Highlights

UN member states adopt WSIS+20 outcome document

(DigWatch) The WSIS+20 review process – dedicated to reviewing progress made in the implementation of outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society, 20 years after their adoption – finalised in New York, with the adoption of an outcome document at the end of a dedicated high-level meeting of the General Assembly. Following several months of consultations and negotiations, the document takes stock of progress made towards the WSIS vision of a people-centred, inclusive, and development-oriented information society, while identifying areas where further efforts and strengthened cooperation remain necessary. – https://dig.watch/updates/un-member-states-adopt-wsis20-outcome-document

Strengthening Judicial Capacity on the Ethical and Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence

(UNDP) UNESCO and UNDP have collaborated on with an aim of strengthening judicial capacity on the ethical and responsible use of artificial intelligence. The training on AI and the Rule of Law in Bangkok, Thailand, with support from the Thailand Institute of Justice (TIJ) brought together 27 judges from 13 Asia-Pacific countries to examine how AI is shaping justice systems and what safeguards are needed to uphold fairness, independence, and public trust. Across three days, expert-led sessions shared global examples of AI use in justice sectors, highlighting both opportunities and risks. Participants exchanged practical insights on applying AI in ways that are aligned with ethical standards and human rights, while reflecting on approaches that can support judicial efficiency without compromising the rule of law. – https://www.undp.org/asia-pacific/news/strengthening-judicial-capacity-ethical-and-responsible-use-artificial-intelligence

From Crude to Compute: Building the GCC AI Stack

(Mohammed Soliman – Middle East Institute) The artificial intelligence (AI) era demands a fundamental rethinking of strategic infrastructure and international partnerships. Just as oil shaped the geopolitical landscape of the 20th century, compute infrastructure will define power relationships in the 21st. The six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates — are all, to various degrees, at an inflection point, positioned to leverage historical advantages in energy while building new capabilities in the technologies that will shape the future. This report explores the digital ecosystem and the issues involved in creating an AI stack in the Gulf and makes recommendations for the United States and the GCC members. – https://www.mei.edu/publications/crude-compute-building-gcc-ai-stack

European Commission and EIB Group announce new initiative to mobilise €10 billion investment for Europe’s biotech sector

(European Commission) The European Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group have (…) announced an initiative to mobilise €10 billion in investment in 2026-27 into the biotech and life sciences sector. The project aims to give a significant boost to the EU’s competitiveness in biotechnology, by addressing the EU’s current investment gap and mobilising public-private investment into promising new health solutions. –  https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_25_3096

DIG AI: Uncensored Darknet AI Assistant at the Service of Criminals and Terrorists

(Pierluigi Paganini – Security Affairs) During Q4 2025, Resecurity observed a notable increase in malicious actors utilizing DIG AI, accelerating during the Winter Holidays, when illegal activity worldwide reached a new record. With important events scheduled for 2026, including the Winter Olympics in Milan and the FIFA World Cup, criminal AI may pose new threats and security challenges, enabling bad actors to scale their operations and bypass content protection policies. DIG AI enables malicious actors to leverage the power of AI to generate tips ranging from explosive device manufacturing to illegal content creation, including CSAM. Because DIG AI is hosted on the TOR network, such tools are not easily discoverable and accessible to law enforcement. They create a significant underground market – ranging from piracy and derivatives to other illicit activities. – https://securityaffairs.com/185842/cyber-crime/dig-ai-uncensored-darknet-ai-assistant-at-the-service-of-criminals-and-terrorists.html

North Korea Steals Over $2bn in Crypto in 2025

(Phil Muncaster – Infosecurity Magazine) North Korea has now amassed over $6.7bn in crypto after targeting the industry over the past decade, with the hermit nation stealing a record $2bn+ in 2025, according to Chainalysis. The blockchain analysis specialist revealed the news in the first excerpt from its forthcoming 2026 Crypto Crime Report. It showed that North Korea remains the biggest crypto threat actor, accounting for 60% of the funds stolen from January to early December 2025. In fact, its cyber-attack on Bybit alone led to the theft of $1.5bn, in what is the world’s largest cryptocurrency heist to date. – https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/north-korea-steals-over-2bn-crypto/

Security and Surveillance

New China-linked hacker group spies on governments in Southeast Asia, Japan

(Daryna Antoniuk – The Record) A previously unknown, China-aligned hacker group has been targeting government institutions across Southeast Asia and Japan, according to new research. The group, which Slovak cybersecurity firm ESET named LongNosedGoblin, has been active since at least September 2023 and was uncovered after the company detected new malware strains inside the network of a Southeast Asian government last year. – https://therecord.media/china-linked-hacker-group-spied-on-asian-govs

