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Hawaiian Airlines confirms flights are safe despite cyberattack

Hawaiian Airlines has reported a cyberattack that affected parts of its IT infrastructure, though the carrier confirmed all flights remain unaffected and are operating as scheduled.

Now part of the Alaska Air Group, the airline stated it is actively working with authorities and cybersecurity experts to investigate and resolve the incident.

In a statement, the airline stressed that the safety and security of passengers and staff remain its highest priority. It has taken steps to protect its systems, restoring affected services while continuing full operations. No disruption to passenger travel has been reported.

The exact nature of the attack has not been disclosed, and no group has claimed responsibility so far. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed it monitors the situation closely and remains in contact with the airline. It added that there has been no impact on flight safety.

Cyberattacks in aviation are becoming increasingly common due to the sector’s heavy reliance on complex digital systems. Earlier incidents this year included cyberattacks on WestJet and Japan Airlines, which caused operational disruptions but did not compromise passenger data.

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BT report shows rise in cyber attacks on UK small firms

A BT report has found that 42% of small businesses in the UK suffered a cyberattack in the past year. The study also revealed that 67% of medium-sized firms were targeted, while many lacked basic security measures or staff training.

Phishing was named the most common threat, hitting 85% of businesses in the UK, and ransomware incidents have more than doubled. BT’s new training programme aims to help SMEs take practical steps to reduce risks, covering topics like AI threats, account takeovers and QR code scams.

Tris Morgan from BT highlighted that SMEs face serious risks from cyber attacks, which could threaten their survival. He stressed that security is a necessary foundation and can be achieved without vast resources.

The report follows wider warnings on AI-enabled cyber threats, with other studies showing that few firms feel prepared for these risks. BT’s training is part of its mission to help businesses grow confidently despite digital dangers.

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IGF 2025: Africa charts a sovereign path for AI governance

African leaders at the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) 2025 in Oslo called for urgent action to build sovereign and ethical AI systems tailored to local needs. Hosted by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the session brought together voices from government, civil society, and private enterprises.

Moderated by Ashana Kalemera, Programmes Manager at CIPESA, the discussion focused on ensuring AI supports democratic governance in Africa. ‘We must ensure AI reflects our realities,’ Kalemera said, emphasising fairness, transparency, and inclusion as guiding principles.

Executive Director of Policy Neema Iyer warned that AI harms governance through surveillance, disinformation, and political manipulation. ‘Civil society must act as watchdogs and storytellers,’ she said, urging public interest impact assessments and grassroots education.

Representing South Africa, Mlindi Mashologu stressed the need for transparent governance frameworks rooted in constitutional values. ‘Policies must be inclusive,’ he said, highlighting explainability, data bias removal, and citizen oversight as essential components of trustworthy AI.

Lacina Koné, CEO of Smart Africa, called for urgent action to avoid digital dependency. ‘We cannot be passively optimistic. Africa must be intentional,’ he stated. Over 1,000 African startups rely on foreign AI models, creating sovereignty risks.

Koné emphasised that Africa should focus on beneficial AI, not the most powerful. He highlighted agriculture, healthcare, and education sectors where local AI could transform. ‘It’s about opportunity for the many, not just the few,’ he said.

From Mauritania, Matchiane Soueid Ahmed shared her country’s experience developing a national AI strategy. Challenges include poor rural infrastructure, technical capacity gaps, and lack of institutional coordination. ‘Sovereignty is not just territorial—it’s digital too,’ she noted.

Shikoh Gitau, CEO of KALA in Kenya, brought a private sector perspective. ‘We must move from paper to pavement,’ she said. Her team runs an AI literacy campaign across six countries, training teachers directly through their communities.

Gitau stressed the importance of enabling environments and blended financing. ‘Governments should provide space, and private firms must raise awareness,’ she said. She also questioned imported frameworks: ‘What definition of democracy are we applying?’

Audience members from Gambia, Ghana, and Liberia raised key questions about harmonisation, youth fears over job loss and AI readiness. Koné responded that Smart Africa is benchmarking national strategies and promoting convergence without erasing national sovereignty.

Though 19 African countries have published AI strategies, speakers noted that implementation remains slow. Practical action—such as infrastructure upgrades, talent development, and public-private collaboration—is vital to bring these frameworks to life.

The panel underscored the need to build AI systems prioritising inclusion, utility, and human rights. Investments in digital literacy, ethics boards, and regulatory sandboxes were cited as key tools for democratic AI governance.

Kalemera concluded, ‘It’s not yet Uhuru for AI in Africa—but with the right investments and partnerships, the future is promising.’ The session reflected cautious optimism and a strong desire for Africa to shape its AI destiny.

Track all key moments from the Internet Governance Forum 2025 on our dedicated IGF page.

