Cybersecurity

AUSTRAC cracks down on crypto ATM money laundering risks

Australia’s financial crime regulator, AUSTRAC, has fined crypto ATM operator Cryptolink $56,340 for failing to report large cash transactions on time. The regulator also ordered the company to improve its anti-money laundering (AML) and counterterrorism financing (CTF) controls.

AUSTRAC’s Crypto Taskforce identified weaknesses in Cryptolink’s risk assessments and reporting controls, raising concerns about the misuse of crypto ATMs by criminals.

According to AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas, crypto ATMs remain one of the highest-risk channels for money laundering in Australia, often used to launder scam proceeds. He emphasised that operators must take stronger action to prevent criminal exploitation of the sector.

As part of the undertaking, Cryptolink must appoint independent reviewers to assess its compliance systems and validate all large cash transaction reports. Cryptolink must report its remedial progress to AUSTRAC by March 2026, having paid the fine without admitting liability.

Findings from AUSTRAC’s taskforce revealed that 85% of transactions made by the 90 most frequent ATM users were linked to scams or money mule schemes. Authorities will keep monitoring high-risk operators to improve oversight and protect consumers from crypto-related crimes.

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Reliance and Google expand Gemini AI access across India

Google has partnered with Reliance Intelligence to expand access to its Gemini AI across India.

Under the new collaboration, Jio Unlimited 5G users aged between 18 and 25 will receive the Google AI Pro plan free for 18 months, with nationwide eligibility to follow soon.

The partnership grants access to the Gemini 2.5 Pro model and includes increased limits for generating images and videos with the Nano Banana and Veo 3.1 tools.

Users in India will also benefit from expanded NotebookLM access for study and research, plus 2 TB of cloud storage shared across Google Photos, Gmail and Drive for data and WhatsApp backups.

According to Google, the offer represents a value of about ₹35,100 and can be activated via the MyJio app. The company said the initiative aims to make its most advanced AI tools available to a wider audience and support everyday productivity across India’s fast-growing digital ecosystem.

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Microsoft leaders envision AI as an invisible partner in work and play

AI, gaming and work were at the heart of the discussion during the Paley International Council Summit, where three Microsoft executives explored how technology is reshaping human experience and industry structures.

Mustafa Suleyman, Phil Spencer and Ryan Roslansky offered perspectives on the next phase of digital transformation, from personalised AI companions to the evolution of entertainment and the changing nature of work.

Mustafa Suleyman, CEO of Microsoft AI, described a future where AI becomes an invisible companion that quietly assists users. He explained that AI is moving beyond standalone apps to integrate directly into systems and browsers, performing tasks through natural language rather than manual navigation.

With features like Copilot on Windows and Edge, users can let AI automate everyday functions, creating a seamless experience where technology anticipates rather than responds.

Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming, underlined gaming’s cultural impact, noting that the industry now surpasses film, books and music combined. He emphasised that gaming’s interactive nature offers lessons for all media, where creativity, participation and community define success.

For Spencer, the future of entertainment lies in blending audience engagement with technology, allowing fans and creators to shape experiences together.

Ryan Roslansky, CEO of LinkedIn, discussed how AI is transforming skills and workforce dynamics. He highlighted that required job skills are changing faster than ever, with adaptability, AI literacy and human-centred leadership becoming essential.

Roslansky urged companies to focus on potential and continuous learning instead of static job descriptions, suggesting that the most successful organisations will be those that evolve with technology and cultivate resilience through education.

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WhatsApp adds passkey encryption for safer chat backups

Meta is rolling out a new security feature for WhatsApp that allows users to encrypt their chat backups using passkeys instead of passwords or lengthy encryption codes.

A feature for WhatsApp that enables users to protect their backups with biometric authentication such as fingerprints, facial recognition or screen lock codes.

WhatsApp became the first messaging service to introduce end-to-end encrypted backups over four years ago, and Meta says the new update builds on that foundation to make privacy simpler and more accessible.

