Taiwan ex-colonel gets 20 years for spying for China

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Taiwan air force crews lift a missileReuters

A retired Taiwan air force colonel has been jailed 20 years for running a military spy ring for China.

Liu Sheng-shu was convicted of recruiting other active-duty officers to transmit military secrets to Beijing.

Five other officers – from the navy and air force – were jailed from six months to 20 years for their involvement.

Local media reports say Liu was recruited during a 2013 business trip to China.

He reportedly ran a network of informants, paying them through shell companies.

Prosecutors said that he was paid for passing on military intelligence, such as details on the functions of airplanes and warships.

Apart from his jail sentence, authorities confiscated NT$16.7m (£425,000; $514,000) which they said were illicit earnings.

Liu and six other officers were charged in January by the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office’s Kaohsiung branch. One was acquitted.

A number of former high-ranking Taiwan military officials have been accused of aiding Chinese intelligence in recent years.

In January, a retired air force major general was found guilty of accepting meals and trips from a Hong Kong businessman who was acting on behalf of Beijing.

However, his sentence was suspended since he showed remorse and had no previous criminal record.

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Gartner: “AI will be recognized as a primary economic indicator of national power”

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(With) enough GPUs & electricity, you have the ability to make unlimited amounts of talent
Organisations failing to address AI anxiety could face up to 20% higher rates of turnover

Research and advisory firm, Gartner, has released new predictions spotlighting the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and how it will change the workplace and…Continue Reading

Commentary: Xi-Putin Belt and Road meeting highlights Russia’s role as China’s junior partner

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Perhaps the most instructive aspect of the visit was Putin’s explicit acknowledgement of the different roles played by Moscow and Beijing in international politics.

Putin described the Russia-dominated Greater Eurasian Partnership (GEP) – a concept Moscow has promoted as a response to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) that would fuse the Eurasian Economic Union with the BRI – as a regional or “local” project. Meanwhile he happily described the BRI as “global” in scale.

For the past decade, Russian policymakers and experts have consistently held up the GEP as symbolising Russia’s equality with China. Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has described it as “the creation of a continent-wide architecture”.

Putin’s words, coupled with the lack of any meaningful results of the meeting (bar a contract on food and agricultural products which has yet to be confirmed by Beijing), illustrate the extent to which Russia’s war against Ukraine has deepened the asymmetry between the two powers.

HOLDING BACK?

The lack of genuine progress on the issue of the Power of Siberia-2 pipeline, which will transport gas from Russia’s Yamal gas fields, which used to supply Europe, via Mongolia to China, was further evidence of this asymmetry. Xi was kind enough to express hope that the project could proceed quickly. But he did not outline any concrete steps in that direction.

China’s agreement, if confirmed by a contract, would have been the most clear signal of Beijing’s strategic support for Russia, especially given Gazprom’s shrinking European market. By prolonging negotiations, China seems to be trying to extract specific concessions from Russia, related to the price of gas, possible Chinese ownership of gas fields in Russia, or Beijing’s acquisition of shares in Gazprom.

Meanwhile, in May, China revived the prospect of building the so-called section “D”, enlarging the capacity of the Central Asia-China gas pipeline system, which will bring gas from Turkmenistan via Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to China, emphasising China’s other sources of energy supplies.

While continuing to offer Moscow political support and not interfering with Chinese companies’ attempts to take advantage of the exodus of Western companies to increase their presence in the Russian market, Beijing has clearly attempted to prevent any embarrassment related to Russia. A gas contract would have overshadowed the BRI summit and generated a strong reaction in the US and Europe, potentially strengthening China hawks in the West.

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New push to cut forest hot spots

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Firms stand to get financial help

PUBLISHED : 26 Oct 2023 at 04:00

The government plans to offer tax incentives for companies that provide financial aid to reduce fine particulate matter smaller than 2.5 microns, or PM2.5, caused by forest fires.

Jatuporn Buruspat, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, said yesterday the ministry was concerned about haze pollution, which is expected to dominate the central and northern regions from November to March due to a longer drought period, an impact of the El Nino phenomenon.

Many measures have been implemented, yet air pollution during the dry season gets worse every year, he said, adding that one approach is stopping the hot spots in forests after fires start.

The ministry has created a list of the top 10 national parks and top 10 reserve forests with a record of damage caused by forest fires. Most are located in the North. Sri Nan National Park in Nan was hit the most by forest fires last year, or about 71.95% of its total forest area, he said.

He said measures to prevent forest fires have been set up under close cooperation from national park officials and villagers to limit the number of hotspots in northern forests. The measures need financial support, he added.

