At a Glance.
- Israel targeted over 120 US lawmakers in a disinformation campaign effort.
- The US is considering limiting China’s access to AI chips.
Israel targeted US lawmakers in a disinformation campaign effort.
The News.
In a widespread disinformation campaign effort, Israel targeted 128 United States (US) lawmakers to spread pro-Israel content. This content included pro-Israel military content amid the ongoing war occurring in Gaza. With this campaign, Israel allegedly used 600 fake profiles and posted over 2,000 comments per week that backed Israel’s recent military actions, discredited Palestinian rights groups, and dismissed claims regarding human rights abuses. Furthermore, this disinformation campaign was backed by the Israeli government as multiple Israeli officials were cited to be supporting these efforts. Also, estimates believe the Israeli government spent over $2 million on the campaign.
Some US officials targeted by this campaign include Senator Chuck Schumer and Raphael Warnock, and Representatives Jim Clyburn, Ilhan Omar, Shontrel Brown, Mike Johnson, and Hakeem Jeffries. From the officials targeted, the disinformation campaign focused more on House members and mostly Democratic lawmakers. The Israeli Ministry for Diaspora Affairs has “categorically” denied any involvement in these efforts.
The Knowledge.
While varying news agencies have been unable to confirm the full extent of the Israeli government’s involvement in this disinformation campaign, these efforts mimic similar actions found in other disinformation campaigns that have been conducted by Iran, Russia, China, and North Korea. These similar actions have included utilizing fake accounts on social media sites to spread misinformation by posing as normal citizens, lawyers, journalists, and human rights activists. The use of fake social media accounts is representative of the larger concerns surrounding how these disinformation campaigns are being used to muddy political discourse and potentially influence elections.
For example, in 2023, Meta warned that China was increasing its efforts to spread disinformation on its social media sites. This announcement followed Meta’s efforts to take down five different Chinese networks of fake accounts that were targeting people in sub-Saharan Africa, Central Asia, Europe, and the US. For the network targeting the US, Meta cited how China utilized a network of over 4,800 accounts that impersonated Americans and posted about domestic politics regarding US-Chinese relations. Aside from attempting to influence political discourse, these misinformation efforts also have been used to influence elections. Earlier this year and just last week, reports emerged regarding Chinese efforts to spread misinformation ahead of the Taiwanese elections in January, and Russia attempted similar efforts involving the European Parliament elections last week. Regardless of who is conducting these misinformation campaigns, their goals often involve spreading inaccurate narratives, swaying political views, and increasing polarization.
The Impact.
Disinformation campaigns are not a new phenomenon and have been used by numerous governments and special interest groups to attempt to confuse the narrative and cause disruption. Unfortunately, until comprehensive actions are taken by either social media companies or by governments to counter these disinformation efforts, new fake account networks will continue to emerge and spread more misinformation.
For citizens across the world as well as government officials, due caution must be taken when consuming news from social media sites and people should take the time to verify sources and articles found online to ensure their authenticity. Regardless of how these campaigns have attempted to sway the conversation, these disinformation efforts are clear attempts to increase political polarization and manipulate political viewpoints. By taking steps, to authenticate news and have informed opinions, people can ensure they are making informed choices based on their own beliefs rather than those manipulated by external actors.
Biden administration debating implementing more limits to curb China’s access to AI chips.
The News.
The Biden administration is reportedly considering implementing greater restrictions on China’s ability to gain access to artificial intelligence (AI)-related chip technology. Specifically, these new restrictions would be designed to limit China’s ability to access the gate-all-around or GAA chip. For context, GAA is a type of transistor architecture that improves a semiconductor chip’s performance and reduces power consumption. While the scope of this potential restriction is still being determined, former Commerce official, Kevin Wolf, stated that these “new controls are part of an effort by allied countries to each impose separately controls they had agreed to several years ago during the Wassenaar Arrangement…meetings.” Wolf also noted that in March, the United Kingdom (UK), also imposed new controls over technology regarding integrated circuits that involved GAA field-effect transistors.
Aside from restricting access to GAA-related chips, this report also highlighted that the Biden administration is beginning early discussions surrounding limiting exports of high-bandwidth memory chips as well.
The Knowledge.
While these new rules have yet to be formally implemented, these new restrictions are likely to curb any potential future issues with GAA technology as major chip manufacturers Nvidia, Intel, and Advanced Micro Devices among others are beginning to prepare themselves to start mass production of GAA chips by next year. These new potential restrictions follow a consistent pattern by the Biden administration to secure domestic chip production and prevent China from being able to access advanced AI-related chip technology. These new restrictions would follow efforts made by the Biden administration last October and in March that directly restricted China’s ability to access AI chips and tools that could be utilized for military efforts.
