For years, the national and cyber security communities have warned technology companies like Microsoft, Amazon and Oracle that escalating tensions between the United States and China would ultimately make them choose between one of their largest customers, the U.S. government, and access to the state-controlled Chinese market. U.S. companies have long had to balance their values with China’s authoritarian demands, such as extreme censorship of search engines. That was just the tip of the iceberg.   Now, a revision to China’s state secrets law that takes effect in May could very well force the issue.   The law will require business entities in China to identify and disclose to the government “work secrets,” or non-classified information that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) deems relevant to its national security. The revision is purposely ambiguous as to what qualifies, allowing China to force U.S. tech firms (and, of course, other U.S. companies operating in China) to turn over proprietary information that could be used to target the U.S. government or impact the data security of Americans writ large. This becomes a difficult but binary choice for U.S. tech companies that have invested billions of dollars to build up their presence in China. If U.S. tech companies refuse to comply, they risk losing access to the vast Chinese market. If they do comply, they risk threatening U.S. national security.   To eliminate that risk, the Biden administration and Congress should — at a minimum — consider barring technology companies that comply with the new rule from pursuing new government contracts.   Technology companies like Microsoft, Amazon and Oracle are deeply embedded in the U.S. government and enjoy significant advantages thanks to their incumbency in government contracts. Microsoft and Oracle, for example, face no competition for nearly a quarter of their federal contracts. In many cases, secondary IT providers “compete” for the government’s business but use the same underlying systems, ensuring that no matter which bidder is selected, firms like Microsoft and Oracle always win. These companies also have significant operations in China and large networks of affiliates that work with researchers and universities with direct ties to the Chinese government and military.   These operations risk compromise to America’s national security interests today: Chinese familiarity with and access to information about operating systems that are at the core of our defense enterprise is, manifestly, a source of vulnerability. As President Xi Jinping has consolidated power, the CCP has imposed increasingly strict rules on foreign businesses operating in China and mandated their compliance to maintain market access.   For U.S. technology companies, that has meant requirements that force them to provide the state advance notice of their cybersecurity vulnerabilities, allowing state-affiliated hackers to exploit zero-day flaws before a patch is released. It has also meant compliance with a National Cybersecurity Law that opens many of the products they offer in the United States — including cybersecurity tools sold to the U.S. government — to intrusion by state-affiliated hackers. Microsoft itself has admitted that compliance with these rules has directly led to attacks against governments worldwide.     That threat risk looms larger with the new requirements. U.S. technology companies that conduct research and development in China will now also be required to abide by the new “work secrets” rule if they want to continue to reap the rewards of the Chinese market or use China-based talent to develop products and features banned in China but used globally, including in the United States.   If the past is prologue, these companies will choose to comply. China’s hacking and espionage program is already robust, and top U.S. intelligence officials have voiced their concern about China’s ability to launch a significant cyberattack against U.S. critical infrastructure. Increasing the flow of data from the U.S. government’s largest and most important technology partners directly to the CCP exponentially increases that risk.   To mitigate this, the Biden administration and Congress must step in — the same way they have in recent weeks to improve U.S. port cybersecurity — to stop Americans’ personal data from being sold to foreign adversaries like China and address the threat that Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers pose to national security.  Any action needs to reflect the reality that it is increasingly becoming unfeasible for the companies trusted with U.S. national security contracts to maintain significant operations in China. Lawmakers should adopt new measures to transition to a procurement system that would disqualify any company that complies with China’s state-mandated disclosures from consideration for future government contracts. Requiring companies to choose between the United States and China will ensure the technology partners the U.S. government chooses share its national security priorities, helping make the tools it relies on safer and more secure.   Paul Rosenzweig is the founder of Red Branch Consulting, a homeland security and cybersecurity consulting firm, and a senior adviser to The Chertoff Group. He previously served as deputy assistant secretary for policy at the Department of Homeland Security and is currently a professorial lecturer in law at George Washington University and a senior fellow in the Tech, Law & Security Program at the American University, Washington College of Law.     Source: The Hill

