Cyberconflict and warfare

Global tech competition intensifies as the UK outlines a £1 trillion digital blueprint

The United Kingdom has unveiled a strategy to grow its digital economy to £1 trillion by harnessing AI, quantum computing, and cybersecurity. The plan emphasises public-private partnerships, training, and international collaboration to tackle skills shortages and infrastructure gaps.

The initiative builds on the UK tech sector’s £1.2 trillion valuation, with regional hubs in cities such as Bristol and Manchester fuelling expansion in emerging technologies. Experts, however, warn that outdated systems and talent deficits could stall progress unless workforce development accelerates.

AI is central to the plan, with applications spanning healthcare and finance. Quantum computing also features, with investments in research and cybersecurity aimed at strengthening resilience against supply disruptions and future threats.

The government highlights sustainability as a priority, promoting renewable energy and circular economies to ensure digital growth aligns with environmental goals. Regional investment in blockchain, agri-tech, and micro-factories is expected to create jobs and diversify innovation-driven growth.

By pursuing these initiatives, the UK aims to establish itself as a leading global tech player alongside the US and China. Ethical frameworks and adaptive strategies will be key to maintaining public trust and competitiveness.

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Australia weighs cyber militia to counter rising digital threats

Cyberattacks are intensifying worldwide, with Australia now ranked fourth globally for threats against operational technology and industrial sectors. Rising AI-powered incursions have exposed serious vulnerabilities in the country’s national defence and critical infrastructure.

The 2023–2030 Cyber Security Strategy designed by the Government of Australia aims to strengthen resilience through six ‘cyber shields’, including legislation and intelligence sharing. But a skills shortage leaves organisations vulnerable as ransomware attacks on mining and manufacturing continue to rise.

One proposal gaining traction is the creation of a volunteer ‘cyber militia’. Inspired by the cyber defence unit in Estonia, this network would mobilise unconventional talent, retirees, hobbyist hackers, and students, to bolster monitoring, threat hunting, and incident response.

Supporters argue that such a force could fill gaps left by formal recruitment, particularly in smaller firms and rural networks. Critics, however, warn of vetting risks, insider threats, and the need for new legal frameworks to govern liability and training.

Pilot schemes in high-risk sectors, such as energy and finance, have been proposed, with public-private funding viewed as crucial. Advocates argue that a cyber militia could democratise security and foster collective responsibility, aligning with the country’s long-term cybersecurity strategy.

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Microsoft limits certain companies’ access to the SharePoint early warning system

Microsoft has limited certain Chinese companies’ access to its early warning system for cybersecurity vulnerabilities following suspicions about their involvement in recent SharePoint hacking attempts.

The decision restricts the sharing of proof-of-concept code, which mimics genuine malicious software. While valuable for cybersecurity professionals strengthening their systems, the code can also be misused by hackers.

The restrictions follow Microsoft’s observation of exploitation attempts targeting SharePoint servers in July. Concerns arose that a member of the Microsoft Active Protections Program may have repurposed early warnings for offensive activity.

Microsoft maintains that it regularly reviews participants and suspends those violating contracts, including prohibitions on participating in cyber attacks.

Beijing has denied involvement in the hacking, while Microsoft has refrained from disclosing which companies were affected or details of the ongoing investigation.

Analysts note that balancing collaboration with international security partners and preventing information misuse remains a key challenge for global cybersecurity programmes.

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Rapper Bot dismantled after 370,000 global cyberattacks

A 22-year-old man from Oregon has been charged with operating one of the most powerful botnets ever uncovered, Rapper Bot.

Federal prosecutors in Alaska said the network was responsible for over 370,000 cyberattacks worldwide since 2021, targeting technology firms, a central social media platform and even a US government system.

The botnet relied on malware that infected everyday devices such as Wi-Fi routers and digital video recorders. Once hijacked, the compromised machines were forced to overwhelm servers with traffic in distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.

Investigators estimate that Rapper Bot infiltrated as many as 95,000 devices at its peak.

The accused administrator, Ethan Foltz, allegedly ran the network as a DDoS-for-hire service, temporarily charging customers to control its capabilities.

