Cybersecurity Archives | Page 17 of 26 | Digital Watch Observatory

Google sues alleged scammers for distributing fraudulent crypto apps on Play Store

Google has initiated legal action against two alleged crypto scammers for distributing fraudulent cryptocurrency trading apps through its Play Store, deceiving users and extracting money from them. Based in China and Hong Kong, the accused developers uploaded 87 deceptive apps that reportedly conned over 100,000 individuals. According to Google, users suffered losses ranging from $100 to tens of thousands per person due to these schemes, which have been operational since at least 2019.

The lawsuit marks Google’s proactive stance against such scams since Google swiftly removed the fraudulent apps from its Play Store. The company’s general counsel, Halimah DeLaine Prado, emphasised that holding these bad actors accountable is crucial to safeguarding users and maintaining the integrity of the app store. The company claims it incurred over $75,000 in economic damages while investigating this fraud.

The scam reportedly enticed users through romance messages and YouTube videos, urging them to download fake cryptocurrency apps. The scammers allegedly misled users into believing they could profit by becoming affiliates of the platforms. Once users invested money, the apps displayed false investment returns and balances, preventing users from withdrawing funds or imposing additional fees, ultimately leading to more financial losses.

Google’s legal action accuses the developers of violating its terms of service and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. The company seeks to block further fraudulent activities by the defendants and aims to recover unspecified damages. The legal move represents Google’s commitment to combating app-based scams and protecting users from deceptive practices on its platform.

Microsoft faulted for preventable Chinese hack

A report released by the US Cyber Safety Review Board on Tuesday blamed Microsoft for a targeted Chinese hack on top government officials’ emails, deeming it ‘preventable’ due to cybersecurity lapses and lack of transparency. The breach, orchestrated by the Storm-0558 hacking group affiliated with China, originated from the compromise of a Microsoft engineer’s corporate account. Microsoft highlighted ongoing efforts to bolster security infrastructure and processes, pledging to review the report for further recommendations.

The board’s report outlined decisions by Microsoft that diminished enterprise security, risk management, and customer trust, prompting recommendations for comprehensive security reforms across all Microsoft products. Last year, the intrusion affected senior officials at the US State and Commerce departments, including Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns, raising concerns about the theft of sensitive emails from prominent American figures.

Despite acknowledging the inevitability of cyberattacks from well-resourced adversaries, Microsoft emphasised its commitment to enhancing system defences and implementing robust security measures. The company highlighted ongoing efforts to fortify systems against cyber threats and enhance detection capabilities to fend off adversarial attacks. The incident underscores the persistent challenges posed by cyber threats and the imperative for technology companies to prioritise cybersecurity measures to safeguard sensitive data and operations against evolving threats.

Cybersecurity and Cybercrime

DiploFoundation (Diplo) is a non-profit organisation established in 2002 by the governments of Malta and Switzerland. It has offices in Malta, Switzerland, Serbia, and the USA. With the mission to increase the power of small and developing states to influence their own futures and development, Diplo’s main activities are dedicated to developing capacity, organising meetings and events, delivering courses, conducting research, publishing analyses, and experimenting with technological tools.

Over the years, Diplo has successfully trained over 7,500 alumni from 208 countries and territories, including individuals working in governments, the private and civil sectors, media, and academia.

The Geneva Internet Platform (GIP) is an initiative supported by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), the Swiss Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM), and the Republic and Canton of Geneva. It is operated by Diplo.

Digital activities

The GIP engages actors, fosters meaningful dialogues on digital governance, and monitors digital policy processes in Geneva and beyond. The GIP also provides a neutral and inclusive space for digital policy debates, recognised as a platform where different views can be voiced and the risks and vulnerabilities of technology addressed.

Concretely, GIP activities are centred on two pillars: 1) the physical platform in Geneva that hosts events and delivers training and 2) the GIP Digital Watch Observatory, which monitors and tracks the latest updates, overviews, instruments, resources, events, and actors across 7 baskets of over 50 internet governance and digital policy topics, trends, and processes.

