Governance
European Commission misses deadline for AI Act guidance on high-risk systems
(Caitlin Andrews – iapp) The European Commission reportedly missed a deadline to provide guidance on how operators of high-risk artificial intelligence systems can meet their obligations under the AI Act, another sign of an ongoing struggle over implementation amid considerations for a delay. The Commission had until 2 Feb. to produce information about adherence to Article 6, a key part of the EU AI Act dealing with how to determine if an AI application counts as high-risk and therefore whether stricter documentation and compliance requirements apply. That guidance is supposed to include a post-market monitoring plan for providers. Euractiv reports the Commission indicated it is in the process of integrating months of feedback into the high-risk guidelines and plan to publish a final draft of the guidelines for more feedback by the end of the month. MLex reported in late January that final adoption could come in March or April. – https://iapp.org/news/a/european-commission-misses-deadline-for-ai-act-guidance-on-high-risk-systems
Anthropic’s launch of AI legal tool hits shares in European data companies
(Julia Kollewe – The Guardian) European publishing and legal software companies have suffered sharp declines in their share prices after the US artificial intelligence startup Anthropic revealed a tool for use by companies’ legal departments. Anthropic, the company behind the chatbot Claude, said its tool could automate legal work such as contract reviewing, non-disclosure agreement triage, compliance workflows, legal briefings and templated responses. Shares in the UK publishing group Pearson fell by nearly 8% on the news, and shares in the information and analytics company Relx plunged 14%. The software company Sage lost 10% in London and the Dutch software company Wolters Kluwer lost 13% in Amsterdam. Shares in the London Stock Exchange Group fell by 13% and the credit reporting company Experian dropped by 7% in London, amid fears over the impact of AI on data companies. – https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/feb/03/anthropic-ai-legal-tool-shares-data-services-pearson
Geneva Engage Awards spotlight digital trust in the AI era
(DigWatch) The Geneva Engage initiative, launched in 2016 by the Geneva Internet Platform under DiploFoundation with the support of the Republic and Canton of Geneva, continues to track how International Geneva connects with audiences worldwide. Through research and annual awards, it assesses how Geneva-based actors communicate on global policy issues ranging from development and human rights to health, the environment, and digital governance. The 11th edition of the Geneva Engage Awards was held on 3 February 2026 at the World Meteorological Organization building, and it came at a moment of significant change in how people access information. Under the theme ‘Back to basics in the AI era’, the event explored how International Geneva can remain a trusted source as users increasingly rely on AI assistants rather than traditional searches, websites, and reports. – https://dig.watch/updates/geneva-engage-awards-spotlight-digital-trust-in-the-ai-era
Legislation
Austria and Poland eye social media limits for minors
(DigWatch) Austria is advancing plans to bar children under 14 from social media when the new school year begins in September 2026, according to comments from a senior Austrian official. Poland’s government is drafting a law to restrict access for under-15s, using digital ID tools to confirm age. – https://dig.watch/updates/austria-and-poland-eye-social-media-limits-for-minors
Greece to soon announce social media ban for children under 15, gov’t source says
(ekathimerini.com) Greece is “very close” to announcing a ban on social media use for children under the age of 15, according to a senior government source cited by Reuters. Kathimerini reports that the Ministry of Digital Governance is prepared to move forward with the measure, seeing in the Kids Wallet app, launched last year, as a tool to enforce the ban. – https://www.ekathimerini.com/in-depth/society-in-depth/1294210/greece-to-soon-announce-social-media-ban-for-children-under-15-govt-source-says/
AI journalism faces stronger safeguards under New York proposal
(DigWatch) New York lawmakers have introduced the NY FAIR News Act to regulate the use of AI journalism. The proposed legislation would require transparency around AI-generated content and set clear limits on how news organisations can deploy AI in their reporting and production processes. A key focus of the bill is protecting journalists, newsroom workers, and sources. The legislation would prevent media companies from replacing human workers with AI and introduce safeguards to reduce the risks AI systems pose to journalistic practices and source confidentiality. – https://dig.watch/updates/ai-journalism-faces-stronger-safeguards-under-new-york-proposal
Geostrategies
From innovation to digital sovereignty: How UAE is shaping the global technology order
(Najwa AlSaeed – Gulf News) At a moment when rapid technological acceleration coincides with rising digital risks and a profound reshaping of global economic power, the United Arab Emirates stands out as a forward-looking state that recognised early on that technology is no longer merely a driver of growth. It has become a pillar of sovereignty, strategic decision-making, and long-term stability. From this perspective, the UAE’s initiatives in advanced technology – from establishing world-class research centres to addressing the risks of artificial intelligence and engaging strategically in the global digital economy – form part of a coherent national vision aimed at securing a sustainable position in the knowledge economy. – https://gulfnews.com/opinion/op-eds/from-innovation-to-digital-sovereignty-how-uae-is-shaping-the-global-technology-order-1.500429350
Japan and the United Kingdom expand cybersecurity cooperation
(DigWatch) Japan and the United Kingdom have formalised a Strategic Cyber Partnership focused on strengthening cooperation in cybersecurity, including information sharing, defensive capabilities, and resilience of critical infrastructure. In related high-level discussions between the two leaders, Japan and the UK also agreed on the need to work with like-minded partners to address vulnerabilities in critical mineral supply chains. – https://dig.watch/updates/japan-and-the-united-kingdom-expand-cybersecurity-cooperation
Security and Surveillance
AI Drives Doubling of Phishing Attacks in a Year
