ZeroFox Physical Security Intelligence Daily Brief - February 29, 2024

ZeroFox Physical Security Intelligence Daily Brief - February 29, 2024

ZeroFox physical security experts collect, curate, and analyze information derived from open and proprietary sources for comprehensive context of the circumstances surrounding global events. Here is today’s daily roundup of major developments.

Brief Highlights

• ZeroFox Intelligence Brief - iSoon Data Breach and China’s Geopolitical Strategy
• EU Parliaments Adopt Nature Law that Partially Contributes to Farmers Protests
• Hong Kong Protest Against New Security Law

ZeroFox Intelligence Brief - iSoon Data Breach and China’s Geopolitical Strategy

The iSoon data breach provides meaningful evidence that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leverages the Chinese private sector to achieve its geopolitical goals and illustrates the role the CCP has on priority-setting in the Chinese technology sector. The breach shows that contractors are used to target China’s adversaries with cyberattacks designed to exfiltrate data in line with CCP's geopolitical priorities, which is then sold to Chinese state bodies. There is evidence from the breach to suggest China has deployed this strategy against targets with which it has geopolitical disputes. While the targeting of entities in these locations may be in line with CCP geopolitical aims, it is unknown if these efforts are at the direction of the CCP.

EU Parliaments Adopt Nature Law that Partially Contributes to Farmers Protests

On February 27, the EU parliament adopted the controversial biodiversity and restoration bill. The bill requires EU states to put in place measures to restore at least 20 percent of the bloc's land and seas by 2030. The bill is controversial because it would require some farmland to be unused so it could return to its previous state. Protesting farmers argue the measure will reduce the available land and further push up costs. Farmers have been protesting for weeks across the EU over what they claim are excessive environmental rules, competition from cheap imports, and low incomes. This has seen numerous other measures that make up the European Green Deal and its agricultural policy rolled back. Even the restoration bill has been watered down. However, it has now been passed despite strong opposition from conservative parties inside the European Parliament, who will likely use the bill to campaign ahead of the EU-wide elections in June 2024, where far-right parties are polling well. Expect continued farmers' protests across Europe, which have continued despite receiving significant concessions from the EU.

Hong Kong Protest Against New Security Law

On February 27, Hong Kong activists from the League of Social Democrats (LSD) staged a rare public demonstration at Hong Kong government headquarters against government plans for a new national security law. The LSD is one of the few remaining opposition groups in Hong Kong, and public pro-democracy demonstrations have mostly ended in Hong Kong since China cracked down on massive violent protests in 2019 and imposed another version of the national security law. LSD states that the proposed legislation lacked democratic oversight and human rights safeguards, and they doubted there were any objections during a month of public consultation that ended on February 28, 2024. The new national security law, known as Article 23, seeks to create new offenses such as insurrection and external interference and close the loopholes of the broader mainland China-based national security law, which enables the Hong Kong government greater flexibility to contain foreign influences and criminalize previously legal operations. Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy until 2047 under the "one country, two systems" formula, which separates Hong Kong from mainland China cities, may be harmed. Protests may persist here and there until the finalization of the legislation.