With passkey encryption, users can secure and access their chat history easily without the need to remember complex keys.

The feature will be gradually introduced worldwide over the coming months. Users can activate it by going to WhatsApp settings, selecting Chats, then Chat backup, and enabling end-to-end encrypted backup.

Meta says the goal is to make secure communication effortless while ensuring that private messages remain protected from unauthorised access.

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Trainium2 power surges as AWS’s Project Rainier enters service for Anthropic

Anthropic and AWS switched on Project Rainier, a vast Trainium2 cluster spanning multiple US sites to accelerate Claude’s evolution.

Project Rainier is now fully operational, less than a year after its announcement. AWS engineered an EC2 UltraCluster of Trainium2 UltraServers to deliver massive training capacity. Anthropic says it offers more than five times the compute used for prior Claude models.

UltraServers bind four Trainium2 servers with high-speed NeuronLinks so 64 chips act as one. Tens of thousands of networks are connected through Elastic Fabric Adapter across buildings. The design reduces latency within racks while preserving flexible scale across data centres.

Anthropic is already training and serving Claude on Rainier across the US and plans to exceed one million Trainium2 chips by year’s end. More computing should raise model accuracy, speed evaluations, and shorten iteration cycles for new frontier releases.

AWS controls the stack from chip to data centre for reliability and efficiency. Teams tune power delivery, cooling, and software orchestration. New sites add water-wise cooling, contributing to the company’s renewable energy and net-zero goals.

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National internet shutdown grips Tanzania during contested vote

Tanzania is facing a nationwide internet shutdown that began as citizens headed to the polls in a tense general election. Connectivity across the country has been severely disrupted, with platforms like X (formerly Twitter), WhatsApp, and Instagram rendered inaccessible.

The blackout, confirmed by monitoring group NetBlocks, has left journalists, election observers, and citizens in Tanzania struggling to share updates as reports of protests and unrest spread. The government has reportedly deployed the army, deepening concerns over efforts to control information during this volatile period.

The move mirrors a growing global pattern where authorities restrict internet access during elections and political crises to curb dissent and manage narratives. Amnesty International has condemned the shutdown, warning that it risks escalating tensions and violating citizens’ right to information.

‘Authorities must ensure full internet access and allow free reporting before, during, and after the elections,’ said Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa.

Tanzania’s blackout follows similar crackdowns elsewhere, such as Afghanistan’s total internet shutdown, which left citizens completely cut off from the world.

These incidents underscore the fragility of digital freedoms in times of political turmoil. When governments ‘pull the plug,’ societies lose not only communication but also trust, transparency, and the fundamental ability to hold power to account.

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AI-driven cybercrime rises across Asia

Cybersecurity experts met in Dubai for the World Economic Forum’s Annual Global Future Councils and Cybersecurity meetings. More than 500 participants, including 150 top cybersecurity leaders, discussed how emerging technologies such as AI are reshaping digital security.

UAE officials highlighted the importance of resilience, trust and secure infrastructure as fundamental to future prosperity. Sessions examined how geopolitical shifts and technological advances are changing the cyber landscape and stressed the need for coordinated global action.

AI-driven cybercrime is rising sharply in Japan, with criminals exploiting advanced technology to scale attacks and target data. Recent incidents include a cyber attack on Asahi Breweries, which temporarily halted production at its domestic factories.

Authorities are calling for stronger cross-border collaboration and improved cybersecurity measures, while Japan’s new Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, pledged to enhance cooperation on AI and cybersecurity with regional partners.

Significant global developments include the signing of the first UN cybercrime treaty by 65 nations in Viet Nam, establishing a framework for international cooperation, rapid-response networks and stronger legal protections.

High-profile cyber incidents in the UK, including attacks on Jaguar Land Rover and a nursery chain, have highlighted the growing economic and social costs of cybercrime. These events are prompting calls for businesses to prioritise cyber resilience.

Experts warn that technology is evolving faster than cyber defences, leaving small businesses and less developed regions highly vulnerable. Integrating AI, automation and proactive security strategies is seen as essential to protect organizations and ensure global digital stability.

