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Cyber-scam camp operators shift operations to vulnerable countries as sanctions strike. PLUS: Japan woos Micron, again; China launches chip dumping probe; Mitsubishi expands opsec empire; and more!. Criminals appear to be moving cyber-scam centers to vulnerable countries. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNDOC) last week warned it had found “indications of scam center activity, including SIM cards and satellite internet devices” at a hotel in Timor-Leste, a nation founded in 2002 and whose gross domestic product is under $2 billion. UNDOC believes “entities associated with convicted cybercriminals, offshore gambling operators, and triad-linked networks” are responsible for the material found in the hotel, and that they are evidence of shifting behavior by scammers. “With growing awareness and understanding of scam centers and related criminal activity, law enforcement pressure has intensified across Southeast Asia, making it more difficult for organized crime groups to operate in traditional hotspot areas,” the agency advised. “As a result, syndicates actively create avenues for expanding operations to new jurisdictions with limited experience in scam center responses, including Timor-Leste.” UNDOC’s warning came just three days after the USA’s Department of the Treasury announced fresh sanctions on cyber-scam centers in Myanmar and Cambodia. In Myanmar (aka Burma), Treasury says scam camps enjoy the protection of the Karen National Army (KNA), an armed group linked to the junta that rules the nation. Treasury alleges that protection saw two individuals, She Zhijiang and Saw Chit Thu, transform “a small village on the Moei River into a resort city custom built for gambling, drug trafficking, prostitution, and scams targeting people around the world, particularly Americans.” “She Zhijiang is the creator and largest shareholder of the Yatai New City compound,” Treasury asserts. Treasury’s announcement also details actions taken against scam centers in Cambodia that it says “were built as casinos by Chinese criminal actors but became hubs for virtual currency investment scams when that activity proved to be more profitable.” The sanctions mean all property and interests in property of the designated or blocked persons listed in the sanctions announcement are blocked, and no US-based entity is allowed to do business with the named people and entities. APNIC reduces fees for some members The Asia Pacific Network Information Center (APNIC), the regional internet registry for 56 economies in the Asia-Pacific, last week announced reduced fees for some members. Since 2009, APNIC has offered a 50 percent discount for members in what the United Nations calls “least developed countries” – countries with average per-capita income below $1,306 and obstacles to development. When countries graduate from LDC status, APNIC started charging them full fees. The registry’s executive council last week decided that in the first year after exiting LDC status, its very small members will receive a discount of 25 percent, before full fees kick in a year later. APNIC said the new discount scheme “will provide relief to ~71 percent of the total graduating Members in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Lao PDR.” Japan finds more billions for Micron Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry last week announced it will provide ¥ 536 billion ($3.63 billion) of funding to US memory-maker Micron, to help fuel its R&D efforts and construction of a chipmaking plant. The cash will go towards creation of high-speed DRAM needed in AI applications. In return for the cash, Micron must give preference to Japanese buyers in the event of unusual supply chain disruptions such as a pandemic. Japan’s government found a similar quantity of cash for Micron in 2023. Mitsubishi Electric makes infosec acquisition Japanese industrial giant Mitsubishi Electric last week announced the acquisition of US-based operational security outfit Nozomi Networks Inc. for $883 million. Nozomi secures the machines and networks used in fields including power, railways, and manufacturing. Mitsubishi Electric plays in the same industries, and sees the acquisition as strengthening its overall security prowess. China accuses US of dumping chips China’s Ministry of Commerce last week announced an inquiry into whether US chipmakers are dumping products into its markets. “Recently, the United States government has overstretched the concept of national security, abused export controls, and imposed ‘long-arm jurisdiction’ to maliciously block and suppress China's chip products and artificial intelligence industry,” according to a Ministry spokesperson. China is particularly concerned about increased imports of “interface IC chip and gate driver IC chip” from the USA, and that the “surge” of products coincided with a 52 percent price reduction. Beijing thinks that’s no accident – and the US policy has sent cheap chips its way to harm local chip manufacturers. The Register fancies that companies that use the components don’t mind lower prices, but Beijing is nonetheless investigating the situation.