Governance

EU Set the Global Standard on Privacy and AI. Now It’s Pulling Back

(Ramsha Jahangir – Tech Policy Press) Europe is preparing to roll back parts of its landmark digital rules, long seen as global benchmarks for privacy and AI. On November 19, the European Commission is expected to unveil the “Digital Omnibus,” a package of reforms that could reshape the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the AI Act, and the ePrivacy rules. The plan is presented as a way to simplify compliance and reduce bureaucracy for small and medium-sized companies. It follows a report released a year ago by former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, warning that Europe’s complex laws are stifling innovation and holding the region back in global competition with the US and China. – https://www.techpolicy.press/eu-set-the-global-standard-on-privacy-and-ai-now-its-pulling-back/

Big tech pressure does the trick: EU moves to placate industry, privacy be damned

(Cybernews) The European Commission insists it only wants to trim back its tech regulations through its “digital omnibus” package, but draft documents show that, in fact, the EU is about to sacrifice the bloc’s famous GDPR for the sake of AI. Activists aren’t happy. According to experts and activists, the overhaul of existing legislation could enable big tech companies to collect significantly more user data for training their AI models. But that could come with a huge price tag, as Europeans would instantly lose important privacy protections. Ironically, the reform is intended to bring targeted adjustments that simplify compliance for businesses. – https://cybernews.com/news/european-union-gdpr-ai-privacy/

AI and Electoral Integrity: Insights from Kenya’s 2022 Elections

(Pranoy Jainendran – Observer Research Foundation) The 2022 Kenyan general elections marked a new phase in electoral dynamics. It was the first recorded instance in which artificial intelligence (AI) tools were deployed at a national level in Africa to safeguard against targeted polarisation during electoral processes. The national initiative, led by the Maintaining Peace through Early Warning, Monitoring and Analysis Consortium (MAPEMA), introduced the global community to the application of AI technologies in safeguarding electoral integrity and ethically monitoring public sentiment throughout the election period. This was done by ensuring healthy communication with voters and protecting them against targeted polarisation through social media platforms. The planning and implementation of the system employed in Kenya represented a significant advancement in the integration of AI within political frameworks. Nonetheless, the experience also highlighted critical areas requiring further analysis to ensure the security and integrity of elections as AI tools become increasingly common in the political landscape. This article examines the fundamental tenets demonstrated by the Kenyan initiative that merit replication in future undertakings in other electoral processes. It also analyses its relevance for India. – https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/ai-and-electoral-integrity-insights-from-kenya-s-2022-elections

AI might steal money from life-saving NGOs: “poverty porn” comes at a cost

(Cybernews) Charities and aid groups are catching arrows for AI-generated images of people in poverty or crises. Experts warn that AI is reinforcing stereotypes and misleading viewers. That results in NGOs that actually help people in distress being seen as less reliable and potentially collecting fewer donations. “AI-generated poverty porn” are synthetic images designed to mimic documentary photos of people in distress. This is how Fairpicture, an ethical media platform, and humanitarian communications consultant Kate Kardol describe the content of the visuals often used to illustrate war, natural disaster, or any other crises. “In regards to fundraising, it has the potential to erode trust among donors and damage NGOs’ reputations” – two non-negotiables in a sector that relies on public trust and perception,” explains a white paper that Kardol and FairPicture co-authored. – https://cybernews.com/ai-news/ai-steal-money-ngos-poverty-porn-cost/

How Political Power is Capturing Knowledge Systems and Manufacturing Structural Ignorance

(Renée DiResta – Tech Policy Press) In January 2025, Meta announced the elimination of its third-party fact-checking program in the United States. A month later, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — an anti-vaccine activist who had been fact-checked and moderated extensively on Meta platforms for years — was confirmed as the Secretary of Health and Human Services for the 47th President of the United States, Donald Trump. Within months, Kennedy began what career scientists described as a systematic purge of health agencies and advisory panels, replacing domain experts with anti-vaccine conspiracy theorists and close personal allies. Although Kennedy’s and Meta’s actions emerged from distinct institutional contexts, their temporal and political convergence produces the conditions for comprehensive knowledge suppression for significant segments of the American public: the simultaneous capture of official knowledge-producing institutions and the elimination of independent verification mechanisms. – https://www.techpolicy.press/how-political-power-is-capturing-knowledge-systems-and-manufacturing-structural-ignorance/

