Top of the Day

China, US push quantum race forward with major chip advances in one day

(Sujita Sinha – Interesting Engineering – 21 February 2025) China has taken a significant step forward in the global race for quantum computing supremacy. Researchers at Peking University have successfully demonstrated large-scale quantum entanglement on an optical chip, marking a crucial milestone in quantum technology. Their study used light to generate and control a network of interconnected quantum states on a tiny chip. This achievement opens the door to a future quantum-based internet where information can be shared securely and efficiently. One reviewer of the study called the breakthrough “an important milestone for scalable quantum information.” Similar experiments have been attempted in the U.S., Europe, and Japan, but the Chinese team is the first to achieve large-scale entanglement on an optical chip, South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported. – https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/quantum-leap-china-us-rival-chip-breakthroughs

To China, DeepSeek is more than an app—it’s a strategic turning point

(Tye Graham, P.W. Singer – Defense One – 21 February 2025) During this year’s Lunar New Year celebrations, a remote village in China’s Guangdong province became an unexpected center of attention. Crowds of visitors flocked to the hometown of DeepSeek’s founder, Liang Wenfeng, eager to glimpse the modest house where one of China’s most influential AI pioneers had grown up. Once an unremarkable rural enclave, the village was now decorated with banners reading, “Welcome home, Wenfeng—your hometown is proud of you!”. The celebrations contrasted sharply with the U.S. reaction to the Hangzhou-based company’s announcement of a ChatGPT-like AI tool: “a collective wail from the White House, Wall Street and Silicon Valley.” For U.S. political leaders, it was, as President Trump said, a “wakeup call” that China could not just compete, but maybe leap ahead in key technologies with major national security implications. It poked a hole in the self-confident narrative of the handful of U.S. tech oligarchs who increasingly drive domestic politics. And it shocked stock markets, sparking a sell-off among major AI firms over $1 trillion. – https://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2025/02/china-sees-deepseek-strategic-turning-point/403159/?oref=d1-featured-river-secondary

A Self-Imposed AI Brain Drain

(Kevin Frazier – Lawfare – 21 February 2025) Among the Trump administration’s designs to dismantle much of the federal government is a reported decision to fire all probationary employees at National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), including experts working on the implementation of the CHIPS and Science Act. Such a move would conflict with the president’s aspiration to “solidify our position as the global leader in AI.” China’s AI advancements and the EU’s AI investments threaten the U.S.’s lead in AI development and diffusion. Soon-to-be former NIST staff played a big role in building that initial lead. Their departure may hinder the nation’s ability to identify and seize the next opportunities to accelerate AI’s progress. – https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/a-self-imposed-ai-brain-drain

Mosaics of Insight: Auditing TikTok Through Independent Data Access

(Zeve Sanderson, Sol Messing, J. Scott Babwah Brennen – Lawfare – 21 February 2025) It’s been a whirlwind few weeks for TikTok in the United States. After going dark on the evening of Jan. 18 following a recent Supreme Court ruling upholding the divestment order for the video-sharing app, TikTok quickly went back online when President Trump indicated he would sign an executive order delaying the law. Trump officially signed the order on Jan. 20, giving the administration 75 more days to pursue a resolution to save the app for American users. Proponents of the divestment order argue that TikTok poses a threat to U.S. national security. More specifically, lawmakers fear that the Chinese government could use TikTok to access and then exploit U.S. user data and that Chinese officials could pressure TikTok to push certain types of information—such as foreign propaganda or pro-China content—into American users’ feeds. In fact, a 2019 leak to the Guardian revealed content moderation policies crafted to downrank or take down content related to anti-government protests, which the Chinese government often tries to censor. – https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/mosaics-of-insight–auditing-tiktok-through-independent-data-access

Nations Open ‘Data Embassies’ to Protect Critical Info

(Robert Lemos – Dark Reading – 21 February 2025) Worried about keeping data safe within their borders, a growing group of countries — typically, smaller nations — have hit upon a big idea: Redundantly hosting their citizens’ information in “data embassies” in another region but maintaining jurisdiction over it. Just as an embassy is a nation’s territory on foreign soil, a data embassy holds data that is subject to the owner’s — not the host nation’s — laws. The goal of the data-embassy movement is to provide redundancy for critical data that might otherwise be lost in a cyberattack, natural disaster, or other catastrophe, explains Kelly Ahuja, CEO of Versa Networks, a network security firm. – https://www.darkreading.com/cyber-risk/nations-data-embassies-protect-critical-info

