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Cybercriminals abandon Kido extortion attempt amid public backlash

Hackers who stole data and images of children from Kido Schools have removed the material from the darknet and claimed to delete it. The group, calling itself Radiant, had demanded a £600,000 Bitcoin ransom, but Kido did not pay.

Radiant initially blurred the photos but kept the data online before later removing all content and issuing an apology. Experts remain sceptical, warning that cybercriminals often claim to delete stolen data while secretly keeping or selling it.

The breach exposed details of around 8,000 children and their families, sparking widespread outrage. Cybersecurity experts described the extortion attempt as a ‘new low’ for hackers and said Radiant likely backtracked due to public pressure.

Radiant said it accessed Kido’s systems by buying entry from an ‘initial access broker’ and then stealing data from accounts linked to Famly, an early years education platform. The Famly told the BBC its infrastructure was not compromised.

Kido confirmed the incident and stated that they are working with external specialists and authorities. With no ransom paid and Radiant abandoning its attempt, the hackers appear to have lost money on the operation.

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Grok controversies shadow Musk’s new Grokipedia project

Elon Musk has announced that his company xAI is developing Grokipedia, a planned Wikipedia rival powered by its Grok AI chatbot. He described the project as a step towards achieving xAI’s mission of understanding the universe.

In a post on X, Musk called Grokipedia a ‘necessary improvement over Wikipedia,’ renewing his criticism of the platform’s funding model and what he views as ideological bias. He has long accused Wikimedia of leaning left and reflecting ‘woke’ influence.

Despite Musk’s efforts to position Grok as a solution to bias, the chatbot has occasionally turned on its creator. Earlier this year, it named Musk among the people doing the most harm to the US, alongside Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.

The Grok 4 update also drew controversy when users reported that the chatbot praised and adopted the surname of a controversial historical figure in its responses, sparking criticism of its safety. Such incidents raised questions about the limits of Musk’s oversight.

Grok is already integrated into X as a conversational assistant, providing context and explanations in real time. Musk has said it will power the platform’s recommendation algorithm by late 2025, allowing users to customise their feeds dynamically through direct requests.

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Neutral-atom quantum computer reaches new milestone

Caltech physicists have developed a groundbreaking neutral-atom quantum computer, trapping 6,100 caesium atoms as qubits in a single array. Published in Nature, the achievement marks the largest such system to date, surpassing previous arrays limited to hundreds of qubits.

The system maintains exceptional stability, with qubits coherent for 13 seconds and single-qubit operations achieving 99.98% accuracy. Using optical tweezers, researchers move atoms with precision while maintaining their superposition state, essential for reliable quantum computing.

The milestone highlights neutral-atom systems as strong contenders in quantum computing, offering dynamic reconfigurability compared to rigid hardware. The ability to rearrange qubits during computations paves the way for advanced error correction in future systems.

As global efforts intensify to scale quantum machines, Caltech’s work sets a new benchmark. The team aims to advance entanglement for full-scale computations, bringing practical quantum solutions closer for fields like chemistry and materials science.

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Visa unveils stablecoin pilot for faster payments

Visa unveiled a stablecoin prefunding pilot for Visa Direct at SIBOS 2025, enabling faster, more flexible global payments. By integrating stablecoins, the pilot aims to modernise treasury operations, offering a solution tailored for the digital-first economy.

Traditional cross-border payments often rely on slow, costly systems that require businesses to hold large fiat balances in advance. The pilot lets companies pre-fund Visa Direct with stablecoins, cutting friction and boosting liquidity for active, efficient capital.

Financial institutions, banks, and remitters benefit from this approach, as stablecoins provide a consistent settlement layer, minimising exposure to currency volatility. Funds move in minutes, not days, enabling dynamic liquidity and predictable treasury for high-volume payouts.

Set to expand in 2026, the pilot builds on Visa’s global network and blockchain programmability, transforming how businesses handle cross-border transactions. Recipients still receive payments in local currency, ensuring seamless integration with existing systems.

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Quantum leap as Caltech builds 6,100-qubit processor

A team of physicists at the California Institute of Technology has unveiled a quantum computing breakthrough, creating an array of 6,100 qubits, the largest of its kind to date.

The leap surpasses previous systems, which typically contained around a thousand qubits, and marks a step closer to practical quantum algorithms.

Researchers used caesium atoms as qubits, trapping them with laser tweezers inside an ultra-high-vacuum chamber.

These qubits maintained superposition for almost 13 seconds, nearly ten times longer than previous benchmarks. They could also be manipulated with 99.98 percent accuracy, proving that scaling up need not compromise precision.

Unlike classical bits, qubits exploit superposition, allowing a spread of probabilities instead of fixed binary states. It enables powerful computations but also demands error correction to overcome qubit fragility. The surplus qubits in this new array provide a path to large, error-corrected machines.

Physicists believe the next milestone will involve harnessing entanglement, enabling the shift from storing quantum information to processing it. If progress continues, quantum computers could soon revolutionise science by uncovering new materials, forms of matter, and fundamental laws of physics.