Taiwan’s air force apologized to the public as it announced that it would conduct late-night flight training to counter the increasing threat level posed by the Chinese military in Taiwan’s air and sea space. In a press release issued yesterday evening, March 5, Air Force Command said that it would comply with instructions from the Ministry of National Defense (MND) to increase nighttime combat skills and tactical execution experience for pilots of various types of aircraft to enhance preparedness and safeguard airspace security. The late-night missions will span over midnight, and the air force apologized for any impact it may have on the general public. Air Force Command asked for public understanding, saying the missions are necessary for rigorous training to prepare for potential threats and challenges. The announcement comes after an increase in harassments by the Chinese Communist Party via gray zone warfare tactics employed by the Chinese military, and more recently by the Chinese Coast Guard. For decades, military aircraft abided by a tacit understanding that there was a median line in the Taiwan Strait which neither side’s military crossed over. In March 2019, two People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) fighter jets crossed the mid-strait and flew 43 nautical miles into the Taiwan side, forcing intercepts by Taiwan’s Republic of China Air Force (ROCAF). This was the beginning of an increasing number of incursions, and a declaration by CCP officials that there is no center-line in the Taiwan Strait. Incursions and encirclements by China’s military aircraft have become a daily occurrence, constituting a “new normal” since 2020. Yesterday, March 5, Taiwan’s MND announced that in the 24 hours to 6:00 am, a total of 12 PLAAF aircraft and 6 People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) ships were tracked in Taiwan’s air and sea identification zones, including two aircraft and one balloon that crossed the median line. Also yesterday, March 5, China’s finance ministry announced a 7.2% increase in its military budget while calling for “reunification” with Taiwan. Previous announcements had always used the term “peaceful reunification,” but the word “peaceful” appears to have dropped out of the CCPs political parlance. Among military officials who spoke to the Taiwan Legislative Yuan’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee this morning, Minister of the Veterans Affairs Council, Feng Shih-kuan, a retired air force general, spoke to public concerns raised by the media about the impact of late night flights taking off and landing at airbases around the island. Feng said that when he was a commander at Tainan Air Base, members of the public had complained about aircraft taking off and landing after 9:00 pm, but the situation has changed now. Shih said that when people hear planes taking off late at night now, they understand that the planes are on an intercept mission, and their thoughts are with the pilots, hoping for a safe return.

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) has announced it would hold countrywide protests against the ‘theft’ of the public's mandate. The party had on Saturday urged the election commission to announce complete results by midnight or face protests. However, within hours of issuing the statement, party workers in Peshawar and Karachi embarked on protests complete with sloganeering and waving of party flags.    The polling was held on Thursday but the results were not yet declared and the country appeared headed to a hung Parliament or a coalition government. As per the updates, Independents backed by PTI won the highest 101 seats in the National Assembly, followed by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) with 73 seats and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) with 54 seats. Section 144 in Islamabad while water cannon and heavy police force have been deployed at Liberty Chowk in Lahore. In a tweet, the Islamabad Police said some people were inciting illegal gatherings around the election commission and other government institutions. "It should be noted that inciting to gather is also a crime."   Meanwhile, the Election Commission has ordered re-polling in some polling stations of NA-88 (Khushab II), PS-18 (Ghotki I), and PK-90 (Kohat I) following rigging charges, Dawn reported. The ECP spokesperson announced re-polling at 26 polling stations of NA-88 after a mob reportedly set fire to polling material at the returning officer’s office. The re-polling is scheduled for February 15.  Re-polling in PS-18, attributed to the reported confiscation of polling material by unidentified people, is also slated for February 15. Likewise, re-polling will be conducted at 25 polling stations of PK-90 due to damage caused to polling material by terrorists, the ECP said.   Parties are making efforts to cobble up an alliance to form the government since no party has secured a majority. Former premier Nawaz Sharif has also invited political parties, except for the PTI, to come together and form a coalition government, claiming that the PML-N has emerged as the "single-largest party" during the elections. Dawn reported that a petition has been filed in the Supreme Court to bind the elected independent candidates to join a political party within three days of the official notification of their victory.    Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir has said the nation needs "stable hands and a healing touch to move on from the politics of anarchy and polarisation." He said political leadership and their workers should rise above self-interests and synergise efforts in governing and serving the people, "which is perhaps the only way to make democracy functional and purposeful".

Awami League nominated candidate for Magura-1, superstar cricketer Shakib Al Hasan, sought all-out support from all for the development of the constituency. Shakib Al Hasan is busy with election campaign organized by the local unit of Awami League. He will contest the parliamentary election for the first time. He was seen seeking votes from local voters while visiting villages, unions and areas under the constituency that includes Atharokada, Raghabdair, Moghi union in Sadar upazila. Massive crowds turned out to see the cricketer while some greeted Shakib with flowers. He also urged people to exercise their franchise at the polling stations on January 7.  

