Security and protection

In a sobering new study from AI safety leader Anthropic, autonomous AI agents have proven capable of identifying and exploiting vulnerabilities in blockchain smart contracts at a scale that could enable multimillion-dollar thefts.

In a dramatic 48-hour policy flip-flop that highlighted growing tensions between tech giants and government oversight, India's Department of Telecommunications (DoT) issued—and then swiftly withdrew—a controversial directive requiring all smartphone manufacturers to pre-install the state-developed Sanchar Saathi app on devices sold in the country.

In a coordinated dawn raid on December 2, 2025, German Federal Criminal Police (BKA) and Swiss federal prosecutors, backed by Europol and the U.S. Treasury’s FinCEN, pulled the plug on Cryptomixer.io, one of the longest-running non-custodial Bitcoin tumblers still operating since its launch in early 2016.

In a move that could redefine the balance of power between Washington and the states, President Donald Trump is poised to sign an executive order that effectively neuters local governments' ability to regulate artificial intelligence. Drafted in the wake of failed congressional efforts to impose a nationwide moratorium on state AI laws, the order—titled "Promoting American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence"—would centralize oversight under federal control, branding any state-level rules as threats to "innovation and interstate commerce."

In the electrifying world of cryptocurrency, where fortunes can flip faster than a blockchain confirmation, South Korea's Upbit exchange has once again become a lightning rod for drama.

In a move that's rippling through Southeast Asia's financial corridors, Vietnam has unleashed one of the most aggressive digital identity crackdowns in modern history. As of September 1, 2025, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has deactivated or frozen over 86 million bank accounts—nearly half of the nation's 200 million total—for failing to comply with mandatory biometric verification.

Beijing has launched its most ambitious censorship campaign yet: this time, the target is not just politics or pornography, it’s sadness itself.

Cloudflare, the US-based web infrastructure and security giant, has taken a bold stance against global site-blocking measures, urging the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to treat these practices as non-tariff barriers (NTBs) to American internet services. In a submission for the upcoming 2026 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers, the company argues that foreign anti-piracy mandates are inadvertently choking digital commerce and establishing dangerous precedents for online censorship.

In a surprising twist of corporate irony, the Motion Picture Association (MPA) – the powerhouse behind Hollywood's iconic film rating system – has formally demanded that Meta Platforms Inc. immediately cease using its trademarked "PG-13" designation within Instagram. The MPA, representing major studios including Disney, Netflix, Warner Bros., and Paramount, accuses the social media giant of trademark infringement and consumer deception. What began as a push for better child protection on social platforms has escalated into a potential courtroom battle, highlighting the pitfalls of borrowing established branding without permission.

Zhimin Qian (also known as Yadi Zhang), a 47-year-old Chinese national, has been sentenced by a London court to 11 years and 8 months in prison for her pivotal role in a vast fraud and money laundering operation. Qian pleaded guilty in September to charges that exposed a sprawling international scam that ultimately funneled billions through cryptocurrency.

Internet fraud has a wide impact on many industries, including online gambling or gaming.

Australia is set to implement one of the world's most stringent social media bans, prohibiting users under the age of 16 from accessing platforms starting December 10th. Tech giants Meta and TikTok have publicly agreed to comply with the new legislation, which carries substantial penalties for violations, potentially reaching up to $32 million. However, with just over a month until enforcement, significant questions remain about the practical implementation and effectiveness of such a sweeping ban.

In a startling revelation that could redefine the future of cybersecurity, Anthropic, the AI research company behind the Claude chatbot, announced that it had disrupted a sophisticated espionage campaign allegedly orchestrated by a Chinese state-sponsored group. This campaign leveraged Anthropic’s own Claude Code tool, turning its advanced agentic capabilities into a weapon against major U.S. tech companies, financial institutions, chemical manufacturers, and government agencies.