Hackers breach internal servers of tech provider for Britain’s health service

(Alexander Martin – The Record) DXS International, a British technology company whose software is widely used throughout the National Health Service (NHS), has disclosed a cybersecurity incident affecting its internal systems. In a notice to the London Stock Exchange, the company said it detected unauthorized access to office servers on December 14. DXS said it contained the breach and that its clinical services remained unaffected and operational throughout. – https://therecord.media/uk-nhs-tech-provider-dxs-discloses-hack

GhostPairing campaign abuses WhatsApp device linking to hijack accounts

(Pierluigi Paganini – Security Affairs) Attackers are exploiting WhatsApp’s device-linking feature to hijack accounts using pairing codes in a campaign dubbed GhostPairing, without requiring authentication. Gen Digital first observed the GhostPairing campaign in Czechia, but warns that it can spread globally via compromised accounts. The attack chain begins with victims receiving a message, such as “Hey, I just found your photo!”, from a trusted contact. The message contains a link with a Facebook-style preview. – https://securityaffairs.com/185814/hacking/ghostpairing-campaign-abuses-whatsapp-device-linking-to-hijack-accounts.html

OAuth Device Code Phishing Campaigns Surge Targets Microsoft 365

(Alessandro Mascellino – Infosecurity Magazine) A surge in phishing campaigns abusing Microsoft’s OAuth device code authorization flow has been observed with multiple threat clusters using the technique to gain unauthorized access to Microsoft 365 accounts. According to a new advisory published today by Proofpoint, both state-aligned and financially motivated actors are leveraging social engineering to trick users into approving malicious applications, enabling account takeover, data theft and further compromise – https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/oauth-phishing-campaigns/

New BeaverTail Malware Variant Linked to Lazarus Group

(Alessandero Mascellino – Infosecurity Magazine) A newly observed variant of the BeaverTail malware has been tied to hackers associated with North Korea. The findings come from Darktrace’s latest The State of Cybersecurity report, which links BeaverTail activity to DPRK threat clusters assessed to be part of the Lazarus Group. Targets have included cryptocurrency traders, developers and retail employees, aligning with motivations spanning financial gain and espionage. – https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/beavertail-variant-linked-lazarus/

Courts and Litigation

Austria’s high court orders Meta to change its personalized ad practices

(Suzanne Smalley – The Record) Austria’s Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Meta’s personalized advertising model is illegal. The ruling will set legal precedent across the European Union and mandates that the social media giant provide users in the bloc access to their personal data within two weeks of requesting it. The court ruled Meta must share a detailed account of the data it collects, the court said, including information about sources, recipients and purposes for which it was used. The ruling follows an 11-year legal battle between Meta and Austrian privacy advocate Max Schrems, who leads the data rights nonprofit None of Your Business (noyb). – https://therecord.media/austria-court-meta-ruling

Pa. high court rules that police can access Google searches without a warrant

(Suzanne Smalley – The Record) The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that police did not need a warrant to obtain a convicted rapist’s Google searches when investigating the crime. In its opinion, the court said that internet users making searches have no reasonable right to privacy because “it is common knowledge that websites, internet-based applications, and internet service providers collect, and then sell, user data.”. The case only creates legal precedent in Pennsylvania, but an expert predicted that the ruling will lead more police departments to feel confident about warrantless searches for internet queries. – https://therecord.media/google-searches-police-access-without-warrant-pennsylvania-court-ruling

Frontiers and Markets

AI, Drones, Blockchain and Agriculture

(Catherine Odom – EVN Report) A couple of years ago Shant Khayalian visited a small village in rural Armenia with a friend. They met his friend’s elderly uncle, a beekeeper whose hives had been devastated by parasites. The uncle explained how infection in one hive could quickly spread to the others, and how it was virtually impossible to see inside the hives to spot the problem. “It stayed in my mind like a bell,” Khayalian says. That conversation inspired him to found BeeSync, a startup developing AI-driven hardware to help beekeepers monitor the health of their hives. Khayalian is part of a small but growing agritech startup scene in Armenia. Entrepreneurs are using cutting-edge technologies to solve problems facing farmers, often those working on small-scale or subsistence farms in rural areas. “Beekeeping is changing. Everything in farming is changing,” Khayalian says. – https://evnreport.com/creative-tech/ai-drones-blockchain-and-agriculture/