Seven years for eight zero days - Asian Tech Roundup

Plus: Google Maps is coming to Korea

Welcome to Computing's weekly roundup of tech news in Asia. This time we look at the jailing of a defence contractor for selling secrets to Russia, Korea allowing Google Maps to operate in the country and tech giants promising funds for Indian AI.

Peter Williams, who was formerly general manager of Trenchant, the hacking tools division of defence firm L3Harris, has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison in the US for selling eight zero-day exploits to Russian exploit broker Operation Zero.

His jailing shines a light on the murky world of exploit trading, in which individuals and organisations sell zero days - details of system vulnerabilities that have not been discovered or made public - to customers who will often pay millions.

L3Harris's regular customers include the Five Eyes governments - US, UK, Canada, New Zealand and Australia - but Williams wanted to expand into new markets. He sold eight zero-day exploits to a broker known as Operation Zero, whose customers include the Russian government, in return for cryptocurrency, which he used to buy property, jewellery and high-end watches.

Williams, who previously worked for the Australian military and intelligence services, admitted that he received $1.3 million between 2022 and 2025 for exploits, adding that he regretted his actions. He had previously stood by while another Trenchant employee was wrongfully fired for leaking the tools and later tracked with spyware.

Williams’ actions cost L3Harris an estimated $35 million and provided hackers unknown the opportunity to carry out fraud, theft, ransomware attacks and espionage.

Australia

• An Australian man who worked for US defence contractor L3Harris has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison, for selling zero-day exploits to Russian broker Operation Zero. Source
• Australia’s industrial tribunal, the Fair Work Commission, says it’s drowning in cases, owing to litigants using AI to speed the process of lodging complaints. Source
• Logistics software firm WiseTech Global is planning to cut up to 2,000 jobs as it increases automation and AI-driven development. Source
• Security concerns and lack of trust are slowing AI adoption in Australia, with 74% of Australians ranking security failures as their top concern and only 37% believing the benefits outweigh the risks. Source
• Governance is lagging behind AI adoption in Australian companies, with only 13% appointing directors with AI expertise, reports the Diligent Institute. Source

China

• Chinese tech giants ByteDance and Baidu are bucking the trend for layoffs, instead expanding their US-based R&D teams amid increased competition in their home market. Source
• Chinese tech firms have been spotted giving away cars, shopping vouchers and money to increase AI app engagement around Lunar New Year. Source
• China has updated its technology contract registration framework, issuing new rules that take effect from March 2026. The changes affect contracts covering technology development, transfer, licencing and services. Source
• Chinese tech firms have been accused of using distillation techniques to copy the Anthropic’s Claude AI model. Source
• China is investing heavily in quantum technology aiming for commercialisation and global leadership, with government spending reaching $15 billion and the world's largest quantum communication network. Source
• TikTok owner ByteDance's valuation is reported to have reached $550 billion following a proposed equity sale. Source
• Huawei is nearing record revenues as its smartphone business rebounds, in defiance of US sanctions. The company sold 46.8 million smartphones in 2025, around 17% of the market, surpassing Apple and Vivo. Source
• Automated pro-China bots have been swarming Meta’s Threads platform, amplifying Chinese government narratives and attempting to influence online discourse, NewsGuard reports. Source

India

• NTT Data plans to increase its India workforce by 5,000 this year, reflecting strong demand for technology services in the region. Source
• Mobile carrier Bharti Airtel, which is moving into digital lending, will invest RS 200 billion ($2.2 billion) into its financial arm Airtel Money over the next few years. Source
• Coinciding with the AI Impact Summit in Delhi, US tech giants have promised investment into Indian AI to the tune of $700 billion this year. Source
• Medianama has a roundup of enterprise AI deployments and product announcements shown at the New Delhi summit spanning telecom networks, payments, education, healthcare and other high‑trust environments. Source
• IT industry body Nasscom has forecast that India’s tech sector will grow 6.1% this fiscal year, to a value of $315 billion. Source
• More than 100 countries have endorsed the declaration following India’s AI Impact Summit, which calls for further international cooperation on AI across themes such as inclusion, safety and trust. Source
• But OpenUK regretted the fact that while much lip service was paid to the importance of open source AI at the Summit, this was not backed up by tangible commitments. Source

Japan

• Nokia and Japanese telecoms operator KDDI have demonstrated quantum-safe optical networking capable of supporting distributed AI data centres across Japan. Source
• US-based datacentre and cloud company Digital Realty is expanding its innovation lab network to Singapore and Japan, the first expansion of its network into Asia Pacific. It aims to support AI and hybrid cloud adoption. Source
• The Nikkei index has cleared a record 59,000 this week, reflecting strong market performance from tech and AI companies. Source

Singapore

• Singtel is building what it describes as a regional “AI power grid”, combining datacentres and GPU cloud services across Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia as well as a new partnership with Nvidia. Source
• Enterprise procurement platform Eezee has raised $5 million in pre-Series B funding to expand across Southeast Asia and further develop its AI-powered procurement tools. Source

South Korea

• Online retailer Coupang’s Q4 revenues missed analyst expectations, reflecting the ongoing impact of a massive data breach earlier this year. Source
• South Korea has approved Google’s bid to export high-precision map data for use by Google Maps. Previously Maps did not work properly in the country. It comes after pressure from the US. Source
• Automaker Hyundai will invest $6.3 billion in AI, datacentres and a robot factory in South Korea. Source
• Samsung has released its new S26 smartphone range, with AI to the fore. Source
• Samsung has reclaimed the top spot in the global DRAM market. DRAM sales reached $19.3 billion in the October-December period, up 43% from the previous quarter, giving Samsung a market share of 36%. Source
• Chipmaker SK Hynix is investing $15 billion in its Yongin fabrication plant and accelerating cleanroom launches as it seems to meet the insatiable demand for silicon. Source

Taiwan

• Since having his tariff regime invalidated by the US Supreme Court, Donald Trump has been lashing out at all and sundry, including Taiwan’s chipmakers who he said, baselessly, “stole our chip business.” Source
• US government officials briefed Silicon Valley executives on the increasing risk that China is planning an invasion or blockade of Taiwan. Source

Elsewhere in Asia

• Vietnam: A drone parcel delivery service has been created to speed connections between two towns that are close together as the crow flies, but which take a long time to travel between. Source
• Asia: DBS Bank and Granite Asia have launched a $110 million fund targeting late-stage AI startups in Asia preparing for public listings. Source
• Indonesia: Southeast Asia, led by Indonesia, is experiencing a data centre boom driven by AI demand. Source