Cybersecurity

Major IBM training programme to boost India’s AI, cybersecurity and quantum skills

Technology giant IBM has announced a major education initiative to skill 5 million people in India by 2030 in frontier areas such as AI, cybersecurity and quantum computing.

The programme will be delivered via IBM’s SkillsBuild ecosystem, which offers over 1,000 courses and has already reached more than 16 million learners globally.

The initiative will span students and adult learners across schools, universities and vocational training ecosystems, with partnerships planned with bodies such as the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) to integrate hands-on learning, curriculum modules, faculty training, hackathons and internships.

IBM also plans to strengthen foundational AI skills at the school level by co-developing curricula, teaching resources and explainers to embed computational thinking and responsible AI concepts early in education.

The CEO of IBM has described India as having the talent and ambition to be a global leader in AI and quantum technologies, with broader access to these skills seen as vital for future economic competitiveness and innovation.

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AI-generated video falsely claims US military to ‘take over’ Nigerian army

A video circulating online, purported to show a US military officer announcing that the United States would take control of the Nigerian Army, is false.

Independent analysis has revealed that the clip was likely generated or heavily manipulated using AI, and no official announcement or credible source supports this claim.

Fact-checkers used AI-detection tools and found high levels of manipulation, and investigations uncovered inconsistencies in uniform insignia and microphones linked to non-existent media outlets. No verified reports indicate that US military forces are intervening in Nigerian defence operations.

The false claim has spread on platforms including X (formerly Twitter), generating alarm and misinterpretation about foreign military involvement in Nigeria.

Experts warn that deepfakes and AI-generated misinformation are becoming harder to spot without specialised tools and verification.

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UK Foreign Office hit by cyber-attack

The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office was hacked in October, according to minister Chris Bryant. Officials say there is a low risk to any individual from the breach.

Reports suggest that a Chinese group, Storm 1849, may have been involved, but Bryant cautioned that the perpetrator has not been confirmed. Tens of thousands of visa details could have been targeted, though the exact scope remains unclear.

The attack shares similarities with a 2024 campaign called ArcaneDoor, linked to state-sponsored actors. Cybersecurity experts warn that the incidents may be connected and highlight risks of large-scale data targeting.

Officials have quickly closed the vulnerability and continue to investigate the matter. Bryant emphasised that speculation is unhelpful and said the investigation could take some time to identify the responsible party.

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Digital fraud declines in Russia after rollout of Cyberbez measures

Russia has reported a sharp decline in cyber fraud following the introduction of new regulatory measures in 2025. Officials say legislative action targeting telephone and online scams has begun to deliver measurable results.

State Secretary and Deputy Minister of Digital Development Ivan Lebedev told the State Duma that crimes covered by the first package of reforms, known as ‘Cyberbez 1.0’, have fallen by 40%, according to confirmed statistics.

Earlier this year, Lebedev said Russia records roughly 677,000 cases of phone and online fraud annually, with incidents rising by more than 35% since 2022, highlighting the scale of the challenge faced by authorities.

In April, President Vladimir Putin signed a law introducing a range of countermeasures, including a state information system to combat fraud, limits on unsolicited marketing calls, stricter SIM card issuance rules, and new compliance obligations for banks.

Further steps are now under discussion. Officials say a second package is being prepared, while a third set of initiatives was announced in December as Russia continues to strengthen its digital security framework.

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UK report quantifies rapid advances in frontier AI capabilities

For the first time, the UK has published a detailed, evidence-based assessment of frontier AI capabilities. The Frontier AI Trends Report draws on two years of structured testing across areas including cybersecurity, software engineering, chemistry, and biology.

The findings show rapid progress in technical performance. Success rates on apprentice-level cyber tasks rose from under 9% in 2023 to around 50% in 2025, while models also completed expert-level cyber challenges previously requiring a decade of experience.

Safeguards designed to limit misuse are also improving, according to the report. Red-team testing found that the time required to identify universal jailbreaks increased from minutes to several hours between model generations, representing an estimated forty-fold improvement in resistance.

The analysis highlights advances beyond cybersecurity. AI systems now complete hour-long software engineering tasks more than 40% of the time, while biology and chemistry models outperform PhD-level researchers in controlled knowledge tests and support non-experts in laboratory-style workflows.

While the report avoids policy recommendations, UK officials say it strengthens transparency around advanced AI systems. The government plans to continue investing in evaluation science through the AI Security Institute, supporting independent testing and international collaboration.

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New Kimwolf Android botnet linked to a record-breaking DDoS attacks

Cybersecurity researchers have uncovered a rapidly expanding Android botnet known as Kimwolf, which has already compromised approximately 1.8 million devices worldwide.

The malware primarily targets smart TVs, set-top boxes, and tablets connected to residential networks, with infections concentrated in countries including Brazil, India, the US, Argentina, South Africa, and the Philippines.