Apart from the GIP, Diplo also operates a Diplo Academy that delivers a wide range of courses primarily dedicated to diplomats and government officials; long-running courses cover subjects in internet governance, AI, cybersecurity, e-diplomacy, science diplomacy, and tech diplomacy.

Diplo hosts an AI lab that develops in-house AI solutions that can be used in research, courses, training, and other projects. Its notable projects include an AI reporting system, AI assistants, and other internal tools.
Diplo is also advancing on conferencing technologies through the ConfTech project, providing resources guiding event planners through the how-to of hosting hybrid meetings.

Digital policy issues

Artificial intelligence

Diplo’s research on and analysis of AI stretches from the most pertinent policy and governance issues to reflections on AI development in general. For instance, Diplo pooled together resources on national AI strategies and international negotiation processes on AI governance; in the Stronger Digital Voices from Africa report, Diplo also included a specific section analysing how African countries approach frontier technologies like AI. Across the seven baskets of digital issues covered by the Digital Watch Observatory, Diplo experts also highlighted the policy implications AI brings to a given issue, allowing domain experts from different fields to comprehend the impact of AI technologies.

Under the banner of HumAInism, Diplo experts also offer their timely reflections on AI development in the form of blog posts, policy briefs, and reports, exploring the nexus of governance, diplomacy, technology, philosophy, linguistics, and arts.

Specifically, in exploring the interplay of AI and diplomacy, Diplo provided detailed analyses of how AI technologies might affect the field of foreign policy and diplomacy; commissioned by the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Diplo wrote a report titled Mapping AI’s challenges and opportunities for the conduct of diplomacy.

Dedicated to upskilling diplomats, students, and other professionals, Diplo Academy launched the AI Campus in 2024, containing a series of modules introducing the technical foundations, applications, governance and regulation mechanisms, and philosophical aspects of AI.

Cybersecurity

The Geneva Dialogue on Responsible Behaviour in Cyberspace (GD) was launched in 2018 by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) in cooperation with the GIP, with the support of other stakeholders. The GD maps the roles and responsibilities of non-state actors in contributing to a more secure cyberspace in the context of international peace and security. It is an ongoing process that identifies and brings together existing efforts, good practices, and possible gaps, making recommendations to overcome such gaps. It also serves as a platform in Geneva and beyond for different stakeholders to engage and discuss topics on responsible behaviour in cyberspace.

In 2023, a major achievement of the GD was the publication of the Geneva Manual on Responsible Behaviour in Cyberspace. Launched during a dedicated event hosted in Geneva in December 2023, the Manual offers possible guidance for the international community in advancing the implementation of existing norms and establishing good practices. The inaugural edition of the Manual focuses on two norms related to supply chain security and responsible reporting of ICT vulnerabilities. The Geneva Dialogue and Geneva Manual were included in the written and verbal statements to the UN Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG) on the security of and in the use of information and communications technologies in December 2023. From January 2024, the GD focuses on the existing norms and confidence-building measures (CBMs) related to critical infrastructure protection.

Capacity development

As per Diplo’s stated mission to support small and developing states in participating in digital policy negotiations and discussions, Diplo develops and hosts a wide range of training, courses, and events in both Geneva and across the world. The Geneva office is Diplo’s main outreach post where Diplo engages with diplomatic communities in the International Geneva. Diplo hosts monthly briefings for Geneva-based diplomats who cover science, technology and innovation issues; its in-house experts dissect the most recent digital policy negotiation processes and provide space for diplomats to ask questions and form opinions. Diplo also partakes in multiple events in and around Geneva, supporting other diplomatic or international organisation actors with its network of experts in the fields of cybersecurity, AI, digital infrastructure, data governance, digital economy, etc.

From 2023 to 2024, Diplo, with the support of the United States Mission to International Organizations to Geneva, ran the Policy Meets Tech series to help bridge gaps between technology and policy in digital governance. Dedicated to missions of small and developing countries, the series included events in which experts ‘opened the black box’ of technical subjects like the internet, AI, quantum computing, virtual reality, satellites, and cryptography.