Data infrastructure growth in India raises environmental concerns

(DigWatch) India’s data centre market is expanding rapidly, driven by rapid AI adoption, mobile internet growth, and massive foreign investment from firms such as Google, Amazon and Meta. The sector is projected to expand 77% by 2027, with billions more expected to be spent on capacity by 2030. – https://dig.watch/updates/data-infrastructure-growth-in-india-raises-environmental-concerns – https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgr417pwek7o

Researchers urge governance after LLMs display source-driven bias

(DigWatch) Large language models (LLMs) are increasingly used to grade, hire, and moderate text. UZH research shows that evaluations shift when participants are told who wrote identical text, revealing source bias. Agreement stayed high only when authorship was hidden. When told a human or another AI wrote it, agreement fell, and biases surfaced. The strongest was anti-Chinese across all models, including a model from China, with sharp drops even for well-reasoned arguments. – https://dig.watch/updates/researchers-urge-governance-after-llms-display-source-driven-bias – https://www.news.uzh.ch/en/articles/media/2025/LLM-judgement.html

University of Athens partners with Google to boost AI education

(DigWatch) The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens has announced a new partnership with Google to enhance university-level education in AI. The collaboration grants all students free 12-month access to Google’s AI Pro programme, a suite of advanced learning and research tools. – https://dig.watch/updates/university-of-athens-partners-with-google-to-boost-ai-education – https://www.ekathimerini.com/in-depth/society-in-depth/1286230/university-of-athens-launches-ai-collaboration-with-google/

Legislation and Regulation

Denmark’s new chat control plan raises fresh privacy concerns

(DigWatch) Denmark has proposed an updated version of the EU’s controversial ‘chat control’ regulation, shifting from mandatory to voluntary scanning of private messages. Former MEP Patrick Breyer has warned, however, that the revision still threatens Europeans’ right to private communication. Under the new plan, messaging providers could choose to scan chats for illegal material, but without a clear requirement for court orders. Breyer argued that this sidesteps the European Parliament’s position, which insists on judicial authorisation before any access to communications. – https://dig.watch/updates/denmarks-new-chat-control-plan-raises-fresh-privacy-concerns – https://www.euronews.com/next/2025/11/05/new-danish-proposal-for-chat-control-three-fat-problems-remain

Courts and Litigation

Courts signal limits on AI in legal proceedings

(DigWatch) A High Court judge warned that a solicitor who pushed an expert to accept an AI-generated draft breached their duty. Mr Justice Waksman called it a gross breach and cited a case from the latest survey. He noted 14% of experts would accept such terms, which is unacceptable. – https://dig.watch/updates/courts-signal-limits-on-ai-in-legal-proceedings  – https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/ai-generated-expert-report-a-gross-breach-of-duty/5125051.article

Geostrategies

Meta invests $600 billion to expand AI data centres across the US

(DigWatch) A $600 billion investment aimed at boosting innovation, job creation, and sustainability is being launched in the US by Meta to expand its AI infrastructure. Instead of outsourcing development, the company is building its new generation of AI data centres domestically, reinforcing America’s leadership in technology and supporting local economies. – https://dig.watch/updates/meta-invests-600-billion-to-expand-ai-data-centres-across-the-us – https://about.fb.com/news/2025/11/meta-data-centers-drive-economic-growth-across-us/

Anthropic strengthens European growth through Paris and Munich offices

(DigWatch) AI firm Anthropic is expanding its European presence by opening new offices in Paris and Munich, strengthening its footprint alongside existing hubs in London, Dublin, and Zurich. An expansion that follows rapid growth across the EMEA region, where the company has tripled its workforce and seen a ninefold increase in annual run-rate revenue. – https://dig.watch/updates/anthropic-strengthens-european-growth-through-paris-and-munich-offices – https://www.anthropic.com/news/new-offices-in-paris-and-munich-expand-european-presence

