Governance, Regulation, Legislation, Geostrategies

 

BRICS parliamentary leaders adopted joint declaration – The presiding officers and representatives of the parliaments of the BRICS member states i.e Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates, issued a joint declaration at the 12th BRICS Parliamentary Forum, convened under the theme ‘Fostering Parliaments For People-Centric Development’. The joint declaration builds on the New Delhi declaration, unanimously adopted by the member states during the XVIII BRICS Summit. The declaration confirmed legislative support for the BRICS strategic partnership across the three pillars of cooperation i.e. political and security, economic and financial, cultural and people‑to‑people exchanges and recalled United Nations General Assembly resolution A/RES/78/286 on the International Day for Dialogue among Civilisations (Para 6). – https://dig.watch/updates/brics-parliamentary-leaders-adopted-joint-declaration

 

UNGA 1st Committee debates: Tensions on the Global Mechanism – On 23 October 2026, the United Nations General Assembly’s First Committee, in charge of Disarmament and International Security, examined, over a thematic debate, the implications of malicious information and communications technology (ICT) activities for international peace and security. The thematic debate highlighted a dual challenge: responding to increasingly complex cyber threats while maintaining a coherent multilateral framework for governing state behaviour in cyberspace. Delegates addressed the evolution of cyber risks, the role of international law, competing institutional approaches and the implications of AI in military applications. Their interventions revealed broad support for international cooperation, alongside significant disagreements over how it should be organised and advanced. – https://dig.watch/updates/unga-1st-committee-tensions-on-global-mechanism

 

UNEP report calls for stronger digital monitoring of ocean carbon – The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has published a report calling for greater investment in ocean observation technologies, data infrastructure and scientific modelling to improve understanding of the ocean’s role in regulating the climate. Released on 28 October, the Climate Technology Progress Report 2026 also highlights the Ocean Carbon Intelligence, a framework connecting ocean science, monitoring systems and analytical tools to support evidence-based climate decisions. – https://dig.watch/updates/unep-digital-monitoring-ocean-carbon

 

WMO launches Lake Chad Basin flood and drought warning project – The World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Lake Chad Basin Commission and Global Water Partnership Central Africa have launched a five-year project to strengthen flood and drought monitoring and early warning systems across Cameroon, Niger, Nigeria, Chad and the Central African Republic. Funded by an US$11.67 million grant from the Adaptation Fund, the initiative aims to improve climate preparedness in a region where extreme weather threatens more than 50 million people. – https://dig.watch/updates/wmo-lake-chad-basin-flood-warning-project

 

UK sets out roadmap for quantum technologies in space – The UK Space Agency has published a Quantum Technology Roadmap for Space, outlining investment priorities to strengthen satellite security, navigation, timing and sensing through 2035–2040. The roadmap aims to translate the UK’s research capabilities into operational space systems and internationally competitive technologies. – https://dig.watch/updates/uk-quantum-technology-roadmap-space

 

UK links AI data centre support to environmental standards – The UK government has introduced a Data Centre Covenant linking additional support for strategically important data centres to commitments on environmental performance, community benefits, employment and national security. Published by HM Treasury on 28 October, the framework sets out expectations for data centre development as demand for AI infrastructure increases. The government estimates that the UK will require 6 GW of AI data centre capacity by 2030. – https://dig.watch/updates/uk-ai-data-centre-environmental-standards

 

Thailand data centre committee approves draft regulatory policy – Thailand’s Data Centre Business Policy Committee approved a draft regulatory policy on 27 October 2026. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas chaired the meeting. The policy would establish coordinated oversight of data centre investment and operations. Cabinet consideration was planned for 3 November, according to The Standard. – https://dig.watch/updates/thailand-approves-draft-data-centre-policy

 

Vietnam’s Minister presents draft electronic identification law to Parliament – A draft law on electronic identification and authentication was presented to the National Assembly of Vietnam for review, aiming to create a legal framework for electronic identities and to address cybersecurity, anonymous SIM cards and biometric fraud. Minister of Public Security Lương Tam Quang presented the draft to the National Assembly on 26 October 2026, during the second plenary session of the 16th legislature. According to the Vietnam news report, the legislation is intended to strengthen cybersecurity, crack down on anonymous SIM cards and fake accounts, and prevent increasingly sophisticated biometric fraud using artificial intelligence. – https://dig.watch/updates/vietnams-minister-lays-draft-e-identification-law

 

NIST releases roadmap for post‑quantum cryptography standards – The US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has published a roadmap to help organisations transition from quantum-vulnerable cryptographic algorithms to post-quantum cryptography (PQC). The report, Transition to Post-Quantum Cryptography Standards (NISTIR 8547), outlines the migration approach, identifies affected algorithms and explains the factors organisations should consider when adopting quantum-resistant standards. – https://dig.watch/updates/nist-post-quantum-cryptography-roadmap

