All news in category "Regulation and Policy Brief"

EU Commission proposes GDPR changes for AI and cookies

🔓 The European Commission's leaked "Digital Omnibus" draft would revise the GDPR, shifting cookie rules into the regulation and allowing broader processing based on legitimate interests. Websites could move from opt-in to opt-out tracking, and companies could train AI on personal data without explicit consent if safeguards like data minimization, transparency and an unconditional right to object are applied. Privacy groups warn the changes would weaken protections.

NCA Campaign Targets Men Under 45 Over Crypto Scams

🚨 The UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) has launched the "Crypto Dream Scam Nightmare" campaign to warn men under 45 about crypto investment fraud that lures victims with professional sites, apps and romance baiting. The initiative, part of the Home Office's Stop! Think Fraud programme, includes a short video and a 10-tip info sheet to help people recognise and avoid scams. The NCA noted Action Fraud logged over 17,000 investment fraud reports last year.

NCSC to Retire Web Check and Mail Check Tools in 2026

⚠️The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has announced it will retire its Web Check and Mail Check external attack surface tools by 31 March 2026. These services, introduced in 2017, scanned for web vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, and email anti‑spoofing controls such as SPF, DKIM and DMARC. Current users are urged to seek commercial alternatives and consult an NCSC buyer’s guide and other Check services before the end-of-life date.

Proposed U.S. Ban on TP-Link Routers Raises Concerns

🔍 The U.S. government is weighing a ban on sales of TP‑Link networking gear amid concerns that the company may be subject to Chinese government influence and that its products handle sensitive U.S. data. TP‑Link Systems disputes the claims, says it split from its China-based namesake, and notes many competitors source components from China. The piece highlights industry-wide risks — insecure defaults, outdated firmware, and ISP-deployed devices — and suggests OpenWrt and similar open-source firmware as mitigations for technically capable users.

ID Verification Laws Fueling a New Wave of Breaches

🔒 The proliferation of age and identity verification laws is forcing organizations to retain sensitive government-issued IDs, increasing breach risk. A recent Discord incident exposed ID images via a compromised third-party provider, showing how regulatory mandates can create high-value data stores. The article advises that MSPs and affected organizations adopt natively integrated platforms and a single-agent, single-console approach to reduce attack surface, simplify operations and centralize visibility to mitigate these new risks.

Securing Critical Infrastructure: Europe’s Risk-Based Rules

🔒 In this Deputy CISO post, Freddy Dezeure of Microsoft explains how recent EU laws are reshaping cybersecurity for critical infrastructure. He argues that NIS2 and DORA broaden the CISO role across IT, OT, IoT, AI, and supply chains and push for stronger board-level accountability. The piece emphasizes a risk-based, prioritized approach—focusing on a few high-impact controls such as phishing-resistant multifactor authentication, comprehensive asset inventory, timely patching, and resilience testing.

UK Carriers to Block Spoofed Phone Numbers Within Year

🔒 Britain’s major mobile carriers have agreed to upgrade networks to eliminate phone-number spoofing within a year under the new Telecoms Charter. The pact, signed by BT EE, Virgin Media O2, Vodafone Three, Tesco Mobile, TalkTalk and Sky, requires call-origin labeling for international calls, broader data sharing with police, advanced tracing and faster victim support. Operators report AI systems already block millions of scam calls and texts monthly.

U.S. Sanctions 10 North Korean Financial and IT Facilitators

🛡️ The U.S. Treasury on Tuesday sanctioned eight individuals and two entities tied to North Korea's global financial network for laundering proceeds from cybercrime and fraudulent IT-worker schemes. The list names Jang Kuk Chol and Ho Jong Son, linked to $5.3 million in cryptocurrency managed for First Credit Bank, as well as Korea Mangyongdae Computer Technology Company (KMCTC), its president U Yong Su, and Ryujong Credit Bank. Treasury said the funds help finance Pyongyang's weapons and cyber programs, while blockchain firm TRM Labs reported sustained crypto inflows indicative of salary-routing activity.

U.S. Treasury Sanctions North Korean Bankers, IT Scammers

⚖️ The U.S. Treasury's OFAC imposed sanctions on two North Korean financial institutions and eight individuals accused of laundering cryptocurrency stolen in cyberattacks and operating fraudulent IT worker schemes. Designated entities include Ryujong Credit Bank and Korea Mangyongdae Computer Technology Company (KMCTC), plus named bankers linked to ransomware proceeds. The actions block property under U.S. jurisdiction and warn financial institutions of secondary sanctions and enforcement risk for transacting with the listed parties.

CISA, NSA and Partners Issue Exchange Server Best Practices

🔐 CISA, the NSA and international partners have published the Microsoft Exchange Server Security Best Practices to help organisations reduce exposure to attacks against hybrid and on‑premises Exchange deployments. The guidance reinforces Emergency Directive 25-02 and prioritises restricting administrative access, enforcing multi‑factor and modern authentication, tightening TLS and transport security, and applying Microsoft's Exchange Emergency Mitigation service. It also urges migration from unsupported or end‑of‑life systems and recommends use of secure baselines such as CISA's SCuBA. Agencies stress ongoing collaboration and a prevention-focused posture despite political and operational challenges.

