Daily Digest on AI and Emerging Technologies (17 March 2026) – https://pam.int/daily-digest-on-ai-and-emerging-technologies-17-march-2026/
Daily Digest on AI and Emerging Technologies (18 March 2026) – https://pam.int/daily-digest-on-ai-and-emerging-technologies-18-march-2026/
Daily Digest on AI and Emerging Technologies (19 March 2026) – https://pam.int/daily-digest-on-ai-and-emerging-technologies-19-march-2026/
Governance, Regulation, and Legislation
Why AI Sandboxes matter for responsible innovation and public trust
(Karine Perset, Anna Pietikäinen – OECD.AI) Among the various tools available to policymakers, regulatory sandboxes have gained considerable prominence in the AI governance landscape because they enable supervised innovation testing under controlled conditions and within limited timeframes. This can help to identify risks early, foster regulatory learning and refine regulatory requirements before they are applied at scale. As AI regulatory sandboxes expand across jurisdictions and sectors, common design principles, recurring challenges and opportunities for greater effectiveness and policy coherence are emerging. As this happens, institutional co-operation and knowledge sharing are more important for ensuring coherent and effective regulatory experimentation both nationally and across borders. – https://oecd.ai/en/wonk/sandboxes-matter-responsible-innovation-public-trust
Malaysia tightens rules on data centres
(DigWatch) Malaysia has quietly restricted new data centre approvals to projects linked to AI, signalling a strategic shift in its digital economy. Authorities confirmed that non-AI development has been halted for nearly 2 years. The policy reflects mounting pressure on energy and water resources as demand for data centres accelerates. Officials aim to ensure infrastructure supports high-value AI projects rather than lower-impact investments. – https://dig.watch/updates/malaysia-tightens-rules-on-data-centres
UK drops AI copyright opt-out plan amid growing industry divide
(DigWatch) The UK Government has abandoned its previous preference for an AI copyright opt-out model, signalling a shift in policy following strong opposition from creative industries. Ministers now acknowledge that there is no clear consensus on how AI developers should access copyrighted material. Concerns from writers, artists and rights holders focused on the use of their work in training AI systems without permission. – https://dig.watch/updates/uk-drops-ai-copyright-opt-out-plan-amid-growing-industry-divide
Trump AI plan urges Congress to overrule states
(Ashley Gold, Maria Curi, Mackenzie Weinger – Axios) The Trump administration on Friday released its legislative recommendations on AI, urging Congress to preempt state AI laws and take a light-touch approach to regulations. The four-page framework calls on lawmakers to limit the ability of states to set their own rules for the technology, setting up a renewed clash with states and Congress over the future of AI regulation. “Congress should preempt state AI laws that impose undue burdens to ensure a minimally burdensome national standard consistent with these recommendations, not fifty discordant ones,” the framework states. – https://www.axios.com/2026/03/20/white-house-ai-plan-trump-framework
PRC Tech Firms Practice Proactive Alignment
(Christopher Nye, Charles Sun – The Jamestown Foundation) A new equilibrium is emerging in state–business relations following the cessation of regulatory campaigns against the technology sector in the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC). Private sector firms are increasingly pursuing “proactive alignment,” preemptively synchronizing their business models with state-directed strategic objectives before receiving explicit political directives to do so. State control over key resources constitutes the material foundation for proactive alignment. By enforcing commanding leverage over advanced computational infrastructure through mega-projects and directed subsidies, the Party-state renders comprehensive conformity a prerequisite for doing business in the PRC. Legacy platforms have pivoted their commercial core toward state-defined strategic priorities, but an ascendant artificial intelligence (AI) cohort operates “policy-native” architecture, prioritizing state alignment over profit maximization to avoid becoming political liabilities. – https://jamestown.org/prc-tech-firms-practice-proactive-alignment/
Security and Surveillance
FBI takes down leak sites tied to Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security