Authorities said its most significant attack generated more than six terabits of data per second, making it among the most destructive DDoS networks. Foltz faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

The arrest was carried out under Operation PowerOFF, an international effort to dismantle criminal groups offering DDoS-for-hire services.

US Attorney Michael J. Heyman said the takedown had effectively disrupted a transnational threat, ending Foltz’s role in the sprawling cybercrime operation.

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The dark side of AI: Seven fears that won’t go away

AI has been hailed as the most transformative technology of our age, but with that power comes unease. From replacing jobs to spreading lies online, the risks attached to AI are no longer abstract; they are already reshaping lives. While governments and tech leaders promise safeguards, uncertainty fuels public anxiety.

Perhaps the most immediate concern is employment. Machines are proving cheaper and faster than humans in the software development and graphic design industries. Talk of a future “post-scarcity” economy, where robot labour frees people from work, remains speculative. Workers see only lost opportunities now, while policymakers struggle to offer coordinated solutions.

Environmental costs are another hidden consequence. Training large AI models demands enormous data centres that consume vast amounts of electricity and water. Critics argue that supposed future efficiencies cannot justify today’s pollution, which sometimes rivals small nations’ carbon footprint.

Privacy fears are also escalating. AI-driven surveillance—from facial recognition in public spaces to workplace monitoring—raises questions about whether personal freedom will survive in an era of constant observation. Many fear that “smart” devices and cameras may soon leave nowhere to hide.

Then there is the spectre of weaponisation. AI is already integrated into warfare, with autonomous drones and robotic systems assisting soldiers. While fully self-governing lethal machines are not yet in use, military experts warn that it is only a matter of time before battlefields become dominated by algorithmic decision-makers.

Artists and writers, meanwhile, worry about intellectual property theft. AI systems trained on creative works without permission or payment have sparked lawsuits and protests, leaving cultural workers feeling exploited by tech giants eager for training data.

Misinformation represents another urgent risk. Deepfakes and AI-generated propaganda are flooding social media, eroding trust in institutions and amplifying extremist views. The danger lies not only in falsehoods themselves but in the echo chambers algorithms create, where users are pushed toward ever more radical beliefs.

And hovering above it all is the fear of runaway AI. Although science fiction often exaggerates this threat, researchers take seriously the possibility of systems evolving in ways we cannot predict or control. Calls for global safeguards and transparency have grown louder, yet solutions remain elusive.

In the end, fear alone cannot guide us. Addressing these risks requires not just caution but decisive governance and ethical frameworks. Only then can humanity hope to steer AI toward progress rather than peril.

Source: Forbes

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North Korean hackers switch to ransomware in major cyber campaign

A North Korean hacking unit has launched a ransomware campaign targeting South Korea and other countries, marking a shift from pure espionage. Security firm S2W identified the subgroup, ‘ChinopuNK’, as part of the ScarCruft threat actor.

The operation began in July, utilising phishing emails and a malicious shortcut file within a RAR archive to deploy multiple malware types. These included a keylogger, stealer, ransomware, and a backdoor.

ScarCruft, active since 2016, has targeted defectors, journalists, and government agencies. Researchers say the move to ransomware indicates either a new revenue stream or a more disruptive mission.

The campaign has expanded beyond South Korea to Japan, Vietnam, Russia, Nepal, and the Middle East. Analysts note the group’s technical sophistication has improved in recent years.

Security experts advise monitoring URLs, file hashes, behaviour-based indicators, and ongoing tracking of ScarCruft’s tools and infrastructure, to detect related campaigns from North Korea and other countries early.

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Employee data compromised in cyberattack on Canada’s parliament

Canada’s House of Commons is investigating a data breach after a cyberattack reportedly exploited a Microsoft vulnerability, granting unauthorised access to a database for managing parliamentary computers and mobile devices. Staff were notified of the breach this past Monday via internal communications.

The compromised information includes employees’ names, job titles, office locations, email addresses, and device-related details. Authorities have warned individuals to be alert for potential impersonation or phishing attempts using the stolen data.

Canada’s Communications Security Establishment (CSE) supports the investigation and confirms its involvement. No attribution has been made yet, as identifying specific threat actors remains challenging.

