Microsoft

Belarus
Belarusian facial recognition company set to get a hearing before the EU Court of Justice

Belarusian facial recognition firm Synesis has been fighting for 18 months against an EU decision to sanction it for its alleged role in the repression of protests against the election of Alexander Lukashenko in August 2020.

China
NVWA Project goes silent as China "nationalises" cyber vulnerability tracking

China's NVWA Project for the detection of unknown vulnerabilities has given no sign of life for several months. New notification rules now allow China to collect zero-day vulnerabilities directly.

Austria
Under pressure, Austrian cybersecurity firm DSIRF overhauls management

Austria's DSIRF, which has come under attack in a number of recent reports, appointed a new CEO in August, Stefan Steinwender, a newcomer to the sector.

Ukraine
Kyiv tries to stop Moscow benefiting from indirect IT support from the GAFAM

Although there are wide-ranging restrictions on the sale of military equipment and IT systems to Russia, some software and services are not covered by the sanctions. A group of experts is looking to remedy the situation.

France, Saudi Arabia
French consultants steer Saudi Arabia's Scopa Industries

The Saudi Arabian defence company Scopa Industries is tapping into French expertise through offshoots of the Saint-Etienne-based company Meta Productique.

Israel
Indictment of Cellcom network spy sheds light on five-year secret probe by Shin Bet

A thorough review of the indictment of a man Israeli authorities accused last week of spying on the national telecom operator illustrates how Hamas operated - and how Shin Bet was put on the trail.

Spotlight | France
OTDH provides test for French cyber-intelligence ecosystem

The DGSI's trials of the OTDH heterogenous data analysis platform will show if the French cyber marketplace has room for a newcomer unconnected to the traditional defence suppliers Thales, Dassault and Airbus.

China, United States
Washington sharpens legal weapons against Beijing in global telecoms war

Congress is building a legislative arsenal to undercut Beijing's telecoms ambitions in the US and globally, with the help of the intelligence community.

Spotlight | Ukraine, United States
Ukrainian military intelligence prepares to demonstrate its cyber offensive capacities in DC

A summit dedicated to the hybrid war between Ukraine and Russia is to take place in Washington, thanks to sponsorship from private sector cyber security and intelligence operators and CIA venture capital firm In-Q-Tel. The event will highlight the cyber offensive operations carried out by Ukraine's GUR.

Russia
The man who spearheads Russia's new IT patriotism

Between the commercial IT world and Moscow's power circles, civil society personality Ilya Massukh makes key contributions to the survival of Russia's sanctioned economy and regime.

UAE
Injazat management team swept away in UAE cyber sector restructuring

The wind of change sweeping through the Emirati cyber sector has finally caught up with cyber defence leader Injazat. It has replaced its top management team with cloud and smart city experts recruited from Western leaders in these sectors.

Spotlight | France, United States
Intelligence world heads into the metaverse

With a growing number of companies offering virtual-world simulation technology, Western armies and intelligence services are starting to get in on the game, branching out into the "metaverse" to optimise their operations and plan for a future where information will be gathered in this alternate space.

Spotlight | China, UAE, United States
Abu Dhabi's AI champion at crux of Sino-US cross-interest

In joining forces with US research centre Petuum, Group 42's AI lab is reinforcing the growing cooperation between Abu Dhabi and Washington in this area, which is increasingly based on Chinese financial interests.

The Tech Telegraph
Rayzone founder goes solo, Grayshift in the EU, AmCham Abu Dhabi cloud, EU maritime security GEOINT

From SIGINT to GEOINT and OSINT and a dose of cyber, each week we report on events both big and small that matter in the community of technical intelligence providers.

Tel AvivRayzone co-founder Ron Zilka goes solo.

Atlanta/HelsinkiUS Grayshift joins forces with Finland's Moonsoft as it spreads its European wings.

Abu Dhabi/WashingtonAmCham Abu Dhabi ropes in more cloud specialists with Red Hat and Trend Micro.

MadridSpain's GMV to provide algorithms to European Maritime Safety Agency for GEOINT data analysis.

BrusselsAndreas Constantinides, former APCO and Amcham EU, turns European lobbyist for the US cloud.

Saudi Arabia
Emad Krimly, the engineer behind the scenes on Neom mega project

Nadhmi al-Nasr, the man in charge of Mohammed bin Salman's colossal Neom project, has quietly been calling on the US engineer for help with the technical aspects of the new city, a project propelling him close to the inner circle of Saudi power.

Switzerland
Huawei's French strategic affairs director heads to CyberPeace Institute in Geneva

Adding to its line-up of senior Western cyber experts, the NGO CyberPeace Institute, of which Microsoft is a major donor, has hired Huawei executive and former French special forces officer Vincent de Crayencour.

UAE, United States
Washington focuses on Talal Al Kaissi in its new UAE cloud offensive

Appointed head of G42 Cloud in January, Talal Al Kaissi has been receptive to a charm offensive by US companies and that of their business contacts, providing a ray of hope for Washington that's alarmed by the inroads into the UAE by China's Huawei.