Analysis by QiAnXin XLab indicates that Kimwolf demonstrates a high degree of operational resilience.

Despite multiple disruptions to its command-and-control infrastructure, the botnet has repeatedly re-emerged with enhanced capabilities, including the adoption of Ethereum Name Service to harden its communications against takedown efforts.

Researchers also identified significant similarities between Kimwolf and AISURU, one of the most powerful botnets observed in recent years. Shared source code, infrastructure, and infection scripts suggest both botnets are operated by the same threat group and have coexisted on large numbers of infected devices.

AISURU has previously drawn attention for launching record-setting distributed denial-of-service attacks, including traffic peaks approaching 30 terabits per second.

The emergence of Kimwolf alongside such activity highlights the growing scale and sophistication of botnet-driven cyber threats targeting global internet infrastructure.

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PwC automates AI governance with Agent Mode

The global professional services network, PwC, has expanded its Model Edge platform with the launch of Agent Mode, an AI assistant designed to automate governance, compliance and documentation across enterprise AI model lifecycles.

The capability targets the growing administrative burden faced by organisations as AI model portfolios scale and regulatory expectations intensify.

Agent Mode allows users to describe governance tasks in natural language, instead of manually navigating workflows.

A system that executes actions directly within Model Edge, generates leadership-ready documentation and supports common document and reporting formats, significantly reducing routine compliance effort.

PwC estimates weekly time savings of between 20 and 50 percent for governance and model risk teams.

Behind the interface, a secure orchestration engine interprets user intent, verifies role based permissions and selects appropriate large language models based on task complexity. The design ensures governance guardrails remain intact while enabling faster and more consistent oversight.

PwC positions Agent Mode as a step towards fully automated, agent-driven AI governance, enabling organisations to focus expert attention on risk assessment and regulatory judgement instead of process management as enterprise AI adoption accelerates.

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AI and security trends shape the internet in 2025

Cloudflare released its sixth annual Year in Review, providing a comprehensive snapshot of global Internet trends in 2025. The report highlights rising digital reliance, AI progress, and evolving security threats across Cloudflare’s network and Radar data.

Global Internet traffic rose 19 percent year-on-year, reflecting increased use for personal and professional activities. A key trend was the move from large-scale AI training to continuous AI inference, alongside rapid growth in generative AI platforms.

Google and Meta remained the most popular services, while ChatGPT led in generative AI usage.

Cybersecurity remained a critical concern. Post-quantum encryption now protects 52 percent of Internet traffic, yet record-breaking DDoS attacks underscored rising cyber risks.

Civil society and non-profit organisations were the most targeted sectors for the first time, while government actions caused nearly half of the major Internet outages.

Connectivity varied by region, with Europe leading in speed and quality and Spain ranking highest globally. The report outlines 2025’s Internet challenges and progress, providing insights for governments, businesses, and users aiming for greater resilience and security.

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Crypto theft soars in 2025 with fewer but bigger attacks

Cryptocurrency theft intensified in 2025, with total stolen funds exceeding $3.4 billion despite fewer large-scale incidents. Losses became increasingly concentrated, with a few major breaches driving most of the annual damage and widening the gap between typical hacks and extreme outliers.

North Korea remained the dominant threat actor, stealing at least $2.02 billion in digital assets during the year, a 51% increase compared with 2024.

Larger thefts were achieved through fewer operations, often relying on insider access, executive impersonation, and long-term infiltration of crypto firms rather than frequent attacks.

Laundering activity linked to North Korean actors followed a distinctive and disciplined pattern. Stolen funds moved in smaller tranches through Chinese-language laundering networks, bridges, and mixing services, usually following a structured 45-day cycle.

Individual wallet attacks surged, impacting tens of thousands of victims, while the total value stolen from personal wallets fell. Decentralised finance remained resilient, with hack losses low despite rising locked capital, indicating stronger security practices.

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Healthcare faces growing compliance pressure from AI adoption

AI is becoming a practical tool across healthcare as providers face rising patient demand, chronic disease and limited resources.

These AI systems increasingly support tasks such as clinical documentation, billing, diagnostics and personalised treatment instead of relying solely on manual processes, allowing clinicians to focus more directly on patient care.

At the same time, AI introduces significant compliance and safety risks. Algorithmic bias, opaque decision-making, and outdated training data can affect clinical outcomes, raising questions about accountability when errors occur.

Regulators are signalling that healthcare organisations cannot delegate responsibility to automated systems and must retain meaningful human oversight over AI-assisted decisions.

Regulatory exposure spans federal and state frameworks, including HIPAA privacy rules, FDA oversight of AI-enabled medical devices and enforcement under the False Claims Act.

Healthcare providers are expected to implement robust procurement checks, continuous monitoring, governance structures and patient consent practices as AI regulation evolves towards a more coordinated national approach.

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