In the lead-up to the UN Summit of the Future and the adoption of the Global Digital Compact, Diplo delivered two rounds of training on digital governance issues for New York-based diplomats and hosted a two-day expert-guided diplomatic dialogue in Geneva to facilitate honest and transparent exchanges of information and opinions among diplomats, providing both background information of the GDC and clarifying technical details.

Apart from more Geneva-based and globally-focused events, Diplo also delivers more country-tailored training on demand; taking requests from governments all over the world, Diplo curates a series of activities and lectures for diplomats or governmental officials according to their needs. For instance, with the support of various partners, Diplo has long been building digital governance capacities in the Caribbean and African regions.
Lastly, Diplo Academy is Diplo’s online learning platform, offering a wide range of courses covering different facets of diplomacy and the most topical digital policy domains. The faculty consists of high-ranking practising and retired diplomats, as well as renowned academics in the fields of digital policy, diplomacy, and international relations. Since 1994, Diplo Academy has run more than 500 courses and trained more than 7500 alumni from 208 countries working in governments, civil society, the private sector, media, and academia.

Digital tools

AI assistants

Believing in walking the talk, Diplo experiments with digital technologies and builds its own AI tools for research and educational purposes. Its AI lab has developed DiploAI, a domain-specific AI system that was fine-tuned for diplomatic and policy-relevant texts; it enables Diplo researchers to build customisable AI assistants for courses, diplomatic training, and research. For example, using the retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) technique, a Diplo researcher is able to customise an AI assistant based on a third-party large language model (LLM) by providing the latter with a curated dataset trained on global digital governance documents and various countries’ official statements. Diplo’s guiding principles in building such assistants are grounded in the pursuit of AI solutions that are open-source, inherently bottom-up, and traceable by showing the basis on which AI assistants generate answers.

Diplo also implements the same principles when incorporating smart searching features into its main website (diplomacy.edu); on the site, a publicly available AI assistant takes users’ queries and guides them to the right Diplo resources.

Conferencing technologies

In experimenting with AI tools to meet the diplomatic needs of reporting from events and meetings, Diplo takes conferencing technologies to another level. During a UN Security Council special session, Diplo deployed its human-AI hybrid system, generating just-in-time reports of country statements and key questions. The hybrid system leverages AI’s real-time transcription and summarisation capability along with human quality control. The system has been tested during larger international conferences and events, such as the 78th UN General Assembly, the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) 2023, the UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) eWeek 2023, and the World Economic Forum 2024.

Digital footprint

Started as a mapping exercise to understand the significance of major Geneva actors’ digital presence in the world, the Geneva Digital Footprint application shows the visibility of more than 200 Geneva-based actors on Google’s search engine. The application evaluates how visible Geneva-based actors’ website domains are in 50 cities worldwide as users enter 500 plus keywords pertinent to the digital policy discussions, such as trade, healthcare, emerging technologies, humanitarian aid, etc. The application is updated frequently, its rich repertoire of data serving as a basis for the 9th Geneva Engage Awards and other analyses on Geneva’s overall importance in the field of digital.

Colour of flags

Diplo’s AI lab developed a simple game of guessing the pattern of the country flag colour compositions and generating new flags for countries based on such patterns. The game is developed to show the logic behind AI algorithms, which are broadly based on ‘probabilistic calculations’ and ‘pattern recognition’, in the simplest way possible to reduce barriers for non-technical background diplomats and policymakers who must negotiate about the governance of AI technologies. The Colour of Flags is physically playable as a card-based board game and digitally available as well.

Other tools

For more of Diplo’s publicly available tools, please check the AI and Technology page under HumAInism.

Social media channels

Facebook @DiploFoundation

Instagram @diplofoundation

LinkedIn @diplofoundation

X @DiplomacyEdu

YouTube @DiploFoundation

Monthly newsletter @ https://www.diplomacy.edu/subscribe/

Contact @ geneva@diplomacy.edu

Geneva Digital Atlas

Vulnerabilities in digital products and networks leading to cyberthreats raise security concerns from individual users to international security and peace. While States hold primary responsibility, meaningful cooperation with non-state actors, such as the private sector, academia, civil society, and the technical community, is crucial to foster a secure, open, and peaceful cyberspace. However, what are those other actors expected to do? Where and how can they support states in ensuring the security and stability in cyberspace?

