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Cyber
Marietje Schaake, International Policy Director at Stanford's Cyber Policy Center, Eurasia Group senior advisor and former MEP, discusses dirty lobbying practices by the biggest tech companies.
Meta reportedly hired a GOP firm to malign TikTok. How dangerous is this move to the public?
Well, I think it is important that we know these kinds of dirty lobbying practices that apparently looked attractive and acceptable to Meta or Facebook. It seems like a desperate effort to polish a tarnished image of the company and they must have thought that offense is the best defense. But generally, the public, the audience, readers of the news have no way of knowing which stories have been planted or that they are planted in media at all. And I think the fact that this is a common practice is revealing and cynical. But the problem is that for many of the biggest tech companies all kinds of lobbying, sponsoring, influencing has become accessible in ways that very few can compete with, they just have a lot of money to spend. I was surprised to hear, for example, that WhatsApp's lead, Will Cathcart, claimed this week that his company was not heard by European legislators when it came to the Digital Markets Act while a public consultation was held. And Meta, which owns WhatsApp, spent 5.5 million euros on lobbying in Brussels last year. So I'm pretty sure they did have an opportunity to engage.
Now on a different note after this week, you won't be hearing from me with Cyber in 60 for a while. I'm taking leave for personal reasons as well as to focus on writing on my book, about which I'm sure you'll hear later. But there are many other 60 Second videos on other themes that you might appreciate on GZERO Media. And I look forward to reconnecting in the future very soon.
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Marietje Schaake, International Policy Director at Stanford's Cyber Policy Center, Eurasia Group senior advisor and former MEP, discusses the Ukraine conflict from the cybersecurity perspective:
Unfortunately, the war that Russia started against Ukraine is still ongoing in all its devastation. And so today we focus again on some of the tech related aspects of that completely unjust and unnecessary conflict.
How likely will Russia launch a sweeping cyberattack on the West?
Well, I don't have a crystal ball, but going by with what we've seen in the past with ransomware attacks, hacks, cyberattacks on Ukraine's power grid already years ago, as well as attempts to manipulate the US presidential elections, there are certainly is no lack of will or ability on the Russian side and that makes the absence of new meddling or direct attacks with devastating impact on Western targets, actually quite remarkable. These were feared and predicted, but they have not quite manifested yet.
With disinformation becoming a weapon in the war, how can individuals better protect themselves?
Well, indeed, this information, propaganda, are specialties of the Kremlin, and it is important to be careful about what to trust, especially online. There's been a dramatic change, however, because EU sanctions have been imposed on state propaganda and Russian state media, making those sources inaccessible on both television and the internet for European audiences. But of course, there are other sources of this information, and so critical reading, verifying news by finding multiple sources, or choosing to look at reporting from trusted media or reporters that adhere to good journalistic practices, can be helpful to make sense of what is actually going on amidst an avalanche of information of which disinformation can be a part.
Marietje Schaake, International Policy Director at Stanford's Cyber Policy Center, Eurasia Group senior advisor and former MEP, discusses the Ukraine conflict from the cybersecurity perspective:
If you're like me, you've been glued to the news all week after Russia invaded Ukraine to understand what is happening on the ground and how the democratic community is responding. We've seen tectonic changes already in this past week, and we could say the same for Big Tech.
How is the Russia-Ukraine war testing the role of Big Tech?
Well, I do think we see their outsized power revealed once more. We saw Putin restricting access to platforms like Facebook, as he is losing grip over his propaganda narrative. But then also social media companies finally being forced to stop amplifying state propaganda channels of Russian media in the EU, due to new sanctions. But the fact that the platforms are not doing the same in the US and other jurisdictions says a lot about their reluctance. And there's also a problem with executing their own corporate policies. New research shows that Facebook fails in 91% of cases to correctly label content when it is Russian state sponsored. It's very messy.
What is social media's role in the Russia-Ukraine war?
Well, we've seen a lot of clips, and I've been quite impressed with how the Ukrainian side has seemed to be one step ahead each time. President Zelensky was addressing the world in response to rumors that he had actually fled the country, to show that none of that was true. And there are also clips of how captured Russian soldiers, often looking like teenagers, are fed while calling their mothers crying, and it paints a picture of how young boys are sent into the battlefield without a clue of what they were sent to do.
But having said all this, it's only been a week of this unjust war and a lot will still have to be researched more deeply. So we will keep you posted.
Cyber warfare & disinformation play key role in Russia Ukraine conflict
Marietje Schaake, International Policy Director at Stanford's Cyber Policy Center, Eurasia Group senior advisor and former MEP, discusses the Ukraine conflict from the cybersecurity perspective:
These are dark and bitter times. We've just seen Russia starting a completely unjustifiable war with disproportionate force against Ukraine and these acts of aggression that we see, threats on the foundations of a rules based order and of our own freedoms in democracies worldwide. Yes, to all this aggression, there is also a cyber dimension.
