Governance and Regulation

EMA and FDA set common principles for AI in medicine development

(European Medicines Agency) EMA and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have jointly identified ten principles for good artificial intelligence (AI) practice in the medicines lifecycle. The principles give broad guidance on AI use in evidence generation and monitoring across all phases of a medicine, from early research and clinical trials to manufacturing and safety monitoring. The principles are relevant for those developing medicines, as well as for marketing authorisation applicants and holders. They will underpin future AI guidance in the different jurisdictions and support enhanced international collaboration among regulators, organisations setting technical standards and other stakeholders. Guideline development in the European Union (EU) is already underway, building on the EMA AI reflection paper published in 2024. – https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/news/ema-fda-set-common-principles-ai-medicine-development-0

A new direction for students in an AI world: Prosper, prepare, protect

(Brookings) Since the debut of ChatGPT and with the public’s growing familiarity with generative artificial intelligence (AI), the education community has been debating its promises and perils. Rather than wait for a decade to conduct a postmortem on the failures and opportunities of AI, the Brookings Institution’s Center for Universal Education embarked on a yearlong global study to understand the potential negative risks that generative AI poses to students, and what we can do now to prevent these risks, while maximizing the potential benefits of AI. – https://www.brookings.edu/articles/a-new-direction-for-students-in-an-ai-world-prosper-prepare-protect/

PwC expert outlines how AI can speed up the energy transition

(Ali Al Hammadi – Gulf News) As global leaders gather at the World Future Energy Summit to discuss the next stage of energy transition, the conversation is moving beyond long-term targets to the challenge of real delivery. In an exclusive interview with Gulf News, Danny Touma, Partner for Energy Transition at PwC Middle East, said the biggest test today is not technology, but execution. Drawing on years of work with governments, utilities and investors, Touma stressed that the energy sector must rethink how projects are planned, funded and run if progress is to happen at scale. – https://gulfnews.com/uae/pwc-expert-outlines-how-ai-can-speed-up-the-energy-transition-1.500408147

Social media harms teens, watchdog warns, as France weighs ban

(France 24) The results of an expert scientific review on the subject were announced after Australia became the first country to prohibit big platforms including Instagram, TikTok and YouTube for under 16s last month, while other nations consider following its lead. Using social media is not the sole cause of the declining mental health of teenagers, but its negative effects are “numerous” and well documented, the French public health watchdog ANSES wrote in its opinion, the result of five years of work by a committee of experts. France is currently debating two bills, one backed by President Emmanuel Macron, that would ban social media for under 15s. The ANSES opinion recommended “acting at the source” to ensure that children can only access social networks “designed and configured to protect their health”. – https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20260113-social-media-harms-teens-watchdog-warns-as-france-weighs-ban

Guernsey – More victims of AI deepfakes are seeking support

(Olivia Fraser – BBC) More victims of intimate deepfake imagery are seeking support from Guernsey’s Victim Support and Witness Service. Jenny Murphy, who manages the service, said she was concerned by the increase in reports of deepfakes, image or video altered using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to replace a person’s face or voice which is increasingly being used to create sexual images. At present in Guernsey, sharing intimate images without consent is an offence but asking an AI tool to create them is not. The Home Affairs Committee is looking to change this through a proposed change in the Sexual Offences Law 2020. – https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czxp0598glyo

Geostrategies

TSMC smashes forecasts with record profit, flags more US factories

The Business Times) [TAIPEI] TSMC, the world’s main producer of advanced artificial intelligence chips, on Thursday (Jan 15) posted a forecast-smashing 35 per cent jump in fourth-quarter profit to record levels, predicted robust growth this year and flagged more US manufacturing capacity was in the works. Riding high on what it calls the “AI mega trend”, TSMC said that its customers were “providing strong signals” and reaching out directly to request capacity. The Taiwanese company, which counts Nvidia and Apple as major customers, last year announced plans to invest US$100 billion in the United States, on top of US$65 billion pledged for three plants in the state of Arizona, one of which is up and running. – https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/international/global/tsmc-smashes-forecasts-record-profit-flags-more-us-factories

Security and Surveillance

Global Agencies Release New Guidance to Secure Industrial Networks

(Alessandro Mascellino – Infosecurity Magazine) A new set of security principles aimed at protecting operational technology (OT) environments has been released by the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the United Kingdom’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), alongside international partners. The guidance addresses growing risks linked to insecure connectivity in systems that underpin essential services, outlining a shared framework to help organizations design and manage secure connectivity in OT environments. Led by NCSC-UK, the guidance responds to increased interconnection between industrial systems and enterprise networks, a trend that has improved efficiency but expanded the attack surface for cyber threat actors. – https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/global-agencies-secure-industrial/