Violent Extremism, Terrorism, and Counter-Terrorism

The Feedback Loop Between Online Extremism and Acts of Violence

(Mariana Olaizola Rosenblat – Just Security) In the wake of the Charlie Kirk assassination and other recent attacks, the United States faces a resurgence of politically motivated violence that is deeply intertwined with the digital sphere. Digital Aftershocks, our new report at the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights, examines how extremists across the ideological spectrum — far-right, far-left, violent Islamist, and nihilistic violent extremists (NVEs) — exploit acts of violence to recruit followers, justify their ideologies, and sustain propaganda networks. Our findings are grounded in open-source intelligence collected from March to September 2025, a period marked by deadly attacks in Utah, Minneapolis, and Washington, D.C. While scholars and policymakers have long debated whether online rhetoric “causes” real-world violence, this report looks primarily at the middle of that cycle: how violent incidents are transformed into digital fuel that normalizes aggression and prepares the ground for future attacks. – https://www.justsecurity.org/124249/feedback-loop-online-extremism-violence/

Security and Surveillance

APT37 hackers abuse Google Find Hub in Android data-wiping attacks

(Bleeping Computer) North Korean hackers are abusing Google’s Find Hub tool to track the GPS location of their targets and remotely reset Android devices to factory settings. The attacks are primarily targeting South Koreans, and start by approaching the potential victims over KakaoTalk messenger – the most popular instant messaging app in the country. South Korean cybersecurity solutions company Genians links the malicious activity to a KONNI activity cluster, which “has overlapping targets and infrastructure with Kimsuky and APT37.” – https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/apt37-hackers-abuse-google-find-hub-in-android-data-wiping-attacks/

5 reasons why attackers are phishing over LinkedIn

(Bleeping Computer) Phishing attacks are no longer confined to the email inbox, with 34% of phishing attacks now taking place over non-email channels like social media, search engines, and messaging apps. LinkedIn in particular has become a hotbed for phishing attacks, and for good reason. Attackers are running sophisticated spear-phishing attacks against company executives, with recent campaigns seen targeting enterprises in financial services and technology verticals. But phishing outside of email remains severely underreported — not exactly surprising when we consider that most of the industry’s phishing metrics come from email security tools. Your initial thought might be “why do I care about employees getting phished on LinkedIn?” Well, while LinkedIn is a personal app, it’s routinely used for work purposes, accessed from corporate devices, and attackers are specifically targeting business accounts like Microsoft Entra and Google Workspace. So, LinkedIn phishing is a key threat that businesses need to be prepared for today. Here’s 5 things you need to know about why attackers are going phishing on LinkedIn — and why it’s so effective. – https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/5-reasons-why-attackers-are-phishing-over-linkedin/

65% of Leading AI Companies Found With Verified Secrets Leaks

(Alessandro Mascellino – Infosecurity Magazine) A new study has revealed that nearly two-thirds of leading private AI companies have leaked sensitive information on GitHub. Wiz researchers examined 50 firms from the Forbes AI 50 list and confirmed that 65% had exposed verified secrets such as API keys, tokens and credentials. Collectively, the affected companies are valued at more than $400bn. The research, published today, suggests that rapid innovation in artificial intelligence is outpacing basic cybersecurity practices. Even companies with minimal public repositories were found to have leaked information. One firm with no public repositories and only 14 members still exposed secrets, while another with 60 public repositories avoided leaks entirely, likely due to stronger security practices. – https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/leading-ai-companies-secret-leaks/

China-Aligned UTA0388 Uses AI Tools in Global Phishing Campaigns

(Alessandro Mascellino – Infosecurity Magazine) A series of spear phishing operations targeting organizations across North America, Asia and Europe has been linked to a China-aligned group known as UTA0388. The campaigns, initially detected by Volexity from June to August 2025, used tailored messages impersonating senior researchers from fabricated institutions to trick recipients into downloading malware-laden archive files. – https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/china-aligned-uta0388-ai-tools/

