Governance

Dispatch from Hanoi: UN Cybercrime Treaty Signing Exposes a Highly State-Centric Process

(Samaya Anjum – Tech Policy Press – 24 October 2025) Last week, UN Member States gathered in Hanoi, Vietnam, for the signing ceremony of the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime (UNCC). The event, held at the National Convention Center, came amid mounting concerns from civil society groups, tech companies, and digital rights advocates about the treaty’s potential impact on online freedoms. Critics also pointed to the host country’s long-standing record of digital human rights violations and a global shift toward increasingly restrictive internet regulations. Proposed by Russia in 2017 and approved unanimously by the UN General Assembly in 2023, the Convention is intended to serve as the first universal legal instrument to combat cybercrime through harmonized definitions, enhanced cross-border cooperation, and streamlined access to electronic evidence. On the first day, 64 states signed the treaty at the official signing event, with an additional five signatures added by the end of the second day. While these signatures indicate broad state-level support for the UNCC, several key countries were notably absent from the signatories’ list, including Canada, New Zealand, and the United States. – https://www.techpolicy.press/dispatch-from-hanoi-un-cybercrime-treaty-signing-exposes-a-highly-statecentric-process/

Nordic ministers fund AI language model network

(DigWatch – 30 October 2025) Nordic ministers for culture have approved funding for a new network dedicated to language models for AI. The decision, taken at a meeting in Stockholm on 29 October, aims to ensure AI development reflects the region’s unique linguistic and cultural traits. It is one of the first projects for the recently launched Nordic-Baltic centre for AI, New Nordics AI. – https://dig.watch/updates/nordic-ministers-fund-ai-language-model-network – https://www.norden.org/en/news/nordic-ministers-culture-invest-joint-network-ai-language-models

Big Tech ramps up Brussels lobbying as EU considers easing digital rules

(DigWatch – 30 October 2025) Tech firms now spend a record €151 million a year on lobbying at EU institutions, up from €113 million in 2023, according to transparency-register analysis by Corporate Europe Observatory and LobbyControl. Spending is concentrated among US giants. The ten biggest tech companies, including Meta, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Qualcomm and Google, together outspend the top ten in pharma, finance and automotive. Meta leads with a budget above €10 million. –  https://dig.watch/updates/big-tech-ramps-up-brussels-lobbying-as-eu-considers-easing-digital-rules – https://www.politico.eu/article/big-tech-lobbying-brussels-digital-markets-act-digital-services-act/

The US Government’s Use of Elon Musk’s Grok AI Undermines Its Own Rules

(J.B. Branch – Tech Policy Press – 30 October 2025) When the federal government adopts a new technology, it should be bound by the same principles that underlie democracy itself: fairness, transparency, and truth. Yet the recent decision by the General Services Administration (GSA) to make Grok—the large language model created by Elon Musk’s xAI—available across federal agencies defies those principles and violates the government’s own binding rules for AI safety and neutrality. Yesterday, Public Citizen and a coalition of civil society organizations urged the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to suspend and withdraw federal deployment of Grok. Our concern is simple: the large language model developed by Musk’s company, xAI, has been shown to produce racist, antisemitic, conspiratorial, and false content. The decision to deploy Grok, therefore, is not just reckless; it appears to violate the Trump Administration’s own AI guidance. – https://www.techpolicy.press/the-us-governments-use-of-elon-musks-grok-ai-undermines-its-own-rules/

Researchers Explore the Use of LLMs for Content Moderation

(Tim Bernard – Tech Policy Press – 30 October 2025) AI in content moderation is far from a recent innovation: machine learning (ML) classifiers have been used for content moderation since around 2016. But since the technological advances of LLMs, platforms are accelerating the transition to AI for content moderation, laying off trust and safety workers and outsourced moderators in favor of automated systems. For instance, changes Meta announced to its content moderation practices in January included deploying “AI large language models (LLMs) to provide a second opinion on some content.” In August, TikTok announced it would lay off moderators in favor of AI systems as part of a reorganization plan intended to strengthen its “global operating model for trust and safety,” according to the Wall Street Journal. The incentives for industry are straightforward, including cutting costs and reducing reliance on overburdened (and frequently exploited) contract workers, for whom the job of sifting through endless streams of unsavory user-generated content can have severe consequences. But alongside their promise, the use of LLMs for this purpose raises a host of questions, some of which are now the topic of study both in universities and in industry. – https://www.techpolicy.press/researchers-explore-the-use-of-llms-for-content-moderation/

