Cybersecurity Archives | Page 2 of 364 | Digital Watch Observatory

GEANT Security Days 2026 to address AI, internet resilience, and cyber resilience

GEANT Security Days 2026 will take place in Utrecht, the Netherlands, bringing together security professionals, network experts, incident responders, and chief information security officers from the research and education community.

The opening plenary includes a keynote by Frank Rieger, Chief Technical Officer of a supplier of secure communication systems, on ‘The bumpy road ahead – IT security challenges of the next years.’ According to the programme, his talk will address agentic LLMs, attention economics, and how automation, control of networked systems, endpoints, and software are becoming increasingly important as change accelerates.

A second keynote in the opening plenary of GEANT Security Days is scheduled with Valerie Aurora of the Amsterdam Internet Resiliency Club. The programme says her session, ‘Start your own Internet Resiliency Club,’ will look at how communities can prepare for temporary loss of internet connectivity caused by accidents, natural disasters, or armed conflict, and how to build local internet resiliency clubs using LoRa radios, mesh networking, and community management.

Another keynote is listed from Nancy Beers of Sanne Cyber and Happy Game Changers. Her session, ‘Play More Today. Secure Tomorrow,’ is described as a discussion of play and playfulness as tools for learning, innovation, and security practice, drawing on interactive games and team-based approaches.

Topics listed in the GEANT Security Days programme include security operations centres, AI in incident response, AI more broadly, cloud security, community engagement, cyber resilience, the human factor, an unconference or storytelling session, squeezed budgets and stretched teams, and practical security.

The event page says these sessions will address issues such as anomaly detection and prediction, malicious uses of generative AI, trust in third-party services, compliance in multi-cloud and hybrid environments, continuity planning, phishing and credential reuse, and operational pressures on security teams.

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ENISA conference in Cyprus to focus on EU cybersecurity certification

The European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) is holding the 2026 European Cybersecurity Certificatio n Conference in Ayia Napa, Cyprus, with support from the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU and the European Commission.

The agency says the conference will address the evolution of the EU cybersecurity certification, updates on certification schemes for the European Digital Identity Wallet and managed security services, exchange across the European cybersecurity ecosystem, and interplays with the Cyber Resilience Act, the Cyber Solidarity Act, and NIS 2.

The programme includes keynote contributions from Despoina Spanou, Deputy Director-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology at the European Commission, Juhan Lepassaar, Executive Director of ENISA, and Kyriakos Iordanou, General Manager at the Ministry of Energy, Commerce and Industry of Cyprus.

It also includes a presentation by Steffen Zimmermann, Head of Industrial Security at VDMA, followed by an EU cybersecurity certification award ceremony involving Chloe Blondeau, Seconded National Expert at ENISA.

Sessions on ‘CSA2’, the European Digital Identity Wallet, conformity assessment bodies, national accreditation bodies, certification bottlenecks, and managed security services are also included in the agenda.

Speakers listed in the programme include Maika Fohrenbach, Head of Sector for product security and certification policy at DG CONNECT, Apostolos Malatras, Head of the Cybersecurity Certification Unit at ENISA, Xenia Kyriakidou, Head of the National Cybersecurity Certification Authority of Cyprus, Evgenia Nikolouzou, Cybersecurity Expert at ENISA, and Nikolaos Soumelidis, IT/Cyber Security Certifications Director at Q-CERT.

Franz Weprazjetzky of the European Commission, Vicente Gonzalez Pedros, Cybersecurity Expert at ENISA, and Philippe Blot, Deputy Head of Unit and Head of Sector in the Cybersecurity Certification Unit at ENISA, are also listed in the programme.

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Sweden’s Riksbank urges households to keep cash and multiple payment options for crisis preparedness

Sweden’s central bank, the Riksbank, is urging households to strengthen their ability to make everyday payments in the event of disruptions, warning that the current international situation, combined with Sweden’s high level of digitalisation, may expose vulnerabilities in the national payments system.

The bank frames the advice as part of national preparedness, describing the public as a key component of ‘total defence’ of Sweden and stressing that resilience in the payments market is essential during temporary outages, wider crises and, in the worst case, war.

The Riksbank’s main message is that households should avoid relying on a single way to pay and instead ensure they can use several methods, including cash, cards and mobile payment services. As a benchmark, it recommends keeping SEK 1,000 in cash per adult at home to cover about a week of essential purchases, while noting that some households may need more or less depending on size and circumstances.

Where possible, it advises keeping cash in multiple denominations and encourages people to use cash occasionally in normal times to help keep the cash system functioning.

For card payments, the bank recommends having access to at least two cards from different card networks, such as Visa and Mastercard, so that if one network is disrupted, another may still work. It also highlights mobile payment services such as Swish, noting that they rely on a different infrastructure from card payments and may still function even when cards do not.