Join us on December 7th for the launch of the Geneva Manual – a comprehensive guide on non-state actors’ contributions to the implementation of cyber norms.

The Geneva Manual will undergo continuous development in the years ahead to encompass a wide range of cyber norms, guided by discussions with the multistakeholder community.

Established by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs and led by DiploFoundation, with support of the Republic and State of Geneva, C4DT, Swisscom and UBS, the Geneva Dialogue particularly asks how the norms and confidence-building measures (CBMs) might be best operationalised (or implemented) by relevant actors as a means to contribute to international security and peace.

Programme

09:45 – 10:00 (CET)

Welcome coffee

10:00 – 10:05

Introduction: Setting the scene

10:05 – 10:30

Opening remarks

H.E. Mr Benedikt Wechsler, Ambassador and Head of the Digital Division, Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
Dr Jovan Kurbalija, Executive Director of DiploFoundation and Head of the Geneva Internet Platform (GIP)
Mr Florian Schütz, Federal Cyber Security Delegate and Head of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC)
H.E. Mr Burhan Gafoor, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Singapore to the United Nations in New York, Chair of the UN Open-Ended Working Group

10:30 – 11:45

The Geneva Manual & cyber norms

Presentation of the Geneva Manual

Ms Anastasiya Kazakova, Cyber Diplomacy Knowledge Fellow at Diplo Foundation

Discussion: What do relevant stakeholders have to say about their roles and responsibilities in implementing the norms?

Mr Daniel Klingele, Senior Advisor, International Security Division, FDFA and Swiss representative to the UN OEWG
Ms Katherine Getao, Cyber Hygiene, Cyber Diplomacy, and ICT Strategy and Governance Consultant, former CEO of ICT Authority in Kenya and the Kenyan representative to the UN GGE
Mr Xiang Zheng Teo, Vice President of Advisory, Consulting, Ensign InfoSecurity
Ms Madison Q. Oliver, Advisory Curation Manager, GitHub Security Labs
Mr Juan Pablo Parra, Researcher of the Civic Participation Area, Karisma Foundation
Mr Jan Martin Lemnitzer, Assistant Professor, Department of Digitalization, Copenhagen Business School

Moderated by Mr Vladimir Radunović, Director, E-diplomacy and Cybersecurity Programmes at DiploFoundation.

11:45 – 12:00

Coffee break

12:00 – 13:30

Testing the Manual: Simulation exercise

Imagine: A critical vulnerability in the software code underpinning important ICT systems around the world has been discovered. Dire consequences are looming. We all need to act – and act fast. Time to test the Geneva Manual!

13:30 – 14:30

Lunch

14:30 – 16:00

Panel discussion: Tomorrow’s challenges and opportunities: Can norms and regulations keep pace with emerging technology?

Ms Annie Machon, Formerly MI5, currently a privacy campaigner, author, media commentator, and international public speaker
Mr Moctar Yedaly, Former Minister of Digital Transformation and Innovation, Government of Mauritania
Ms Anita Lamprecht, Active member and ambassador of the non-profit legal think tank Liquid Legal Institute e.V.

Moderated by Mr Jovan Kurbalija, Executive Director of DiploFoundation and Head of the Geneva Internet Platform (GIP).

16:00 – 16:20

Inspirational talk

Dr Cory Doctorow, Special Advisor, Electronic Frontier Foundation

16:20 – 16:30

Closing and next steps

17:00

Reception hosted by DiploFoundation and the Republic and State of Geneva

World Meteorological Organization (WMO) 7bis, avenue de la Paix

GET PROGRAMME

The inaugural edition of the Manual focuses on two norms related to supply chain security and responsible reporting of ICT vulnerabilities.

The event will take place in a hybrid format: in situ in Geneva, and online. To register to participate online, please follow this link.