Geostrategies

India’s Search for Digital Sovereignty

(Prateek Waghre – Tech Policy Press – 30 October 2025) The India-U.S. relationship is in a transitional phase where, as Tanvi Madan—senior fellow at The Brookings Institution—puts it, “the only constant is volatility.” Differences over trade, tariffs, India’s oil trade with Russia, and the nature of US involvement in the India-Pakistan conflict earlier this year have intensified the debate about “technological sovereignty” in India. These tensions take on added significance amid broader global shifts, including the United States’ dominance-oriented foreign and trade policies, and the ongoing US-China rivalry, which continues to sharpen and is now increasingly blurring the lines between US tech giants’ business and policy interests and the Trump Administration’s. – https://www.techpolicy.press/indias-search-for-digital-sovereignty/

Alliance science pact lifts US–Korea cooperation on AI, quantum, 6G, and space

(DigWatch – 30 October 2025) The United States and South Korea agreed on a broad science and technology memorandum to deepen alliance ties and bolster Indo-Pacific stability. The non-binding pact aims to accelerate innovation while protecting critical capabilities. Both sides cast it as groundwork for a new Golden Age of Innovation. AI sits at the centre. Plans include pro-innovation policy alignment, trusted exports across the stack, AI-ready datasets, safety standards, and enforcement of compute protection. Joint metrology and standards work links the US Center for AI Standards and Innovation with the AI Safety Institute of South Korea. – https://dig.watch/updates/alliance-science-pact-lifts-us-korea-cooperation-on-ai-quantum-6g-and-space – https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2025/10/u-s-korea-technology-prosperity-deal/

China outlines plan to expand high-tech industries

(DigWatch – 30 October 2025) China has pledged to expand its high-tech industries over the next decade. Officials said emerging sectors such as quantum computing, hydrogen energy, nuclear fusion, and brain-computer interfaces will receive major investment and policy backing. – https://dig.watch/updates/china-outlines-plan-to-expand-high-tech-industries – https://japantoday.com/category/tech/china-vows-massive-high-tech-sector-development-in-next-decade

Security and Surveillance

Cybersecurity and energy leaders join forces to protect EU power grids

(Cybernews – 30 October 2025) Europe’s top energy, cybersecurity, and technology leaders joined forces in Brussels for the 8th Cybersecurity Forum on Thursday to discuss ways to strengthen resilience and prevent attacks against Europe’s interconnected power grid. “As geopolitical tensions grow and the digitalization of the energy sector advances, strengthening the cybersecurity of Europe’s energy infrastructure is more important than ever,” said the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA), one of the conference’s main organizers. – https://cybernews.com/news/europe-8th-cybersecurity-forum-protecting-eu-energy-grid/

Critical Flaws Found in Elementor King Addons Affect 10,000 Sites

(Alessandro Mascellino – Infosecurity Magazine – 30 October 2025) A popular Elementor extension for WordPress that helps users build contact forms, sliders, pricing tables and login workflows has been found vulnerable. The King Addons for Elementor plugin, used on over 10,000 sites, contains two unauthenticated critical issues that can lead to full site takeover. – https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/critical-flaws-elementor-king/

Threat Actors Utilize AdaptixC2 for Malicious Payload Delivery

(Alessandro Mascellino – Infosecurity Magazine – 30 October 2025) A surge in cybercriminal abuse of AdaptixC2, a free adversarial emulation framework created initially for penetration testers, has been detected in active ransomware operations. The tool, widely used for ethical security testing, is now appearing in malicious campaigns worldwide. Its deployment accelerated shortly after new detection signatures were released, linking it to CountLoader, a malware loader first highlighted in August 2025. This development was detailed in a new analysis published today by Silent Push researchers. – https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/adaptixc2-malicious-payload/

Shadow AI: One In Four Employees Use Unapproved AI Tools, Research Finds

(Kevin Poireault – Infosecurity Magazine – 30 October 2025) Shadow AI is emerging as one of the top forms of shadow IT, a new 1Password report has revealed. The unauthorized use of AI tools was found to be the second-most prevalent form of shadow IT, ranking only behind email, according to 1Password’s 2025 Annual Report, published on October 30. Overall, workers are broadly encouraged by their company to use AI as part of their workloads and the 1Password report found that of 5000 workers surveyed 73% said their company is in favor of such experimentation. – https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/shadow-ai-employees-use-unapproved/

Proton Claims 300 Million Records Compromised So Far This Year

(Phil Muncaster – Infosecurity Magazine – 30 October 2025) Researchers have uncovered hundreds of millions of compromised records on the dark web, linked to nearly 800 individual data breaches so far this year. The findings come from a new monitoring and reporting service launched today by email and VPN provider Proton, in partnership with Constella Intelligence. The Data Breach Observatory is built on real-time dark web monitoring which scours cybercrime sites for evidence of breached records up for sale. – https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/proton-300-million-records/