 

Security, Surveillance

 

Volt Typhoon Used Silent Train to Hide Zero-Day Attacks – Lumen’s Black Lotus Labs has spent three years tracking a covert network it calls Silent Train, which it ties to Volt Typhoon, the China-linked APT group. The cybersecurity firm says the network hid exploitation of software flaws the vendors didn’t know about yet. Black Lotus sent hundreds of victim notifications along the way, and the investigations that followed revealed the exploitation of at least four confirmed zero-days and one likely. “Volt Typhoon’s Silent Train is a covert network designed to gain and maintain access to the technologies businesses rely on to manage devices, networks and critical operations.” reads the report published by Lumen. “Black Lotus Labs® tracked how the group used rapidly changing chains of compromised infrastructure to conceal its activity while exploiting previously unknown vulnerabilities in centralized management platforms”. Silent Train first showed up in November 2023, shortly before the first takedown of the KV-botnet, Volt Typhoon’s earlier network of hijacked routers. Activity rose after the second disruption. The group dropped persistent infrastructure and moved to disposable chains of compromised devices that it could rebuild whenever it wanted. – https://securityaffairs.com/202023/intelligence/volt-typhoon-used-silent-train-to-hide-zero-day-attacks.html

 

Election Website Security: 42% of US County Sites Still Lack .gov Domains – Millions of Americans will use websites to check their registration, find polling places or track ballots before the November 3 election. However, a new study finds that many county election websites still have security weaknesses involving domain names, email authentication, encrypted connections and third-party tracking. Mysterium VPN’s 2026 County Election Website Security Census examines 2,081 county election websites across the United States. “42% of county election websites aren’t on .gov (869 of 2,081 identified). That’s down from 57% in 2024.” states the report. “Weighted by population, it’s 28% because the big counties moved first.” – https://securityaffairs.com/201967/security/election-website-security-42-of-us-county-sites-still-lack-gov-domains.html

 

Virtualine Domain Seized, but Allegedly Abusive Website Remains Online – The FBI seized the website of Virtualine, a hosting service that sold its services to criminals. The seized domain is virtualine.net, and the government says the site was used to commit and facilitate prolific criminal activity. That includes the advertisement of sexually explicit images of minors, the intentional disclosure of nonconsensual intimate images of adults and minors, and international money laundering. A court authorized the seizure. “Theophani K. Stamos, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Darren B. Cox, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office, announced today the seizure of the website virtualine.netafter it was used to commit and facilitate prolific criminal activity, including the advertisement of sexually explicit images of minors, the intentional disclosure of nonconsensual intimate visual depictions of adults and minors, and international money laundering designed to conceal and promote criminal conduct.” The Justice Department has the details in a press release. Virtualine, also known as Secury, Massgod, Spamhouse, Lanedo and Omegatech, offers “bulletproof” hosting. It sells hosting, servers and domain names to customers who want a provider that ignores abuse complaints. It promotes its services on cybercrime forums. – https://securityaffairs.com/202002/cyber-crime/virtualine-domain-seized-but-allegedly-abusive-website-remains-online.html

 

US CISA unveils its strategy 2030: Defend, Harden, Prevail – The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) unveiled its new strategy, CISA 2030: Defend, Harden, Prevail on 26 October 2026, setting out its priorities for national cyber defence and critical infrastructure protection. The strategy responds to an increasingly complex threat environment in which state-sponsored actors and other malicious groups seek persistent access to networks supporting essential services. It advances President Trump’s Cyber Strategy for America and National Resilience Strategy, and is focused on strengthening the security and resilience of the nation’s critical infrastructure. – https://dig.watch/updates/us-cisa-unveils-cisa-2030-strategy

 

Google unveils crypto security system for financial institutions – Google is preparing to introduce a new security service designed to help banks and other financial institutions protect cryptocurrencies and tokenised assets. Called Google Multi-Party Compute (MPC), the product is being showcased at the company’s inaugural digital assets symposium in New York City. It remains in private preview, with commercial availability planned for early 2027. – https://dig.watch/updates/google-multi-party-compute-crypto-custody

 

Defense, Military

 

UK budget sets 2030 defence spending target and expands investment in military technologies – The UK’s His Majesty’s Treasury (HM Treasury) announced in its 2026 Budget a target to increase defence spending to 3% of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030, alongside measures to expand investment in military technologies, autonomous systems, and dual-use capabilities. The government also confirmed that its 2027 Spending Review will set out how it intends to meet the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) commitment to allocate 3.5% of GDP to core defence spending by 2035. – https://dig.watch/updates/uk-defence-spending-target-expands-military-tech