The Security Implications of Developments in Biotechnology

(Nariyoshi Shinomiya, Kiwako Tanaka – IISS – 20 February 2025) This report analyses the security implications of the developments that have taken place in recent decades in the fields of genomics, genetic engineering and synthetic biology. The relevant international regulatory frameworks need to be enhanced to keep pace with biotechnological advances, while a whole-of-society approach appears to be the best way to deal with the pressing ethical issues that biotechnology raises. – https://www.iiss.org/research-paper/2025/02/the-security-implications-of-developments-in-biotechnology/

The double-edged sword of artificial intelligence in security sector governance

(Democratic Control of Armed Forces – 17 February 2025) Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been around for decades, but its rapid evolution is reshaping industries in unprecedented ways – and the security sector is no exception. As AI’s capabilities grow, its potential applications are both exciting and concerning, leaving a landscape filled with both opportunities and challenges. AI-driven systems transform the security sector by optimizing resource allocation, minimizing routine tasks, and enabling real-time threat detection. – https://www.dcaf.ch/double-edged-sword-artificial-intelligence-security-sector-governance

Security

Hackers drained $1.4 billion of cryptocurrency from Bybit exchange, CEO confirms

(James Reddick – The Record – 21 February 2025) The cryptocurrency exchange Bybit was hacked for more than $1.4 billion worth of Ethereum on Friday in what cybersecurity experts are calling the largest-ever theft targeting a cryptocurrency platform. The Dubai-based company said the incident occurred when the company was moving funds from a “cold” wallet — a wallet whose private keys are kept offline for security reasons — to an online “warm” wallet. – https://therecord.media/hackers-drained-bybit-crypto-exchange-hack

Apple turns off iCloud encryption feature in UK following reported government legal order

(Alexander Martin – The Record – 21 February 2025) Apple turned off the option for its British users to protect their iCloud accounts with end-to-end encryption on Friday, in the wake of a reported legal order from the British government. The feature, known as Advanced Data Protection (ADP), will no longer be accessible for Apple customers in the United Kingdom. Apple said users who already had it turned on will be given a period of time to disable it in order to keep using their iCloud accounts, although the length of time was not stated. – https://therecord.media/apple-encryption-feature-off-britain

Ukrainian hackers claim breach of Russian loan company linked to Putin’s ex-wife

(Daryna Antoniuk – The Record – 21 February 2025) The pro-Ukraine hacking group Cyber Alliance has claimed responsibility for a cyberattack on CarMoney, a Russian microfinance company linked to the former wife of President Vladimir Putin. CarMoney confirmed earlier this week that it had suffered a cyber incident, forcing it to shut down all systems after attackers sent spam messages to customers claiming the company was closing its business, donating its proceeds to charity and writing off all debts. The organization has not attributed the attack to Ukrainian hackers or disclosed the full extent of the breach. – https://therecord.media/russia-carmoney-data-breach-ukrainian-cyber-alliance

Defense, Intelligence, and Warfare

DARPA touts ‘formal methods’ for nipping cyber disasters in the bud

(Courtney Albon – Defense News – 21 February 2025) Officials at the Defense Advanced Research Programs Agency have begun nudging Defense Department managers to utilize idling DARPA cybersecurity tools meant to preempt hacks and accidents in critical programs. A series of high-profile incidents in recent years has highlighted a kind of passivity among defense officials in the face of the damage caused, according to Kathleen Fisher, the director of DARPA’s Information Innovation Office. Believing that systems can’t stave off catastrophic cyber incidents caused by software vulnerabilities, the department often focuses instead on reactive fixes, she said. – https://www.defensenews.com/pentagon/2025/02/21/darpa-touts-formal-methods-for-nipping-cyber-disasters-in-the-bud/

Pentagon fast-tracks ‘Cyber Command 2.0’ review, requests authorities wish list

(Martin Matishak – The Record – 21 February 2025) Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently backed a Biden-era plan to revamp U.S. Cyber Command but only gave the military’s top digital warfighting organization until next month to hammer out the details of how to do it. Hegseth was briefed on the overhaul, known as “Cyber Command 2.0,” on February 5, according to three sources familiar with the matter. The plan was approved by his predecessor, Lloyd Austin, late last year, and the command immediately started work on an implementation plan to be delivered to the Pentagon within 180 days. – https://therecord.media/hegseth-cyber-command-2-0-review-authorities-wish-list