Cybersecurity

UN urges global rules to ensure AI benefits humanity

The UN Security Council debated AI, noting its potential to boost development but warning of risks, particularly in military use. Secretary-General António Guterres called AI a ‘double-edged sword,’ supporting development but posing threats if left unregulated.

He urged legally binding restrictions on lethal autonomous weapons and insisted nuclear decisions remain under human control.

Experts and leaders emphasised the urgent need for global regulation, equitable access, and trustworthy AI systems. Yoshua Bengio of Université de Montréal warned of risks from misaligned AI, cyberattacks, and economic concentration, calling for greater oversight.

Stanford’s Yejin Choi highlighted the concentration of AI expertise in a few countries and companies, stressing that democratising AI and reducing bias is key to ensuring global benefits.

Representatives warned that AI could deepen digital inequality in developing regions, especially Africa, due to limited access to data and infrastructure.

Delegates from Guyana, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Algeria, and Panama called for international rules to ensure transparency, fairness, and prevent dominance by a few countries or companies. Others, including the United States, cautioned that overregulation could stifle innovation and centralise power.

Delegates stressed AI’s risks in security, urging Yemen, Poland, and the Netherlands called for responsible use in conflict with human oversight and ethical accountability.Leaders from Portugal and the Netherlands said AI frameworks must promote innovation, security, and serve humanity and peace.

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Cyberattack on Jaguar Land Rover exposes UK supply chain risks

The UK’s ministers are considering an unprecedented intervention after a cyberattack forced Jaguar Land Rover to halt production, leaving thousands of suppliers exposed to collapse.

A late August hack shut down JLR’s IT networks and forced the suspension of its UK factories. Industry experts estimate losses of more than £50m a week, with full operations unlikely to restart until October or later.

JLR, owned by India’s Tata Motors, had not finalised cyber insurance before the breach, which left it particularly vulnerable.

Officials are weighing whether to buy and stockpile car parts from smaller firms that depend on JLR, though logistical difficulties make the plan complex. Government-backed loans are also under discussion.

Cybersecurity agencies, including the National Cyber Security Centre and the National Crime Agency, are now supporting the investigation.

The attack is part of a wider pattern of major breaches targeting UK institutions and retailers, with a group calling itself Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters claiming responsibility.

A growing threat that highlights how the country’s critical industries remain exposed to sophisticated cybercriminals, raising questions about resilience and the need for stronger digital defences.

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New Stargate sites create jobs and boost AI capacity across the US

OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank are expanding their Stargate AI infrastructure with five new US data centre sites. The addition brings nearly 7 gigawatts of capacity and $400 billion in investment, putting the partners on track to meet the $500 billion, 10-gigawatt commitment by 2025.

Three of the new sites- located in Shackelford County, Texas; Doña Ana County, New Mexico; and a forthcoming Midwest location, are expected to deliver over 5.5 gigawatts of capacity. These developments are expected to create over 25,000 onsite jobs and tens of thousands more nationwide.

A potential 600-megawatt expansion near the flagship site in Abilene, Texas, is also under consideration.

The remaining two sites, in Lordstown, Ohio, and Milam County, Texas, will scale to 1.5 gigawatts over 18 months. SoftBank and SB Energy are providing advanced design and infrastructure to enable faster, more scalable, and cost-efficient AI compute.

The new sites follow a rigorous nationwide selection process involving over 300 proposals from more than 30 states. Early workloads at the Abilene flagship site are already advancing next-generation AI research, supported by Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and NVIDIA GB200 racks.

The expansion underscores the partners’ commitment to building the physical infrastructure necessary for AI breakthroughs and long-term US leadership in AI.

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New EU biometric checks set to reshape UK travel from 2026

UK travellers to the EU face new biometric checks from 12 October, but full enforcement is not expected until April 2026. Officials say the phased introduction will help avoid severe disruption at ports and stations.

An entry-exit system that requires non-EU citizens to be fingerprinted and photographed, with the data stored in a central European database for three years. A further 90-day grace period will allow French border officials to ease checks if technical issues arise.

The Port of Dover has prepared off-site facilities to prevent traffic build-up, while border officials stressed the gradual rollout will give passengers time to adapt.

According to Border Force director general Phil Douglas, biometrics and data protection advances have made traditional paper passports increasingly redundant.

These changes come as UK holidaymakers prepare for the busiest winter travel season in years, with full compliance due in time for Easter 2026.

