Network security

European Commission launches Culture Compass to strengthen the EU identity

The European Commission unveiled the Culture Compass for Europe, a framework designed to place culture at the heart of the EU policies.

An initiative that aims to foster the identity ot the EU, celebrate diversity, and support excellence across the continent’s cultural and creative sectors.

The Compass addresses the challenges facing cultural industries, including restrictions on artistic expression, precarious working conditions for artists, unequal access to culture, and the transformative impact of AI.

It provides guidance along four key directions: upholding European values and cultural rights, empowering artists and professionals, enhancing competitiveness and social cohesion, and strengthening international cultural partnerships.

Several initiatives will support the Compass, including the EU Artists Charter for fair working conditions, a European Prize for Performing Arts, a Youth Cultural Ambassadors Network, a cultural data hub, and an AI strategy for the cultural sector.

The Commission will track progress through a new report on the State of Culture in the EU and seeks a Joint Declaration with the European Parliament and Council to reinforce political commitment.

Commission officials emphasised that the Culture Compass connects culture to Europe’s future, placing artists and creativity at the centre of policy and ensuring the sector contributes to social, economic, and international engagement.

Culture is portrayed not as a side story, but as the story of the EU itself.

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EU regulators, UK and eSafety lead the global push to protect children in the digital world

Children today spend a significant amount of their time online, from learning and playing to communicating.

To protect them in an increasingly digital world, Australia’s eSafety Commissioner, the European Commission’s DG CNECT, and the UK’s Ofcom have joined forces to strengthen global cooperation on child online safety.

The partnership aims to ensure that online platforms take greater responsibility for protecting and empowering children, recognising their rights under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The three regulators will continue to enforce their online safety laws to ensure platforms properly assess and mitigate risks to children. They will promote privacy-preserving age verification technologies and collaborate with civil society and academics to ensure that regulations reflect real-world challenges.

By supporting digital literacy and critical thinking, they aim to provide children and families with safer and more confident online experiences.

To advance the work, a new trilateral technical group will be established to deepen collaboration on age assurance. It will study the interoperability and reliability of such systems, explore the latest technologies, and strengthen the evidence base for regulatory action.

Through closer cooperation, the regulators hope to create a more secure and empowering digital environment for young people worldwide.

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UK strengthens AI safeguards to protect children online

The UK government is introducing landmark legislation to prevent AI from being exploited to generate child sexual abuse material. The new law empowers authorised bodies, such as the Internet Watch Foundation, to test AI models and ensure safeguards prevent misuse.

Reports of AI-generated child abuse imagery have surged, with the IWF recording 426 cases in 2025, more than double the 199 cases reported in 2024. The data also reveals a sharp rise in images depicting infants, increasing from five in 2024 to 92 in 2025.

Officials say the measures will enable experts to identify vulnerabilities within AI systems, making it more difficult for offenders to exploit the technology.

The legislation will also require AI developers to build protections against non-consensual intimate images and extreme content. A group of experts in AI and child safety will be established to oversee secure testing and ensure the well-being of researchers.

Ministers emphasised that child safety must be built into AI systems from the start, not added as an afterthought.

By collaborating with the AI sector and child protection groups, the government aims to make the UK the safest place for children to be online. The approach strikes a balance between innovation and strong protections, thereby reinforcing public trust in AI.

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IMY investigates major ransomware attack on Swedish IT supplier

Sweden’s data protection authority, IMY, has opened an investigation into a massive ransomware-related data breach that exposed personal information belonging to 1.5 million people. The breach originated from a cyberattack on IT provider Miljödata in August, which affected roughly 200 municipalities.

Hackers reportedly stole highly sensitive data, including names, medical certificates, and rehabilitation records, much of which has since been leaked on the dark web. Swedish officials have condemned the incident, calling it one of the country’s most serious cyberattacks in recent years.

The IMY said the investigation will examine Miljödata’s data protection measures and the response of several affected public bodies, such as Gothenburg, Älmhult, and Västmanland. The regulator’s goal is to identify security shortcomings for future cyber threats.

Authorities have yet to confirm how the attackers gained access to Miljödata’s systems, and no completion date for the investigation has been announced. The breach has reignited calls for tighter cybersecurity standards across Sweden’s public sector.

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Google flags adaptive malware that rewrites itself with AI

Hackers are experimenting with malware that taps large language models to morph in real time, according to Google’s Threat Intelligence Group. An experimental family dubbed PROMPTFLUX can rewrite and obfuscate its own code as it executes, aiming to sidestep static, signature-based detection.

PROMPTFLUX interacts with Gemini’s API to request on-demand functions and ‘just-in-time’ evasion techniques, rather than hard-coding behaviours. GTIG describes the approach as a step toward more adaptive, partially autonomous malware that dynamically generates scripts and changes its footprint.

Investigators say the current samples appear to be in development or testing, with incomplete features and limited Gemini API access. Google says it has disabled associated assets and has not observed a successful compromise, yet warns that financially motivated actors are exploring such tooling.

Researchers point to a maturing underground market for illicit AI utilities that lowers barriers for less-skilled offenders. State-linked operators in North Korea, Iran, and China are reportedly experimenting with AI to enhance reconnaissance, influence, and intrusion workflows.