Cyberattack targets Polish municipalities, mayors in phishing campaign

(Cybernews – 30 October 2025) Poland has issued a warning about an ongoing phishing campaign targeting municipalities nationwide. Cybercriminals are reportedly impersonating the Ministry of Digital Affairs to trick recipients into disclosing cybersecurity information or passing on malicious software. Polish mayors and other officials, especially those responsible for cybersecurity, are receiving emails in which the sender impersonates Deputy Minister Paweł Olszewski. – https://cybernews.com/cyber-war/cyberattack-polish-municipalities-mayors-phishing-campaign/

Hacker gang claims raid on Japanese grocery store chain

(Cybernews – 30 October 2025) A prolific Russia-linked ransomware gang has allegedly struck again. This time, it is claiming the Japanese supermarket chain Super Value Co. and leaking employee and financial data on the dark web. Qilin, the Russia-related cybercriminal gang behind the alleged ransomware attack, has listed Japan-based retailer Super Value Co. as a victim on its leak site on the dark web. Super Value Co. operates a network of hybrid retail complexes that combine supermarkets and home centers, as well as standalone food supermarkets, primarily in Saitama Prefecture and the Greater Tokyo area. – https://cybernews.com/security/qilin-super-value-japan-breach/

Dentsu’s US subsidiary Merkle hit by cyberattack, staff and client data exposed

(Pierluigi Paganini – Security Affairs – 30 October 2025) Japanese multinational advertising and public relations company Dentsu, one of the largest marketing agencies in the world, announced that its U.S.-based subsidiary Merkle suffered from a cyber attack that exposed staff and client data. “We detected abnormal activity in part of the network of Merkle, a company that leads the CXM (Customer Experience Management) field for our group’s overseas business.” reads the security incident notice published by the company. “We immediately initiated incident response procedures, proactively shutting down certain systems, and quickly took measures to minimize the impact, and the system has now been restored.”. The company took certain systems offline to mitigate the attack as part of their incident response plan. – https://securityaffairs.com/184017/data-breach/dentsus-us-subsidiary-merkle-hit-by-cyberattack-staff-and-client-data-exposed.html

Hacktivists breach Canada’s critical infrastructure, cyber Agency warns

(Pierluigi Paganini – Security Affairs – 29 October 2025) The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security revealed that hacktivists have repeatedly breached systems of country’s critical infrastructure systems in the country. Attackers tampered with industrial controls at a water treatment facility, an oil & gas firm, and an agricultural facility. Canada’s Cyber Centre issued the alert to warn of new cyber threats and offer detection, mitigation, and support to affected organizations. The attacks caused false alarms, disruption of operations, and leading to potentially dangerous conditions of the impacted systems. – https://securityaffairs.com/184007/hacktivism/hacktivists-breach-canadas-critical-infrastructure-cyber-agency-warns.html

Defence, Military, and Warfare

How India is using AI to advance its military

(DigWatch – 30 October 2025) In a move reflecting its growing strategic ambitions, India is rapidly implementing AI across its defence forces. The country’s military has moved from policy to practice, using tools from real-time sensor fusion to predictive maintenance to transform how it fights. The shift has involved institutional change. India’s Defence AI Council and Defence AI Project Agency (established 2019) are steering an ecosystem that includes labs such as the Centre for Artificial Intelligence & Robotics of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). – https://dig.watch/updates/india-deploys-ai-to-modernise-its-military-operations – https://cybernews.com/ai-news/how-india-using-ai-advance-military/

Frontiers

Virgin Media O2 strikes a deal with Starlink to boost mobile coverage in rural UK

(Cybernews – 30 October 2025) The operator is the first in the UK to sign a deal with Elon Musk to improve rural mobile coverage using his Starlink satellite network. The new service, which will be called O2 Satellite, is scheduled to launch for customers in the first half of 2026. The “landmark” multi-year partnership with Starlink aims to bring Virgin Media O2’s landmass coverage in the UK to over 95% within a year after launch, the company said in a statement. – https://cybernews.com/news/virgin-media-o2-starlink-uk/

Top institutes team up with Google DeepMind to spearhead AI-assisted mathematics

(DigWatch – 30 0ct0ber 2025) AI for Math Initiative pairs Google DeepMind with five elite institutes to apply advanced AI to open problems and proofs. Partners include Imperial, IAS, IHES, the Simons Institute at UC Berkeley, and TIFR. The goal is to accelerate discovery, tooling, and training. Google support spans funding and access to Gemini Deep Think, AlphaEvolve for algorithm discovery, and AlphaProof for formal reasoning. Combined systems complement human intuition, scale exploration, and tighten feedback loops between theory and applied AI. – https://dig.watch/updates/top-institutes-team-up-with-google-deepmind-to-spearhead-ai-assisted-mathematics – https://blog.google/technology/google-deepmind/ai-for-math/