While the exact Microsoft vulnerability has not been publicly confirmed, cybersecurity experts point to a critical SharePoint zero-day (CVE-2025-53770), which has seen wide exploitation. The attack underscores the pressing need for robust cyber defence across government essential infrastructures.

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Cyber-crime group BlackSuit crippled by $1 million crypto seizure

Law enforcement agencies in the United States and abroad have coordinated a raid to dismantle the BlackSuit ransomware operation, seizing servers and domains and approximately $1 million in cryptocurrency linked to ransom demands.

The action, led by the Department of Justice, Homeland Security Investigations, the Secret Service, the IRS and the FBI, involved cooperation with agencies across the UK, Germany, France, Canada, Ukraine, Ireland and Lithuania.

BlackSuit, a rebranded successor to the Royal ransomware gang and connected to the notorious Conti group, has been active since 2022. It has targeted over 450 US organisations across healthcare, government, manufacturing and education sectors, demanding more than $370 million in ransoms.

The crypto seized was traced back to a 2023 ransom payment of around 49.3 Bitcoin, valued at approximately $1.4 million. Investigators worked with cryptocurrency exchanges to freeze and recover roughly $1 million of those funds in early 2024.

While this marks a significant blow to the gang’s operations, officials warn that without arrests, the threat may persist or re-emerge under new identities.

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Ministers urged to forge a secure path for UK government’s digital future

TechUK has issued a comprehensive framework to guide the UK government’s digital transformation, emphasising the importance of secure technological progress as a national imperative.

The proposal outlines three foundational pillars: shaping digital regulation, strengthening countries and regions through digital investment, and advancing international digital trade.

It also calls for sweeping investments in digital skills to ensure citizens are prepared for the digital era. The trade body underscores the need for a digitally confident workforce to sustain the nation’s tech-driven ambitions.

Taken together, these recommendations aim to keep the UK a competitive and resilient digital economy that works for all citizens, supports sustainable growth, and adapts confidently to evolving global digital realities.

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Trump’s potential Nvidia deal with China raises national security risks

The US President Donald Trump has shattered decades of US national security precedent by striking a deal with Nvidia and AMD that allows the sale of certain banned AI chips to China, but at a certain price.

In an arrangement without modern parallels, the companies will resume exports of their H20 processors to the Chinese market in exchange for giving the US government a 15% share of related revenues.

The move reopens a channel for sensitive technology sales and introduces a transactional element into what had long been treated as a matter of uncompromising national security.

For decades, Washington’s export controls on strategic technologies were blunt instruments: if a product was deemed too sensitive, no amount of corporate lobbying or lost revenue could override the ban.

Trump’s approach breaks from that tradition, effectively monetising access to restricted technologies. He has even floated the idea of allowing a weakened version of Nvidia’s cutting-edge Blackwell chip to be sold in China, a possibility that has set off alarm bells among national security hawks.

Republican and Democratic lawmakers have condemned the decision, warning it risks transforming US security policy into a ‘pay-for-play’ system.

Representative John Moolenaar, who chairs the House Select Committee on China, argued that export controls should remain a first line of defence against adversaries, not a bargaining chip. His Democratic counterpart, Raja Krishnamoorthi, cautioned that putting a dollar value on national security sends the wrong message to both allies and rivals.

The Trump administration has defended the arrangement by downplaying the risk. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick called the H20 Nvidia’s ‘fourth-best’ chip, noting that it is already widely used in China. The administration also framed the move to keep Chinese companies tied to US technology rather than turning to rival suppliers. Yet questions loom over the legality of the revenue-sharing scheme.

Trade experts have raised the possibility that it could be interpreted as an export tax, something the US Constitution prohibits, though details of the agreement remain opaque.

Beyond legal debates, the financial implications are significant. Analysts predict the levy could cut gross margins on China-bound chips by as much as 15 percentage points, trimming overall profitability for Nvidia and AMD.

In turn, this change of course could prompt other US companies selling strategic goods to China, from aerospace to advanced materials, to wonder if they too will face similar revenue-sharing requirements.

For some, it could be a costly burden; for others, it might be the only way to retain access to China’s lucrative market.

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