Apple and Google have issued a fresh round of cyber threat notifications, warning users worldwide they may have been targeted by sophisticated surveillance operations linked to state-backed actors.
Apple said it sent alerts on 2 December, confirming it has now notified users in more than 150 countries, though it declined to disclose how many people were affected or who was responsible.
Google followed on 3 December, announcing warnings for several hundred accounts targeted by Intellexa spyware across multiple countries in Africa, Central Asia, and the Middle East.
The Alphabet-owned company said Intellexa continues to evade restrictions despite US sanctions, highlighting persistent challenges in limiting the spread of commercial surveillance tools.
Researchers say such alerts raise costs for cyber spies by exposing victims, often triggering investigations that can lead to public scrutiny and accountability over spyware misuse.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech, and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
Meta has signed commercial agreements with news publishers to feed real-time reporting into Meta AI, enabling its chatbot to answer news-related queries with up-to-date information from multiple editorial sources.
The company said responses will include links to full articles, directing users to publishers’ websites and helping partners reach new audiences beyond traditional platform distribution.
Initial partners span US and international outlets, covering global affairs, politics, entertainment, and sports, with Meta signalling that additional publishing deals are in the works.
The shift marks a recalibration. Meta previously reduced its emphasis on news across Facebook and ended most publisher payments, but now sees licensed reporting as essential to improving AI accuracy and relevance.
Facing intensifying competition in the AI market, Meta is positioning real-time journalism as a differentiator for its chatbot, which is available across its apps and to users worldwide.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech, and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
The digital yuan’s planned 2025 expansion marks a shift in Asia’s financial plumbing, linking new regional payment channels to settle transactions faster than legacy systems and reduce reliance on the US dollar.
Usage data points to broader ambitions. Renminbi settlements in cross-border trade are rising, signalling that e-CNY has moved beyond domestic trials and is now a tool for currency internationalisation.
Beijing’s strategy becomes clearer in Southeast Asia, where the system promises efficiency while embedding influence. Deeper integration could narrow ASEAN monetary policy options and increase dependence on infrastructure controlled by China.
Responses across the region are uneven. Some states pursue national digital currencies or alternative payment projects, while others engage selectively, reflecting diverging priorities around efficiency, sovereignty and innovation.
Analysts warn that, without coordination, widespread e-CNY adoption could create a structural reliance. ASEAN faces a choice between fragmented pragmatism and collective action to shape its digital financial future.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech, and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
The AI talent studio behind synthetic actress Tilly Norwood is preparing to expand what it calls the ‘Tilly-verse’, moving into a new phase of AI-first entertainment built around multiple digital characters.
Xicoia, founded by Particle6 and Tilly creator Eline van der Velden, is recruiting for 9 roles spanning writing, production, growth, and AI development, including a junior comedy writer, a social media manager, and a senior ‘AI wizard-in-chief’.
The UK-based studio says the hires will support Tilly’s planned 2026 expansion into on-screen appearances and direct fan interaction, alongside the introduction of new AI characters designed to coexist within the same fictional universe.
Van der Velden argues the project creates jobs rather than replacing them, positioning the studio as a response to anxieties around AI in entertainment and rejecting claims that Tilly is meant to displace human performers.
Industry concerns persist, however, with actors’ representatives disputing whether synthetic creations can be considered performers at all and warning that protecting human artists’ names, images, and likenesses remains critical as AI adoption accelerates.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech, and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
Nigeria’s National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has issued an urgent advisory on security weaknesses in OpenAI’s ChatGPT models. The agency warned that flaws affecting GPT-4o and GPT-5 could expose users to data leakage through indirect prompt injection.
According to NITDA’s Computer Emergency Readiness and Response Team, seven critical flaws were identified that allow hidden instructions to be embedded in web content. Malicious prompts can be triggered during routine browsing, search or summarisation without user interaction.
The advisory warned that attackers can bypass safety filters, exploit rendering bugs and manipulate conversation context. Some techniques allow injected instructions to persist across future interactions by interfering with the models’ memory functions.
While OpenAI has addressed parts of the issue, NITDA said large language models still struggle to reliably distinguish malicious data from legitimate input. Risks include unintended actions, information leakage and long-term behavioural influence.
NITDA urged users and organisations in Nigeria to apply updates promptly and limit browsing or memory features when not required. The agency said that exposing AI systems to external tools increases their attack surface and demands stronger safeguards.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech, and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
South Korea has gained nationwide satellite coverage as Starlink enters the market and expands the country’s already advanced connectivity landscape.
The service offers high-speed access through a dense LEO network and arrives with subscription options for households, mobile users and businesses.
Analysts see meaningful benefits for regions that are difficult to serve through fixed networks, particularly in mountainous areas and offshore locations.