Previously unseen spyware targets Samsung Galaxy owners

(Cybernews) A powerful new Android spyware family, dubbed Landfall, has emerged, exploiting several zero-day vulnerabilities to target Samsung Galaxy and likely other devices. The tool was likely used by government entities and other commercial surveillance buyers. Palo Alto’s Unit 42 has unveiled a spyware campaign that targeted Samsung Android devices from mid-2024 through early 2025. The spyware exploited a critical remote code execution vulnerability in Samsung’s Android image processing library, which Samsung patched in April 2025. – https://cybernews.com/security/samsung-galaxy-owners-targeted-with-new-spyware/

Doctor Alliance breach allegedly exposes patients’ health data

(Cybernews) Attackers are threatening the healthcare tech firm to pay ransom or they will release over a million records. The alleged stolen data includes sensitive medical data ranging from diagnoses to checkup summaries. The cybercriminals announced the attack on a popular data leak forum, which is often utilized to exchange stolen records. The attackers claim that the data was obtained recently and contains over 1.2 million records taken from Doctor Alliance, a healthcare technology firm that provides billing services to physicians. – https://cybernews.com/security/doctor-alliance-breach-allegedly-exposes-patients-health-data/

New NCA Campaign Warns Men Off Crypto Investment Scams

(Phil Muncaster – Infosecurity Magazine) The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) has launched a new public awareness campaign designed to show potential crypto-investment fraud victims what scams look like. The campaign’s particular focus is men under 45, who are apparently the most likely victims of this kind of fraud. Action Fraud received over 17,000 reports regarding investment fraud last year, the NCA said. Victims are tricked by professional-looking websites and apps into putting large sums of cryptocurrency in what end up being non-existent investment schemes. – https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/nca-campaign-men-crypto-investment/

NCSC Set to Retire Web Check and Mail Check Tools

(Phil Muncaster – Infosecurity Magazine) A UK government cybersecurity agency has advised companies relying on two of its popular external attack surface management (EASM) products to find alternatives by next year. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said it is retiring its Web Check and Mail Check tools by March 31 2026. “Retiring these services is in keeping with our roadmap for ACD 2.0, which stated last year that the NCSC will only deliver solutions where the cyber security market is unable to, or where being part of GCHQ presents a unique opportunity to drive up resilience at scale,” wrote NCSC service owner Hannah E. – https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/ncsc-retire-web-check-mail-check/

Frontiers

Oracle and Ci4CC join forces to advance AI in cancer research

(DigWatch) Oracle Health and Life Sciences has announced a strategic collaboration with the Cancer Center Informatics Society (Ci4CC) to accelerate AI innovation in oncology. The partnership unites Oracle’s healthcare technology with Ci4CC’s national network of cancer research institutions. – https://dig.watch/updates/oracle-and-ci4cc-join-forces-to-advance-ai-in-cancer-research – https://www.oracle.com/news/announcement/oracle-and-ci4cc-partner-to-accelerate-oncology-innovation-2025-11-07/

The “novel Turing test” detects AI with up to 80% accuracy

(Cybernews) Large language models (LLMs) are increasingly better at replicating forms of human interaction on social networks, but they still fail to capture the feeling. The novel “computational Turing test” can distinguish social media responses generated by LLMs from those written by actual humans most of the time, according to a new paper published in the preprint server arXiv. Researchers used the test against nine large language models: Llama 3.1 8B, Llama 3.1 8B Instruct, Llama 3.1 70B, Mistral 7B v0.1, Mistral 7B Instruct v0.2, Qwen 2.5 7B Instruct, Gemma 3 4B Instruct, DeepSeek-R1-Distill-Llama-8B, and Apertus-8B-2509. – https://cybernews.com/ai-news/llms-fake-language/