The multinational coalition comes as major shipping companies halt their shipments through the region, where Houthi rebels have attacked commercial vessels since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. A multinational naval force will be deployed in the Red Sea to defend against attacks from Houthis that have disrupted international shipping routes, United States Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced on Tuesday.   "The recent escalation in reckless Houthi attacks originating from Yemen threatens the free flow of commerce, endangers innocent mariners, and violates international law," Austin, who is on a trip to Bahrain, home to the US Navy's headquarters in the Middle East, said. Dubbed "Operation Prosperity Guardian," the US-led coalition will include Britain, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain. They will reinforce a US and Egyptian-led force already operating in the region. Yemen's Houthi rebels defiant The Iran-backed Houthis began targeting ships along the key route in response to Israel's war on Hamas. On Tuesday, the militants said they would not halt attacks on Red Sea shipping despite the announcement of the new maritime protection force. "Even if America succeeds in mobilizing the entire world, our military operations will not stop... no matter the sacrifices it costs us," senior Houthi official Mohammed al-Bukhaiti said on X, formerly Twitter.   He added that the group would "respond to any aggression with military operations that are unprecedented." In the last four weeks, Houthi militants have attacked or seized commercial ships 12 times and still hold 25 members of the MV Galaxy Leader hostage in Yemen, according to the US. The UN Security Council discussed the Houthi threat on Monday but took no immediate action. Companies halt shipping in the Red Sea About 12% of world shipping traffic usually transits via the Suez Canal, the shortest shipping route between Europe and Asia, passing into the Red Sea waters off Yemen. The shipping company Maersk announced that it had decided to reroute its ships around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. On Monday, oil giant BP said it had paused shipments through the Red Sea, pushing up oil prices. The US military's Central Command reported two attacks on commercial vessels on Monday. According to the military, a tanker off Yemen was hit by an attack drone and a ballistic missile at about the same time that a cargo ship reported an explosion in the water near them.

Taiwan scrambled its air force on Thursday after spotting 20 Chinese warplanes crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait, the unofficial barrier between the two sides, Taiwan's defence ministry said, as Beijing continues military activities near the island. The Chinese aircraft included an unspecified number of fighter jets and drones which entered Taiwan's northern, central and southwestern air defence identification zones (ADIZ) from Thursday afternoon, the ministry said in a statement. Taiwan sent aircraft to warn away the Chinese planes, while missile systems monitored them, the ministry said, using standard wording for its response. Democratically ruled Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, has complained in recent years of almost daily missions by the Chinese air force near the island, often in the southwestern part of its ADIZ. Taiwan believes the frequent Chinese military activities near the island this week, including reporting 37 Chinese aircraft in the island's ADIZ from Wednesday to Thursday, are meant to exert pressure on the United States amid a series of high-level talks between Beijing and Washington, according to a senior Taiwan security official. "China is used to maximizing its military pressure amid negotiations," the official, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, said. "They want to increase their bargaining chips." Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with senior U.S. officials last week, with both sides agreeing to hold a series of consultations in the near future.Earlier this week, the U.S. destroyer USS Rafael Peralta and a Royal Canadian Navy frigate HMCS Ottawa transited the sensitive Taiwan Strait, a movement that was followed and monitored by the Chinese military.

About 70 per cent of women engineering graduates residing within the country are either unemployed or out of the labour force, a study has found.  The research, jointly conducted by Gallup Pakistan and PRIDE using data from the Labour Force Survey 2020-21, found that 20.9pc of a total of 28,920 women engineering graduates were unemployed. About 50.9pc of them were out of the labour force while only 28pc remained employed. An analysis of the data for the three groups — employed, unemployed and out of the labour force — by region shows that 21.1pc of all engineering graduates resided in rural areas while 78.9pc of them were based in urban areas. Within the rural areas, 43.9pc of engineering graduates were employed while 36.3pc were unemployed. The share of engineering graduates who opted to remain out of the labour force in the rural areas was substantially lower (19.8pc) than the national average (50.9pc). As for the urban areas, 24pc of women engineering graduates were employed while 16.8pc of them were unemployed. A major proportion of women engineering graduates remained out of the labour force in the urban areas (59.2pc). A little more than 64pc of those engineering graduates who opted to remain out of the labour force were married while 28.4pc remained single. The highest share of all women engineering graduates was in the age bracket of 25-34 years (50.9pc), followed by 35-44 years (21.7pc). Source: DAWN

