by Admin | Mar 19, 2016 | AI World Society Summit
(March, 21st) Admiral Mike Rogers, the commander of U.S. Cyber Command, told Congress last week that the Chinese government continues to engage in intensive cyber-attacks on the U.S, government and private sector.
Admiral Mike Rogers, the commander of U.S. Cyber Command, told Congress last week that the Chinese government continues to engage in intensive cyber-attacks on the U.S Government and private sector. No surprise!
Despite a formal pledge made by Chinese leader Xi Jinping in September, “cyber-operations from China are still targeting and exploiting U.S. government, defense industry, academic, and private computer networks,” Admiral Rogers told the House Armed Services Committee on March 16.
Rogers echoed comments on continued Chinese cyber-attacks made by Director of National Intelligence James Clapper in February.
Mr. Clapper said that “it remains to be seen” if China will abide by the informal pledge made during a summit meeting in Washington with President Obama to stop its relentless attacks, But virtually no one believes that it will, whatever the public rhetoric.
China’s wide-ranging cyber attacks are aimed at stealing government and industry information, including on personnel for possible blackmail, and mapping critical computer networks for future attacks in a crisis or out-and-out conflict. Major areas of concern include physical infrastructure such as transportation systems, electric utilities and water supplies.
Admiral Rogers has also noted that nation states are masking their cyber attacks by getting non-government hackers to do the attacking.
Unspecified nation states are expanding cooperation “with a much broader range” of hackers in a bid to hide the source of sophisticated cyber-attacks.
Rogers also disclosed new details about cyber attacks last July against the e-mail system used by the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff that is believed to have been orchestrated by the Russian government.
The admiral said he is “comfortable” that Cyber Command can counter cyber-threats from Russia, China and other unfriendly states and other entities and individuals.
by Admin | Feb 29, 2016 | World Leaders in AIWS Award Updates
(29th Feb 2016) Mr. Abe said the tax decision must be based on expert analysis to determine “whether the global economy is really contracting.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s recent warning about the possibility of a severe global economic contraction after theMay 26-27 G7 Summit, in Japan, has spurred speculation about delaying a tax increase and about the timing of the next parliamentary lower-house elections.
Mr. Abe said the tax decision must be based on expert analysis to determine “whether the global economy is really contracting.”
The economic outlook looks increasingly uncertain ahead of the upper-house election this summer.
See more
by Admin | Feb 29, 2016 | Event Updates
(29th Feb 2016) The Boston Global Forum propose practical responses to some of the urgent issues that national and European Union officials will address at the summit, to be held May 26-27 in Japan.
With its BGF-G7 Summit Initiative, The Boston Global Forum is collaborating this year with summit organizers to propose practical responses to some of the urgent issues that national and European Union officials will address at the summit, to be held May 26-27 in Japan. Here is a useful brief history and explanation of G7 Summits
See more
by Admin | Feb 22, 2016 | Initiative
(29th Feb 2016) In what some observers think is a too-delayed action, the U.S. military has dramatically stepped up its cyber-attacks against Islamic State terrorists.
In what some observers think is a too-delayed action, the U.S. military has dramatically stepped up its cyber-attacks against Islamic State terrorists. It’s focusing on the group’s use of social media and other parts of the Internet to recruit fighters, maintain followers’ homicidal enthusiasm and organize terror attacks.
The Associated Press reported that the new campaign by U.S. Cyber Command began shortly after Defense Secretary Ash Carter ordered commanders last month to ramp up the fight. Other news reports say that the new campaign is helping to fragment and thus weaken Islamic State recruitment and organization efforts, although much more progress needs to be made
See more
by Admin | Feb 29, 2016 | Initiative
(29th Feb 2016) U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met in Washington .
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met in Washington this week on various bilateral issues and then held a press conference. But despite the predictably careful and cordial rhetoric there were few signs that the talks would lead to Beijing reversing itself and acting positively in the two most dangerous situations in East Asia: North Korean saber-rattling and Chinese military and territorial expansion in the South China Sea.
Reading between the lines of polite rhetoric from the news conference, a reasonable person would conclude that China will continue to support its ally, the brutal North Korean regime, and will not reverse its seizure and militarization of disputed reefs and islands in the South China Sea. That is because Beijing does not yet fear that an alliance of southwest Pacific/Southeast Asian nations is prepared to stop it.
Mr. Kerry emphasized the urgency of addressing North Korean nuclear and missile threats and protecting freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, which many consider undermined by Chinese military actions. But he left unclear how far the United States was prepared to go to address these threats.
See more
by Admin | Feb 22, 2016 | World Leaders in AIWS Award Updates
(22th Feb 2016) At a summit of 10 Asian nations in California, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung urged Obama to have a “strong voice” and take “more practical actions” to end activities aimed at upsetting the “status quo’’ and, by implication, establishing Chinese hegemony, according to a Vietnamese government news Web site.
Suggesting that stronger efforts may be coming to try to stop Chinese expansionism in the South China Sea, President Obama will visit Vietnam on the same trip that he makes to attend the G7 Summit in Japan in late May. Vietnam has signaled a shift to the West to try to block China’s increasingly aggressive strategy in the waters off Southeast Asia.