(Jonathan Greig – The Record) The FBI accused the Iranian government of using four domains to host information stolen from the government of Albania, Iranian dissidents, Israeli government officials and U.S. companies. In a 40-page seizure warrant, the FBI outlined multiple digital campaigns launched by Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) through a variety of online monikers, most recently going by the name “Handala.” – https://therecord.media/fbi-takes-down-leak-sites-iran-mois
Police dismantle dark web network exploiting child sexual abuse material
(Daryna Antoniuk – The Record) International law enforcement agencies announced Friday dismantling one of the largest known networks of fraudulent platforms on the dark web, uncovering hundreds of thousands of fake websites used to scam users seeking child sexual abuse content. The investigation, launched by German investigators in 2021, initially targeted a dark web platform known as “Alice with Violence CP.” The authorities soon uncovered a far broader operation allegedly run by a single individual who controlled more than 373,000 hidden websites designed to impersonate marketplaces for illicit material and cybercrime services. – https://therecord.media/police-dismantle-dark-web-network-exploiting-child-abuse-images
Strategic Leadership in Digital Transformation
(Tarnveer Singh – Infosecurity Magazine) Digital transformation with AI has become one of the defining leadership challenges of the decade. What once centered on modernizing infrastructure or digitizing isolated processes has evolved into something far more strategic: reshaping how organizations create value, build trust, and compete in an AI‑driven world. For C‑suite executives, the question is how to drive digital transformation in a way that is purposeful, ethical, and cyber resilient. – https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/opinions/strategic-leadership-in-digital/
NCA Boss Warns That Teens Are Being “Radicalized” Into Cybercrime Online
(Phil Muncaster – Infosecurity Magazine) The head of the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) has warned that the country’s teens are being “radicalized” into becoming cybercriminals by online platforms. The NCA was set up over a decade ago to tackle serious and organized crime. In a speech to launch the NCA’s National Strategic Assessment this week, Graeme Biggar, NCA director general, argued that “the same toxic online spaces” and algorithms are turning teens into cybercriminals, sex offenders and terrorists. – https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/nca-boss-warns-teens-radicalized/
7,500+ Magento sites defaced in global hacking campaign
(Pierluigi Paganini – Security Affairs) Since February 27, a large-scale campaign has defaced over 7,500 Magento sites, targeting e-commerce platforms, global brands, and government services. According to cybersecurity firm Netcraft, attackers placed plaintext defacement files across more than 15,000 hostnames, directly compromising affected infrastructure. “Netcraft detected this campaign’s first activity on 27 February 2026, with newly compromised sites continuing to appear at the time of writing.” reads the report published by Netcraft. “Netcraft is tracking this campaign’s activity over 15,000+ hostnames (subdomains) within ~7,500 unique domains. Defacements were uploaded as plaintext files hosted directly on affected infrastructure.”. Defacement pages show handles like L4663R666H05T, Simsimi, Brokenpipe, and Typical Idiot Security, often with “greetz” lists typical of defacement culture. – https://securityaffairs.com/189734/hacking/7500-magento-sites-defaced-in-global-hacking-campaign.html
Navia data breach impacts nearly 2.7 Million people
(Pierluigi Paganini – Security Affairs) Navia Benefit Solutions disclosed a data breach affecting 2,697,540 individuals. The company detected suspicious activity on January 23, 2026 and quickly launched an investigation to assess the incident. Navia Benefit Solutions is a U.S.-based company that provides employee benefits administration services to employers and their staff. Founded in 1989 and headquartered in Washington State, Navia serves thousands of employers across the U.S., offering tools and platforms to help employees manage healthcare and financial benefits more easily. Attackers accessed its systems from December 22, 2025, to January 15, 2026. The company detected suspicious activity on January 23, revealing that sensitive personal data had been exposed during the intrusion. – https://securityaffairs.com/189726/data-breach/navia-data-breach-impacts-nearly-2-7-million-people.html
Apple urges iPhone users to update as Coruna and DarkSword exploit kits emerge
