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☆ New Zealand security chiefs increasingly concerned about foreign interference
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Lucy Craymer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WELLINGTON, March 27 (Reuters) - New Zealand intelligence agencies are growing more concerned about both foreign interference and malicious cyber activity ahead of elections in October, the country’s intelligence chiefs said on Monday. “It's fair to say that concern about foreign interference as well as malicious cyber activity is growing,” Andrew Hampton, director general of the New Zealand Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB), told media after testifying at parliament. Security services are working with the election authority to improve cybersecurity and procedures and will also brief political parties on security and foreign interference threats. Both the GCSB and Security Intelligence Service chiefs were speaking before the intelligence committee that includes the country’s Prime Minister as part of their annual review. “Foreign interference should not be tolerated,” McKee said.

☆ TikTok's CEO says demands from the Biden administration for its Chinese owners to sell up won't solve security fears in the US
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Biden administration has demanded that TikTok's Chinese owners sell their shares, or face a US-wide ban. But the app's CEO, Shou Zi Chew, says this wouldn't actually solve anything. Chew said that's because TikTok is proposing to spend billions on storing American users' data in the US by partnering with Oracle. That would also prevent any Chinese influence over which TikToks US users see, per the WSJ. "I do welcome feedback on what other risk we are talking about that is not addressed by this," Chew told the newspaper.

☆ Fact Check-CBC News headline on Trudeau calling for investigation into Canada’s security services is fabricated
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Canadian broadcaster CBC News did not publish a headline reporting that the country’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called for an investigation into the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), despite a screenshot shared online. A spokesperson for CBC News told Reuters that no such headline was published by the outlet. A search through the CBC News website did not reveal the headline (archive.is/wip/mUwgo). A Twitter advanced search via CBC News’ Twitter account did not reveal any related social media post, either (archive.is/wip/24bz7). Meanwhile, Reuters found no credible media outlet reporting that Trudeau has called for an investigation into the intelligence agency (archive.is/wip/5oHJF).

☆ Canada's Trudeau denies report that Liberals told to drop candidate over China ties
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Steve Scherer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Chinese government preferred Han Dong, a Chinese Canadian, over another Chinese Canadian Liberal, who was passed over in favor of Han, said Global News, a national broadcaster, citing anonymous security sources in a story posted online. The article said the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) urged Trudeau's "team" to rescind Han's candidacy. "Dong is an outstanding member of our team and suggestions that he is somehow not loyal to Canada should not be entertained," Trudeau told a news conference in Mississauga. The Chinese embassy in Ottawa did not immediately respond to a request to comment on the Global report. Reporting by Steve Scherer; Editing by Alistair Bell and Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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☆ Tesla under fire in Germany over union concerns on working hours, contracts
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Workers were also increasingly fearful about discussing their working conditions openly because of non-disclosure agreements they were told to sign along with their work contracts, IG Metall said. Over time we are observing that this enthusiasm is withering," Irene Schulz of IG Metall Berlin-Brandenburg-Sachsen said in a statement. "Tesla is not doing enough to improve working conditions and is leaving too little time for leisure, family and recovery." Tesla China has also asked some staff to sign non-disclosure agreements, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter. Reuters found several people on LinkedIn with the title of "Security Intelligence Investigator" working for Tesla in Austin, San Francisco and Shanghai.

☆ A major union in Germany says workers at Tesla's Berlin factory face unreasonable working hours and fear speaking out
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A major German union has criticized the working conditions at Tesla's giant Berlin plant. IG Metall said long hours mean workers have too little time for "leisure, family, and relaxation." At the conference, IG Metall, a German union representing workers at Tesla's Gigafactory has criticized the electric carmaker for poor working conditions, Reuters reported. Tesla did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, made outside normal US working hours. Tesla struggled to hire at the Berlin-based factory because of low wages, IG Metall told Bloomberg in June.

☆ Biden administration warns of potential influx of migrants immediately after Title 42 ends
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Priscilla Alvarez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Administration officials have been bracing for an influx of migrants when a public health authority, known as Title 42, ends next week. In September, Venezuelans, Cubans and Nicaraguans accounted for almost half of encounters along the US southern border, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas underscored the whole of government approach in a statement, noting that mass movement of people around the globe has posed a uniquely difficult challenge. In October, the administration rolled out a humanitarian parole program geared toward Venezuelans to encourage them to apply for entry into the United States instead of crossing unlawfully. But the calculus of migrants may change when Title 42 lifts, the memo says.

☆ Australia lowers terror threat level for first time since 2014
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Renju Jose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Australia lowered its terrorism threat level on Monday to "possible" from "probable" for the first time in eight years, citing a reduced risk of attacks from extremists. But spy agency the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) said the factors prompting the threat level no longer existed or only persisted to a lesser degree. "While Australia remains a potential terrorist target, there are fewer extremists with the intention to conduct an attack onshore," Mike Burgess, its director general of security, told reporters. The change did not mean all terror threats had been extinguished, Burgess said, however. "While ASIO considered all these factors when deciding to lower the terrorism threat level, I can almost guarantee it will need to go up again at some point in the future."

