Geostrategies

Priorities for U.S. Participation in International AI Capacity-Building

(Chinasa T. Okolo – Lawfare) While the United States debates engagement in international fora and focuses inward, China is quietly building the infrastructure of global artificial intelligence (AI) influence. In July 2024, China secured the adoption of its resolution on AI capacity-building by the United Nations General Assembly, co-sponsored by more than 140 countries. In April, Chinese President Xi Jinping directed his government to “help Global South countries enhance their technological capabilities” and contribute to bridging the global AI divide. By July, China unveiled the Global AI Governance Action Plan to solidify its place as the world’s convener for AI governance. Meanwhile, the U.S. struggles to maintain basic continuity in its international AI engagement, a strategic miscalculation with profound consequences for American influence in the technology that has inevitably set a precedent for breakthroughs defining the 21st century. AI capacity-building encompasses the development of educational programs and training for local researchers, as well as the provision of compute infrastructure such as data centers and cloud services accessible to local institutions. It also includes support for indigenous AI development by local companies, regulatory and institutional frameworks, and technology transfer that builds local capabilities rather than creating dependencies. – https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/priorities-for-u.s.-participation-in-international-ai-capacity-building

The Trump Administration Targets Europe’s Content Moderation Laws

(Kenneth Propp – Lawfare) Just before Christmas, the Trump administration raised the stakes in its campaign against laws in Europe that require social media platforms to exercise vigilance against illegal content, hate speech, and disinformation. On Dec. 23, 2025, Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued determinations under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) barring five Europeans closely associated with content moderation activities from entry into the United States and ordering them deported if found in the U.S. Rubio acted under a section of the INA allowing the exclusion of foreign persons on grounds of “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences.” His announcement provocatively described the five individuals as part of a “global censorship-industrial complex,” leading “organized efforts to coerce American platforms to censor, demonetize, and suppress American viewpoints they oppose.” The announcement further accused the five of “hav[ing] advanced censorship crackdowns by foreign states—in each case targeting American speakers and American companies.”. The most prominent name on the list is Thierry Breton, a former vice president of the European Commission and an architect of the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), its flagship legislation to regulate online content. During the 2024 U.S. presidential campaign, Breton dispatched  a letter to Elon Musk regarding his online interview with President Trump, warning that “spillovers” of U.S. speech into the EU could spur the commission to take retaliatory measures against X under the DSA. Breton resigned from the commission soon thereafter, reportedly under pressure from commission president Ursula von der Leyen. – https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/the-trump-administration-targets-europe-s-content-moderation-laws

Governance and Regulation

How an AI Hotline Could Help AGs Effectively Govern AI

(Kevin Frazier – Tech Policy Press) Like every new technology, artificial intelligence has the potential to solve problems as well as to create them. This puts policymakers in a tough spot. Hastily passed laws may become an unintended barrier to realizing some of AI’s best use cases, yet the absence of timely regulations could expose consumers to fraud, scams and abuse with few remedies. Compounding the challenge: like every new commercial market, the AI market includes both good and bad actors. AI companies have already faced allegations of exaggerating the accuracy of their tools, advertising capabilities that don’t exist or promising results that are unachievable. Yet we also know that there’s a growing number of AI companies that are working around the clock to offer the most dependable and transformative AI tools possible. How to separate the two is no easy task, and it’s especially difficult for state attorneys general, who are tasked with enforcing consumer protection laws and are thus not afforded the benefit of sitting on the sidelines and merely hoping a new technology works as intended. – https://www.techpolicy.press/how-an-ai-hotline-could-help-ags-effectively-govern-ai/

Legislation

Ireland – Government to fast-track fines for tech companies over AI abuse

(Breaking News.ie) The Government is to fast-track laws to fine tech companies that abuse artificial intelligence. It comes in the wake of the controversy surrounding Elon Musk’s Grok bot on X, which has allowed users to publicly undress people in images, including children. Enterprise Minister Peter Burke will ask the Cabinet to approve legislation that transposes an existing EU act on AI. – https://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/government-to-fast-track-fines-for-tech-companies-over-ai-abuse-1851817.html

Keir Starmer tells MPs he is open to social media ban for young people

(The Guardian) Keir Starmer has told MPs he is open to the idea of an Australian-style ban on social media for young people after becoming concerned about the amount of time children and teenagers are spending on their phones. The prime minister told Labour MPs on Monday evening he had become alarmed at reports about five-year-olds spending hours in front of screens each day, as well as increasingly worried about the damage social media is doing to under-16s. Starmer has previously opposed banning social media for children, believing such a move would be difficult to police and could push teenagers towards the dark web. However with cross-party political support growing for such a ban, the prime minister told a meeting of the parliamentary Labour party that he had shifted his position. – https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/jan/13/keir-starmer-tells-mps-he-is-open-to-australian-style-social-media-ban

When Age Gating Puts User Privacy at Risk

(Matt Brennan, Graham Muise – Tech Policy Press) Many countries have begun implementing laws around online age verification, with the goal of keeping youth safe from adult content. However, the lack of informed discussion about the risks to privacy and security could leave adults and youth alike in unexpectedly vulnerable positions. For example, Canada’s Bill S-209, “An Act to Restrict Young Persons’ Online Access to Pornographic Material,” claims that “age-verification and age-estimation technology […] can now effectively ascertain the age of users without breaching their privacy rights.” Unfortunately, user privacy is taken for granted in age-gating legislation without proper substantiation of the assumptions made about technological efficacy and privacy protection, and real-world implementation. – https://www.techpolicy.press/when-age-gating-puts-user-privacy-at-risk/