People who mainly use mobile wallets like Apple Pay or Google Pay are advised to keep physical cards and PINs readily available in case a phone runs out of battery or fails; the bank adds that a physical card’s chip may allow offline payments during interruptions.

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Power hardware shortages are delaying AI data centre expansion, despite record investment

US AI data-centre expansion is increasingly being constrained not by chips, servers or funding, but by the electrical hardware needed to connect new facilities to reliable power, Bloomberg reports. While the US–China trade war has pushed many server makers to move production out of China, the deeper dependency remains in power-delivery equipment.

China is still the world’s largest producer of electrical gear used to build and upgrade power infrastructure, both inside data centres and across the wider grid. Shortages of key components, especially transformers, switchgear and batteries, sourced from China and elsewhere, are now slowing project timelines.

The scale of planned build-outs is colliding with these supply limits. Bloomberg cites forecasts that Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft will spend more than $650bn in 2026 to expand AI capacity, yet close to half of the planned US data-centre builds this year are expected to be delayed or cancelled.

The problem extends beyond the data-centre fence line. Companies must also fund and coordinate grid upgrades to supply enough electricity, competing for the same scarce equipment as utilities coping with rising demand from electric vehicles and electrified heating.

Sightline Climate data cited by Bloomberg suggests about 12GW of US data-centre capacity is expected to come online in 2026, but only around a third of that capacity is currently under active construction due to multiple constraints. Electrical infrastructure may represent less than 10% of total data-centre cost, but it is schedule-critical, because delays in any link of the power chain can halt an entire project.

Lead times for high-power transformers, in particular, have deteriorated sharply, typically 24 to 30 months before 2020, but now stretching to as long as five years, clashing with AI deployment cycles that can be under 18 months.

To cope, developers are turning to global suppliers, with Canada, Mexico and South Korea becoming major sources of high-power transformers. Even so, US imports of Chinese high-power transformers have surged from fewer than 1,500 units in 2022 to more than 8,000 units through October 2025, according to Wood Mackenzie data cited by Bloomberg. China also supplies over 40% of US battery imports and remains near 30% in some transformer and switchgear categories, underscoring continued reliance despite tariffs and security concerns.

Why does it matter?

Bloomberg’s central warning is that without easing bottlenecks in transformers, switchgear and batteries, and expanding US manufacturing capacity, trillions of dollars of AI investment may not translate into delivered AI capacity, because power infrastructure, not compute, is becoming the limiting factor.

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ENISA launches consultation on EU digital wallet certification

The European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) has launched a public consultation on a draft candidate certification scheme for the EU Digital Identity (EUDI) Wallets.

The draft was developed with a dedicated ad hoc working group, and the consultation aims to gather feedback on its structure, core elements, and annexes. Responses are open until 30 April 2026.

The initiative follows the adoption of a regulation establishing the European Digital Identity Framework. The European Commission has mandated ENISA to support the certification of EUDI Wallets, including the development of a European cybersecurity certification scheme under the Cybersecurity Act.

The objective is to define cybersecurity requirements for digital identity solutions and support their consistent implementation across the EU.

In February 2026, ENISA signed a €1.6 million contribution agreement with the European Commission for two years to support the development and rollout of national certification schemes.

Funded under the Digital Europe Work Programme 2025–2027, the agreement supports capacity development, skills development, and alignment with a future European certification framework. Member states are expected to provide at least one certified EUDI Wallet by the end of 2026.

Digital identity wallets are intended to enable secure identification and the protection of personal data in both digital and physical environments.

The proposed certification scheme aims to verify compliance with cybersecurity requirements, addressing the limited use of formal certification in current wallet implementations.

The initiative carries significant regulatory weight as it translates the European Digital Identity Framework into enforceable cybersecurity standards. It ensures harmonised compliance across member states while strengthening trust, interoperability, and legal certainty within the EU’s digital identity ecosystem.

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Commission invests in fact-checking to combat disinformation

The European Commission has awarded a €5 million grant to strengthen independent fact-checking capacity across the European Union and associated countries. The initiative will establish a comprehensive support network for fact-checkers working in all the EU languages.

The European Fact-Checking Standards Network will lead the project alongside seven partner organisations. The scheme will provide fact-checkers with protection covering legal support, cybersecurity assistance, psychological support and access to an independent European repository of fact-checks.

By expanding Europe’s independent fact-checking community, the initiative will improve the Union’s ability to detect and analyse disinformation threats. The announcement reflects the Commission’s commitment to safeguarding information integrity and democratic resilience across Brussels.

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UN commissioner calls for human rights-centred digital governance at GANHRI conference

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk told the annual conference of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions in Geneva that digital technologies are affecting human rights in areas including conflict, surveillance, online violence, and civic space, while protections have not kept pace.

