Malta’s government is preparing new legal measures to curb the abusive use of deepfake technology, with existing laws now under review. The planned reforms aim to introduce penalties for the misuse of AI in cases of harassment, blackmail, and bullying.
The move mirrors earlier cyberbullying and cyberstalking laws, extending similar protections to AI-generated content. Authorities are promoting AI while stressing the need for strong public safety and legal safeguards.
AI and youth participation were the main themes discussed during the National Youth Parliament meeting, where Abela highlighted the role of young people in shaping Malta’s long-term development strategy, Vision Malta 2050.
The strategy focuses on the next 25 years and directly affects those entering the workforce or starting families.
Young people were described as key drivers of national policy in areas such as fertility, environmental protection, and work-life balance. Senior officials and members of the Youth Advisory Forum attended the meeting.
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Fintech investment platform Betterment has confirmed a data breach after hackers gained unauthorised access to parts of its internal systems and exposed personal customer information.
The incident occurred on 9 January and involved a social engineering attack connected to third-party platforms used for marketing and operational purposes.
The company said the compromised data included customer names, email and postal addresses, phone numbers and dates of birth.
No passwords or account login credentials were accessed, according to Betterment, which stressed that customer investment accounts were not breached.
Using the limited system access, attackers sent fraudulent notifications to some users promoting a crypto-related scam.
Customers were advised to ignore the messages instead of engaging with the request, while Betterment moved quickly to revoke the unauthorised access and begin a formal investigation with external cybersecurity support.
Betterment has not disclosed how many users were affected and has yet to provide further technical details. Representatives did not respond to requests for comment at the time of publication, while the company said outreach to impacted customers remains ongoing.
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NVIDIA and Eli Lilly have announced a joint AI co-innovation lab aimed at advancing drug discovery by combining AI with pharmaceutical research.
The partnership combines Lilly’s experience in medical development with NVIDIA’s expertise in accelerated computing and AI infrastructure.
The two companies plan to invest up to $1 billion over five years in research capacity, computing resources and specialist talent.
Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, the lab will support large-scale data generation and model development using NVIDIA platforms, instead of relying solely on traditional laboratory workflows.
Beyond early research, the collaboration is expected to explore applications of AI across manufacturing, clinical development and supply chain operations.
Both NVIDIA and Eli Lilly claim the initiative is designed to enhance efficiency and scalability in medical production while fostering long-term innovation in the life sciences sector.
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Morocco is preparing to unveil ‘Maroc IA 2030’, a national AI roadmap designed to structure the country’s AI ecosystem and strengthen digital transformation.
The strategy seeks to modernise public services, improve interoperability across digital systems and enhance economic competitiveness, according to officials ahead of the ‘AI Made in Morocco’ event in Rabat.
A central element of the plan involves the creation of Al Jazari Institutes, a national network of AI centres of excellence connecting academic research with innovation and regional economic needs.
A roadmap that prioritises technological autonomy, trusted AI use, skills development, support for local innovation and balanced territorial coverage instead of fragmented deployment.
The initiative builds on the Digital Morocco 2030 strategy launched in 2024, which places AI at the core of national digital policy.
Authorities expect the combined efforts to generate around 240,000 digital jobs and contribute approximately $10 billion to gross domestic product by 2030, while improving the international AI readiness ranking of Morocco.
Additional measures include the establishment of a General Directorate for AI and Emerging Technologies to oversee public policy and the development of an Arab African regional digital hub in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme.
Their main goal is to support sustainable and responsible digital innovation.
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Innovations across China are moving rapidly from laboratories into everyday use, spanning robotics, autonomous vehicles and quantum computing. Airports, hotels and city streets are increasingly becoming testing grounds for advanced technologies.
In Hefei, humanoid cleaning robots developed by local start-up Zerith are already operating in public venues across major cities. The company scaled from prototype to mass production within a year, securing significant commercial orders.
Beyond robotics, frontier research is finding industrial applications in energy, healthcare and manufacturing. Advances from fusion research and quantum mechanics are being adapted for cancer screening, battery safety and precision measurement.