Hackers Increasingly Shun Encryption in Favour of Pure Data Theft and Extortion

(Danny Palmer – Infosecurity Magazine) There has been a significant rise in ransomware campaigns which do not rely on encryption as cybercriminal extortion groups shift their operations. An increasing number of cybercriminals are relying on data theft alone to extort ransom payments out of victims, a new research paper by Symantec and Carbon Black has warned. “Extortion-only attacks have grown immensely…In these attacks, no ransomware is deployed, the attackers simply steal data from the victim’s network and attempt to extort a ransom from victims by threatening to publish the stolen data,” said the report. While the number of ‘traditional’ ransomware attacks has remained stable – according to Symantec, data from ransomware leak sites suggested a total of  4737 ransomware  attacks during 2025, up 1% compared with 2024 – the number of encyptionless attacks has grown significantly. Analysis of data leak sites suggests that there were almost 1500 incidents that relied on data theft alone for extortion attacks in what’s described as a “significant jump” in cyber-criminal groups leveraging the tactic. The figure for 2024 was only 28. – https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/hackers-shun-encryption-in-favour/

CodeBuild Flaw Put AWS Console Supply Chain At Risk

(Alessandro Mascellino – Infosecurity Magazine) A critical misconfiguration in AWS CodeBuild has allowed attackers to seize control of core AWS GitHub repositories, including the JavaScript SDK that underpins the AWS Console. The issue, dubbed CodeBreach by Wiz Research, exposed a weakness in the continuous integration pipelines used by AWS-managed open-source projects. By exploiting the flaw, an unauthenticated attacker could have injected malicious code into trusted repositories, creating a pathway to compromise the AWS Console and potentially every AWS account that relies on it. The vulnerability stemmed from how CodeBuild handled pull request triggers. A minor error in a security filter, missing just two characters, allowed untrusted pull requests to run privileged builds. From there, attackers could access GitHub credentials stored in build memory and escalate their access to full repository control. Wiz said the most sensitive target was the AWS SDK for JavaScript, a widely used library that powers both customer applications and the AWS Console itself. The firm estimates that 66% of cloud environments include the SDK, amplifying the potential impact of a supply chain attack. – https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/codebuild-flaw-aws-console-risk/

Cyber Threat Actors Ramp Up Attacks on Industrial Environments

(Kevin Poireault – Infosecurity Magazine) Both cybercriminals and hacktivists have increased cyber-attacks against industrial technology environments, with vulnerability exploits in these systems almost doubling in 2025, according to Cyble. This according the Cyble Research & Intelligence Labs’ (CRIL) Annual Threat Landscape Report 2025, published on January 15, 2026. – https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/cyber-threat-actors-ramp-up-ics/

CISO Role Reaches “Inflexion Point” With Executive-Level Titles

(Phil Muncaster – Infosecurity Magazine) The role of chief information security officer (CISO) is now more likely to be regarded as an executive-level position than VP or director, signifying its growing importance to the business, according to IANS. The research and advisory firm put together its 2026 State of the CISO Report based on interviews with 662 North American CISOs. It revealed that 46% of respondents now hold executive titles (e.g., EVP, SVP), while 27% are VPs and 27% are directors. This indicates a “structural shift” in the security leadership landscape, IANS claimed. – https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/ciso-role-inflexion-point/

Data Privacy Teams Face Staffing Shortages and Budget Constraints, ISACA Warns

(Beth Maundrill – Infosecurity Magazine) Data privacy teams are both understaffed and underfunded despite accelerating privacy threats and regulatory demands, according to new research by ISACA. ISACA’s State of Privacy 2026 report found that the median privacy staff size was five, down from eight the previous year. Additionally, technical privacy roles are more understaffed than legal/compliance roles with the former set to increase in demand over the next year. To address skill gaps, the survey found that privacy teams are training non-privacy staff who are interested in moving into privacy roles and increasing the usage of contract employees or outside consultants. – https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/data-privacy-teams-staffing/

ICE Agent Doxxing Site DDoS-ed Via Russian Servers

(Phil Muncaster – Infosecurity Magazine) A controversial website launched following an apparent insider breach at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been taken offline by a sustained DDoS attack, its founder has revealed. Dominick Skinner told The Daily Beast that his ICE List site is being hit with a “prolonged and sophisticated” cyber-attack which began on Tuesday evening. At the time of writing, it was still down, making it impossible for interested parties to uncover the identities of agents working for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol. – https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/ice-agent-doxxing-site-ddosed/