Internet Governance Forum marks 20 years of reshaping global digital policy

The 2025 Internet Governance Forum (IGF), held in Norway, offered a deep and wide-ranging reflection on the IGF’s 20-year journey in shaping digital governance and its prospects for the future.

Bringing together voices from governments, civil society, the technical community, business, and academia, the session celebrated the IGF’s unique role in institutionalising a multistakeholder approach to internet policymaking, particularly through inclusive and non-binding dialogue.

Moderated by Avri Doria, who has been with the IGF since its inception, the session focused on how the forum has influenced individuals, governments, and institutions across the globe. Doria described the IGF as a critical learning platform and a ‘home for evolving objectives’ that has helped connect people with vastly different viewpoints over the decades.

Professor Bitange Ndemo, Ambassador of Kenya to the European Union, reflected on his early scepticism, admitting that stakeholder consultation initially felt ‘painful’ for policymakers unfamiliar with collaborative approaches.

Over time, however, it proved ‘much, much easier’ for implementation and policy acceptance. ‘Thank God it went the IGF way,’ he said, emphasising how early IGF discussions guided Kenya and much of Africa in building digital infrastructure from the ground up.

Hans Petter Holen, Managing Director of RIPE NCC, underlined the importance of the IGF as a space where ‘technical realities meet policy aspirations’. He called for a permanent IGF mandate, stressing that uncertainty over its future limits its ability to shape digital governance effectively.

Renata Mielli, Chair of the Internet Steering Committee of Brazil (CGI.br), spoke about how IGF-inspired dialogue was key to shaping Brazil’s Internet Civil Rights Framework and Data Protection Law. ‘We are not talking about an event or a body, but an ecosystem,’ she said, advocating for the IGF to become the focal point for implementing the UN Global Digital Compact.

Funke Opeke, founder of MainOne in Nigeria, credited the IGF with helping drive West Africa’s digital transformation. ‘When we launched our submarine cable in 2010, penetration was close to 10%. Now it’s near 50%,’ she noted, urging continued support for inclusion and access in the Global South.

Qusai Al Shatti, from the Arab IGF, highlighted how the forum helped embed multistakeholder dialogue into governance across the Arab world, calling the IGF ‘the most successful outcome of WSIS‘.

From the civil society perspective, Chat Garcia Ramilo of the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) described the IGF as a platform to listen deeply, to speak, and, more importantly, to act’. She stressed the forum’s role in amplifying marginalised voices and pushing human rights and gender issues to the forefront of global internet policy.

Luca Belli of FGV Law School in Brazil echoed the need for better visibility of the IGF’s successes. Despite running four dynamic coalitions, he expressed frustration that many contributions go unnoticed. ‘We’re not good at celebrating success,’ he remarked.

Isabelle Lois, Vice Chair of the UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD), emphasised the need to ‘connect the IGF to the wider WSIS architecture’ and ensure its outcomes influence broader UN digital frameworks.

Other voices joined online and from the floor, including Dr Robinson Sibbe of Digital Footprints Nigeria, who praised the IGF for contextualising cybersecurity challenges, and Emily Taylor, a UK researcher, who noted that the IGF had helped lay the groundwork for key initiatives like the IANA transition and the proliferation of internet exchange points across Africa.

Youth participants like Jasmine Maffei from Hong Kong and Piu from Myanmar stressed the IGF’s openness and accessibility. They called for their voices to be formally recognised within the multistakeholder model.

Veteran internet governance leader Markus Kummer reminded the room that the IGF’s ability to build trust and foster dialogue across divides enabled global cooperation during crucial events like the IANA transition.

Despite the celebratory tone, speakers repeatedly stressed three urgent needs: a permanent IGF mandate, stronger integration with global digital governance efforts such as the WSIS and Global Digital Compact, and broader inclusion of youth and underrepresented regions.

As the forum entered its third decade, many speakers agreed that the IGF’s legacy lies in its meetings or declarations and the relationships, trust, and governance culture it has helped create. The message from Norway was clear: in a fragmented and rapidly changing digital world, the IGF is more vital than ever—and its future must be secured.

Track all key moments from the Internet Governance Forum 2025 on our dedicated IGF page.

Bridging the digital divide through language inclusion

At the Internet Governance Forum 2025 in Norway, a high-level panel of global experts highlighted the urgent need to embed language inclusion into internet governance and digital rights frameworks.

While internet access has expanded globally, billions remain excluded from meaningful participation due to the continued dominance of a few major languages online.

Moderated by Ram Mohan, Chief Strategy Officer of Identity Digital and Chair of the newly formed Coalition on Digital Impact (CODI), the session brought together speakers from ICANN, the Unicode Consortium, DotAsia, DOTAU, the National Telecom and Regulatory Authority of Egypt, and other institutions. The consensus was clear: true digital inclusion is not possible without linguistic inclusion.