4th Circuit Lowers Proof Threshold in Data Breach Suits

🔒 In October the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that listing stolen consumer data on the dark web can be sufficient to let plaintiffs proceed in data-breach lawsuits. The panel determined that dark-web publication — paywalled or not — increases the risk of fraud and is therefore materially different from mere theft. CISOs should monitor dark-web exposure and preserve evidence of publicization to assess legal and financial risk.

Clearview AI Faces Criminal Complaint in Austria Over GDPR

🔍 Clearview AI has been hit with a criminal complaint filed in Austria by the European Center for Digital Rights (noyb), alleging that the company ignored decisions by several EU data protection authorities. The complaint invokes GDPR provisions allowing criminal sanctions under Article 84 and seeks prosecution of executives, potentially including jail time and personal liability when traveling to Europe. The action follows fines and bans from multiple DPAs and ongoing appeals, notably only in the UK.

Spam text operator fined £200,000 for targeting debtors

⚠️ The UK Information Commissioner’s Office fined sole trader Bharat Singh Chand £200,000 after he sent 966,449 unsolicited spam texts promoting fake debt relief and purported energy-saving grants between December 2023 and July 2024. Many recipients were already in financial hardship and were induced to reply, then contacted by callers posing as 'The Debt Relief Team'. The campaign used a SIM farm, false business names and unregistered numbers, generated 19,138 complaints, and Chand has appealed.

Greens Urge Immediate National Cybersecurity Offensive

⚠️ The Greens are calling for a rapid, pre-Christmas security offensive to counteract sabotage, espionage and cyberattacks, saying the federal government is moving too slowly to act. Parliamentary deputies Konstantin von Notz and Irene Mihalic welcome recognition of the threat by Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt but demand immediate, concrete measures and activation of the National Security Council. They also press for a major intelligence service reform and criticize weaknesses in the draft bill to transpose NIS-2 obligations, warning exemptions and gaps would undermine resilience across public administration, municipalities and critical infrastructure.

Python Foundation Rejects $1.5M NSF Grant Over DEI Terms

🛡️ The Python Software Foundation (PSF) withdrew a $1.5 million proposal to the U.S. National Science Foundation after the approved award included conditions that would bar all PSF programs from activities that 'advance or promote diversity, equity, and inclusion.' The funding, under NSF’s Safety, Security, and Privacy of Open Source Ecosystems program, was intended to support automated malware-detection tools for PyPI and to be ported to other package ecosystems. PSF leaders said DEI is central to their mission, creating an unacceptable conflict that led the board to unanimously decline the grant and ask the community for donations and membership support.

ACCC Sues Microsoft Over Copilot Subscription Practices

📝 The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has sued Microsoft, alleging it misled 2.7 million Australian Microsoft 365 subscribers when integrating Copilot by obscuring the option to remain on existing plans at the same price. The ACCC says renewal communications presented the AI‑enabled tiers as the apparent way to keep service active while the choice to stay was only visible via the cancellation flow. The complaint alleges breaches of multiple Australian Consumer Law provisions and seeks civil penalties, injunctions, and consumer compensation. Microsoft says it is reviewing the ACCC's claim and will cooperate with the regulator.

Sanctions Undermine Nation-State Cyber Ecosystems Globally

🔒 A new RUSI report published on 28 October finds cyber-related sanctions seldom fully disrupt state-backed attacks by themselves but can "toxify" networks, forcing intermediaries and collaborators to distance themselves from named actors. The study highlights the US as the most effective practitioner due to long-standing legal frameworks and coordinated use of diplomatic, legal and technical tools, while the EU and UK face operational and coordination limits. RUSI urges clearer strategic goals, cross-domain integration and targeted action against enablers like exchanges and service providers to boost impact.

How evolving regulations are redefining CISO responsibility

⚖️ CISOs are increasingly exposed to personal and even criminal liability as regulators such as the SEC, DOJ and international authorities press executives to disclose accurate cyber risk and incident information. Rising IoT/OT device vulnerabilities — with vulnerability-based breaches up 34% year over year and accounting for roughly 20% of breaches — are driving mandates like Executive Order 14028, NIS2 and the Cyber Resilience Act. Organizations are updating governance, improving asset inventories and adopting device intelligence tools like SomosID to correlate inventories, SBOM data and vulnerabilities, helping to support compliance and reduce executive exposure.

Support for Dobrindt's Active Cyber Defense Plan in Germany

🛡️ Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt's proposal for active cyber defense has drawn cross-party, cautious approval as he prepares a legal amendment to counter attacks originating from servers abroad. A ministry spokesperson says the measures would allow intervening steps to stop or mitigate attacks by manipulating or disrupting the IT systems or data traffic used, and stressed this is not about hackback or broad retaliatory strikes. Greens signaled conditional support if the approach follows rule-of-law principles, CDU security figures praised a more proactive stance, and Dobrindt expects to present the amendment to cabinet next year.

Proving Data Sovereignty: Controls, Keys, and Audits

🔒 The article argues that data sovereignty commitments like Project Texas must be supported by auditable, technical evidence rather than marketing promises. It prescribes five concrete, testable controls — brokered zero‑trust access, in‑region HSM keys, immutable WORM logs, continuous validation, and third‑party attestation — plus measurable metrics to prove compliance. A 90‑day blueprint and emerging AI automation are offered to operationalize verification and produce regulator‑ready, reproducible evidence.