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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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Secrets sprawl flagged as top software supply chain risk in Australia

Avocado Consulting urges Australian organisations to boost software supply chain security after a high-alert warning from the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC). The alert flagged threats, including social engineering, stolen tokens, and manipulated software packages.

Dennis Baltazar of Avocado Consulting said attackers combine social engineering with living-off-the-land techniques, making attacks appear routine. He warned that secrets left across systems can turn small slips into major breaches.

Baltazar advised immediate audits to find unmanaged privileged accounts and non-human identities. He urged embedding security into workflows by using short-lived credentials, policy-as-code, and default secret detection to reduce incidents and increase development speed for users in Australia.

Avocado Consulting advises organisations to eliminate secrets from code and pipelines, rotate tokens frequently, and validate every software dependency by default using version pinning, integrity checks, and provenance verification. Monitoring CI/CD activity for anomalies can also help detect attacks early.

Failing to act could expose cryptographic keys, facilitate privilege escalation, and result in reputational and operational damage. Avocado Consulting states that secure development practices must become the default, with automated scanning and push protection integrated into the software development lifecycle.

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Canadian probe finds TikTok failing to protect children’s privacy

A Canadian privacy investigation has found that TikTok has not taken sufficient measures to prevent children under 13 from accessing its platform or to protect their personal data.

Despite stating that the app is not intended for young users, the report states that hundreds of thousands of Canadian children use it yearly.

The investigation also found that TikTok collects vast amounts of data from users, including children, and uses it for targeted ads and content, potentially harming youth.

In response, TikTok agreed to strengthen safeguards and clarify data practices but disagreed with some findings.

The probe is part of growing global scrutiny over TikTok’s privacy and security practices, with similar actions taken in the USA and EU amid ongoing concerns about the Chinese-owned app’s data handling and national security implications.

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UK government AI tool recovers £500m lost to fraud

A new AI system developed by the UK Cabinet Office has helped reclaim nearly £500m in fraudulent payments, marking the government’s most significant recovery of public funds in a single year.

The Fraud Risk Assessment Accelerator analyses data across government departments to identify weaknesses and prevent scams before they occur.

It uncovered unlawful council tax claims, social housing subletting, and pandemic-related fraud, including £186m linked to Covid support schemes. Ministers stated the savings would be redirected to fund nurses, teachers, and police officers.

Officials confirmed the tool will be licensed internationally, with the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand among the first partners expected to adopt it.

The UK announced the initiative at an anti-fraud summit with these countries, describing it as a step toward global cooperation in securing public finances through AI.

However, civil liberties groups have raised concerns about bias and oversight. Previous government AI systems used to detect welfare fraud were found to produce disparities based on age, disability, and nationality.

Campaigners warned that the expanded use of AI in fraud detection risks embedding unfair outcomes if left unchecked.

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UN General Assembly highlights threats of unregulated technology

World leaders opened the 80th UN General Debate with a strong call to keep technology in the service of humanity, warning that without safeguards, rapid advances could widen divides and fuel insecurity. Speakers highlighted the promise of AI, digital innovation, and new technologies, but stressed that global cooperation is essential to ensure they promote development, dignity, and peace.

A recurring theme was the urgent need for universal guardrails on AI, with concerns over regulation lagging behind its fast-paced growth. Delegates from across regions supported multilateral governance, ethical standards, and closing global capacity gaps so that all countries can design, use, and benefit from AI.

While some warned of risks such as inequality, social manipulation, and autonomous weapons, others emphasised AI’s potential for prosperity, innovation, and inclusive growth.

Cybersecurity and cybercrime also drew attention, with calls for collective security measures and anticipation of a new UN convention against cybercrime. Leaders further raised alarms over disinformation, digital authoritarianism, and the race for critical minerals, urging fair access and sustainability.

Across the debate, the unifying message was clear. The technology must uplift humanity, protect rights, and serve as a force for peace rather than domination.

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

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Arrest made in Heathrow airport cyberattack case

A 40-year-old man has been arrested in West Sussex in connection with a cyberattack that caused major disruption across several European airports, including London’s Heathrow. The arrest was confirmed by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA), which is leading the investigation.

The incident targeted Collins Aerospace, a key provider of airline baggage and check-in software. The attack triggered system failures that forced staff at multiple airports to revert to manual check-in processes, resulting in hundreds of flight delays and frustration for passengers.

The NCA described the case as being in its early stages, with inquiries ongoing into the scale of the attack and the suspect’s potential role. Authorities have not yet confirmed whether others may be involved or what the broader motives behind the cyber-attack were.

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