‘There are over 7,000 languages in the world, yet nearly half of online content is still in English,’ said Jennifer Chung, Vice President of Policy at DotAsia Organisation. ‘This creates barriers not just to access, but to culture, safety, and economic opportunity.’

Toral Cowieson, CEO of the Unicode Consortium, explained how foundational technical issues still limit language access. ‘Digital inclusion begins with character encoding. Things like date formatting or currency symbols work seamlessly for majority languages, but often break down for minority ones.’

Manal Ismail of Egypt’s National Telecom and Regulatory Authority stressed the importance of government involvement. ‘Language remains a fundamental axis of inequality online,’ she said. ‘We need multilingual access to be treated like other digital infrastructure, alongside cybersecurity and connectivity.’

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Sophie Mitchell, Chief Communications Officer at DOTAU, drew attention to the challenges in Australia, where 30% of the population is born overseas and Indigenous languages face extinction. ‘Digital access alone isn’t enough. Without relevant content in native languages, people can’t participate meaningfully,’ she noted.

Theresa Swinehart, representing ICANN, described how historical bias in internet design continues to limit multilingual adoption. ‘We’ve made technical progress, but implementation lags due to awareness gaps. It’s time to lead by example,’ she urged.

Christian Dawson, Executive Director of the Internet Infrastructure Coalition and CODI co-founder, echoed this sentiment. ‘We’re not lacking technology—we’re lacking coordination and motivation. CODI was created to connect those doing good work and help them scale.’

The panel called for a shift from the prevailing ‘English-first’ approach to a ‘multilingual by design’ philosophy, where language accessibility is embedded in digital systems from the start rather than added later. As Chung put it, ‘It’s not just about preserving language—it’s about preserving culture, enhancing security, and enabling rights.’

Audience members also offered insights. Mohammed Abdul Haq Onu from the Bangladesh Internet Governance Forum highlighted successful efforts to promote Bangla language support. Elisabeth Carrera of Wikimedia Norway noted that 88% of traffic to Northern Sami Wikipedia comes from bots and language models, not humans—signalling both the promise and risks of AI in language preservation.

As part of the session’s outcome, each participant committed to concrete follow-up actions, including raising awareness, fostering collaboration, and supporting open data initiatives. The session closed on an optimistic note, with Mohan emphasising, ‘Technology should serve languages—not the other way around.’

The panel’s discussion marked a turning point, framing multilingual internet access not as a luxury, but as a fundamental digital right with far-reaching implications for cultural preservation, cybersecurity, and inclusive economic development.

Track all key moments from the Internet Governance Forum 2025 on our dedicated IGF page.

IGF and WSIS platforms must be strengthened, not replaced, say leaders

At the Internet Governance Forum 2025 in Lillestrøm, Norway, stakeholders gathered to assess the International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) role in the WSIS Plus 20 review process.

The session, moderated by Cynthia Lesufi of South Africa, invited input on the achievements and future direction of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), now marking its 20th year.

Speakers from Brazil, Australia, Korea, Germany, Japan, Cuba, South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, and Bangladesh offered their national and regional insights.

There was strong consensus on maintaining and strengthening existing platforms like the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) and WSIS Forum, rather than creating new mechanisms that might burden developing countries.

Renata Santoyo, representing Brazil’s telecommunications regulator ANATEL, affirmed ITU’s coordinating role: ‘The WSIS architecture remains valuable, and ITU has been instrumental in supporting its action lines.’

Australia’s William Lee echoed this, commending ITU’s work on integrating WSIS with the SDGs and the Global Digital Compact, and noted: ‘The digital divide is now less about access and more about usability.’

Korean vice chair of the ITU Council Working Group, Mina Seonmin Jun, stressed the continued inequality in her region: ‘One third of Asia-Pacific remains offline. WSIS must go beyond infrastructure and focus on equity.’

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Swantje Jager Lindemann from Germany backed extending the IGF mandate without renegotiation, saying: ‘The mandate is broad enough. What we need is better support and sustainable funding.’

Japan’s Yoichi Iida, former vice minister and now special advisor, also warned against reopening existing mandates, instead calling for a stronger IGF secretariat. ‘We must focus on inclusivity, not duplicating structures,’ he said.

ITU’s Gitanjali Sah outlined its leadership on WSIS action lines, noting the organisation’s collaboration with over 50 UN bodies. ‘2.6 billion people are still offline. Connectivity must be meaningful and inclusive,’ she said, highlighting ITU’s technical support on cybersecurity, capacity building, and standards.

