data, ML, AI, Data Management, Data Engineering, IoT and Analytics in one place to discuss ways to accelerate AI-driven Transformation throughout companies, industries and public organisations.

The two-day event will include 250+ stages, more than 300 speakers, nine stages, six workshops rooms and more.

Please visit the dedicated web page for more information about the event, program and registration.

The annual European Identity and Cloud Conference will be hosted in a hybrid format in Berlin from 9 until 12 May 2023. The kuppingercole analysts organise the event.

The conference gathers digital identity and cybercommunity to set the course for the future of digitisation. It includes more than 250 speakers and 200-plus sessions that provide actionable insights and helps build strategic partnerships for business.

Key topics that are going to be addressed during the event include the following: Securing Identities for the Digital Supply Chain

Decentralised Identity: The Way Forward

Mastering the Customer Experience Challenge

Identity & The Future of Zero Trust

Identity Governance for a Modern World

Trends in (Mobile) Authentication

Identity for Web3 & Metaverse

Artificial Intelligence in Cybersecurity & Identity Management Cloud as a Security Enabler

Navigating the IoT World

For more information about the event, please visit the dedicated web page.

TITLE: Twitter fails to comply with EU regulations to combat disinformation.

CONTENT: Twitter failed to complete its first European Union report on how it deals with disinformation. Tech companies were asked to hand in a report this month on how they implemented the EU's Code of Practice on Disinformation, agreed in June 2022. Social media platforms were asked to provide detailed data on how they tackle falsehoods and foreign interference on their platforms. Twitter was the only company that provided an incomplete report, with no information on what its plan to cooperate with fact-checkers is, according to the European Commission. Platforms with more than 45 million users in the EU will start facing investigations as soon as September 2023, and Twitter is expected to fall under this category. Companies that fail to comply with their obligations under the Digital Services Act (DSA) might face fines of up to 6 percent of their global revenues.

EXCERPT: Twitter failed to complete its first European Union report on how it deals with disinformation. It was the only tech company that provided an incomplete report.

LINK: https://www.politico.eu/article/elon-musk-twitter-fails-eu-first-disinformation-test-digital-services-act/

TOPIC: Content policy

TREND: Fake news

PROCESS: Related process(es)

DATE:

COUNTRY:

TITLE: Far-right Extremism in the Balkans - Groups, Trends and Political Support

CONTENT: “Far-right extremism in the Balkans - groups, trends and political support” regional conference took place in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 16-17 November 2022, organised by the BIRN Hub and the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIRN BiH). Far-right and extremist movements are on the rise in the Balkans and represent a major threat to this politically divided region. Research done by the BIRN BiH and BIRN Hub journalists show far-right and extremist groups are well connected and active online. For e.g. during Russia’s attack on Ukraine, content from pro-Russian groups on Telegram messenger spreading misinformation and photos which incite violence were copied into Telegram groups in Serbia. An interactive map containing more than 70 far-right and extremist groups and organisations in six countries in the Western Balkans will be launched in the first part of 2023.

EXCERPT: “Far-right extremism in the Balkans - groups, trends and political support” regional conference took place in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, in November 2022. Far-right and extremist movements are on the rise in the Balkans and represent a major threat to this politically divided region. Research done by the BIRN BiH and BIRN Hub journalists show far-right and extremist groups are well connected and active online.

Link: [https://detektor.ba/2022/11/16/otvorena-birn-ova-konferencija-o-desnicarskom-ekstremizmu-na-balkanu/]

TOPIC: Violent extremism

TREND: Ukraine war

DATE: November 16-17, 2022

COUNTRY: Western Balkans

TITLE: Promoting masculinity (online) leads to harmful content and violent extremism(update on DW)

CONTENT: The “Masculinities and Violent Extremism” paper produced by the International Peace Institute and the United Nations Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) looks across the ideological spectrum of violent extremists and terrorist groups and the ways they utilise their masculinities to recruit new and retain existing members. The so-called “Islamist” violent extremist use the narratives around feminism, gender roles and women’s rights and justice movements to repel such social changes through idealising warrior masculinity and male role in decision-making, more often than not based on violence and subjugation of women. Experts identified racially and ethnically motivated terrorism as a unique form of political violence which entails fluid boundaries between organised terrorism and hate crime which is reflected both online and offline. Such notions of masculinity are shared across social media platforms, in forms of catchy videos, memes, websites dedicated to male insecurities, thus creating an enabling environment for the growth of violent extremism. The paper notes that members of such platforms were “responsible for several gender-based, antiMuslim, and anti-Semitic mass killings''. Moreover, the paper suggests that technology companies and governments could focus more on categorising misogynistic and harmful content online, and hate speech rhetoric. Document offers recommendations for all relevant actors. It noted that counterterrorism and CVE policies and programs should be monitored and evaluated using a robust human rights framework, especially in policy areas which relate to regulating misogynistic hate speech online.

EXCERPT: The “Masculinities and Violent Extremism” paper looks into the ways masculine narratives online lead to hateful narratives targeted at women, minorities, religious groups, ultimately resulting in violent extremism both online and offline. It calls for technology companies and governments to look into misogynist content being shared on social media.

LINK: [https://www.ipinst.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Masculinities-and-VE-Web.pdf]

TOPIC: Violent extremism, Gender rights online

TREND: n/a

DATE: June 2022

COUNTRY: Global

TITLE: Extremists use social media to lure to women and girls into (online) extremism

CONTENT: The European Commission’s Radicalisation Awareness Network Practitioners (RAN Practitioners) network published a paper which explores narratives and strategies used by right-wing and Islamist extremist actors to persuade and recruit young women and girls into violent extremism. Especially due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (P/CVE) programs struggled to maintain access to their target groups, especially in offline spaces. The document notes that digital platforms have not been used enough to reach out to girls and women in a strategic manner. On the contrary, the perpetrators took better advantage of social media in approaching and recruiting young women and girls. The paper looks into their tactics and young women and girls’s vulnerabilities. Vulnerabilities the perpetrators take advantage of include, but are not limited to, discrimination young women and girls experience online and offline, desire to belong to a sisterhood-like group, and other issues related to understanding sexuality and other insecurities. While misogynist narratives are on the rise over the past several years and women are being targeted with defamatory hate speech and anti-feminist discussion online, in parallel right-wing extremism (RWE) groups, such as neo-Nazi organisations and identitarian organizations, strategically engage in producing content and using specific hashtags with the aim of persuading girls and women into online extremism. It particularly looks into online platforms such as YouTube, Facebook and Telegram. The paper offers recommendations for preventing and countering extremists’ online targeting of girls and women.

EXCERPT: The European Commission’s Radicalisation Awareness Network Practitioners (RAN Practitioners) network paper explores narratives and strategies used by extremist actors to persuade and recruit young women and girls into violent extremism. Perpetrators take advantage of their insecurities and vulnerabilities to lure them into online extremism.

LINK: [https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2022-03/ad_hoc_young_women_social_media_Lessons-p-cve_022022_en.pdf]

TOPIC: Violent extremism, Gender rights online

TREND: n/a

DATE: February 25, 2022

COUNTRY: Global

ICANN77 Policy Forum will take place on 12-15 June 2023 in Washington, D.C, the USA.

The Policy Forum is the second meeting in the three-meeting annual cycle. The focus of this meeting is the policy development work of the Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees and regional outreach activities. ICANN aims to ensure an inclusive dialogue that provides equal opportunities for all to engage on important policy matters.

For more information, please visit the dedicated page.

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