#CANADA: Government Bans Huawei From 5G Networks

[world politics news]

The federal government has banned Huawei from working on Canada's fifth-generation networks over security concerns — a decision critics say was long overdue.

The move puts Canada in line with key intelligence allies like the United States, which have expressed concerns about the national security implications of giving the Chinese tech giant access to key infrastructure.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#PAKISTAN: Cybercrime Law May Stifle Media Dissent, Say Critics

[world politics news]

Pakistan's new social media-related cybercrime ordinance has drawn ire from civil society activists who say the "draconian" legislation is likely to be used against government critics.

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan's government recently passed a cybercrime ordinance that prescribes a punishment up to five years in jail for posting "fake news" about government officials, the military and judiciary on social media.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#CHINA: European Olympic Committees Warn Athletes Not To Bring Smartphones To Beijing

[world politics news]

 

The Belgian, Dutch and British Olympic committees have warned their athletes against bringing their personal laptops and smartphones to the upcoming Beijing Games, out of cybersecurity concerns.

Matthias Van Baelen and Geert Slot, spokesmen for the Belgian Interfederal Olympic Committee and the Dutch Olympic Committee respectively, told local media and Reuters that cybersecurity is a risk in their assessment for the trip to China.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#USA: Biden Announces Partnership With UK, Australia, To Share Tech, Counter China

[world politics news]

 

Pres. Joe Biden has announced a new working group with Britain and Australia to share advanced technologies — including the acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines by Canberra — in a thinly veiled bid to counter China, four U.S. officials said.

The trio, which will be known by the acronym AUKUS, will make it easier for the three countries to share information and know-how in key technological areas like artificial intelligence, cyber, quantum, underwater systems, and long-range strike capabilities.

Missing from the group are Canada and New Zealand, team members with the others in the "Five Eyes" technology organization designed to keep an eye on China and its expansionist agenda.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#CHINA: US Senators Want Chinese Tech Firm Sanctioned

[world politics news]

Three US senators are calling for a Chinese "Internet of Things" platform operator to be added to a list of sanctioned Chinese companies, citing national security concerns. 

US senators want Tencent-backed Internet of Things firm Tuya sanctioned, calling the Chinese platform a security threat.

Three Republican senators say Tuya is required by law to turn Americans’ data over to Beijing, a frequently cited concern in the US.

Tuya denied the claims, saying its user data is regionally isolated and has never been requested by foreign governments.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#CHINA: New Law Would Protect Consumers From Discrimination By Internet Companies

[world politics news]

Chinese lawmakers are reviewing a new privacy law this week that will ban internet companies from using data to set discriminatory prices for users, according to state media.

A revised version of the Personal Information Protection Law is expected to be passed by China’s top legislative body, the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, state news agency Xinhua reported.

The draft has several revisions, including the ban on “algorithmic discrimination” – a common practice among Chinese internet companies where a platform charges different prices to different users based on how much it thinks they are willing to pay.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#FINLAND: Report: Parliament Emails Likely Compromised Last Fall In Cyber Attack

[world politics news]

The data system of the Finnish Parliament was hacked in the autumn of 2020.

The Parliament’s communication department stated that the cyberattack was detected during internal technical surveillance and may have compromised the data security of some e-mail accounts, including accounts assigned to Members of the Parliament.

The Speaker of Parliament, Anu Vehviläinen, of the Centre Party said the cyber attack is a serious attack against democracy and society in Finland. The attack is being investigated by the National Bureau of Investigation.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#ISRAEL: Lawmakers Allow Security Agency To Use Contact Tracing Of Cell Phones For COVID-19 Cases

[world politics news]

Israeli lawmakers have voted in favor of a new law authorizing the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) to track cellular network data of citizens as part of the state’s efforts to contain the spread of Covid-19. Of the parliament’s 120 members, 53 voted in favor of the government-backed bill and 38 against.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#UK: Defense Minister Fired Over Alleged Leaks To Media

[world politics news]

Defense Minister Gavin Williamson gas been fired by Prime Minister May over alleged leaks to the press about National Security Council discussions about a Chinese telecommunications company.

Williamson strenuously denies he leaked information from the National Security Council as calls are being made for a police inquiry.

He was sacked as defence secretary for allegedly disclosing plans to allow Chinese telecoms giant Huawei to help build the UK's 5G network.