(Pierluigi Paganini – Security Affairs) Apple has warned that iPhones running outdated iOS versions are at risk from exploit kits like Coruna and DarkSword. These attacks use malicious web content to trigger infection chains that can steal sensitive data. Users are strongly advised to update their devices to stay protected. “Security researchers recently identified web-based attacks that target out-of-date versions of iOS through malicious web content. For example, if you’re using an older version of iOS and were to click a malicious link or visit a compromised website, the data on your iPhone might be at risk of being stolen.” reads Apple’s advisory. “We thoroughly investigated these issues as they were found and released software updates as quickly as possible for the most recent operating system versions to address vulnerabilities and disrupt such attacks.”. Keeping the iPhone updated is the most effective way to stay protected from threats like Coruna and DarkSword. Devices running the latest iOS versions are not vulnerable, and Lockdown Mode also blocks these attacks, even on older systems, though updates are still strongly recommended. – https://securityaffairs.com/189716/security/apple-urges-iphone-users-to-update-as-coruna-and-darksword-exploit-kits-emerge.html
Global law enforcement operation targets AISURU, Kimwolf, JackSkid botnet operators
(Pierluigi Paganini – Security Affairs) The U.S. DoJ disrupted command-and-control infrastructure used by several IoT botnets, including AISURU, Kimwolf, JackSkid, and Mossad. The operation involved authorities from Canada and Germany, along with major tech companies, to target botnet operators and weaken their global cybercrime activities. “The U.S. Justice Department participated in a court-authorized law enforcement operation today to disrupt Command and Control (C2) infrastructure used by the Aisuru, KimWolf, JackSkid and Mossad Internet of Things (IoT) botnets.” reads the press release published by DoJ. “The operation was conducted simultaneously to law enforcement actions conducted in Canada and Germany, which targeted individuals who operated these botnets. The four botnets launched Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks targeting victims around the world. Some of these attacks measured approximately 30 Terabits per second, which were record-breaking attacks.” – https://securityaffairs.com/189710/cyber-crime/global-law-enforcement-operation-targets-aisuru-kimwolf-jackskid-botnet-operators.html
Defence, Intelligence, and Warfare
Iranian Data Strikes Shake Global Digital Infrastructure
(Joseph Jarnecki and Noah Sylvia – RUSI) Before sunrise on Sunday 1 March, Iranian Shahed drones directly struck two Amazon Web Services data centres in the United Arab Emirates. That same morning, debris from a nearby strike damaged a third AWS data centre in Bahrain. Impacts to the facilities created significant disruption to financial, enterprise and consumer digital services in the UAE and the wider region. In the wake of the strikes, calls to treat data centres as strategic assets and critical infrastructure have grown louder. Data centres and the digital services operating on them are critical to the economy and society, but also to defence. As we have written previously, Ukraine’s Delta battlefield management system is hosted on the public cloud, the US’s Maven Smart System (created by Palantir) is hosted by AWS, and Israel has leveraged cloud-hosted AI capabilities in its war on Gaza. Where data centres are dual-use – hosting both civilian and military workloads – targeting them to disrupt military capabilities can make strategic sense. Nevertheless, this is the first time that kinetic capabilities have been used against public cloud infrastructure. And where Iran has stepped, others will likely follow. It is therefore necessary to better understand why Iran may have targeted these facilities and what are the possible strategic impacts. – https://www.rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/iranian-data-strikes-shake-global-digital-infrastructure
US intelligence elevates AI as a top global threat in new report
(Patrick Tucker – Defense One) Artificial intelligence is a major subtheme of the U.S. intelligence community’s annual report on threats—one increasingly described in strategic, not just technical, terms. In its 2026 Worldwide Threat Assessment, released on Wednesday, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence calls AI a “defining technology for the 21st century,” notes that it is being used in combat, and identifies China as “the most capable competitor” to the United States. The assessment, released on Wednesday as intelligence leaders testified to lawmakers, offers a rare window into how they interpret the global threat landscape. The new version of the annual report treats AI far more prominently than in 2024 and 2025. It gives AI a larger role in the report—but one that resists easy categorization. Unlike enduring threats from China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and terrorist groups, AI is treated less as a discrete actor or capability and more as a cross-cutting force shaping each of them. – https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2026/03/AI-intelligence-new-global-threat/412232/?oref=d1-homepage-top-story