China’s top prosecutor warns cybercriminals are exploiting blockchain and metaverse projects

China’s Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) is ramping up efforts to combat cybercrime by targeting criminals who use blockchain and metaverse projects for illegal activities. The SPP is alarmed by the recent surge in online fraud, cyber violence, and personal information infringement. Notably, the SPP has observed a significant rise in cybercrimes committed on blockchains and within the metaverse, with criminals increasingly relying on cryptocurrencies for money laundering, making it challenging to trace their illicit wealth.

Ge Xiaoyan, the Deputy Prosecutor-General of the SPP, highlights a 64% year-on-year increase in charges related to cybercrime-related telecom fraud, while charges linked to internet theft have risen nearly 23%, and those related to online counterfeiting and sales of inferior goods have surged by almost 86%. Procuratorates have pressed charges against 280,000 individuals involved in cybercrime cases between January and November, reflecting a 36% year-on-year increase and constituting 19% of all criminal offenses.

The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) acknowledges the importance of regulating cryptocurrency and decentralized finance in its latest financial stability report. The PBoC emphasizes the necessity of international cooperation in regulating the industry.

Despite the ban on most crypto transactions and cryptocurrency mining, mainland China remains a significant hub for crypto-mining activities.

Geneva Dialogue | The launch of the Geneva Manual

Join us on December 7th for the launch of the Geneva Manual – a comprehensive guide on non-state actors’ contributions to the implementation of cyber norms.

The Geneva Manual will undergo continuous development in the years ahead to encompass a wide range of cyber norms, guided by discussions with the multistakeholder community.

Programme

09:45 – 10:00 (CET)

Welcome coffee

10:00 – 10:05

Introduction: Setting the scene

10:05 – 10:30

Opening remarks

H.E. Mr Benedikt Wechsler, Ambassador and Head of the Digital Division, Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
Dr Jovan Kurbalija, Executive Director of DiploFoundation and Head of the Geneva Internet Platform (GIP)
Mr Florian Schütz, Federal Cyber Security Delegate and Head of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC)
H.E. Mr Burhan Gafoor, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Singapore to the United Nations in New York, Chair of the UN Open-Ended Working Group

10:30 – 11:45

The Geneva Manual & cyber norms

Presentation of the Geneva Manual

Ms Anastasiya Kazakova, Cyber Diplomacy Knowledge Fellow at Diplo Foundation

Discussion: What do relevant stakeholders have to say about their roles and responsibilities in implementing the norms?

Mr Daniel Klingele, Senior Advisor, International Security Division, FDFA and Swiss representative to the UN OEWG
Ms Katherine Getao, Cyber Hygiene, Cyber Diplomacy, and ICT Strategy and Governance Consultant, former CEO of ICT Authority in Kenya and the Kenyan representative to the UN GGE
Mr Xiang Zheng Teo, Vice President of Advisory, Consulting, Ensign InfoSecurity
Ms Madison Q. Oliver, Advisory Curation Manager, GitHub Security Labs
Mr Juan Pablo Parra, Researcher of the Civic Participation Area, Karisma Foundation
Mr Jan Martin Lemnitzer, Assistant Professor, Department of Digitalization, Copenhagen Business School

Moderated by Mr Vladimir Radunović, Director, E-diplomacy and Cybersecurity Programmes at DiploFoundation.

11:45 – 12:00

Coffee break

12:00 – 13:30

Testing the Manual: Simulation exercise

13:30 – 14:30

Lunch

14:30 – 16:00

Panel discussion: Tomorrow’s challenges and opportunities: Can norms and regulations keep pace with emerging technology?

Ms Annie Machon, Formerly MI5, currently a privacy campaigner, author, media commentator, and international public speaker
Mr Moctar Yedaly, Former Minister of Digital Transformation and Innovation, Government of Mauritania
Ms Anita Lamprecht, Active member and ambassador of the non-profit legal think tank Liquid Legal Institute e.V.

Moderated by Mr Jovan Kurbalija, Executive Director of DiploFoundation and Head of the Geneva Internet Platform (GIP).