Opposition MPs said there should be an investigation into whether the Official Secrets Act had been breached.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#AUSTRALIA: Parliament Passes "Dangerous" Bill Forcing Businesses To Allow Gov't To Snoop On Employees

[world politics news]

Australia’s parliament has passed a controversial anti-encryption bill that grants Australian police greater powers to issue “technical notices” - a nice way of forcing companies - even websites - operating in Australia to help the government hack, implant malware, undermine encryption or insert back doors at the behest of the government.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#JAPAN: Gov't Official In Charge Of CyberSecurity For 2020 Olympics Has Never Touched A Computer

[world politics news]

The man in charge of cybersecurity for 2020 Olympics has never touched a computer. Yoshitaka Sakurada was questioned by opposition party members in the Japanese Diet last month. In one particular exchange with Constitutional Democratic Party member Masato Imai he made a surprising revelation. “From the time I was 25 I ran my own businesses, so I always had secretaries and employees, and so I never touched a computer personally," Sakurada admitted. The 68-year-old minister’s remarks came at about the same time that Microsoft Japan warned of a heightened risk of cyberattacks to Olympic host countries.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#UK: Hackers Mount A "Determined" Cyber Attack On Parliament, MPs User Accounts

[world politics news]

The UK's Parliament has been hit by a cyber attack, officials say. The "sustained" hack began on Friday night, prompting officials to disable remote access to the emails of MPs, peers and their staff as a safeguard. Parliamentary authorities say hackers mounted a "determined attack" on all user accounts "in an attempt to identify weak passwords." Government sources say it appeared the attack has been contained but it will "remain vigilant."

[FULL STORY HERE]

#UK: House Of Lords Approves Bill Giving Sweeping New Spy Powers To Gov't

[world politics news]

The House of Lords has passed the Investigatory Powers Bill, putting the huge spying powers on their way to becoming law within weeks. The bill – which forces internet companies to keep records on their users for up to a year, and allows the Government to force companies to hack into or break things they've sold so they can be spied on – has been fought against by privacy campaigners and technology companies including Apple and Twitter.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#CHINA: New Cyber Security Law Criticized For Restricting Speech

[world politics news]

China's parliament has adopted a controversial cyber security law designed to counter growing threats such as hacking and terrorism, but the law has triggered concerns among foreign business and rights groups, who say it threatens to shut foreign technology companies out of various sectors deemed "critical." The legislation, passed by China's largely rubber-stamp parliament and set to take effect in June 2017, is an "objective need" of China as a major internet power, a parliament official said. Overseas critics of the law

[FULL STORY HERE]

#SWITZERLAND: Defense Min. Defends Extended Security Powers Ahead Of Sept 25 Vote

[world politics news]

Swiss Defense Minister Guy Parmelin says Switzerland is currently not adequately protected against terrorist threats. His government is seeking greater security powers in a Sept. 25 nationwide vote. The new law would allow intelligence services to conduct preventative monitoring, including tapping telephones, bugging rooms and hacking computers.

#THENETHERLANDS: Cabinet Ordered To Re-Think Legislation Allowing Spy Agencies To Hide Internet Snooping

[world politics news]

Cabinet ministers have been ordered to reconsider their refusal to publish how often the security services tap people’s phones and internet. The Council of State, the highest Dutch administrative court, said on Wednesday that the government needs to improve the reasoning behind its refusal to publish the details. The case was brought by internet privacy campaigner Bits of Freedom.

#LITHUANIA: Parliament's Website Comes Under Cyber Attack During Discussion Of Crimean Tartars

[world politics news]

Lithuania’s parliamentary website came under cyber attack just as an April 11 special session of the World Congress of Crimean Tartars was meeting to discuss mass violations of human Rights in Russian-occupied Crimea. The website was blocked partly preventing live coverage of discussions. Lithuanian police claim the attack came from abroad. According to Baltic Course, the cyber attack was aimed at preventing foreign viewers from watching the global gathering of the Tatar community.

#JAMAICA: New Penalties For Cyber Crimes Introduced In Parliament

[world politics news]

The Portia Simpson Miller government (People's National Party) has introduced new cyber crime legislation allowing for new offences such as computer-related fraud or forgery; the use of computers for malicious communication; and unauthorized disclosure of investigation.

#INDIA: High Court Critical Of Gov't After 800 Rented Security Cams Removed

[world politics news]

The Delhi High Court has criticized the government after it removed 800 closed circuit cameras from the streets of New Delhi after Pres. Obama's January visit. At a time of high crime and concern over increased rapes, the rented cameras should have remained in place, they said in a statement.

#KENYA

Gov't To Register Every Citizen in Digital Database for "Security" and "Planning" [world politics news]