Online Safety stories

Bitdefender warns of a global surge in fake job emails posing as Amazon, Carrefour and the NHS, stealing data, money and account logins.

Virgin Media O2 will donate 12,000 refurbished smartphones in 2026 to help tackle digital exclusion and cut electronic waste across the UK.

New Zealand faces a 271% jump in fake shop scams as criminals exploit routine clicks, QR scans and DIY guides to trick online shoppers.

YouTube sets 2026 agenda with tougher child safety tools, bigger creator payouts and expanded AI across production and viewing.

Online shopping scams in the UK jumped 416% in late 2025 as malvertising, social media fake shops and deepfake frauds surged, Gen warns.

Betsson adopts Group-IB’s real-time fraud tech to counter rising account takeovers, bonus abuse and payment scams across its platforms.

Governments worldwide tighten social media age checks for children, fuelling demand for privacy-friendly facial age estimation tools.

CyberCX will stay on as the Australian Open’s cyber security partner through 2026, as tennis ramps up defences against digital threats.

Canada commits to expanding high-speed internet to 1,922 rural and Indigenous homes across 28 communities in Saskatchewan.

A deepfake surge is driving relentless AI-powered celebrity scams, with persona kits and adaptive fraud campaigns eroding online trust.

Ofcom has opened a probe into X over claims its Grok AI tool enabled deepfake sexual images, testing the UK’s new Online Safety Act.

Data breaches at Victorian schools and Sydney University expose deep cyber flaws, leaving Australian students vulnerable to long-term threats.

Corsearch has launched CVAN, an AI-driven network that spots suspect listings across 1,500 marketplaces before counterfeit goods go live.

Australians greatly overestimate their ability to spot AI-driven scam images, with new research showing they get it right less than half the time.

Swoop is hosting Quad9’s DNS hubs across five Australian cities, restoring onshore security and performance after traffic was sent offshore.

Instagram denies a data breach after a dataset on 17m users appears on hacking forums, blaming old leak scraps and a fixed reset bug.

Black Hat will premiere Semperis documentary Midnight in the War Room in Las Vegas, spotlighting the human cost of cyber conflict.

Most Australians think they can spot AI scams, but new research shows fewer than half can correctly identify deepfake images in tests.

New Zealand urged to enact AI safety laws as deepfake sexual images surge, amid warnings it can no longer rely on tech firms’ goodwill.

UK vows Cyber Action Plan with GBP £210m for public-sector defences, as tech leaders warn success hinges on long-term reform and culture.