16:00 – 16:20

Inspirational talk

Dr Cory Doctorow, Special Advisor, Electronic Frontier Foundation

16:20 – 16:30

Closing and next steps

17:00

Reception hosted by DiploFoundation and the Republic and State of Geneva

World Meteorological Organization (WMO) 7bis, avenue de la Paix

GET PROGRAMME

The inaugural edition of the Manual focuses on two norms related to supply chain security and responsible reporting of ICT vulnerabilities.

The event will take place in a hybrid format: in situ in Geneva, and online. To register to participate online, please follow this link.

UN First Committee adopts draft resolution on lethal autonomous weapons

On 1 November 2023, the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) of the UN General Assembly approved a draft resolution on lethal autonomous weapons systems (LAWS), expressing concern about the possible negative consequences and impact of autonomous weapons systems on global security and regional and international stability and stressing the urgent need for the international community to address the challenges and concerns raised by such systems.

The resolution, once endorsed by the General Assembly, would require the UN Secretary-General to seek the views of Member States and observer States on LAWS and on ways to address the challenges and concerns they raise from humanitarian, legal, security, technological, and ethical perspectives, and to submit a report to the General Assembly at its seventy-ninth session. The Assembly would also request the Secretary-General to invite the views of international and regional organizations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, civil society, the scientific community and industry and to include those in the annex to the report.

The ongoing work of the Group of Governmental Experts on Emerging Technologies in the Areaof Lethal Autonomous Weapons System (GGE on LAWS) – created under the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons – is acknowledged in the resolution.

Within the First Committee, the draft resolution was adopted by a vote of 164 in favour to 5 against (Belarus, India, Mali, Niger, Russian Federation), with 8 abstentions (China, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Iran, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Türkiye, United Arab Emirates). In addition, 11 votes were recorded on the resolution’s provisions.

Some of the points raised by member states during the debates include:

Egypt noted that algorithms must not be in full control of decisions that involve harming or killing humans. Human responsibility and accountability for the use of lethal force must be preserved.
The Russian Federation expressed concern that the resolution seeks to undermine the work of the GGE on LAWS, which is the sole ideal forum to discuss LAWS. The country also argued that the resolution does not acknowledge that autonomous weapons systems can play an important role in defence and in fighting terrorism, and that international law fully applies to these systems.
Iran noted that the definition and scope of the term ‘lethal autonomous weapons’ are not clearly defined, and that GGE on LAWS should focus on states parties.
Türkiye also raised the issue of a lack of agreement on the definition of autonomous weapons systems and noted that the absence of shared terminology increases ‘question marks’ on the way forward. The country also added that international law and international humanitarian law should be sufficient to alleviate concerns regarding the use of such weapons systems.
The USA stated that it does not support the creation of a parallel process on LAWS or any other efforts that will seek to undermine the centrality of the GGE on LAWS on making progress on this issue. Poland also noted that the GGE is the forum to make progress on identifying challenges and opportunities related to LAWS, and that other international forums are not equally fit, as they often lack technical and diplomatic capacity and do not address the significant balance between humanitarian aspects and military necessity.
Israel called on member states not to undermine the work done in the Convention through the creation of a parallel forum. It also outlined the importance of the full application of international humanitarian law to LAWS.
Australia called for the report to be prepared by the UN Secretary-General to be balanced and inclusive of the views of all UN member states. South Africa expressed concern about the provision of the resolution, noting that the integrity of the process under way in the GGE on LAWS should be respected, and states parties have already made their views known on the issue. Brazil argued that the GGE might benefit from the fresher views of a wider audience.

Russian hackers ramp up attacks on Ukrainian authorities investigating war crimes

Russian hackers are reportedly intensifying their cyberattacks on Ukraine’s law enforcement agencies, focusing on uncovering information related to investigations of war crimes allegedly committed by Russian soldiers.

According to an SSSCIP report, the Russian objective appears to be to identify war crime suspects, potentially aiding them in evading prosecution and facilitating their return to Russia. Additionally, the hackers are likely keen to ascertain the identities of elite soldiers and officers captured in Ukraine for possible exchange.

Ukrainian cybersecurity officials have voiced concerns over these espionage campaigns, which have targeted entities such as the prosecutor general’s office, courts, and other bodies investigating war crimes.