A Pakistani drone with a suspected contraband item was recovered in a joint operation by the Border Security Force (BSF) and Punjab Police in Punjab's Tarn Taran district on Tuesday, said officials. The BSF said that on Tuesday around 11:28 am it intercepted the movement of a suspected drone near Village Wan in the district of Tarn Taran. "As per the laid down drill, BSF troops immediately reacted to intercept the drone," said a statement issued by the BSF. "Further, a joint search operation with Punjab Police was carried out. During the search at about 12:15 pm, a drone in broken condition along with one packet of suspected contraband items (Gross weight - 420 gm) wrapped with yellow adhesive tape, attached with a ring for hanging it with the drone and one battery (5000 mAH) of the drone was recovered from the farming field adjacent to Village - Wan, District - Tarn Taran," the statement added. The BSF officials said that the recovered drone is a Quadcopter of model DJI Mavic 3 Classic. There have been many Pakistani drones that crossed the border and entered India's Punjab and have been recovered by BSF. Last Sunday, The BSF and Punjab Police in a joint operation recovered a Pakistani drone in broken condition from Punjab's Ferozepur.

A Pakistani drone with a suspected contraband item was recovered in a joint operation by the Border Security Force (BSF) and Punjab Police in Punjab's Tarn Taran district on Tuesday, said officials. The BSF said that on Tuesday around 11:28 am it intercepted the movement of a suspected drone near Village Wan in the district of Tarn Taran. "As per the laid down drill, BSF troops immediately reacted to intercept the drone," said a statement issued by the BSF. "Further, a joint search operation with Punjab Police was carried out. During the search at about 12:15 pm, a drone in broken condition along with one packet of suspected contraband items (Gross weight - 420 gm) wrapped with yellow adhesive tape, attached with a ring for hanging it with the drone and one battery (5000 mAH) of the drone was recovered from the farming field adjacent to Village - Wan, District - Tarn Taran," the statement added. The BSF officials said that the recovered drone is a Quadcopter of model DJI Mavic 3 Classic. There have been many Pakistani drones that crossed the border and entered India's Punjab and have been recovered by BSF. Last Sunday, The BSF and Punjab Police in a joint operation recovered a Pakistani drone in broken condition from Punjab's Ferozepur.

The United Nations Security Council approved on Monday deploying a multinational force to Haiti, where authorities have been struggling for nearly a year to control criminal gangs. The force was described as a Multinational Security Support mission "to take all necessary measures."  The resolution authorizes the force to deploy for one year, with a review after nine months. "More than just a simple vote, this is in fact an expression of solidarity with a population in distress," said Jean Victor Geneus, Haiti's foreign affairs minister.  "It's a glimmer of hope for the people who have been suffering for too long," he added. The deployment was approved by 13 votes, with permanent members Russia and China both abstaining. The council also approved widening a UN arms embargo to include all gangs, rather than just some individuals, following a push from Beijing. What do we know about the mission? The taskforce is expected to be led by Kenya, which pledged last summer to send 1,000 troops. Neighboring Caribbean countries Jamaica, the Bahamas and Antigua and Barbuda also expressed readiness to contribute forces. The United States meanwhile promised logistics and $100 million (approximately €95.43 million) in support. Haiti's foreign minister described the vote as a "glimmer of hope" and an "expression of solidarity with people in distress." "It is a glimmer of hope for people who have been suffering the consequences of a difficult political, socio-economic, security and humanitarian situation for too long," Jean Victor Geneus told the Security Council. Why is it controversial? The decision to deploy the multinational force comes nearly a year after Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry requested the immediate deployment of a foreign armed force to help control the gangs, alongside 18 top government officials. Henry, who leads an unelected administration has also cited the violence and instability as a reason for a delayed election. The country has been left without any elected representatives since January. However, many are still wary of international intervention. A previous UN mission which started in 2004 was marred by a sex abuse scandal and a cholera outbreak which killed over 9,000. It ended in 2017. The introduction of cholera to the country was blamed on UN peacekeepers dumping infected sewage into a river. Meanwhile, Kenya's police, which is expected to make up much of the new mission, has long been accused of torture, deadly force and other abuses. Monday's resolution asked countries contributing to the mission "to adopt appropriate wastewater management and other environmental controls to guard against the introduction and spread of water-borne diseases."