Consumer protection

Bitcoin wallet vulnerability exposes thousands of private keys

A flaw in the widely used Libbitcoin Explorer (bx) 3.x series has exposed over 120,000 Bitcoin private keys, according to crypto wallet provider OneKey. The flaw arose from a weak random number generator that used system time, making wallet keys predictable.

Attackers aware of wallet creation times could reconstruct private keys and access funds.

Several wallets were affected, including versions of Trust Wallet Extension and Trust Wallet Core prior to patched releases. Researchers said the Mersenne Twister-32’s limited seed space let hackers automate attacks and recreate private keys, possibly causing past fund losses like the ‘Milk Sad’ cases.

OneKey confirmed its own wallets remain secure, using cryptographically strong random number generation and hardware Secure Elements certified to global security standards.

OneKey also examined its software wallets, ensuring that desktop, browser, Android, and iOS versions rely on secure system-level entropy sources. The firm urged long-term crypto holders to use hardware wallets and avoid importing software-generated mnemonics to reduce risk.

The company emphasised that wallet security depends on the integrity of the device and operating environment.

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Tailored pricing is here and personal data is the price signal

AI is quietly changing how prices are set online. Beyond demand-based shifts, companies increasingly tailor offers to individuals, using browsing history, purchase habits, device, and location to predict willingness to pay. Two shoppers may see different prices for the same product at the same moment.

Dynamic pricing raises or lowers prices for everyone as conditions change, such as school-holiday airfares or hotel rates during major events. Personalised pricing goes further by shaping offers for specific users, rewarding cart-abandoners with discounts while charging rarer shoppers a premium.

Platforms mine clicks, time on page, past purchases, and abandoned baskets to build profiles. Experiments show targeted discounts can lift sales while capping promo spend, proving engineered prices scale. The result: you may not see a ‘standard’ price, but one designed for you.

The risks are mounting. Income proxies such as postcode or device can entrench inequality, while hidden algorithms erode trust when buyers later find cheaper prices. Accountability is murky if tailored prices mislead, discriminate, or breach consumer protections without clear disclosure.

Regulators are moving. A competition watchdog in Australia has flagged transparency gaps, unfair trading risks, and the need for algorithmic disclosure. Businesses now face a twin test: deploy AI pricing with consent, explainability, and opt-outs, and prove it delivers value without crossing ethical lines.

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UK government urges awareness as £106m lost to romance fraud in one year

Romance fraud has surged across the United Kingdom, with new figures showing that victims lost a combined £106 million in the past financial year. Action Fraud, the UK’s national reporting centre for cybercrime, described the crime as one that causes severe financial, emotional, and social damage.

Among the victims is London banker Varun Yadav, who lost £40,000 to a scammer posing as a romantic partner on a dating app. After months of chatting online, the fraudster persuaded him to invest in a cryptocurrency platform.

When his funds became inaccessible, Yadav realised he had been deceived. ‘You see all the signs, but you are so emotionally attached,’ he said. ‘You are willing to lose the money, but not the connection.’

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said banks should play a stronger role in disrupting romance scams, calling for improved detection systems and better staff training to identify vulnerable customers. It urged firms to adopt what it called ‘compassionate aftercare’ for those affected.

Romance fraud typically involves criminals creating fake online profiles to build emotional connections before manipulating victims into transferring money.

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and UK police recommend maintaining privacy on social media, avoiding financial transfers to online contacts, and speaking openly with friends or family before sending money.

The Metropolitan Police recently launched an awareness campaign featuring victim testimonies and guidance on spotting red flags. The initiative also promotes collaboration with dating apps, banks, and social platforms to identify fraud networks.

Detective Superintendent Kerry Wood, head of economic crime for the Met Police, said that romance scams remain ‘one of the most devastating’ forms of fraud. ‘It’s an abuse of trust which undermines people’s confidence and sense of self-worth. Awareness is the most powerful defence against fraud,’ she said.

Although Yadav never recovered his savings, he said sharing his story helped him rebuild his life. He urged others facing similar scams to speak up: ‘Do not isolate yourself. There is hope.’

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Meta to pull all political ads in EU ahead of new transparency law

Meta Platforms has said it will stop selling and showing political, electoral and social issue advertisements across its services in the European Union from early October 2025. The decision follows the EU’s Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising (TTPA) regulation coming into full effect on 10 October.

Under TTPA, platforms will be required to clearly label political ads, disclose the sponsor, the election or social issue at hand, the amounts paid, and how the ads are targeted. These obligations also include strict conditions on targeting and require explicit consent for certain data use.

Meta called the requirements ‘significant operational challenges and legal uncertainties’ and labelled parts of the new rules ‘unworkable’ for advertisers and platforms. It said that personalised ads are widely used for issue-based campaigns and that limiting them might restrict how people access political or social issue-related information.

The company joins Google, which made a similar move last year citing comparable concerns about TTPA compliance.

While political ads will be banned under paid formats, Meta says organic political content (e.g. users posting or sharing political views) will still be permitted.

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AWS glitch triggers widespread outages across major apps

A major internet outage hit some of the world’s biggest apps and sites from about 9 a.m. CET Monday, with issues traced to Amazon Web Services. Tracking sites reported widespread failures across the US and beyond, disrupting consumer and enterprise services.

AWS cited ‘significant error rates’ in DynamoDB requests in the US-EAST-1 region, impacting additional services in Northern Virginia. Engineers are mitigating while investigating root cause, and some customers couldn’t create or update Support Cases.

Outages clustered around Virginia’s dense data-centre corridor but rippled globally. Impacted brands included Amazon, Google, Snapchat, Roblox, Fortnite, Canva, Coinbase, Slack, Signal, Vodafone and the UK tax authority HMRC.