(Phil Muncaster – Infosecurity Magazine) Security filters caught one phishing email every 19 seconds in 2025, more than double the rate a year previously, Cofense has revealed. AI technology is helping threat actors to increase the speed and scale of attacks, to the point where detected phishing emails last year far outstripped 2024 figures of one every 42 seconds, the cybersecurity firm claimed. The security vendor’s latest report, The New Era of Phishing: Threats Built in the Age of AI, is based on its own threat intelligence. – https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/ai-double-volume-phishing-attacks/
Global SystemBC Botnet Found Active Across 10,000 Infected Systems
(Alessandro Mascellino – Infosecurity Magazine) A long-running malware operation known as SystemBC has been linked to more than 10,000 infected IP addresses worldwide, including systems associated with sensitive government infrastructure. According to new research by Silent Push, the findings reinforce concerns about the malware’s continued use as an early-stage tool in intrusion campaigns that frequently precede ransomware deployment. First publicly documented in 2019, SystemBC, also known as Coroxy or DroxiDat, is a multi-platform proxy malware that turns compromised systems into SOCKS5 relays. These relays allow threat actors to route malicious traffic through victim machines, masking their own infrastructure while maintaining persistent access to internal networks. – https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/global-systembc-botnet-10000/
New Technical Markers Reveal Expanding ShadowSyndicate Cybercriminal Infrastructure
(Alessandro Mascellino – Infosecurity Magazine) A sprawling malicious infrastructure linked to the ShadowSyndicate cybercrime cluster has been expanded following the discovery of new technical markers that connect dozens of servers to the same operator. The findings add fresh detail to a threat actor already associated with multiple ransomware groups and widely used attack frameworks. In a new advisory published by Group-IB, researchers said ShadowSyndicate can be tracked through reused Secure Shell (SSH) fingerprints, a rare operational habit that allows investigators to correlate infrastructure across campaigns. While the cluster relies on a large number of servers, it consistently uses OpenSSH and repeatedly deploys the same access keys, creating identifiable patterns. ShadowSyndicate was first publicly documented in 2023 and has remained active since then, continuing to build and maintain infrastructure in a way that analysts describe as unusually consistent. – https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/shadowsyndicate/
Two Critical Flaws in n8n AI Workflow Automation Platform Allow Complete Takeover
(Kevin Poireault – Infosecurity Magazine) Researchers at Pillar Security have found two maximum severity vulnerabilities (CVSS score of 10.0) in n8n, a popular open-source workflow automation platform powering hundreds of thousands of enterprise AI systems worldwide. The flaws are sandbox escape vulnerabilities which, when exploited, allow any authenticated user to achieve complete server control and steal any stored credential, including API keys, cloud provider keys, database passwords and OAuth tokens on both self-hosted and cloud n8n instances. The first flaw was reported by Pillar Security to n8n maintainers, who released a patch, but a second vulnerability bypassing the fix was discovered 24 hours after initial patch was deployed. – https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/two-critical-flaws-in-n8n-ai/
Seven takeaways from the latest artificial intelligence safety report
(Dan Milmo – Irish Examiner) The International AI Safety report is an annual survey of technological progress and the risks it is creating across multiple areas, from deepfakes to the jobs market. Commissioned at the 2023 global AI safety summit, it is chaired by the Canadian computer scientist Yoshua Bengio, who describes the “daunting challenges” posed by rapid developments in the field. The report is also guided by senior advisers, including Nobel laureates Geoffrey Hinton and Daron Acemoglu. Here are some of the key points from the second annual report, published on Tuesday. It stresses that it is a state-of-play document, rather than a vehicle for making specific policy recommendations to governments. Nonetheless, it is likely to help frame the debate for policymakers, tech executives and NGOs attending the next global AI summit in India this month. – https://www.irishexaminer.com/world/arid-41786954.html
Frontiers and Markets
EU consortium to start work on superconducting quantum with €50M
(Juliette Portala – Science Business) The Superconducting European Quantum Pilot Line (Supreme) consortium, which was set up in 2025 to industrialise superconducting quantum technologies, including chips, has been granted a total of €50 million by the EU Chips Joint Undertaking and national funding agencies. This funding will cover its first three and a half years of work, starting in early 2026. Superconducting quantum devices are able to create and manipulate quantum information, or qubits. They use superconducting materials, whose absence of electrical resistance enables quantum computers to operate at very low temperatures, which is essential to maintain the coherence of qubits. – https://sciencebusiness.net/news/quantum-computing/eu-consortium-start-work-superconducting-quantum-eu50m
New study reveals biodegradable chip aims to reduce e-waste and air pollution
(Ruqia Shahid – The News) Researchers at Incheon National University have unveiled a ground-breaking study aimed at combating electronic waste and air pollution. The prime objective of these breakthroughs is to address two key issues: electronic waste reduction and improved air quality monitoring. The technology utilizes Organic Field-Effect Transistors (OFETs), which are ideal for portable gas detection and ease of manufacturing. Specifically, these sensors are designed to detect pollutants like nitrogen dioxide-a harmful byproduct of burning fossil fuels linked to respiratory diseases such as asthma and bronchitis. – https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1390858-new-study-reveals-biodegradable-chip-aims-to-reduce-e-waste-and-air-pollution
Oncology trial systems debut at SCOPE 2026 as AI adoption accelerates
(Clinical Trias Arena) Massive Bio and ConcertAI have each introduced artificial intelligence (AI)-based systems aimed at supporting oncology clinical trials at the Summit for Clinical Operations Executives (SCOPE) 2026 conference in Orlando, Florida. Massive Bio’s system, TrialRelay, is a physician-facing enrollment orchestration platform designed to prevent patients from being lost following clinical trial referrals, a phenomenon known as the ‘referral black hole’. Previously known as Clinical Network, the system is powered by TrialRouter AI, an agent that connects patients, physicians, sites and sponsors for clinical trials. – https://www.clinicaltrialsarena.com/news/oncology-trial-systems-debut-at-scope-2026-as-ai-adoption-accelerates/?cf-view