Policy support and investment are accelerating this transition from research to market. National planning and local funding initiatives aim to turn scientific breakthroughs into scalable technologies with global reach.
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Canadian quantum computing company Photonic has raised $130 million in the first close of a new investment round led by Planet First Partners. New backers include RBC and TELUS, alongside returning investors.
The funding brings Photonic’s total capital raised to $271 million and supports the development of fault-tolerant quantum systems. The company combines silicon-based qubits with built-in photonic connectivity.
Photonic’s entanglement-first architecture is designed to scale across existing global telecom networks. The approach aims to enable large, distributed quantum computers rather than isolated machines.
Headquartered in Vancouver, Photonic plans to utilise the investment to accelerate key product milestones and expand its team. Investors see strong potential across finance, sustainability, telecommunications and security sectors.
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Canopy Healthcare, one of New Zealand’s largest private medical oncology providers, has disclosed a data breach affecting patient and staff information, six months after the incident occurred.
The company said an unauthorised party accessed part of its administration systems on 18 July 2025, copying a ‘small’ amount of data. Affected information may include patient records, passport details, and some bank account numbers.
Canopy said it remains unclear exactly which individuals were impacted and what data was taken, adding that no evidence has emerged of the information being shared or published online.
Patients began receiving notifications in December 2025, prompting criticism over the delay. One affected patient said they were unhappy to learn about the breach months after it happened.
The New Zealand company said it notified police and the Privacy Commissioner at the time, secured a High Court injunction to prevent misuse of the data, and confirmed that its medical services continue to operate normally.
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Luxembourg has hosted its largest national cyber defence exercise, Cyber Fortress, bringing together military and civilian specialists to practise responding to real-time cyberattacks on digital systems.
Since its launch in 2021, Cyber Fortress has evolved beyond a purely technical drill. The exercise now includes a realistic fictional scenario supported by media injections, creating a more immersive and practical training environment for participants.
This year’s edition expanded its international reach, with teams joining from Belgium, Latvia, Malta and the EU Cyber Rapid Response Teams. Around 100 participants also took part from a parallel site in Latvia, working alongside Luxembourg-based teams.
The exercise focuses on interoperability during cyber crises. Participants respond to multiple simulated attacks while protecting critical services, including systems linked to drone operations and other sensitive infrastructure.
Cyber Fortress now covers technical, procedural and management aspects of cyber defence. A new emphasis on disinformation, deepfakes and fake news reflects the growing importance of information warfare.
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India’s Financial Intelligence Unit has tightened crypto compliance, requiring live identity checks, location verification, and stronger Client Due Diligence. The measures aim to prevent money laundering, terrorist financing, and misuse of digital asset services.
Crypto platforms must now collect multiple identifiers from users, including IP addresses, device IDs, wallet addresses, transaction hashes, and timestamps.
Verification also requires users to provide a Permanent Account Number and a secondary ID, such as a passport, Aadhaar, or voter ID, alongside OTP confirmation for email and phone numbers.
Bank accounts must be validated via a penny-drop mechanism to confirm ownership and operational status.
Enhanced due diligence will apply to high-risk transactions and relationships, particularly those involving users from designated high-risk jurisdictions and tax havens. Platforms must monitor red flags and apply extra scrutiny to comply with the new guidelines.
Industry experts have welcomed the updated rules, describing them as a positive step for India’s crypto ecosystem. The measures are viewed as enhancing transparency, protecting users, and aligning the sector with global anti-money laundering standards.
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Reports published by cybersecurity researchers indicated that data linked to approximately 17.5 million Instagram accounts has been offered for sale on underground forums.
The dataset reportedly includes usernames, contact details and physical address information, raising broader concerns around digital privacy and data aggregation.
A few hours later, Instagram responded by stating that no breach of internal systems occurred. According to the company, some users received password reset emails after an external party abused a feature that has since been addressed.
The platform said affected accounts remained secure, with no unauthorised access recorded.
Security analysts have noted that risks arise when online identifiers are combined with external datasets, rather than originating from a single platform.
Such aggregation can increase exposure to targeted fraud, impersonation and harassment, reinforcing the importance of cautious digital security practices across social media ecosystems.
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