Software billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes pictured with his wife Annie. He has been listed as a 'special interest' by a Chinese firm which has compiled the data of 35,000 Australian figures
I knew today would be chaotic but I listened to a report on ABC radio this morning and just now came across the same story which I have reproduced below so even though I was going to keep away today I thought I should share even if it gets lost in the white noise.
The validation of AKD1000 means lots of different things to different people and organisations however in light of the above it is interesting to revisit what is known about Vorago, BRN & NASA. Vorago has partnered with BRN to harden AKD1000 for the rigours of space flight. If you take the time to look at what Vorago does and how it does it as long as AKD1000 worked there was never going to be an issue about whether it can be successfully dealt with by Varago.
The White House has told NASA it has to fix the problems with its cybersecurity.
NASA needs what Vorago and BRN will bring to the table. A validated hardened AKD1000 chip.
But seems from the following that not just NASA needs an AKD1000 cybersecurity solution. The Chinese security company Zenhua has complied a database which ranks and covers 2.4 million individuals worldwide. This information came from a leak. Clearly it is only a glimpse of what is taking place.
At 66 cents does anyone really think this is fully factored into BRN's current price?Data leak reveals Beijing has compiled profiles of 35,000 Australians
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Profiles on a software billionaire, the boss of a mining conglomerate, an ex-military chief and even the prime minister have been compiled by a Chinese Communist Party contractor which boasts of waging 'hybrid warfare' for Beijing.
The database containing intelligence on some of Australia's most influential political and economic powers has been leaked from the files of Zhenhua Data based in Shenzhen in China's south-east.
The military contractor has been described as 'Cambridge Analytica on steroids' by one intelligence analyst.
A client of the Chinese government, the firm says its goal is to use big data - much of which has been 'scraped' from public online sources like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn - to achieve 'the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation'.
The leak comes amid worsening political tensions between Australia and China and follows two Australian journalists fleeing the country last week.
Zhenhua's database covers 2.4million individuals worldwide, of which 10 per cent have been restored by a Canberra cyber security company, including more than 35,558 Australians - 656 of whom are called 'special interest' or 'politically exposed'.
Nine Entertainment CEO Hugh Marks is included on the list as well as Prime Minister Scott Morrison and the former commander of the Royal Australian Navy Raydon Gates.
Each of the 2.4 million figures globally who have been mentioned in the database have been given a numerical ranking to represent their influence in a certain country, The Australian Financial Review reported.
High-powered Australians named 'persons of interest' by Beijing military contractor
Gov van Ek - co-founder of energy trading company Power Ledger
Brandon Munro - chief executive of mining conglomerate Bannerman Resources
Scott Morrison - Australian prime minister
Natalie Imbruglia - singer
Raydon Gates - Ex-Royal Australian Navy commander
Jennifer Westacott - Business Council of Australia chief executive
Emma Husar - Ex-Labor MP
David Oldfield - One Nation co-founder
Anthony Cavanough - Victorian Supreme Court judge
Mike Cannon-Brookes - Atlassian co-founder
Geoff Raby - ex-ambassador to China
Andrew Hastie - Liberal MP
David Gonski - chairman of the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group
Information on the young family of Liberal MP Andrew Hastie - an ex-SAS soldier who is now the chairman of the Parliamentary Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence and Security - is also catalogued by Zhenhua Data.
Zhenhua's chief executive is a former employee of technology giant IBM and has said China's social media app WeChat should be used to conduct 'hybrid' and 'psychological warfare' and manipulate public opinion.
© Provided by Daily Mail Former commander of the Royal Australian Navy Raydon Gates is featured in the leaked dossier from a company described as 'Cambridge Analytica on steroids'
Singer Natalie Imbruglia and Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brooks, who was ranked fifth in Forbes' list of Australia's 50 richest people this year, were also named by the company's 'Overseas Key Individuals Database'.
The database was leaked to US academic Professor Chris Balding who was employed by China's Peking University until 2018 before leaving the country in fear of his safety.
'China is absolutely building out a massive surveillance state both domestically and internationally,' Professor Balding told ABC News.
'They're using a wide variety of tools — this one is taken primarily from public sources, there is non-public data in here, but it is taken primarily from public sources.'
A high-powered chief executive of uranium developer Bannerman Resources Brandon Munro, which has also been listed by Zhenhua, said he was not surprised he was considered a person of interest by China.
'Given the geopolitical importance of uranium supply and the scale of Bannerman's Etango project [in Namibia], I am not surprised to be of interest to various governments,' he said.
© Provided by Daily Mail Australian journalist Cheng Lei (pictured) was detained in China's capital city Beijing in August. She is a high profile anchor for CGTN, China's English language state broadcaster
Last week, the Chinese government revealed why Cheng Lei, a high profile business anchor on Chinese state television, had been held in a secret location for more than three weeks.
'The Australian national Cheng Lei is suspected of carrying out criminal activities endangering China's national security,' Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters.
'Compulsory measures have been imposed on Cheng and she has recently been investigated by relevant authorities.'
He said the case was being handled according to Chinese law and Ms Cheng's legitimate rights and interests were fully guaranteed.
Two Australian journalists were rushed out of China for their own safety last week after being banned from leaving until they answered questions about Ms Cheng.
Bill Birtles from the ABC and Michael Smith from the Australian Financial Review returned to Sydney on Tuesday after a five-day diplomatic stand-off.
© Provided by Daily Mail The explanation for Ms Cheng's arrest comes after two Australian reporters, Bill Birtles (pictured) from the ABC and Michael Smith from the AFR, fled China fearing for their safety
Their rushed evacuation has left Australia without any correspondents working on the ground in China for the first time in 50 years.
Chinese police told the journalists they were people of interest in the case of Ms Cheng and both men were ordered to report for questioning.
They sheltered in Australian diplomatic compounds for days as their travel rights were revoked.
Consular officials secured safe passage after the pair agreed to be interviewed.
Both journalists say they are relieved to be home but disappointed about the circumstances surrounding their departure.