Cyber resilience is increasingly recognised not just as an IT issue but as a strategic imperative for economic and national security.

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OpenAI unveils new gpt-oss-safeguard models for adaptive content safety

Yesterday, OpenAI launched gpt-oss-safeguard, a pair of open-weight reasoning models designed to classify content according to developer-specified safety policies.

Available in 120b and 20b sizes, these models allow developers to apply and revise policies during inference instead of relying on pre-trained classifiers.

They produce explanations of their reasoning, making policy enforcement transparent and adaptable. The models are downloadable under an Apache 2.0 licence, encouraging experimentation and modification.

The system excels in situations where potential risks evolve quickly, data is limited, or nuanced judgements are required.

Unlike traditional classifiers that infer policies from pre-labelled data, gpt-oss-safeguard interprets developer-provided policies directly, enabling more precise and flexible moderation.

The models have been tested internally and externally, showing competitive performance against OpenAI’s own Safety Reasoner and prior reasoning models. They can also support non-safety tasks, such as custom content labelling, depending on the developer’s goals.

OpenAI developed these models alongside ROOST and other partners, building a community to improve open safety tools collaboratively.

While gpt-oss-safeguard is computationally intensive and may not always surpass classifiers trained on extensive datasets, it offers a dynamic approach to content moderation and risk assessment.

Developers can integrate the models into their systems to classify messages, reviews, or chat content with transparent reasoning instead of static rule sets.

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Automakers and freight partners join NVIDIA and Uber to accelerate level 4 deployments

NVIDIA and Uber partner on level 4-ready fleets using the DRIVE AGX Hyperion 10, aiming to scale a unified human-and-robot driver network from 2027. A joint AI data factory on NVIDIA Cosmos will curate training data, aiming to reach 100,000 vehicles over time.

DRIVE AGX Hyperion 10 is a reference compute and sensor stack for level 4 readiness across cars, vans, and trucks. Automakers can pair validated hardware with compatible autonomy software to speed safer, scalable, AI-defined mobility. Passenger and freight services gain faster paths from prototype to fleet.

Stellantis, Lucid, and Mercedes-Benz are preparing passenger platforms on Hyperion 10. Aurora, Volvo Autonomous Solutions, and Waabi are extending level 4 capability to long-haul trucking. Avride, May Mobility, Momenta, Nuro, Pony.ai, Wayve, and WeRide continue to build on NVIDIA DRIVE.

The production platform pairs dual DRIVE AGX Thor on Blackwell with DriveOS and a qualified multimodal sensor suite. Cameras, radar, lidar, and ultrasonics deliver 360-degree coverage. Modular design plus PCIe, Ethernet, confidential computing, and liquid cooling support upgrades and uptime.

NVIDIA is also launching Halos, a cloud-to-vehicle AI safety and certification system with an ANSI-accredited inspection lab and certification program. A multimodal AV dataset and reasoning VLA models aim to improve urban driving, testing, and validation for deployments.

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Microsoft restores Azure services after global outage

The US tech giant, Microsoft, has resolved a global outage affecting its Azure cloud services, which disrupted access to Office 365, Minecraft, and numerous other websites.

The company attributed the incident to a configuration change that triggered DNS issues, impacting businesses and consumers worldwide.

An outage that affected high-profile services, including Heathrow Airport, NatWest, Starbucks, and New Zealand’s police and parliament websites.

Microsoft restored access after several hours, but the event highlighted the fragility of the internet due to the concentration of cloud services among a few major providers.

Experts noted that reliance on platforms such as Azure, Amazon Web Services, and Google Cloud creates systemic risks. Even minor configuration errors can ripple across thousands of interconnected systems, affecting payment processing, government operations, and online services.

Despite the disruption, Microsoft’s swift fix mitigated long-term impact. The company reiterated the importance of robust infrastructure and contingency planning as the global economy increasingly depends on cloud computing.

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