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.
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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.
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Japan is preparing to relax restrictions on personal data use to support rapid AI development. Government sources say a draft bill aims to expand third-party access to sensitive information.
Plans include allowing medical histories and criminal records to be obtained without consent for statistical purposes. Japanese officials argue such access could accelerate research while strengthening domestic competitiveness.
New administrative fines would target companies that profit from unlawfully acquired data affecting large groups. Penalties would match any gains made through misconduct, reflecting growing concern over privacy abuses.
A government panel has reviewed the law since 2023 and intends to present reforms soon. Debate is expected to intensify as critics warn of increased risks to individual rights if support for AI development in this regard continues.
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A new study commissioned by noyb reports that most users favour a tracking-free advertising option when navigating Pay or Okay systems. Researchers found low genuine support for data collection when participants were asked without pressure.
Consent rates rose sharply when users were presented only with payment or agreement to tracking, leading most to select consent. Findings indicate that the absence of a realistic alternative shapes outcomes more than actual preference.
Introduction of a third option featuring advertising without tracking prompted a strong shift, with most participants choosing that route. Evidence suggests users accept ad-funded models provided their behavioural data remains untouched.
Researchers observed similar patterns on social networks, news sites and other platforms, undermining claims that certain sectors require special treatment. Debate continues as regulators assess whether Pay or Okay complies with EU data protection rules such as the GDPR.
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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.
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NTT and Toyota have expanded their partnership with a new initiative aimed at advancing safer mobility and reducing traffic accidents. The firms announced a Mobility AI Platform that combines high-quality communications, distributed computing and AI to analyse large volumes of data.
Toyota intends to use the platform to support software-defined vehicles, enabling continuous improvements in safety through data-driven automated driving systems.
The company plans to update its software and electronics architecture so vehicles can gather essential information and receive timely upgrades, strengthening both safety and security.
The platform will use three elements: distributed data centres, intelligent networks and an AI layer that learns from people, vehicles and infrastructure. As software-defined vehicles rise, Toyota expects a sharp increase in data traffic and a greater need for processing capacity.
Development will begin in 2025 with an investment of around 500 billion yen. Public trials are scheduled for 2028, followed by wider introduction from 2030.
Both companies hope to attract additional partners as they work towards a more connected and accident-free mobility ecosystem.
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Growing political pressure is building in Westminster as more than 100 parliamentarians call for binding regulation on the most advanced AI systems, arguing that current safeguards lag far behind industry progress.
A cross-party group, supported by former defence and AI ministers, warns that unregulated superintelligent models could threaten national and global security.
The campaign, coordinated by Control AI and backed by tech figures including Skype co-founder Jaan Tallinn, urges Prime Minister Keir Starmer to distance the UK from the US stance against strict federal AI rules.
Experts such as Yoshua Bengio and senior peers argue that governments remain far behind AI developers, leaving companies to set the pace with minimal oversight.
Calls for action come after warnings from frontier AI scientists that the world must decide by 2030 whether to allow highly advanced systems to self-train.
Campaigners want the UK to champion global agreements limiting superintelligence development, establish mandatory testing standards and introduce an independent watchdog to scrutinise AI use in the public sector.
Government officials maintain that AI is already regulated through existing frameworks, though critics say the approach lacks urgency.
Pressure is growing for new, binding rules on the most powerful models, with advocates arguing that rapid advances mean strong safeguards may be needed within the next two years.
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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.
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European ministers have adopted conclusions aimed to boosting the Union’s digital competitiveness, urging quicker progress toward the 2030 digital decade goals.
Officials called for stronger digital skills, wider adoption of technology, and a framework that supports innovation while protecting fundamental rights. Digital sovereignty remains a central objective, framed as open, risk-based and aligned with European values.
Governments emphasised that simplification must not weaken data protection or other core safeguards.
Concerns over online safety and illegal content were a prominent feature in discussions on enforcing the Digital Services Act. Ministers highlighted the presence of harmful content and unsafe products on major marketplaces, calling for stronger coordination and consistent enforcement across member states.
Ensuring full compliance with EU consumer protection and product safety rules was described as a priority.
Cyber-resilience was a key focus as ministers discussed the increasing impact of cyberattacks on citizens and the economy. Calls for stronger defences grew as digital transformation accelerated, with several states sharing updates on national and cross-border initiatives.
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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.
eSafety maintains that the priority lies in shielding children from images and videos they cannot cognitively process or forget once they have seen them.
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.
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