Aside from restricting China’s ability to access advanced AI chips, the Biden administration has also signed several deals with chip manufacturers, including Intel, Samsung, and other companies to boost domestic chip manufacturing capabilities. Each of these deals has been funded through the CHIPS and Science Act, a bill passed in 2022 to fund these investment deals. Both of these moves are representative of the Biden administration’s growing focus on AI technologies and semiconductor chips.
The Impact.
With the race to secure AI well underway, the Biden administration has signaled its intentions to not only reduce the nation’s reliance on international chip manufacturing but also take active steps to reduce China’s ability to directly compete with the US. While the AI policy landscape is changing rapidly and will not be settled for some time, the Biden administration has developed a consistent pattern for how it will seek to regulate AI technologies and promote domestic production. For the average citizen, these policies will most likely not have a direct impact on their daily lives; however, these policies will most likely have a significant impact on the US’s ability to develop and secure AI over the coming years. Additionally, for AI and chip manufacturers, developers should be aware of Biden’s consistent and growing attention to the industry and should plan accordingly.
Other Noteworthy Stories.
Apple launches new AI feature with ChatGPT.
What: Apple has announced that it will offer new AI features for users through software updates.
Why: On Monday, Apple announced that it will be implementing new AI features that will utilize the company's own native “Apple Intelligence” and a partnership with OpenAI’s ChatGPT. With these new AI features, Apple believes that AI will be able to prioritize user notifications and help rewrite languages across apps, including in emails, notes, or messages. Additionally, these AI features will work with Siri to allow users to ask questions to find information that may have been shared in emails or messages.
With these new features, Apple users will not have to create a separate ChatGPT account as the services will be directly connected to the device.
Meta faces increased calls to not use personal data for AI models in the EU.
What: In the European Union (EU), Meta’s plan to use personal data to train AI models has been scrutinized.
Why: Last week, European privacy enforcers began scrutinizing and criticizing Meta’s plan to use personal data to train its AI models without seeking user consent. This new policy would come into effect on June 26th and allow Meta AI models to use years of personal posts, private images, and tracking data for training purposes. NOYB, or None of Your Bussiness, has launched eleven complaints against Meta asking authorities in countries across Europe to investigate these complaints. Meta has rejected NOYB’s criticisms stating that they use publicly available data as well as information that people have already shared on their products and services.
Dutch Intelligence claims Chinese cyber espionage is larger than originally suspected.
What: The Dutch military intelligence stated that Chinese cyber espionage efforts are larger than intended, targeting governments and defense companies.
Why: On Tuesday, the MIVD agency announced that a Chinese state-backed hacking group was behind a 2023 cyberattack that targeted the Dutch defense ministry and had at least 20,000 victims globally. With this announcement, the MVID also stated that the Chinese hacking group also had a wide range of targets including “dozens of Western governments, international organizations, and numerous companies operating in the defense industry.”
Aside from announcing these breach details, the MVID urged organizations and governments to adopt the “Assume Breach” principle. This principle revolves around always assuming that a successful digital attack has already taken place or that one will take place shortly.
FCC proposes BGP security reporting for broadband providers.
What: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced a new proposal that would involve new reporting requirements with the hopes of improving internet routing security.
Why: Last Thursday, the FCC announced a new proposal that would increase reporting requirements for broadband providers. If this proposal were to pass, broadband providers would be required to create and implement new plans that would be used to mitigate security flaws involving the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), and broadband providers would need to submit quarterly reports that would detail their efforts to mitigate associated risks.
For these security plans, the FCC announced that it is looking to include public comment to help decide what security measures need to be included in the proposed security requirements.
Apple states that iPhones will get security updates for at least five years.
What: Apple has announced that it will continue to provide security updates to iPhones for at least five years to comply with new UK regulations.
Why: Last Friday, Apple announced its intention to provide security updates for iPhones for at least five years. This latest announcement comes after the UK’s consumer connectable product security regime came into effect at the end of April. Within this new regulation, businesses would need to comply with new security requirements that include setting unique passwords, improving reporting of information regarding security issues, and providing a minimum number of years that products will receive security updates.
While Apple has announced its intention to provide security updates for at least five years for phones running iOS versions 17 or later, Dave Kleidermacher, a Google VP of engineering, commented how this time period is shorter than both Google and Samsung, who both offer security updates for seven years for their Android products.