Enterprise interest has grown quickly. Maritime operators moved first, with SK Telink and KT SAT securing contracts as Starlink went live. Large fleets will now adopt satellite links for navigation support, remote management and stronger emergency communication.
The technology has also reached the aviation sector as carriers under Hanjin Group plan to install Starlink across all aircraft, aiming to introduce stable in-flight Wi-Fi from 2026.
Although South Korea’s fibre and 5G networks offer far higher peak speeds, Starlink provides reliability where terrestrial networks cannot operate. Industry observers expect limited uptake from mainstream households but anticipate significant momentum in maritime transport, aviation, construction and energy.
An expansion in South Korea that marks one of Starlink’s most strategic Asia-Pacific moves, driven by industrial demand and early partnerships.
Would you like to learn more aboutAI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
Regulators in the EU have accepted binding commitments from TikTok aimed at improving advertising transparency under the Digital Services Act.
An agreement that follows months of scrutiny and addresses concerns raised in the Commission’s preliminary findings earlier in the year.
TikTok will now provide complete versions of advertisements exactly as they appear in user feeds, along with associated URLs, targeting criteria and aggregated demographic data.
Researchers will gain clearer insight into how advertisers reach users, rather than relying on partial or delayed information. The platform has also agreed to refresh its advertising repository within 24 hours.
Further improvements include new search functions and filters that make it easier for the public, civil society and regulators to examine advertising content.
These changes are intended to support efforts to detect scams, identify harmful products and analyse coordinated influence operations, especially around elections.
TikTok must implement its commitments to the EU within deadlines ranging from two to twelve months, depending on each measure.
The Commission will closely monitor compliance while continuing broader investigations into algorithmic design, protection of minors, data access and risks connected to elections and civic discourse.
Would you like to learn more aboutAI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
Australian regulators have released new guidance ahead of the introduction of industry codes designed to protect children from exposure to harmful online material.
The Age Restricted Material Codes will apply to a wide range of online services, including app stores, social platforms, equipment providers, pornography sites and generative AI services, with the first tranche beginning on 27 December.
The rules require search engines to blur image results involving pornography or extreme violence to reduce accidental exposure among young users.
Search services must also redirect people seeking information related to suicide, self-harm or eating disorders to professional mental health support instead of allowing harmful spirals to unfold.
eSafety argues that many children unintentionally encounter disturbing material at very young ages, often through search results that act as gateways rather than deliberate choices.
The guidance emphasises that adults will still be able to access unblurred material by clicking through, and there is no requirement for Australians to log in or identify themselves before searching.
These codes will operate alongside existing standards that tackle unlawful content and will complement new minimum age requirements for social media, which are set to begin in mid-December.
Authorities in Australia consider the reforms essential for reducing preventable harm and guiding vulnerable users towards appropriate support services.
Would you like to learn more aboutAI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
European regulators have imposed a fine of one hundred and twenty million euros on X after ruling that the platform breached transparency rules under the Digital Services Act.
The Commission concluded that the company misled users with its blue checkmark system, restricted research access and operated an inadequate advertising repository.
Officials found that paid verification on X encouraged users to believe their accounts had been authenticated when, in fact, no meaningful checks were conducted.
EU regulators argued that such practices increased exposure to scams and impersonation fraud, rather than supporting trust in online communication.
The Commission also stated that the platform’s advertising repository lacked essential information and created barriers that prevented researchers and civil society from examining potential threats.
European authorities judged that X failed to offer legitimate access to public data for eligible researchers. Terms of service blocked independent data collection, including scraping, while the company’s internal processes created further obstacles.
Regulators believe such restrictions frustrate efforts to study misinformation, influence campaigns and other systemic risks within the EU.
X must now outline the steps it will take to end the blue checkmark infringement within sixty working days and deliver a wider action plan on data access and advertising transparency within ninety days.
Failure to comply could lead to further penalties as the Commission continues its broader investigation into information manipulation and illegal content across the platform.
Would you like to learn more aboutAI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
Greece is confronting a rapid rise in cybercrime as AI strengthens the tools available to criminals, according to the head of the National Cyber Security Authority.
Michael Bletsas warned that Europe is already experiencing hybrid conflict, with Northeastern states facing severe incidents that reveal a digital frontline. Greece has not endured physical sabotage or damage to its infrastructure, yet cyberattacks remain a pressing concern.
Bletsas noted that most activity involves cybercrime instead of destructive action. He pointed to the expansion of cyberactivism and vandalism through denial-of-service attacks, which usually cause no lasting harm.
The broader problem stems from a surge in AI-driven intrusions and espionage, which offer new capabilities to malicious groups and create a more volatile environment.
Moreover, Bletsas said that the physical and digital worlds should be viewed as a single, interconnected sphere, with security designed around shared principles rather than being treated as separate domains.