Türk said ‘while our rights fully apply online, the systems to protect them have yet to keep pace.’ He referred to social media hate speech, surveillance, online violence against women in public life, and the use of digital technologies in conflict.

The speech set out two priorities for national human rights institutions: using digital tools in their own work, and strengthening protection of human rights in digital spaces. Türk said this includes documenting the human rights impact of digital technologies, using existing laws for accountability, and helping shape new legal frameworks.

On AI, Türk said: ‘This evidence should be used to push for accountability under existing laws. It should also inform the development of new legal frameworks, in line with the Global Digital Compact’s vision of inclusive and accountable digital governance, based on human rights.’ He added: ‘This also means advocating for mandatory human rights due diligence in the design, development, and deployment of AI systems.’

Türk also said the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights is launching the Human Rights Data Exchange, which he described as a way to bring together fragmented data on human rights violations and support earlier and more coordinated action. He also referred to a new Global Alliance for Human Rights (GAHRI), which he said seeks to place human rights at the centre of global debate and decision-making.

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Oracle expands AI options for US government agencies

The US government is set to gain expanded AI capabilities through new infrastructure and model deployment options in Oracle Cloud.

These developments aim to improve agencies’ ability to manage critical tasks, from situational awareness to cybersecurity, while maintaining strict security and compliance standards.

High-performance GPUs and AI models will support faster, more reliable inference and training, helping agencies respond more effectively to public needs.

The focus is on enabling secure deployment in environments with sensitive data and complex regulatory requirements, ensuring AI use aligns with public interest and safety.

Such an expansion builds on existing government AI frameworks, offering capabilities for retrieval-augmented generation, secure inference, and operational analytics.

By integrating AI in a controlled, compliant environment, US agencies can improve efficiency, decision-making, and public service delivery without compromising security.

Ultimately, these advancements by Oracle aim to ensure that government AI adoption benefits citizens directly, supporting transparency, accountability, and effective public administration in high-stakes contexts.

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ICT4Peace hosts workshop to support preparations for Geneva 2027 AI Summit

ICT4Peace hosted a launch event at the GenAI Zürich 2026 conference to support preparations for the Geneva 2027 AI Summit, which Switzerland is set to host.

The event was organised at the invitation of the Swiss government and brought together around 40 participants from government, business, academia, and civil society to discuss potential objectives and outcomes for the summit.

The workshop was moderated by Ambassador Thomas Schneider, Vice-Director of the Swiss Federal Office of Communications (BAKOM), and Ambassador Markus Reubi, Project Lead for the Geneva 2027 AI Summit at the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (EDA). Breakout sessions were facilitated by Katharina “Nina” Frey (ICAIN, ETH Zurich) and Daniel Dobos (Swisscom).

Daniel Stauffacher, founder of ICT4Peace, organised and hosted the event, which took place on 1 April.

Participants discussed a set of guiding questions aimed at shaping the focus and outcomes of the 2027 summit. These included identifying areas where international dialogue and cooperation are needed, defining potential political and practical outcomes, and exploring Switzerland’s strengths in facilitating multistakeholder engagement.

The discussions also addressed identifying potential partners and addressing areas of disagreement around specific policy objectives, as well as developing concrete tools and solutions that could be presented as Swiss contributions at the summit.

Participants were invited to provide input on issues such as inclusivity, coordination across initiatives, and the role of diverse stakeholders in shaping the summit process.

According to the organisers, the outcomes of the workshop will be compiled and submitted to the Swiss government at a Platform Tripartite meeting scheduled for 13 April in Bern.

The Geneva 2027 AI Summit will follow previous global AI summits hosted by the United Kingdom, the Republic of Korea, France, and India.

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Global cyber stability conference set for May 2026 in Geneva

The Cyber Stability Conference 2026 will take place on 4–5 May at the Centre International de Conférences Genève in Geneva, bringing together global stakeholders to discuss the future of ICT security and cyber governance.

Organised by the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research, the event will run in a hybrid format during Geneva Cyber Week.

The conference comes amid growing international efforts to strengthen frameworks for responsible state behaviour in cyberspace and improve coordination on digital security challenges. It is positioned within a broader push to adapt governance systems to rapid technological change.

Discussions will focus on how cyber governance can respond to emerging technologies such as AI and quantum computing. Emphasis will be placed on aligning regulatory and security approaches with technological development to reinforce international stability.

Participants from government, academia, industry, and civil society will review past lessons, assess current risks, and explore future pathways for global ICT security governance.

Cyber stability is becoming a core pillar of global security as digital infrastructure underpins economies, governance systems, and critical services. Stronger coordination on cyber governance is essential to reducing systemic risks and ensuring technological progress does not outpace security frameworks.

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