Some observers think that the Chinese aggressive acts may ultimately spawn a formal military alliance including Vietnam, the United States, the Philippines and other nations with major interests in the western Pacific and Southeast Asia
The most recent example of Chinese aggressiveness in the South China Sea is China’s installation of surface-to-air missiles on Woody Island in the Paracels, off Vietnam, which claims the island. Many observers believe that the Chinese are trying to establish control over the shipping lanes in the region.
At a summit of 10 Asian nations in California, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung urged Obama to have a “strong voice” and take “more practical actions” to end activities aimed at upsetting the “status quo’’ and, by implication, establishing Chinese hegemony, according to a Vietnamese government news Web site.
Mr. Dung said the accelerating Chinese militarization of disputed islands and reefs in the South China Sea were a “real threat to peace, security, safety and freedom of navigation and aviation,” VGN News reported.
Maritime security and the freedom of navigation in the sea were among the main topics of the summit in California. Vietnam is a member of the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership, an expansive trade and regulatory pact that includes the United States, Japan, Mexico and Australia.
Obama accepted the invitation by Vietnamese Prime Minister Dung during a meeting this week at a summit of Southeast Asian nations in California.
“The president and Prime Minister Dung discussed the continued strengthening of U.S.-Vietnam relations in 2015, which marked the 20th anniversary of the restoration of diplomatic relations,” a Vietnamese government spokesman said.
“The leaders noted the importance of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, maritime security, and human rights to advancing bilateral relations,” he said.
See more on Washington Post
by Admin | Feb 22, 2016 | AI World Society Summit
(22th Feb 2016) Apple has agreed to backdoor “security checks’’ of its devices by the Chinese government, which the company refuses to let the FBI do.
Apple’s battle with the U.S. government over getting into the iPhone of one of the San Bernardino terrorists is over the hyper-profitable company’s stance that no one should be able to look into iPhones regardless of the crimes that such “backdoor’’ entries might help prevent or prosecute.
But it appears that Apple is being hypocritical.
Consider that the Chinese government-run newspaper People’s Daily has reported that Apple has agreed to backdoor “security checks’’ of its devices by the Chinese government, which the company refuses to let the FBI do.
A story in the Quartz news service noted that such entries would be despite Apple CEO Tim Cook’s assurances that Apple would not make accessible the inside of any device.
But then, Apple’s management sees China as becoming its biggest market and the company has bent over backwards to cooperate with Beijing in most matters.
Joon Ian Wong wrote in Quartz:
“{Apple’s} silence regarding Beijing’s security demands, but its vocal resistance to requests from other governments, contributes to a perception that it has different security standards for different markets….’’
See more
by Admin | Feb 22, 2016 | AI World Society Summit
(22th Feb 2016) Darren Hayes argues in The Guardian that Apple has a powerful legal and moral obligation to assist the U.S.
Darren Hayes argues in The Guardian that Apple has a powerful legal and moral obligation to assist the U.S. government by giving it access to the data in the iPhone of one of the San Bernardino terrorist/murderers. Mr. Hayes says that Apple is trying to confuse law enforcement and surveillance.
Mr. Hayes writes that “Many forensics examiners, including myself, know that what is at stake is not just the San Bernardino case but a growing backlog of criminal cases – some involving suspected child abusers or terrorists – that cannot proceed because of Apple’s defiance in assisting law enforcement.’’
He continues:
“Mobile forensics examiners also know that iPhones, and other smartphones which enable full disk encryption, have become the communication device of choice for Isis members because of this derisory public debate. The current potential solutions to extract data from encrypted devices … will cost taxpayers millions of dollars compared to a more simple solution, which Apple could provide if it wanted.’’
“In this case, law enforcement agencies are simply asking Apple to revert back to its previous model of encryption management or make simple, low-cost modifications. Apple used to possess more control over their devices and could facilitate an investigation when a request was made using both a warrant and a court order. ‘’
“….There has been little or no productive dialogue between the government and Apple in terms of cooperation,’’ Mr. Hayes notes.
See more
by Admin | Feb 22, 2016 | Global Citizenship Education
(22th Feb 2016) The UNESCO Chair in Global Learning and Global Citizenship Education at the UCLA Graduate School of Education & Information Studies and the Paulo Freire Institute-UCLA hosted the conference.
The Boston Global Forum was proud to participate in the International Research Conference on Global Citizenship Education held on Feb. 8 at the Faculty Center of the University of California at Los Angeles.
The UNESCO Chair in Global Learning and Global Citizenship Education at the UCLA Graduate School of Education & Information Studies and the Paulo Freire Institute-UCLA hosted the conference.
Presiding at the meeting were Marcello Suarez-Orozco, dean of UCLA’s Graduate School of Education and Information Studies; Dr. Carlos Alberto Torres, Distinguished Professor of Education and UNESCO Chair in Global Learning and Global Citizenship Education as well as director of the Paulo Freire Institute and president of the World Council of Comparative Education Societies, and Nguyen Anh Tuan, chairman of the International Advisory Committee of the UNESCO-UCLA Global Citizenship Education (GCE) program and chief executive and editor-in-chief of the Boston Global Forum.
More than 20 distinguished professors from around the world attended the conference.
The conference provided a much-needed space for dialogues and regional perspectives by experts from multiple disciplines who described innovative approaches and best-practices and critiqued the theories, methodologies, policies and pedagogies of GCE.
See more