Defenders are turning to AI, using security frameworks and agents like ‘Big Sleep’ to find flaws. Teams should expect AI-assisted obfuscation, emphasise behaviour-based detection, watch model-API abuse, and lock down developer and automation credentials.

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Central Bank warns of new financial scams in Ireland

The Central Bank of Ireland has launched a new campaign to alert consumers to increasingly sophisticated scams targeting financial services users. Officials warned that scammers are adapting, making caution essential with online offers and investments.

Scammers are now using tactics such as fake comparison websites that appear legitimate but collect personal information for fraudulent products or services. Fraud recovery schemes are also common, promising to recover lost funds for an upfront fee, which often leads to further financial loss.

Advanced techniques include AI-generated social media profiles and ads, or ‘deepfakes’, impersonating public figures to promote fake investment platforms.

Deputy Governor Colm Kincaid warned that scams now offer slightly above-market returns, making them harder to spot. Consumers are encouraged to verify information, use regulated service providers, and seek regulated advice before making financial decisions.

The Central Bank advises using trusted comparison sites, checking ads and investment platforms, ignoring unsolicited recovery offers, and following the SAFE test: Stop, Assess, Factcheck, Expose. Reporting suspected scams to the Central Bank or An Garda Síochána remains crucial to protecting personal finances.

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Inside the rise and fall of a cybercrime kingpin

Ukrainian hacker Vyacheslav Penchukov, once known online as ‘Tank’, climbed from gaming forums in Donetsk to the top of the global cybercrime scene. As leader of the notorious Jabber Zeus and later Evil Corp affiliates, he helped steal tens of millions from banks, charities and businesses around the world while remaining on the FBI Most Wanted list for nearly a decade.

After years on the run, he was dramatically arrested in Switzerland in 2022 and is now serving time in a Colorado prison. In a rare interview, Penchukov revealed how cybercrime evolved from simple bank theft to organised ransomware targeting hospitals and major corporations. He admits paranoia became his constant companion, as betrayal within hacker circles led to his downfall.

Today, the former cyber kingpin spends his sentence studying languages and reflecting on the empire he built and lost. While he shows little remorse for his victims, his story offers a rare glimpse into the hidden networks that fuel global hacking and the blurred line between ambition and destruction.

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Inside OpenAI’s battle to protect AI from prompt injection attacks

OpenAI has identified prompt injection as one of the most pressing new challenges in AI security. As AI systems gain the ability to browse the web, handle personal data and act on users’ behalf, they become targets for malicious instructions hidden within online content.

These attacks, known as prompt injections, can trick AI models into taking unintended actions or revealing sensitive information.

To counter the issue, OpenAI has adopted a multi-layered defence strategy that combines safety training, automated monitoring and system-level security protections. The company’s research into ‘Instruction Hierarchy’ aims to help models distinguish between trusted and untrusted commands.

Continuous red-teaming and automated detection systems further strengthen resilience against evolving threats.

OpenAI also provides users with greater control, featuring built-in safeguards such as approval prompts before sensitive actions, sandboxing for code execution, and ‘Watch Mode’ when operating on financial or confidential sites.

These measures ensure that users remain aware of what actions AI agents perform on their behalf.

While prompt injection remains a developing risk, OpenAI expects adversaries to devote significant resources to exploiting it. The company continues to invest in research and transparency, aiming to make AI systems as secure and trustworthy as a cautious, well-informed human colleague.

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Washington Post confirms hit in Oracle-linked Cl0p hacking spree

The Washington Post said it was affected by a wider breach tied to Oracle’s E-Business Suite, joining a growing list of victims. The vulnerability was reportedly exploited by the Cl0p ransomware gang, which demands payment from victims in exchange for not leaking stolen files.

Oracle, a major enterprise software provider, disclosed in October that a zero-day flaw in its E-Business Suite had been exploited over the summer. Google also warned that Oracle systems were being targeted in what appeared to be a broader wave of data theft attempts. An initial emergency patch on 2 October failed, and a second critical fix on 11 October left customers exposed for days.

Cl0p’s campaign has already hit high-profile targets including Harvard University, Envoy Air, DXC Technology and Chicago Public Schools. The group, active since at least 2019, previously abused MOVEit, GoAnywhere and Cleo file-transfer tools.

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India’s AI roadmap could add $500 billion to economy by 2035

According to the Business Software Alliance, India could add over $500 billion to its economy by 2035 through the widespread adoption of AI.

At the BSA AI Pre-Summit Forum in Delhi, the group unveiled its ‘Enterprise AI Adoption Agenda for India’, which aligns with the goals of the India–AI Impact Summit 2026 and the government’s vision for a digitally advanced economy by 2047.

The agenda outlines a comprehensive policy framework across three main areas: talent and workforce, infrastructure and data, and governance.

It recommends expanding AI training through national academies, fostering industry–government partnerships, and establishing innovation hubs with global companies to strengthen talent pipelines.

BSA also urged greater government use of AI tools, reforms to data laws, and the adoption of open industry standards for content authentication. It called for coordinated governance measures to ensure responsible AI use, particularly under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act.

BSA has introduced similar policy roadmaps in other major markets, apart from India, including the US, Japan, and ASEAN countries, as part of its global effort to promote trusted and inclusive AI adoption.

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