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Facebook and Twitter take down pro-Western influence campaign

Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Twitter, and Telegram disrupted a pro-Western influence campaign focused on promoting U.S. interests abroad, according to a report from Graphika and the Stanford Internet Observatory. The accounts used in the influence operation targeted the Middle East and Central Asia, frequently criticized Russia over the war in Ukraine, and often shared content from U.S. government-affiliated news outlets such as Voice of America and Radio Free Europe. Some of the accounts appear to be part of the Trans-Regional Web Initiative, a propaganda operation run by U.S. Special Operations Command active for over a decade. The campaign is the first publicly known, U.S.-run influence operation on social media. The campaign does not appear to have been very effective, as most posts received only a handful of likes or retweets, and only 19 percent of accounts had more than one thousand followers.

Ransomware gang attacks UK water organization

The ransomware gang Cl0p said it had infected a major water treatment company, South Staffordshire Water, in the United Kingdom. Cl0p first infected the systems of South Staffordshire on August 15, although there was some initial confusion as the gang believed it had compromised the systems of a larger utility, Thames Water, which serves most of southeast England. Cl0p did not deploy ransomware on the network, citing ethical concerns, but instead stole data and threatened further consequences unless a ransom is paid. The hackers may have gained access to the industrial control systems of South Staffordshire. Attacks on water systems have become increasingly common in recent years, and in some cases these attacks could have caused active harm to civilians.

Lloyds of London Excludes State-Sponsored Cyberattacks from Insurance

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Lloyds of London, a major insurance market in England, announced that it will not allow insurers to cover catastrophic cyberattacks perpetrated by nation-states as of March 31, 2023. Lloyds currently defines a catastrophic cyberattack as an attack that will significantly impair the ability of a state to function or... that significantly impairs the security capabilities of a state. While some have praised the move to greater clarity on what will not be covered, others have noted that that Lloyds standard of catastrophic is vague and that cyberattacks are often difficult to attribute to a specific nation-state conclusively. In recent years, insurance companies have grappled with how to address major cyberattacks, and, in December 2021, Lloyds announced the exclusion of nation-state-led attacks from policies held in a small subset of countries, China, France, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States, although it appears this exclusion has not been tested yet.

Former Twitter head of security turns whistleblower

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Twitters former head of security Pieter Zatko, also known as Mudge, filed a whistleblower complaint against the company earlier this week. Zatko made a series of claims about the state of Twitters security, including that Twitter unknowingly employs agents of foreign nations, deleted data may still be accessible, and that the loss of a few key data centers could permanently take down the entire site. Zatko also alleged that Twitters security practices violated an agreement with the Federal Trade Commission that prohibited Twitter from misleading user about its security or privacy practices. Zatko, who developed L0phtCrack in 1997, a password-recovery tool still in use in an updated form today, is well-respected in the cybersecurity community for his work over the past three decades. Zatkos disclosures will likely affect the court case between Twitter and Elon Musk over whether the tech entrepreneur can back out of his bid to buy the company without significant penalty, although experts are divided as to whether Zatkos disclosures will help or hurt Twitter.

Baidu unveils first quantum computer

Chinese internet company Baidu announced it had built its first quantum computer on Thursday this week. The computer, dubbed Qianshi, has a ten qubit processor, significantly behind Googles Sycamore at fifty four qubits, and Zuchongzi from the University of Science and Technology of China at sixty six qubits. Baidu said that it had also developed a thirty six qubit processor, although it appears that processor has not been used yet. Quantum computing has been a major research focus for China, the United States, and European Union in recent years, as each country has poured billions of dollars into research on quantum computing. The Biden administration recently announced a series of initiatives aimed at growing quantum research in the United States.

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Cyber Week in Review: August 26, 2022 - Council on Foreign Relations

Weve all scrolled through social media and come across a witty post shared by a friend. Perhaps it references a favourite TV show, or speaks to your current mood. If you were intrigued enough to click on it, you may have been surprised to discover its actually an ad for fast food, fashion or even gambling.

Such ads, with no apparent connection to the product and which are not overtly trying to sell you something, are called content marketing. The UK Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) has recently decided that most content marketing ads fall under its regulations. While this decision was in relation to gambling specifically, an ASA spokesperson provided the following statement to The Conversation:

Our remit applies in the same way to advertising for all sectors, so the statement we published for gambling reflects how wed approach content marketing from other industries such as alcohol brands or fast food chains. The vast majority of social media content from marketers is within our remit and therefore subject to our rules.

This could cause a major shift in the types of ads we see online.

Content marketing is everywhere on social media big names like supermarket chain Aldi and sports brand Nike use it with great success. Forbes Magazine has suggested that brands should invest up to a third of their overall marketing budgets in this type of ad, with other research showing the average among North American companies is close at 26%. And its no wonder this form of advertising is becoming more popular, when it generates three times as many leads as other types of marketing yet costs 62% less to produce.