Pentagon leaders called Claude AI ‘woke.’ Tests show otherwise
(Valerie Wirtschafter – Defense One) When Secretary of War Pete Hegseth gave Anthropic a deadline to renegotiate its contract with the Pentagon to include “all lawful purposes” or be designated a supply chain risk — a classification typically reserved for adversarial foreign firms like Huawei — he framed it as a fight against “woke AI.”. “Department of War AI will not be woke,” Hegseth declared during a speech at SpaceX in mid-January 2026. “We’re building war ready weapons and systems, not chatbots for an Ivy League faculty lounge.” Later on, President Donald Trump lambasted Anthropic as a “RADICAL LEFT, WOKE COMPANY.”. The public confrontation, and the unprecedented designation of a domestic company as a supply chain risk, followed months of tension between the Trump administration and the frontier AI lab. – https://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2026/03/pentagons-woke-ai-problem/412264/?oref=d1-featured-river-top
Data Is Now the Front Line of Warfare
(Emily Harding – CSIS) The conflict in the Gulf has now claimed several new victims: data centers. This marks a sea change in warfare and will force tech companies to reevaluate their posture around national defense. Defending them effectively means a new policy by the U.S. government—one that creates deterrence not just to protect life and health, but also data. In the early days of this conflict in the Gulf, Iran made a strategic decision: It struck two AWS data centers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and one more in Bahrain. Damage was moderate, but disruption was extensive, affecting everything from banking to consumer services. Then, on March 11, a strike hit a data center linked to Bank Sepah in Tehran that contained salary data for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Iranian army. That strike disrupted salary payments to Iranian military elements, and, according to the Jerusalem Post, online banking is at least temporarily inoperable. – https://www.csis.org/analysis/data-now-front-line-warfare
Frontiers
Bitcoin moves closer to quantum resistance with BIP-360
BTQ Technologies has deployed Bitcoin Improvement Proposal BIP-360 on its Bitcoin Quantum Testnet v0.3.0, marking the first live test of the proposal. The upgrade introduces a quantum-resistant transaction model, Pay-to-Merkle-Root, designed to strengthen Bitcoin’s long-term security. – https://dig.watch/updates/bitcoin-closer-to-quantum-resistance-with-bip-360
MIT develops method to detect overconfident AI
(DigWatch) Researchers at MIT have introduced a new method to assess the reliability of large language models more accurately. Many LLMs can produce confident yet incorrect responses, posing risks in high-stakes applications such as healthcare or finance. The team combined self-consistency checks with an ensemble approach, comparing a model’s outputs to similar LLMs. This total uncertainty (TU) metric more accurately identifies overconfident predictions and can flag hallucinations that simpler methods may miss. – https://dig.watch/updates/mit-develops-method-to-detect-overconfident-ai
Data centres drive LG’s integrated AI infrastructure push
(DigWatch) AI infrastructure is becoming a central battleground for growth, with LG Group accelerating its push into AI data centres and energy storage systems under its ‘One LG’ strategy. The initiative brings together key affiliates to deliver integrated solutions for AI data centres. LG Electronics provides cooling systems, LG Energy Solution handles power infrastructure, including ESS and UPS, while LG Uplus and LG CNS oversee design, construction, and operations. – https://dig.watch/updates/lg-ai-data-centres-one-lg-strategy
NVIDIA Isaac powers generalist specialist robots at scale
(DigWatch) A new class of robots is emerging, combining broad adaptability with task-specific precision as developers move toward generalist specialist systems. Within this shift, NVIDIA Isaac is enabling integrated workflows that connect data generation, simulation, training, and deployment across robotics pipelines. – https://dig.watch/updates/nvidia-isaac-robotics-platform