Top News– NIST Cybersecurity framework draft published;€90k fine imposed for GDPR violation and more

Feedback sought on NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0 draft

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the U.S. has published its draft of the Cybersecurity Framework 2.0. This framework, initially published in 2014, has been used to cut down on cybersecurity risks and is still effective today. However, it was brought to light that certain changes were necessary that addressed "current and future cybersecurity challenges." NIST is currently seeking feedback on this draft to ensure that it addresses the cybersecurity challenges of organizations and is in line with best practices. Read more

Children's online safety bill to be introduced in Georgia

Lawmakers in the state of Georgia announced their plans to introduce a bill in the state's 2024 legislative session that promotes children's safety online. This will include verifying the age of users, removing social media features that are addictive to children, and so forth. This bill aims to be comparable to Louisiana's recent law that requires age verification and parental consent for certain platforms. Read more

€90,000 fine was imposed by the Spanish DPA

Spanish Data Protection Authority, the AEPD, has imposed a fine on energy company MasLuz Energy Power for violating the GDPR. The energy company allegedly violated articles 6 and 13 of the GDPR by processing personal data without a legal basis. It was further found that the company did not comply with the claimant's request that the data be deleted and for a copy of the data collected. Read more

Hacktivist group targets India, the Netherlands, Israel, and more

Hacktivist group known as Mysterious Team Bangladesh has allegedly carried out over 750 distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks and 78 website defacements in a single year. In 2023, the group announced a campaign against India. The group's attacks also targeted Israel, Australia, Netherlands, Sweden, Senegal, Ethiopia, and the U.A.E. The attacks appear to be mostly politically and religiously motivated. The attacks are predicted to intensify in Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle-East in this year. Read more

Australia sees potential generative AI ban in workplaces

BlackBerry Limited recently conducted research that found that 93% of organizations in Australia are considering or actually implementing a ban on generative AI in the workplace. While the benefits of using AI are realized, especially when attracting younger employees and increasing efficiency, there is an overall inclination toward banning the software. However, for cybersecurity purposes, the majority of the respondents favored the use of generative AI. Read more