Coinbase told users ‘all funds are safe’ as platforms struggled to authenticate, fetch data and serve content tied to affected back-ends. Third-party monitors noted elevated failure rates across APIs and app logins.

The incident underscores heavy reliance on hyperscale infrastructure and the blast radius when core data services falter. Full restoration and a formal post-mortem are pending from AWS.

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Data Act now in force, more data sharing in EU

The EU’s Data Act is now in force, marking a major shift in European data governance. The regulation aims to expand access to industrial and Internet of Things data, giving users greater control over information they generate while maintaining safeguards for trade secrets and privacy.

Adopted as part of the EU’s Digital Strategy, the act seeks to promote fair competition, innovation, and public-sector efficiency. It enables individuals and businesses to share co-generated data from connected devices and allows public authorities limited access in emergencies or matters of public interest.

Some obligations take effect later. Requirements on product design for data access will apply to new connected devices from September 2026, while certain contract rules are deferred until 2027. Member states will set national penalties, with fines in some cases reaching up to 10% of global annual turnover.

The European Commission will assess the law’s impact within three years of its entry into force. Policymakers hope the act will foster a fairer, more competitive data economy, though much will depend on consistent enforcement and how businesses adapt their practices.

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Public consultation: EU clarifies how DMA and GDPR work together

The European Commission and European Data Protection Board have jointly published long-awaited guidelines clarifying how the Digital Markets Act aligns with the GDPR. It aims to remove uncertainty for large online platforms over consent requirements, data sharing amongst other things.

Under the new interpretation, gatekeepers must obtain specific and separate consent when combining user data across different services, including when using it for AI training. They cannot rely on legitimate interest or contractual necessity for such processing, closing a loophole long debated in EU privacy law.

The Guidelines also set limits on how often consent can be re-requested, prohibiting repeated or slightly altered requests for the same purpose within a year. In addition, they make clear that offering users a binary choice between accepting tracking or paying a fee will rarely qualify as freely given consent.

The Guidance also introduces a practical standard for anonymisation, requiring platforms to prevent re-identification using technical and organisational safeguards. Consultation on the Guidelines runs until 4 December 2025, after which they are expected to shape future enforcement.

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Labels and Spotify align on artist-first AI safeguards

Spotify partners with major labels on artist-first AI tools, putting consent and copyright at the centre of product design. The plan aims to align new features with transparent labelling and fair compensation while addressing concerns about generative music flooding platforms.

The collaboration with Sony, Universal, Warner, and Merlin will give artists control over participation in AI experiences and how their catalogues are used. Spotify says it will prioritise consent, clearer attribution, and rights management as it builds new tools.

Early direction points to expanded labelling via DDEX, stricter controls against mass AI uploads, and protections against search and recommendation manipulation. Spotify’s AI DJ and prompt-based playlists hint at how engagement features could evolve without sidelining creators.

Future products are expected to let artists opt in, monitor usage, and manage when their music feeds AI-generated works. Rights holders and distributors would gain better tracking and payment flows as transparency improves across the ecosystem.

Industry observers say the tie-up could set a benchmark for responsible AI in music if enforcement matches ambition. By moving in step with labels, Spotify is pitching a path where innovation and artist advocacy reinforce rather than undermine each other.

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Microsoft warns of a surge in ransomware and extortion incidents

Financially motivated cybercrime now accounts for the majority of global digital threats, according to Microsoft’s latest Digital Defense Report.

The company’s analysts found that over half of all cyber incidents with known motives in the past year were driven by extortion or ransomware, while espionage represented only a small fraction.

Microsoft warns that automation and accessible off-the-shelf tools have allowed criminals with limited technical skills to launch widespread attacks, making cybercrime a constant global threat.

The report reveals that attackers increasingly target critical services such as hospitals and local governments, where weak security and urgent operational demands make them easy victims.

Cyberattacks on these sectors have already led to real-world harm, from disrupted emergency care to halted transport systems. Microsoft highlights that collaboration between governments and private industry is essential to protect vulnerable sectors and maintain vital services.

While profit-seeking criminals dominate by volume, nation-state actors are also expanding their reach. State-sponsored operations are growing more sophisticated and unpredictable, with espionage often intertwined with financial motives.

Some state actors even exploit the same cybercriminal networks, complicating attribution and increasing risks for global organisations.

Microsoft notes that AI is being used by both attackers and defenders. Criminals are employing AI to refine phishing campaigns, generate synthetic media and develop adaptive malware, while defenders rely on AI to detect threats faster and close security gaps.

The report urges leaders to prioritise cybersecurity as a strategic responsibility, adopt phishing-resistant multifactor authentication, and build strong defences across industries.

Security, Microsoft concludes, must now be treated as a shared societal duty rather than an isolated technical task.

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Capita hit with £14 million fine after major data breach

The UK outsourcing firm Capita has been fined £14 million after a cyber-attack exposed the personal data of 6.6 million people. Sensitive information, including financial details, home addresses, passport images, and criminal records, was compromised.

Initially, the fine was £45 million, but it was reduced after Capita improved its cybersecurity, supported affected individuals, and engaged with regulators.

A breach that affected 325 of the 600 pension schemes Capita manages, highlighting risks for organisations handling large-scale sensitive data.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) criticised Capita for failing to secure personal information, emphasising that proper security measures could have prevented the incident.

Experts note that holding companies financially accountable reinforces the importance of data protection and sends a message to the market.

Capita’s CEO said the company has strengthened its cyber defences and remains vigilant to prevent future breaches.

The UK government has advised companies like Capita to prepare contingency plans following a rise in nationally significant cyberattacks, a trend also seen at Co-op, M&S, Harrods, and Jaguar Land Rover earlier in the year.

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