But if youre still wondering what content marketing is, thats not necessarily by accident. Content marketing ads are designed to go under the radar, so that you may not actually notice a funny meme has been posted by a brand in this case, the fashion retailer ASOS:

While the main purpose of content marketing is to enhance brand reputation and ultimately increase sales, the big benefit for the companies is that these ads are designed to make you do the work. By sharing, liking or commenting, youre expanding the brands audience via the myriad networks of social media users. You may not do this for a Buy 2 for 1 supermarket ad, but an image of a cute cat next to a fan posted during a national heatwave could be a different story.

Of course, the idea behind content marketing is that you will make the brand connection subconsciously, as will everyone in your network who you share it with. This will create a positive relationship with the brand. Research shows these positive emotions will strengthen every time you (subconsciously) see funny or cute content from the same brand, eventually leading you to start consuming its products. Its a sneaky but very powerful form of advertising, but its also one thats changing.

Until July 2022, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) did not recognise content marketing as a form of advertising, so its regulations did not apply to such ads. This meant that, in theory, content marketing posts from gambling firms could feature children, alcohol brands could encourage drinking and driving, and fast food chains could target kids, all without breaking any advertising regulations.

While encouraging drinking and driving is a far cry from a funny cat meme, regulation of social media content marketing ads is crucial. For one thing, these posts are deceptive because most people dont realise they are advertising something. They can bypass the cognitive defences we all use when we see an ad to protect us from buying unnecessary stuff. Of course, the effects of this missing link are more harmful for certain products or services.

Gambling is known to be addictive, for example, so a traditional gambling ad will get most peoples alarm bells ringing. But if gambling companies use content marketing, users may engage with the post without even thinking and eventually follow the account. Once this happens, they will be exposed to all of the accounts content not just the funny memes but also the highly appealing, immediate-action ads encouraging users to click here for a free bet.

Read more: How children are being targeted with hidden ads on social media

We know that this is happening on a large scale. We have already written for The Conversation about our study of more than 888,000 gambling ads on Twitter. We found that around 40% of those ads were content marketing, and many were highly appealing to children.

After pressure from our academic publications, a debate in the UK House of Lords and an episode of comedian Joe Lycetts Channel 4 show Got Your Back, the regulator stepped in to expand its rules to content marketing. The ASA now recognises that most content marketing posts are actually ads, and that all existing advertising codes should apply to these posts.

This means that posts like the overheated cat could still appear in your social media feed, but it would now have to adhere to all regulations. For gambling, fast food or alcohol brands, this could mean they cannot use content marketing at all without breaching regulations. Our previous research, for example, showed that 11 out of 12 gambling content marketing posts were strongly appealing to children something not allowed under the existing regulations for adverts.

The regulators decision on content marketing is a seismic shift in advertising regulations. But the real work has just begun, because the expansion also brings up new issues. Enforcement will be tricky, for example, considering everyones social media feed is different, and content marketing pieces are often posted briefly and then spread by users, not advertisers.

But the most fundamental question will be whether, under these new regulations, it is even possible to post content marketing that is not obviously recognisable as such. The whole point of content marketing is that we dont recognise it, otherwise we wouldnt share it. But this breaks one of the first rules of advertising standards so, presumably, every content marketing piece will have to be marked ad or sponsored so that we recognise it, making it considerably less cool to share.

As such, this regulation could kill off the practice of content marketing completely, which in our view would be a good thing. Memes can be cute and funny, but using them to sell unhealthy food or gambling services is sneaky, deceptive and potentially very harmful.

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Social media ads are about to change how new rules on content marketing will affect what you see and share - The Conversation Indonesia

Sprotts Lindsay McShane receives SSHRC grant to examine the role of chatbots in customer experience - Sprott School of Business Skip to main content

Lindsay McShane, associate professor of marketing at Carleton Universitys Sprott School of Business, has been awarded the Explore Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) in the June 2022 competition to deepen our understanding of the role of chatbots.

Companies are increasingly using chatbots as a way to manage their online service interactions with consumers and their incorporation represents a significant cost savings for the company. Yet, current research indicates that 87% of consumers prefer interacting with live agents.

Lindsays research project, Chatbot or Live Agent? The Effects of Relational Value Threat on Consumer Receptivity to Chatbots, aims to address this gap by developing a more clear and systematic understanding of consumers' responses to chatbots and how these reactions shape their relationship with a company. Emerging research on consumers reactions to chatbots examines the issue primarily from the perspective that chatbot receptiveness is shaped by how efficiently consumers can achieve their service encounter goals. Instead, this research will examine the potentially critical role of how such encounters influence the extent to which consumers feel valued and respected by the company.

SSHRCs Explore Grants are part of their Institutional Grants that provide support to help Canadian postsecondary institutions fund small-scale research and research-related activities by their faculty and students in the social sciences and humanities. They are intended to assist in strengthening research excellence in the social sciences and humanities areas of Canadian postsecondary institutions.