In a development that may be related, Karim Khan, the lead prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), announced that the court intends to investigate cyberattacks as possible acts of war crimes. Russia’s cyber assaults on Ukraine’s essential civilian infrastructure could be some of the initial instances under this new interpretation.

Not long after this announcement, the ICC decided to establish a field office in Kyiv in charge of investigating Russian war crimes. The ICC then reported a breach of its computer systems without divulging further details regarding the severity or attribution of the attack.

Japan to build cyber defense grid for the Indo-Pacific

Japan is developing a counter-cyber attack grid for the Indo-Pacific region to protect its interests and allies from cyber threats. The grid will consist of a cyber defence network that covers Pacific islands and enhances cybersecurity cooperation with regional countries.

This project is aligned with Japan’s goal of creating a free and open Indo-Pacific region, where it can balance the rising power of Russia, North Korea, and especially China. Japan wants to build this grid to prevent future cyberattacks and protect its national security and stability.

To strengthen cyber capabilities in the Indo-Pacific, the Japanese Foreign Ministry has allocated around a $75 billion investment plan to strengthen its ties with South and Southeast Asian nations and promote peace, connectivity, and security in the Indo-Pacific. The allocated funds will be utilized for various initiatives, including installing necessary cybersecurity equipment. Additionally, capacity building efforts will be undertaken through joint training sessions. The World Bank will also offer a dedicated fund to support the development of cybersecurity human resources in these nations.

Why does it matter?

The move comes amid growing concerns over China’s alleged involvement in cyber attacks against Japan. Around 200 Japanese organizations, including the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, are believed to have been targeted by Chinese cyber hackers. Reports suggest that Chinese military hackers have also accessed Japanese defence secrets.

AI’s right to forget – Machine unlearning

Machine unlearning is a growing field within AI that aims to address the challenge of forgetting outdated, incorrect, or private data in machine learning (ML) models. ML models struggle to forget information, which has significant implications for privacy, security, and ethics. This has led to the development of machine unlearning techniques.

When issues arise with a dataset, it is possible to modify or delete the dataset. However, if the data has been used to train an ML model, it becomes difficult to remove the impact of a problematic dataset. ML models are often considered black boxes, making it challenging to understand how specific datasets influenced the model and undo their effects.

OpenAI has faced criticism for the data used to train their models, and generative AI art tools are involved in legal battles regarding their training data. This highlights concerns about privacy and the potential disclosure of information about individuals whose data was used to train the models.

Machine unlearning aims to erase the influence of specific datasets on ML systems. This involves identifying problematic datasets and excluding them from the model or retraining the entire model from scratch. However, the latter approach is costly and time-consuming.

Efficient machine unlearning algorithms are needed to remove datasets without compromising utility. Some promising approaches include incremental updates to ML systems, limiting the influence of data points, and scrubbing network weights to remove information about specific training data.

However, machine unlearning faces challenges, including efficiency, standardization of evaluation metrics, validation of efficacy, privacy preservation, compatibility with existing ML models, and scalability to handle large datasets.

To address these challenges, interdisciplinary collaboration between AI experts, data privacy lawyers, and ethicists is required. Google has launched a machine unlearning challenge to unify evaluation metrics and foster innovative solutions.

Looking ahead, advancements in hardware and infrastructure will support the computational demands of machine unlearning. Collaborative efforts between legal professionals, ethicists, and AI researchers can align unlearning algorithms with ethical and legal standards. Increased public awareness and potential policy and regulatory changes will also shape the development and application of machine unlearning.

Businesses using large datasets are advised to understand and adopt machine unlearning strategies to proactively manage data privacy concerns. This includes monitoring research, implementing data handling rules, considering interdisciplinary teams, and preparing for retraining costs.

Machine unlearning is crucial for responsible AI, improving data handling capabilities while maintaining model quality. Although challenges remain, progress is being made in developing efficient unlearning algorithms. Businesses should embrace machine unlearning to manage data privacy issues responsibly and stay up-to-date with advancements in the field.