TechLetters ☕️States delegate cyber operations to non-state actors. New EU cybersecurity standard law released. Use of cyber operations targeting civilian systems on the rise.
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Security
State structures are delegating cyber operations to non-state actors (like cyber-criminals). This report mentions Russia doing it. Russian Federal Security Service (FSB)-affiliated actor that has targeted Ukraine-based entities since 2013— accessed 500-750 Ukraine-based devices daily through the USB-delivery of a Windows ShortCut file and a heavily obfuscated Powershell or VBScript. Microsoft calls for strong State responses to cyber operations. "should be explicitly stated that state-sponsored cyber intrusions that could be used to damage or interrupt critical civilian services constitute an unlawful threat of force and allow for more significant consequences in response". Guess what: It's already explicitly stated. More than that: now it's possible to consider it as an act of war, even. Is Microsoft calling for it to be repeated explicitly, overtly?
The EU released binding and enforcable cybersecurity rules. For DNS service providers, TLD name registries, cloud computing service providers, data centre service providers, content delivery network providers, managed service providers, managed security service providers, providers of online marketplaces, of online search engines and of social networking services platforms, and trust service providers. The graphic shows then a significant incident must be reported.
Privacy
X/Twitter. changed its privacy policy. Data may be used to train AI models of various types, including generative. “the recipients of the information may use it for their own independent purposes in addition to those stated in X’s Privacy Policy, including, for example, to train their artificial intelligence models, whether generative or otherwise”
Technology Policy
Cyber operations and AI use in armed conflict a problem. The ICRC is concerned with State and non-state actors use cyber operations to disable civilian infrastructure and systems, especially civilian government services or disrupt the provision of essential services. AI-based decision-support systems (AI-DSS) for the use of force are becoming prominent in military applications. They pose risks to civilians and protected persons in conflict zones due to challenges in predicting AI outputs, limited quality data in such areas, and human cognitive biases like automation bias and over-trust.
Other
Google goes nuclear and has ordered 7 small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) from Kairos Power. 500 MW, clean, 24/7 energy. For energy-intensive data centres. The first technology company to announce such a move. Technology companies will have their own power plants.
1-bit model from Microsoft makes AI run on ordinary computers. BitNet b1.58, allows AI models to run locally on your computer. It offers up to 6.17x faster performance and reduces energy consumption by up to 70% on ARM and x86 processors, with energy savings up to 29x for larger models. BitNet also cuts down memory use while maintaining competitive performance, making it ideal for scalable AI deployment on standard hardware.
https://arxiv.org/pdf/2310.11453
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