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Digital Asia links: The Great Cannon, Indonesian cyberspace, 'Phones Against Corruption' and more

Digital Asia links: The Great Cannon, Indonesian cyberspace, 'Phones Against Corruption' and more
Published 17 Apr 2015   Follow @DaniellesCave

The Asia Pacific is the most dynamic digital landscape in the world, home to the fastest adopters of new technologies and the largest concentration of mobile and social media users. An escalation in online activism, changing cyber dynamics, developments in digital diplomacy and the exploitation of big data are shaping the region's engagement with the world

  • There is enormous buzz around a new Citizen Lab report that claims China has created a powerful cyber weapon known as the Great Cannon. This weapon allows the government to intercept foreign web traffic as it flows to Chinese websites, inject malicious code and redirect the traffic towards any given target. China has responded by censoring discussion of the report.
  • Given the development of the Great Cannon, it's worth noting the recent launch of a US Government-funded security start-up which detects cyber attacks by trends in power consumption activity (rather than malware detection).
  • Indonesia's counter-terrorism agency is keeping a closer eye on its cyberspace - 20 websites have been blocked this month - amid growing concerns about the spread of online radical content (via Asia Digital Life Project).
  • Papua New Guinea's 'Phones Against Corruption' initiative, which allows staff from the Department of Finance to report suspicious behaviour via anonymous texts, has uncovered 250 cases of potential corruption.
  • The Philippines has an ambitious plan to connect 900 cities across the country with free wi-fi by July. How will they do it?
  • Apparently, the Chinese internet doesn't like Hillary Clinton.
  • Sam Roggeveen analyses how blogging and social media impacts Australia's international policy debate in this journal article.
  • In light of Cyclone Pam, here's a piece examining tech solutions in natural disaster response.
  • Wobe, a new app in Indonesia, has been developed to help disadvantaged women in South East Asia by allowing them to start their own micro-businesses (selling phone credit, electricity, bus tickets) via their mobile phone.
  • The Communist Youth League of China is planning an internet volunteer campaign involving 10.5 million youth, 4 million of whom will be required to exemplify 'positive energy' in internet usage, post comments that support Party ideology and report 'unhealthy' online information.


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