The ministry, the Board of Investment and the Ministry of Finance have discussed the issue and come up with a policy to provide a tax reduction of 200% to any company that offers financial support to the project, he said. The proposal will be submitted to the National Environment Board today.

“We need a huge budget to tackle forest fires. A delayed budget will cause difficulty so we have proposed the idea of raising funds to support our work. The money will go to local communities and forest officials to control hotspots,” he said, adding that participating companies should get something in return more than just praise.

The ministry yesterday opened a Centre for Air Pollution Mitigation (CAPM), giving information on haze pollution through its Facebook page, including daily Facebook Live briefings at 2pm.

The move is also in response to adjustments of the air quality index, in which the safety level of PM2.5 rises from 50 microgrammes per cubic metre to 37.5/cu mec.

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Households to get financial incentive for reducing electricity use during peak periods from next year

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APP NOTICES FOR USAGE & nbsp,

Through the SP mobile game, which will give alerts prompting individuals to temporarily reduce or postpone their energy use, homes with bright electric meters installed will be able to track their electricity usage. & nbsp,

For instance, homeowners can do this by turning off their air conditioning. Through the software, they can also modify their electricity usage habits and monitor their regular carbon emissions. & nbsp,

Although it did not specify what they would be, the EMA stated that members who cut back on their energy use will be eligible for benefits like economic opportunities. According to Ms. Chen, the captain did let communities play their part. & nbsp,

The program is the result of a governmental sandbox that was put in place last year to help commercial and industrial businesses optimize their energy use. Participating businesses were required to control their electricity demand when it was activated and were compensated for doing so. & nbsp,

From 2023 to 2028, it is anticipated that Singapore’s energy demand will increase at a compound annual growth rate of up to 6.5 percent periodically. & nbsp,

CAN Monetary Opportunities BE USED? & nbsp,

The Sustainable and Green Finance Institute at the National University of Singapore’s Dr. David Broadstock noted that efforts have been made over time by the government and officials to persuade homeowners to reduce their energy use. & nbsp,

We frequently observe that these pushes tend to have transient results in Singapore and other parts of the world as a result of this. We do not experience long-term changes in behavior because they cannot always preserve themselves, he claimed. & nbsp,

In contrast to companies that prioritize cost efficiency, he added, households frequently” forget a little bit about the financial side of things when they close the doorway at the end of the day” and instead focus on what enhances their quality of life. & nbsp,

But, opportunities are one thing that people react to, according to Dr. Broadstock. Andnbsp, He emphasized that the government’s willingness to try this strategy demonstrates a major shift in how it is dealing with household energy use. & nbsp,

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Bursa Malaysia to develop Centralised Sustainability Intelligence platform

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JC3’s Greening Value Chain program will be used to help Entrepreneurs with funding and power development.Businesses will benefit from the platform’s ability to speed up decarbonization processes and optimize their coal reporting requirements.A Centralized Sustainability Intelligence ( CSI ) Platform is being developed by Bursa Malaysia for use by both publicly…Continue Reading

States, hackers agree: Laws of war must apply in cyberspace

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There are laws of war. With the aim of defending citizens and reducing suffering, international humanitarian law governs what soldiers are permitted to do and are not allowed to.

The 19th and 20th centuries saw the development of the majority of these rules. The realm of cyberattacks, modern campaigns, and online information operations, however, has emerged in our era as a new kind of field. All of these have played a bigger part in the current Israel-Has issue as well as Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The idea that cyberspace is a violent wild west persists. This is completely untrue. Existing laws of war are clearly applicable online, according to a distinct global consensus.

Three major advancements in this area have occurred over the past month. The term” civililian hackers” has started to gain popularity. Governments, tech firms, and others are advised to move forward in accordance with a recent global philanthropic report. And for the first day, the International Criminal Court has indicated that it views cyber-warfare as falling under its purview.

Guidelines for hacktivists

A set of guidelines for” civililian hackers” during war were put forth on October 4 by two advisers to the International Committee of the Red Cross. Do not carry out any cyberoperations against health and humanitarian services, and when planning a cyberattack against military targets, take all reasonable precautions to prevent or lessen the effects your activity may have on civilians.

Proof of online attacks disrupting banks, businesses, pharmacies, hospitals, rail networks, and civil government services served as the authors’ inspiration.

Along with” real – earth” military operations, computer, online, and data procedures have become more widely used during Russia’s war in Ukraine. Human organizations that are not formally affiliated with the government conduct a lot of operations.

These actions aren’t particularly impressive. However, it was never our understanding that a catastrophic cyberattack was essential to Russia’s use of offensive cyber in their military doctrine, according to Jeremy Fleming, former head of Government Communications Headquarters ( GCHQ ), the electronic spy agency of the United Kingdom. then misinterprets how cyber affects military campaigns.