Cuba’s representative stressed that the WSIS outcome documents remain fully valid and should be reaffirmed rather than rewritten. ‘Creating new mechanisms risks excluding countries with limited resources,’ they argued.

Local voices called for grassroots inclusion. Louvo Gray from the South African IGF asked, ‘How do we ensure marginalised voices from the Global South are truly heard?’ Ghana’s Kweku Enchi proposed tapping retired language teachers to bridge digital and generational divides.

Abdul Karim from Nigeria raised concerns about public access to the review documents. Sah confirmed that most contributions are published on the ITU website unless requested otherwise.

The UNDP representative reiterated UN-wide support for an inclusive WSIS review, while Mohamed Abdulla Konu of Bangladesh IGF pressed for developing countries’ voices to be meaningfully reflected.

Speakers agreed that the WSIS Plus 20 review is a key opportunity to refocus digital governance on inclusion, equity, and sustainability. The ITU will submit the compiled inputs to the UN General Assembly in December, while South Africa will include the session’s outcomes in its high-level report.

Track all key moments from the Internet Governance Forum 2025 on our dedicated IGF page.

Infosys chairman warns of global risks from tariffs and AI

Infosys chairman Nandan Nilekani has warned of mounting global uncertainty driven by tariff wars, AI and the ongoing energy transition.

At the company’s 44th annual general meeting, he urged businesses to de-risk sourcing and diversify supply chains as geopolitical trade tensions reshape global commerce.

He described a ‘perfect storm’ of converging challenges pushing the world away from a single global market and towards fragmented trade blocs. As firms navigate the shift, they must choose between regions and adopt more strategic, resilient supply networks.

Addressing AI, Nilekani acknowledged the disruption it may bring to the workforce but framed it as an opportunity for digital transformation. He said Infosys is investing in both ‘AI foundries’ for innovation and ‘AI factories’ for scale, with over 275,000 employees already trained in AI technologies.

Energy transition was also flagged as a significant uncertainty, as the future depends on breakthroughs in renewable sources like solar, wind and hydrogen. Nilekani stressed that all businesses now face rapid technological and operational change before they can progress confidently into an unpredictable future.

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Google releases free Gemini CLI tool for developers

Google has introduced Gemini CLI, a free, open-source AI tool that connects developers directly to its Gemini AI models. The new agentic utility allows developers to request debugging, generate code, and run commands using natural language within their terminal environment.

Built as a lightweight interface, Gemini CLI provides a streamlined way to interact with Gemini. While its coding features stand out, Google says the tool handles content creation, deep research, and complex task management across various workflows.

Gemini CLI uses Gemini 2.5 Pro for coding and reasoning tasks by default. Still, it can also connect to other AI models, such as Imagen and Veo, for image and video generation. It supports the Model Context Protocol (MCP) and integrates with Gemini Code Assist.

Moreover, the tool is available on Windows, MacOS, and Linux, offering developers a free usage tier. Access through Vertex AI or AI Studio is available on a pay-as-you-go basis for advanced setups involving multiple agents or custom models.

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Meta wins copyright case over AI training

Meta has won a copyright lawsuit brought by a group of authors who accused the company of using their books without permission to train its Llama generative AI.

A US federal judge in San Francisco ruled the AI training was ‘transformative’ enough to qualify as fair use under copyright law.

Judge Vince Chhabria noted, however, that future claims could be more successful. He warned that using copyrighted books to build tools capable of flooding the market with competing works may not always be protected by fair use, especially when such tools generate vast profits.

The case involved pirated copies of books, including Sarah Silverman’s memoir ‘The Bedwetter’ and Junot Diaz’s award-winning novel ‘The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao’. Meta defended its approach, stating that open-source AI drives innovation and relies on fair use as a key legal principle.

Chhabria clarified that the ruling does not confirm the legality of Meta’s actions, only that the plaintiffs made weak arguments. He suggested that more substantial evidence and legal framing might lead to a different outcome in future cases.

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WhatsApp launches AI feature to sum up all the unread messages

WhatsApp has introduced a new feature using Meta AI to help users manage unread messages more easily. Named ‘Message Summaries’, the tool provides quick overviews of missed messages in individual and group chats, assisting users to catch up without scrolling through long threads.

The summaries are generated using Meta’s Private Processing technology, which operates inside a Trusted Execution Environment. The secure cloud-based system ensures that neither Meta nor WhatsApp — nor anyone else in the conversation — can access your messages or the AI-generated summaries.

According to WhatsApp, Message Summaries are entirely private. No one else in the chat can see the summary created for you. If someone attempts to interfere with the secure system, operations will stop immediately, or the change will be exposed using a built-in transparency check.

Meta has designed the system around three principles: secure data handling during processing and transmission, strict enforcement of protections against tampering, and provable transparency to track any breach attempt.

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