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CISA warns of advanced campaign exploiting Cisco appliances in federal networks

US cybersecurity officials have issued an emergency directive after hackers breached a federal agency by exploiting critical flaws in Cisco appliances. CISA warned the campaign poses a severe risk to government networks.

Experts told CNN they believe the hackers are state-backed and operating out of China, raising alarm among officials. Hundreds of compromised devices are reportedly in use across the federal government, CISA stated, issuing a directive to rapidly assess the scope of this major breach.

Cisco confirmed it was urgently alerted to the breaches by US government agencies in May and quickly assigned a specialised team to investigate. The company provided advanced detection tools, worked intensely to analyse compromised environments, and examined firmware from infected devices.

Cisco stated that the attackers exploited multiple zero-day flaws and employed advanced evasion techniques. It suspects a link to the ArcaneDoor campaign reported in early 2024.

CISA has withheld details about which agencies were affected or the precise nature of the breaches, underscoring the gravity of the situation. Investigations are currently underway to contain the ongoing threat and prevent further exploitation.

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UNDP and RIPE NCC join forces for sustainable development

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Réseaux IP Européens Network Coordination Centre (RIPE NCC) have signed a new agreement to boost cooperation on digital development. The Memorandum of Understanding, announced in New York during the UN General Assembly’s High-Level Week, focuses on building scalable, secure, and resilient internet infrastructure across the Arab States and beyond.

By combining UNDP’s development mandate with RIPE NCC’s technical expertise, the partnership aims to promote inclusive digital transformation and accelerate progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals.

UNDP’s Abdallah Al Dardari stressed that digital transformation is now a ‘development imperative,’ while RIPE NCC CEO Hans Petter Holen highlighted that resilient internet systems are vital for innovation and growth.

The announcement took place as part of Digital@UNGA Week and came just ahead of UNDP’s High-Level Roundtable on Digital for Sustainable Development. At the roundtable, partners unveiled Morocco’s Digital for Sustainable Development Hub, underscoring the growing role of multi-stakeholder cooperation in shaping inclusive digital ecosystems worldwide.

For more information from the 80th session of the UN General Assembly, visit our dedicated page.

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Uzbekistan positions itself as Central Asia’s new AI and technology hub

Using its largest-ever ICT Week, Uzbekistan is showcasing ambitions to become a regional centre for AI and digital transformation.

More than 20,000 participants, 300 companies, and delegations from over 50 countries gathered in Tashkent, signalling Central Asia’s growing role in the global technology landscape.

The country invests in AI projects across various sectors, including education, healthcare, banking, and industry, with more than 100 initiatives underway.

Officials emphasise that digitalisation must serve people directly, by improving services and creating jobs for Uzbekistan’s young and expanding population.

The demographic advantage is shaping a vision of AI that prioritises dignity, opportunity, and inclusive growth.

International recognition has followed. The UN’s International Telecommunication Union described Uzbekistan as ‘leading the way’ in the region, praising high connectivity, supportive policies, and progress in youth participation and gender equality.

Infrastructure is also advancing, with global investors like DataVolt building one of Central Asia’s most advanced data centres in Tashkent.

Uzbekistan’s private sector is also drawing attention. Fintech and e-commerce unicorn Uzum recently secured significant investment from Tencent and VR Capital, reaching a valuation above €1.3 billion.

Public policy and private investment are positioning the country as a credible AI hub connecting Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.

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LinkedIn default AI data sharing faces Dutch privacy watchdog scrutiny

The Dutch privacy watchdog, Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens (AP), is warning LinkedIn users in the Netherlands to review their settings to prevent their data from being used for AI training.

LinkedIn plans to use names, job titles, education history, locations, skills, photos, and public posts from European users to train its systems. Private messages will not be included; however, the sharing option is enabled by default.

AP Deputy Chair Monique Verdier said the move poses significant risks. She warned that once personal data is used to train a model, it cannot be removed, and its future uses are unpredictable.

LinkedIn, headquartered in Dublin, falls under the jurisdiction of the Data Protection Commission in Ireland, which will determine whether the plan can proceed. The AP said it is working with Irish and EU counterparts and has already received complaints.

Users must opt out by 3 November if they do not wish to have their data used. They can disable the setting via the AP’s link or manually in LinkedIn under ‘settings & privacy’ → ‘data privacy’ → ‘data for improving generative AI’.

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CISA highlights failures after US agency cyber breach

The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has published lessons from its response to a federal agency breach.

Hackers exploited an unpatched vulnerability in GeoServer software, gaining access to multiple systems. CISA noted that the flaw had been disclosed weeks earlier and added to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue, but the agency had not patched it in time.

Investigators also found that incident response plans were outdated and had not been tested. The lack of clear procedures delayed third-party support and restricted access to vital security tools during the investigation.

CISA added that endpoint detection alerts were not continuously reviewed and some US public-facing systems had no protection, leaving attackers free to install web shells and move laterally through the network.

The agency urged all organisations to prioritise patching, maintain and rehearse incident response plans, and ensure comprehensive logging to strengthen resilience against future cybersecurity attacks.

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