Not that we haven’t witnessed computer in this fight, though. We have a ton of it.

Something unusual occurred following the publication of the suggested guidelines for civilian hackers.

The Russian-affiliated Killnet and the Russian IT Army are two of the biggest hacktivist organizations positively fighting in Ukraine on opposing sides. Both groups’ representatives pledged to uphold the rules to the British Broadcasting Corporation.

threats from modern weapons during armed conflict

The laws of war in internet must be followed by more than just actors in Ukraine and hacktivist organizations.

The final statement from the International Committee of the Red Cross’s world advisory board on online threats during military conflicts was released on October 18.

Two years of work have culminated in the document. The board is made up of a diversified group of political professionals, including myself, the United States, Russia, China, South Africa, Mexico, India, and Australia.

We worked on the” global consensus that all aspects of war and all types of arms, whether new or old, electronic or physical ,” must adhere to the established principles and rules of[ international humanitarian law ].

The statement includes 25 action-oriented recommendations for belligerents, states, technology companies, and charitable organizations to protect civilians from online threats.

The United Nations has acknowledged since 2013 that what says do in cyberspace is subject to current global legislation.

The application of the laws of war to digital operations was directly acknowledged by Russia, China, the US, Australia, and every other nation in the UN in 2021.

The ICRC, whose goal is to” reduce suffering by promoting and strengthening humanitarian law and universal humanitarian principles ,” has repeatedly stated this, including in the information mentioned above.

The International Criminal Court weighs in

Of course, following the rules doesn’t stop careless players from breaking them. The next important advancement then enters the picture.

The International Criminal Court’s prosecutor, Karim A. Khan, announced that the jury had start” collecting and reviewing” proof of cyber-warfare in September. Additionally, it may look at” using the Internet to spread hate speech and misinformation, which may encourage or even directly contribute to the onset of atrocities.”

The ICC has never explicitly stated that online abuse and cyberwarfare fall under its purview. This serves as a warning to governments, forces, tech firms, and hacktivists that their actions in internet are not without consequence.

All parties would do well to consider that the laws of cyber-war are apparent as the war in Ukraine dragged on and conflict between Israel and Hamas intensified( including rising reports of cybercrime ).

International humanitarian law applies to bombs or pixels, weapons, or malware.

This content has been republished with a Creative Commons license from The Conversation. read the article in its entirety.

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US orders immediate halt to some AI chip exports to China, Nvidia says

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NVIDIA HGX AI Supercomputer on display during the Hon Hai Technology Day (HHTD23) in Taipei, Taiwan, 18 October 2023.EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock
By Peter Hoskins
Business reporter

Tech giant Nvidia says the US has told it to stop shipping some of its advanced artificial intelligence chips to China immediately.

The restrictions were supposed to be introduced 30 days from 17 October.

That was when President Joe Biden’s administration announced measures to block countries, including China, Iran and Russia, from buying high-end AI chips designed by Nvidia and others.

Nvidia did not say why the timeline had been moved forward.

In a statement to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Nvidia said the US government said these curbs were “effective immediately”, but added that “given the strength of demand for the Company’s products worldwide, the Company does not anticipate that the accelerated timing of the licensing requirements will have a near-term meaningful impact on its financial results”.

The new restrictions bar exports of Nvidia’s advanced AI chips, which had been designed for the Chinese market to comply with earlier export regulations.

The acceleration of the introduction of the US curbs is the latest move in the ongoing technology dispute between Washington and Beijing.

Chinese authorities have yet to publicly comment on Nvidia’s announcement, but it hit back at the Biden administration’s decision to impose new restrictions on advanced chip exports when it was announced last week.

The country’s foreign ministry said the curbs “violate the principles of the market economy and fair competition”.

The move was seen as an attempt to close loopholes that became apparent after an initial wave of chip controls last October.

At the time, the US said the measures were designed to prevent China from receiving cutting-edge technologies that it could use to strengthen its military, especially in the field of AI.

Soaring demand for Nvidia’s AI chips has pushed up its share price more than threefold, making it one of the most valuable companies in the world.

In May the firm joined technology giants Apple, Amazon, Alphabet and Microsoft in the elite club of companies with stock market valuations of more than $1 trillion (£822bn).

California-based Nvidia has come to dominate the market for chips used in AI systems.

Chip giant Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), which also supplies AI chips to China, has not made any announcement about the accelerated export curbs. It did not immediately respond to a BBC request for comment.

The US Department of Commerce declined to comment on Nvidia’s statement when contacted by the BBC.

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