AI conference in Egypt promotes innovation for a greener future

(DigWatch) The National Telecommunication Institute (NTI) and Misr University for Science and Technology (MUST) jointly hosted a conference titled Artificial Intelligence for Environmental Sustainability. The event focused on using technology to tackle global environmental challenges. The conference aimed to advance research and innovation in applying artificial intelligence (AI) to support sustainable development. – https://dig.watch/updates/ai-conference-in-egypt-promotes-innovation-for-a-greener-future – https://techafricanews.com/2025/11/07/egypt-focuses-on-using-artificial-intelligence-to-tackle-environmental-challenges/

Honor to launch world’s first AI robot phone in 2026

(DigWatch) Honor has unveiled plans to release the world’s first AI-powered robot phone in 2026, marking a bold step in the evolution of smart devices. The announcement was made by CEO Li Jian during the World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit. It highlighted the company’s ambition to merge AI with advanced hardware design. – https://dig.watch/updates/honor-to-launch-worlds-first-ai-robot-phone-in-2026 – https://technode.com/2025/11/10/honor-unveils-plans-for-worlds-first-ai-powered-robot-phone-next-year/

Cars.com launches Carson AI to transform online car shopping

(DigWatch) The US tech company, Cars.com, has unveiled Carson, a multilingual AI search engine designed to revolutionise the online car shopping experience. Instead of relying on complex filters, Carson interprets natural language queries such as ‘a reliable car for a family of five’ or ‘a used truck under $30,000’, instantly producing targeted results tailored to each shopper’s needs. – https://dig.watch/updates/cars-com-launches-carson-ai-to-transform-online-car-shopping – https://www.cars.com/articles/meet-carson-cars-coms-new-ai-engine-for-car-shopping-518222/

Apple working on new satellite-powered features for when you get stranded off-grid

(Cybernews) Apple’s future smartphones may allow you to stay connected, check maps, and send pictures even while being off the grid. The company first introduced satellite-related features with Emergency SOS via Satellite in 2022. It came with the release of the iPhone 14, enabling users to contact emergency responders even when cellular service was unavailable. In the following year, the company expanded the feature by adding Roadside Assistance via satellite, allowing those stranded on the road to contact a roadside service provider if they were “locked out, had a flat tire, or ran out of fuel or charge,” stated Apple. – https://cybernews.com/tech/apple-satellite-powered-features/

HPE And Partners Launch Quantum Scaling Alliance

(Quantum Insider) HPE and seven technology partners have formed the Quantum Scaling Alliance, a global initiative to make quantum computing scalable, practical, and transformative across industries. Co-led by HPE’s Dr. Masoud Mohseni and Nobel Laureate John Martinis of Qolab, the Alliance unites leaders in semiconductors, supercomputing, and quantum research to design a cost-effective, industry-scale quantum supercomputer. Founding members include 1QBit, Applied Materials, HPE, Qolab, Quantum Machines, Riverlane, Synopsys, and the University of Wisconsin, collaborating on full-stack quantum-HPC integration, error correction, and hybrid control systems. – https://thequantuminsider.com/2025/11/10/hpe-and-partners-launch-quantum-scaling-alliance/

IonQ And The University of Chicago Sign Agreement to Establish IonQ Center For Engineering And Science

(Quantum Insider) IonQ and the University of Chicago have entered a strategic agreement to establish the IonQ Center for Engineering and Science, deploying a next-generation quantum computer and entanglement distribution network on campus. The collaboration will accelerate research in quantum computing, networking, sensing, and security, supporting University of Chicago faculty and generating intellectual property that feeds directly into IonQ’s commercial product roadmap. As part of the initiative, IonQ will contribute to a new campus building, join the Chicago Quantum Exchange as a core partner, and enable cross-sector collaboration between academia, government, and industry. – https://thequantuminsider.com/2025/11/10/ionq-and-the-university-of-chicago-sign-agreement-to-establish-ionq-center-for-engineering-and-science/

