• Sun. Aug 27th, 2023

China’s Cyber War Mafia vs. Australia

Aug 27, 2023
China's Cyber War Mafia vs. Australia
Esme Greene

In order to spread propaganda and false information online, Chinese authorities have been found to use phony social media accounts linked to international gangs, according to Australian academics. In a research published by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), it was discovered that some of these fictitious accounts are associated with a network of Twitter accounts that promote Warner International Casino, a Southeast Asian-based online gambling site. Chinese officials are currently looking into crimes connected to this platform since the casino appears to be connected to a Warner-owned casino in northern Myanmar, close to the Chinese border.

Cyberwar Secrets: China’s Covert Influence

According to ASPI authorities, China may be purchasing these fictitious identities from criminal networks for use in clandestine internet influence campaigns. The accounts are mass-produced, of poor quality, and quickly modified to avoid spam detection programs. Fake accounts were utilized in a recent effort to sway Australia. These accounts employed neural network-generated profile photographs, and intriguingly, Warner International promoted accounts with remarkably similar profile images, raising the possibility that they came from the same pool of cybercriminal accounts.

A multilingual network of Chinese fake accounts targeting Australian internal and foreign policy was recently discovered by ASPI. These tales circulated untrue allegations of rape, harassment, and bullying in Australian politics. Numerous of these accounts receive minimal attention, yet unwittingly actual Australians encourage them through answers, likes, retweets, and quotations.

The operations of Warner International go beyond internet sway; among its ventures is the transportation of Chinese citizens to Myanmar for the purpose of illicit gaming and casino jobs. This group has previously been linked to several “dark deeds.”

Chinese influence activities expand beyond Australia to include the United States. According to a Mandiant investigation, these efforts use a variety of techniques to spread pro-Beijing propaganda in the United States, including news sources, staged protests, and billboards. The researchers draw attention to the fact that Chinese attackers continuously test out new strategies in an effort to increase their power.