☆ Al-Shabaab terror attack targets Mogadishu hotel
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( Omar Nor | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Mogadishu CNN —The al Qaeda linked terror group al-Shabaab has carried out a suicide attack and stormed a central Mogadishu hotel frequented by Somalia’s ministers and members of parliament, Somali police said Sunday. Al-Shabaab stormed the Villa Rose hotel near Somalia’s presidential palace following a suicide bombing at the gate at 8 p.m. local time (noon ET), according to police. Bishar Ahmed confirmed to CNN that a major attack occurred at the hotel, which lies in a heavily protected zone in downtown Mogadishu, where the state house, ministries and a high-security intelligence prison are also located. In May, US President Joe Biden decided to redeploy troops to Somalia in support of the local government and to counter al-Shabaab. The move reversed a decision by former President Donald Trump to withdraw all US troops from the country.

☆ Canada's spy agency investigating Iranian death threats
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

OTTAWA, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Canada's spy agency is investigating reports from people who are living in the country who have received "credible" death threats from Iran, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) said in a statement. The threats are "designed to silence those who speak out publicly" against Iran, the statement said. CSIS is collecting information from people who experienced harassment and intimidation linked to the Islamic Republic of Iran, the statement said. "CSIS is actively investigating several threats to life emanating from the Islamic Republic of Iran based on credible intelligence." The agency is working closely with Iranian-Canadian communities which have been "disproportionately" targeted, the statement said.

☆ Fact Check-New Zealand guide on how to spot extremists does not include COVID-19 policy dissent
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The guide does not include COVID-19 policy dissent as an indicator. The New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS) published a guide on Oct. 27, 2022, to help people identify some of the “key warning signs” of violent extremism (here). However, social media users are sharing a news report about the guide, falsely claiming it advises that opposition to government policy, such as COVID-19 measures, is a marker of terrorist behavior (here, here and here). The spokesperson said: “To be clear, we are not interested in hearing about people who protest against or oppose government policy. A New Zealand Security Intelligence Service guide on identifying violent extremism does not include opposition to COVID-19 health measures or government policy as signs of terrorism.

☆ Reported Ransomware Incidents, Costs Soared in 2021, Treasury Says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( James Rundle | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

U.S. banks flagged ransomware-related transactions adding up to more than $1 billion in 2021, the Treasury Department said, although risk experts said that barely scratches the surface of cybercrime’s true economic scale. In 2020, such transactions totaled $416 million across 487 reports. FinCEN is an arm of the Treasury that analyzes financial data to identify money laundering, terrorist financing and other crimes. Reports from the first six months of 2021 alone exceeded the total for all of 2020, FinCEN said, noting that around 75% of incidents in 2021 stemmed from Russia-based cyber actors. Newsletter Sign-up WSJ Pro Cybersecurity Cybersecurity news, analysis and insights from WSJ's global team of reporters and editors.

☆ Elon Musk has pulled more than 50 Tesla employees into his Twitter takeover
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty ImagesNew Twitter owner Elon Musk has pulled more than 50 of his trusted Tesla employees, mostly software engineers from the Autopilot team, into his Twitter takeover, CNBC has learned. At Twitter, Musk is counting on his lieutenants and loyalists to decide who and what to cut or keep at the social network. It is not immediately clear how Tesla employees are expected to split their schedules between the automaker and Twitter. Typically, when Tesla employees work for other Elon Musk ventures, usually SpaceX or the Boring Company, they can get paid by the other venture as a consultant. Employees say Musk wants that work done by the first week of November.

☆ Judge conducting special master review questions Trump's claim of privilege over White House documents: 'Where's the beef?'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Trump's lawyers have claimed attorney-client or executive privilege over documents seized by FBI. A judge agreed to appoint a special master who can review documents to check for privileged info. The special master said there has been insufficient evidence of privileged information so far. Trump's lawyers also raised issues with finding a vendor to digitize thousands of documents so that they can be reviewed by Drearie. Judge Cannon extended the deadline to complete the special master review by December 16.

☆ Everything you need to know about silovarchs — Russia's security elites — and the power they wield
▼ + stars: | 2022-04-10 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Russia's security elites are silovarchs, a term combining "oligarch" and "siloviki" ("people of force.") Analyst Hugo Crosthwaite said silovarchs are closer to President Vladimir Putin than oligarchs. According to Treisman, oligarchs do not hold a great deal of political influence, while silovarchs are more powerful. Table of Silovarchs Viktor Ivanov – former chair of the board for Almaz-Antei and Aeroflot – had a career in Soviet KGB and Russian FSB. Rashid Nurgaliev– former interior minister and deputy secretary of the Security Council – is Army General and worked for the FSB.

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