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Cyber Insights • September 2024

Dreamlab Technologies presents to you our brand new ‘Cyber Insights’ newsletter – an expert analysis of the latest developments in the cyber domain across the globe. The cyber world is a world full of opportunities, but unfortunately faces new and emerging threats every day. This newsletter contains insights and trends in cybersecurity and emerging technologies that will help you stay informed regarding the threats and challenges in today's rapidly evolving digital world. It also comes with a brief analysis of the cybersecurity events from a geo-political perspective. In the evolving geo-political dynamics today, cyber-security is increasingly being prioritised by countries worldwide. Stronger cyber defence capabilities, higher investments in cybersecurity budgets and facilitating cyber policy dialogues are some of the new trends observed in the global geo-politics. The concise content in this paper provides a glimpse into this global scenario concerning the cyberspace. It is easy to read and can help promote awareness regarding best cybersecurity practices and safeguard our digital lives.

Inside this issue:

  • UK aims to build a nationwide evidence base for cyber deception technologies

  • UN finalise draft convention on cybercrime

  • US accuses Iran of influencing elections through cyber operations

  • Australia develops new ‘world leading’ digital infrastructure

  • Telegram founder faces legal charges; concerns about ‘encryption’ heightened

In this edition, we dive into the UK’s plan to build a nation-scale evidence base for cyber ‘deception technologies’ in partnership with companies to counter cyber threats. Such technologies involve decoy or trap mechanisms to drive away cyber criminals from an organisation’s true assets, alerting the organisation of potential attacks and unauthorised activities. The evidence base will help to collect data on the effectiveness of cyber deception techniques, that in turn could aid long-term research and enhance cyber security mechanisms across the country.

Next, we delve into the draft convention on cybercrime, recently finalised by the UN General Assembly ad hoc committee after three years of negotiations. The convention, expected to be adopted later this year, is set to become the first global legally binding framework on cybercrime. Amidst concerns on the convention possibly leading to increased surveillance by governments and undermining freedom of speech by allowing broad interpretation for prosecuting cybercrimes, the finalised draft highlights the need to uphold human rights, including privacy and data protection as strong safeguards while combating cybercrimes.

Spanning the US, we come across accusations by the US against Iran, to disrupt elections through cyber operations, and influence presidential campaigns, including that of former President Trump. We also examine the insights shared by Google on APT42, an Iranian government-backed threat actor associated with targeting high-profile individuals and organisational accounts related to the U.S. presidential elections and their tactics.

Across Oceania, we study the new ‘world leading’ digital infrastructure being developed by Australia that will allow Australians to verify their identity and credentials with businesses securely, without revealing unnecessary personal information. The technology has garnered support from major companies due to its robust privacy and security standards and is expected to roll out early next year. It aims to streamline business processes by identity verification through tokens based on government digital IDs, instead of any actual data. The move is expected to minimise the risk of data breaches and offers the benefits of ‘consent’, ‘choice’, and ‘trust’ to individuals with regards to their personal data. Critics, however, note that digital IDs are unprecedented, with no other country having a fully functional or successful system to learn from.

And in big tech, Telegram founder and CEO, Pavel Durov faces legal charges in France, for allegedly providing encrypted messaging services to illegal activities on the online platform. The incident highlights ongoing global controversies around the responsibility of tech companies for the content on their platforms and compliance of legal policies.

Discover more and explore the captivating stories, by downloading a copy of ‘Cyber Insights’ below.

Cyber Insights • September 2024

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