Security and Surveillance

G7 Sets 2034 Deadline for Finance to Adopt Quantum-Safe Systems

(Kevin Poireault – Infosecurity Magazine) Financial businesses and public entities should have fully transitioned to post-quantum cryptography (PQC) by 2034 at the latest, according to the G7. In a new document published on January 13, the G7 Cyber Expert Group (CEG) set a recommended roadmap for financial entities to test, migrate and fully transition to quantum-resistant cryptographic systems in order to anticipate the risk of potential quantum-enabled cyber-attacks in the future that would break current cryptographic systems. The CEG is a group of cybersecurity experts that advise finance ministers of G7 member states and central bank governors on cybersecurity matters of importance for the security and resilience of the financial system. – https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/g7-2034-deadline-finance-pqc/

Impersonation Fraud Drives Record $17bn in Crypto Losses

(Phil Muncaster – Infosecurity Magazine) Cryptocurrency-related fraud losses hit record highs last year, thanks in part to AI tooling and sophisticated Asian crime networks, according to Chainalysis. The blockchain analytics company said in a blog post that it observed at least $14bn in digital currency winding its way to criminals last year, versus $13bn in 2024. However, it expects the figure for 2025 to increase to $17bn once it identifies more illicit wallets in the coming months. This is already a record high, with the value of individual scam payments also surging, by 253% year-on-year (YoY) to $2764 in 2025. – https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/impersonation-fraud-record-17bn/

Cyberattacks in the age of AI: How to protect yourself in the UAE

(Gulf News) Dubai: Artificial intelligence is no longer a future risk in cybersecurity. From deepfake voice scams and hyper-personalised phishing emails to automated malware that adapts in real time, AI is reshaping how cybercriminals operate. And as countries like the UAE accelerate digital transformation, the exposure to cyberattacks, according to UAE-based cybersecurity experts, is rapidly growing. – https://gulfnews.com/business/cyberattacks-in-the-age-of-ai-how-to-protect-yourself-in-the-uae-1.500406789

45M French records leaked after suspected attacker exposed data trove

(Cybernews) Over 45M French records were exposed in an open database likely compiled by malicious data collectors. The leaked data included voter registries, healthcare professional records, and automotive insurance information from multiple sources. Researchers discovered the unprotected cloud server hosted in France and notified the hosting company to secure it. Combining demographic, healthcare, and financial data enables attackers to commit identity theft, financial fraud, and social engineering attacks. – https://cybernews.com/security/millions-french-citizen-records-leaked/

Criminal Subscription Service Behind AI-Powered Cyber-Attacks Taken Out By Microsoft

(Danny Palmer – Infosecurity Magazine) A cybercriminal subscription services responsible for fraud campaigns causing millions of dollars in losses has been disrupted in coordinated action by Microsoft alongside legal partners in the US and, for the first time, the UK. On Wednesday January 14, Microsoft announced it had seized the website and infrastructure of RedVDS, a platform which hosted cybercrime-as-a-service tools for phishing and fraud campaigns, which cost users as little as $24 a month. Despite the low cost of entry, the cybercriminal subscription service is known to have cost victims in the US alone over $40 million since March 2025. These include a cyber-attack against Alabama‑based pharmaceutical company H2-Pharma that caused more than $7.3m in losses and Gatehouse Dock Condominium Association, home association in Florida which  lost over $500,000 to RedVDS hosted campaigns. In total, Microsoft has identified nearly 190,000 organizations worldwide which fell victim to RedVDS supported campaigns. The US, Canada and the UK were the most impacted countries. RedVDS provided cybercriminals with access to cheap, effective and disposable virtual computers running unlicensed software, including Windows, allowing criminals to operate quickly and anonymously against victims around the world. – https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/criminal-subscription-service/

Hackers Use Fake PayPal Notices to Steal Credentials, Deploy RMMs

(Alessandro Mascellino – Infosecurity Magazine) A new wave of phishing-led intrusions abusing legitimate remote monitoring and management (RMM) tools has been documented, with attackers using fake PayPal alerts to gain both personal and corporate access. The activity, documented in an advisory published by Cyberproof on Tuesday, marks a shift away from seasonal lures toward high-urgency financial themes, while highlighting how trusted remote access software continues to be weaponized to evade detection. Earlier waves relied on decoy messages such as holiday party invitations, tax notices or document signing requests. The latest incidents instead exploit fake PayPal warnings designed to provoke immediate action. – https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/hackers-fake-paypal-notices-deploy/

DeadLock Ransomware Uses Polygon Smart Contracts For Proxy Rotation

(Alessandro Mascellino – Infosecurity Magazine) A ransomware operation known as DeadLock has been observed abusing Polygon blockchain smart contracts to manage and rotate proxy server addresses. DeadLock first appeared in July 2025 and has maintained a relatively low profile since then. It is not linked to known ransomware affiliate programs and does not operate a public data leak site. Despite the limited number of reported victims, Group-IB researchers said its technical approach deserves attention for its novelty and potential reuse by other threat actors. – https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/deadlock-polygon-smart-contracts/

Defence and Warfare

Musk’s AI tool Grok will be integrated into Pentagon networks, Hegseth says

(The Guardian) Pete Hegseth announced on Monday that the US military will begin integrating Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence tool, Grok, into Pentagon networks. Speaking at the SpaceX headquarters in Texas on Monday evening, the US defense secretary said that the integration of Grok into military systems would go live later this month. “Very soon we will have the world’s leading AI models on every unclassified and classified network throughout our department,” Hegseth said. Hegseth also unveiled a new “AI acceleration strategy” at the Department of Defense that he said will “unleash experimentation, eliminate bureaucratic barriers, focus on investments, and demonstrate the execution approach needed to ensure we lead in military AI and that it grows more dominant into the future”. – https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jan/13/elon-musk-grok-hegseth-military-pentagon