BTQ Exercises Option to Acquire QPerfect

(Quantum Insider) BTQ Technologies Corp. announced it will acquire Strasbourg-based QPerfect SA, a leading neutral atom quantum computing company, following a €2 million strategic investment and plans to close the full acquisition in January 2026 pending French FDI approval. The acquisition expands BTQ from a post-quantum security specialist into a vertically integrated quantum technology platform combining cryptography, emulation, and fault-tolerant control under one corporate structure. QPerfect’s validated MIMIQ emulator and Quantum Logical Unit framework will integrate with BTQ’s post-quantum security tools to deliver commercial quantum-safe and computing solutions across Europe, Asia, and North America. – https://thequantuminsider.com/2025/11/10/btq-exercises-option-to-acquire-qperfect/

Equal1 to Cooperate on Hybrid Quantum Computing System With The European Space Agency

(Quantum Insider) Equal1 has been selected by the European Space Agency (ESA) to install its Bell-1 Hybrid Quantum Computing (HQC) System at ESA’s lab as part of the Quantum Computing for Earth Observation (QC4EO) initiative under the FutureEO programme. The Bell-1 system, a 6-qubit silicon spin-based quantum computer designed for seamless integration with high-performance computing environments, will support applications such as Synthetic Aperture Radar data processing and satellite constellation mission planning. The collaboration aims to establish the first quantum computer hosted at ESA, advancing quantum-classical hybrid computing for climate modeling, disaster monitoring, and other complex Earth Observation workloads. – https://thequantuminsider.com/2025/11/10/equal1-to-cooperate-on-hybrid-quantum-computing-system-with-the-european-space-agency/

New Joint Venture with mimick Builds a Global Blueprint for Industrial Edge Agentic AI

(AI Insider) Mimik has signed an MOU with Next71 Ltd and ASK Holding LLC to launch Mimik UAE, a joint venture advancing decentralized AI and agentic computing in alignment with Abu Dhabi’s national AI strategy. Announced during Abu Dhabi Autonomous Week, the partnership supports the UAE’s goal of developing sovereign, citizen-first AI infrastructure that embeds intelligence across devices, vehicles, and urban systems. Mimik UAE will drive the shift from cloud-based to device-first Continuum AI, positioning Abu Dhabi as a global hub for distributed intelligence, sustainability, and next-generation “agentic economy” innovation. – https://theaiinsider.tech/2025/11/10/new-joint-venture-with-mimick-builds-a-global-blueprint-for-industrial-edge-agentic-ai/

CipherOwl Secures $15M from General Catalyst, Flourish Ventures and Coinbase Ventures

(AI Insider) CipherOwl, founded by former Coinbase data and compliance leaders, raised $15 million in seed funding co-led by General Catalyst and Flourish Ventures to build an AI-native intelligence layer for blockchain compliance. Its platform automates the full compliance workflow — screening, reasoning, reporting, and research — turning blockchain data into explainable, auditable decisions for institutions and regulators. Already used by Coinbase, OKX, 0x, and others, CipherOwl aims to scale compliance for the expected 100x growth in blockchain transactions by 2030, enabling faster, evidence-backed investigations across global networks. – https://theaiinsider.tech/2025/11/10/cipherowl-secures-15m-from-general-catalyst-flourish-ventures-and-coinbase-ventures/

Aptiv and Robust.AI to Co-Develop AI-Powered Collaborative Robots

(AI Insider) Aptiv (NYSE: APTV) and Robust.AI have announced a strategic partnership to co-develop AI-powered collaborative robots (cobots) for industrial and warehouse automation. The collaboration will integrate Aptiv’s perception, machine learning, and Wind River platforms with Robust.AI’s robotics architecture, featuring advanced sensing, mapping, and human-interaction technologies. The joint effort aims to scale deployment of Robust.AI’s Carter cobot — capable of multiple warehouse tasks — by combining Aptiv’s automotive-grade AI systems with Robust.AI’s human-centered design to boost safety, productivity, and adaptability. – https://theaiinsider.tech/2025/11/10/aptiv-and-robust-ai-to-co-develop-ai-powered-collaborative-robots/