Frontiers and Markets

Generative AI tool helps 3D print personal items that sustain daily use

(Alex Shipps – MIT) Generative artificial intelligence models have left such an indelible impact on digital content creation that it’s getting harder to recall what the internet was like before it. You can call on these AI tools for clever projects such as videos and photos — but their flair for the creative hasn’t quite crossed over into the physical world just yet. So why haven’t we seen generative AI-enabled personalized objects, such as phone cases and pots, in places like homes, offices, and stores yet? According to MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) researchers, a key issue is the mechanical integrity of the 3D model. While AI can help generate personalized 3D models that you can fabricate, those systems don’t often consider the physical properties of the 3D model. MIT Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) PhD student and CSAIL engineer Faraz Faruqi has explored this trade-off, creating generative AI-based systems that can make aesthetic changes to designs while preserving functionality, and another that modifies structures with the desired tactile properties users want to feel. – https://news.mit.edu/2026/genai-tool-helps-3d-print-personal-items-sustain-daily-use-0114

IBM Introduces New Software to Address Growing Digital Sovereignty Imperative

(IBM) IBM announced IBM Sovereign Core, the industry’s first AI-ready sovereign-enabled software for enterprises, governments and service providers to build, deploy and manage AI-ready sovereign environments. Organizations around the world are facing a growing imperative to exercise control over their technology infrastructure. Driven by evolving regulatory requirements, and the need for auditable governance, enterprises and governments are seeking self-managed environments where they maintain complete operational authority, particularly as they deploy AI workloads that amplify sovereignty concerns. Digital sovereignty goes beyond data residency. It encompasses who operates and controls the technology environment, how data is accessed and governed, where workloads execute, and under whose jurisdiction AI models run. Yet most organizations lack a destination to land, modernize, and re-host applications under sovereign control, including applications that will incorporate AI capabilities, and have continuous compliance reporting capabilities. “Gartner® predicts that more than 75% of all enterprises will have a digital sovereignty strategy by 2030, often sovereign cloud strategies.”.  “Businesses are facing growing pressure to innovate while meeting tightening regulatory requirements and recognizing the importance of controlling how sensitive data and AI workloads are accessed and operated,” said Priya Srinivasan, General Manager, IBM Software Products. “This shift is creating an urgent need for sovereign solutions that deliver AI-ready environments. With IBM Sovereign Core, we are helping clients move faster and with confidence— combining openness, compliance, and operational autonomy to meet the demands of the AI era, without the need to sacrifice sovereignty requirements.” – https://newsroom.ibm.com/2026-01-15-ibm-introduces-new-software-to-address-growing-digital-sovereignty-imperative

University opens new humanities innovation hub

(Caroline Gall – BBC) A new hub at Wolverhampton University has been set up to look at how Virtual Reality (VR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be used to improve research, business and culture. The Digital Futures Lab will officially launch on 7 February and offer academics, students, businesses and organisations a chance to collaborate across their fields, the university said. The launch event will show people cutting-edge applications of VR and AI and show how digital tools are “reshaping approaches to language, literature, and culture”. Prof Sebastian Groes, lab director, said the hub embodied the university’s commitment to innovation in research and culture. – https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c20dwkkze6zo

Physics of Foam Strangely Resembles AI Training

(Ian Scheffler – Penn Engineering) Foams are everywhere: soap suds, shaving cream, whipped toppings and food emulsions like mayonnaise. For decades, scientists believed that foams behave like glass, their microscopic components trapped in static, disordered configurations. Now, engineers at the University of Pennsylvania have found that foams actually flow ceaselessly inside while holding their external shape. More strangely, from a mathematical perspective, this internal motion resembles the process of deep learning, the method typically used to train modern AI systems. The discovery could hint that learning, in a broad mathematical sense, may be a common organizing principle across physical, biological and computational systems, and provide a conceptual foundation for future efforts to design adaptive materials. The insight could also shed new light on biological structures that continuously rearrange themselves, like the scaffolding in living cells. – https://www.seas.upenn.edu/stories/physics-of-foam-strangely-resembles-ai-training/

Radar-like sensor can detect irregular heart rhythms without touching the body

(Knowridge) A new contactless system that can detect a dangerous heart condition using radio waves and artificial intelligence has been introduced by scientists. This system could help doctors find atrial fibrillation earlier, even before symptoms appear or a diagnosis is made using standard medical tools. The findings were recently published in the journal Nature Communications. Atrial fibrillation, also known as AFib, is a common heart rhythm problem. When a person has AFib, their heart beats in an irregular and often very fast way. This can lead to serious health problems like stroke, heart failure, and even death. Usually, AFib is diagnosed using a test called an electrocardiogram, or ECG. – https://knowridge.com/2026/01/radar-like-sensor-can-detect-irregular-heart-rhythms-without-touching-the-body/#google_vignette