Cyber warfare is clearly a major part of the Russia Ukraine conflict, but cyber weapons are notoriously hard to control.
What is the risk that hackers at war in Eastern Europe could wind up, intentionally or not, wreaking havoc in the West or beyond?
Now in terms of the deployment of tools to attack digital infrastructure and systems, going with what we have seen so far, attacks on Ukraine have already wreaked havoc on the West. Whether it was the NotPetya attack or attempts to manipulate the US presidential election, old KGB tactics are an integral tool in Putin's toolbox. So we shouldn't think of cyberwar as something separate or detached from the broader conflict confrontation, escalation and geopolitical agenda. And there is also this disinformation element woven through all aspects of the confrontation coming from Russia. Not to forget that in Europe today, as well as in the United States, Vladimir Putin has allies in political office. So sometimes I wonder with friends like these, who needs enemies?
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Marietje Schaake, International Policy Director at Stanford's Cyber Policy Center, Eurasia Group senior advisor and former MEP, discusses trends in big tech, privacy protection and cyberspace:
What is cyber's role in the Russia-Ukraine crisis?
Well first of all, the world is looking with great concern at the massive buildup of Russian troops and wonders when or how an invasion into Ukrainian territory could be started from that position. But in the digital domain, Ukraine is already under constant fire. When we go back to 2017, the NotPetya attack was aiming at Ukrainian targets and infecting banks, government agencies, as well as media and took down part of the electricity grid.
It was a ransomware attack. Now last month, another type of attack that seemed superficial with websites being defaced was actually covering for another type of effect below the surface, much less visible infection with malware that would wipe data off of computers entirely again in Ukraine.
And this week, authorities in the country shared that they were observing the largest scale digital disruption that they'd ever seen in the form of DDoS attacks.
Now, the problem is that there is not enough clarity around the application of international law or the laws of armed conflict, and that does not help the prevention or accountability around these attacks or the international community standing together in attaching consequences to this type of aggression that is ongoing, and I think it should not have to take visible rolling of tanks or man-to-man conflict to really recognize what is going on, what Ukraine is facing, and how often the perpetrators come from next door in Russia.
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Marietje Schaake, International Policy Director at Stanford's Cyber Policy Center, Eurasia Group senior advisor and former MEP, discusses trends in big tech, privacy protection and cyberspace:
How wild is the NFT art world? And are there any loopholes behind the trend?
Well, to start with for me, the prices are insanely wild. It looked like a small circle of already wealthy fans are enjoying this new type of speculation. And while I love art, I think there's a world of difference between the Bored Apes and Van Gogh. And I have not quite discovered any appealing cutting-edge creativity in the NFT space. And meanwhile, the loophole are many, there is unauthorized use of images for NFTs, but also risks of money laundering and inflating prices artificially. And the whole hype reminds me a bit of Tulip mania, when in the Netherlands between 1634 and 1637, bulbs were sold for as much as 10 times the annual salary of a skilled artisan.
How will NFTs reshape our ways of living?
Well, since there's so much money exchanging hands, it's understandable that people want in on it. We see social media platforms accommodating NFT sales and their use. For example, Twitter offering the option of an NFT as an avatar, and venture capital investors are jumping on the bandwagon. Nike now looks to offer the sale of virtual shoes in the metaverse, and Bored Ape characters are expected to feature in the Super Bowl halftime show next week. So, it looks like NFTs are going more mainstream, but there's also question of regulation. They are currently not considered as securities in the US and I'm sure that regulators will be catching up to avoid some of the harms from this unregulated market. So ultimately regulation is also going to be very defining in the future of these investments.
Marietje Schaake, International Policy Director at Stanford's Cyber Policy Center, Eurasia Group senior advisor and former MEP, discusses trends in big tech, privacy protection and cyberspace:
What are the EU's digital gatekeeper rules, and why does the US want them changed?
Now, the EU is working on a series of legislative proposals, for example, to ensure risk mitigation around the use of AI, or the protection of fundamental rights, but also to make sure that there is fairness and competition in the digital economy. And the Digital Services Act still under negotiation between the European Commission, member state governments, and the European Parliament, seeks to impose proactive obligations on large gatekeeper tech companies, to basically extend antitrust principles and protect smaller players.
And now at the eleventh hour, the Biden administration through Commerce Secretary, Raimondo, but also a number of senators, is voicing its concern. The political leaders worry that the EU rules would discriminate unfairly against American tech companies and really single them out. But what's easily overlooked in their statements is that US-based tech companies have grown exceptionally large, and that a law that wishes to put specific obligations on the largest companies would inevitably include many American companies.
So you might think of the situation we find ourselves in as the consequence of their success. But besides that, concerns about the outsized power of a handful of monopolists is not unique to Europe. Americans also worry about harms caused by competition that is lacking or harms to society, for example, democracy or the protection of minorities. So it may be better for the US political leaders to prioritize focusing on those voices, instead of writing papers to Europeans that have nearly finished their years long deliberations.
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