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Sprott's Lindsay McShane receives SSHRC grant to examine the role of chatbots in customer experience - Sprott School of Business - Carleton University

The Chairman of the Libyan National Oil Corporation (NOC), Farhat Bengdara, met in Paris Thursday with the CEO of French oil company Total, Patrick Pouyann, and discussed TotalEnergies multi-energy strategy and activities in Libya, as well as the ongoing implementation of the strategic agreements signed with the Libyan authorities in November 2021 for the sustainable development of the countrys natural resources.

Total said on its website that Pouyann confirmed to Bengdara the full commitment of TotalEnergies to Libya, and expressed his willingness to launch new investments to increase Libyas oil production for supplying the world market as well as gas output for both the domestic and the European export markets.

Pouyann and Bengdara also discussed TotalEnergies willingness to strengthen its investments in Libyas renewable energy sector as the former stressed that TotalEnergies aims to help Libya in building a more sustainable future through an improved use of its natural resources, including solar energy, which will directly improve the accessibility of cleaner, more reliable and more affordable electricity to the Libyan people.

"The production following the 2021 agreement was 84,000 boe/d. This production came from the offshore Al Jurf field (TotalEnergies, 37.5%), the El Sharara onshore area (TotalEnergies, 15% on block ex-NC 115 and 12% on Block ex-NC 186) and the Waha fields (TotalEnergies, 20.41%, after the joint acquisition of Hess interest)." Total said.

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France's Total renews willingness to develop partnership with Libya in oil and gas fields - The Libya Observer

Godwin risked everything for a better life in Europe, but he was detained and ransomed in Libya by European Union-backed authorities accused of "extreme abuse" against captured migrants.

The 34-year-old Nigerian had paid 1,100 euros ($1,100) for a place on an overcrowded vessel from the Libyan port of Zawiya, heading for Italian shores via the world's deadliest migration route.

"It was night when I got on the boat, it was already dark. I didn't know (where we were going)," he said, giving only his first name."I just wanted to go to Europe and have a good life."

Those hopes were dashed when a Libyan patrol boat approached.

Godwin said he was so reluctant to avoid going back to Libya that he considered throwing himself into the sea.

But he was detained and dragged back to Libya, where he was only released after his family paid a 550 euro ransom.

His is far from the only case.

Earlier this month, Human Rights Watch said some 32,450 people had been intercepted by Libyan forces last year and "hauled back to arbitrary detention and abuse" in the war-ravaged country as European countries turned a blind eye.

HRW accused the EU's border agency Frontex of using a drone to provide information that "facilitates interceptions and returns to Libya ... (despite) overwhelming evidence of torture and exploitation of migrants and refugees".

The migrant-run @RefugeesinLibya Twitter account regularly posts images of refugees allegedly killed by Libyan forces or tortured to extort money from their families.

Refugees in the country are "tortured by European taxpayers' money, dehumanised and deprived in all forms," it said in a recent tweet.

That chimes with a report in October by United Nations experts, who said acts of "murder, enslavement, torture, imprisonment (and) rape" against detained migrants in Libya may amount to crimes against humanity.

None of this has stopped the European Union funding and working closely with the Libyan coast guard to prevent migrants reaching northern Mediterranean shores.

The accusations against Europe are not limited to financial support.

Alarm Phone, a group running a hotline for migrants needing rescue, this month accused Malta of failing to launch operations to rescue migrants in danger, "despite their obligations to do so" under international law.

"Alarm Phone has witnessed this non-assistance policy in action innumerable times," it said, accusing Malta of "abandoning boats at risk of capsizing" within the island's search and rescue zone.

From the start of January until August 20, almost 13,000 migrants have been intercepted and dragged back to detention in Libya while trying to cross the Mediterranean, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Some have been detained, while others have been sent home or simply allowed to leave the overcrowded detention centres.

A further 918 were either dead or missing.

Libyan authorities deny reports that migrants are abused.

"The arrests are carried out according to the rules in place," a migration official said.

But many argue that the long years of lawlessness since a NATO-backed revolt toppled and killed longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011 has left the country prey to armed groups and people traffickers.

"Human rights? There are no human rights in Libya," said Hussein, another migrant stuck in Tripoli.

The 26-year-old from Sudan said he had tried to reach Europe on an overnight boat crossing in 2017.

"The Libyan coast guard caught us and sent us back," he said.

He was detained for a day before managing to escape, he said.

He called on African countries to "look after their people" and discourage them from leaving, "instead of European countries funding Libya to stop migration".

But despite the risks, both Godwin and Hussein said they were saving money for a new effort to reach Europe.

They spoke to AFP while waiting on the roadside in the hope of picking up some work for the day -- for a pittance.

"Now I'm just in Libya, suffering, there is no work, no food to eat, nothing," said Godwin, wearing a paint-specked t-shirt and a grey beanie.

"I'm tired of living this kind of life I'm living here."

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Migrants face abuse in Libya after EU-backed interceptions - Times of Malta