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By Alexander Lee  •  July 22, 2025  • Ivy Liu Brands’ pullback from diversity and equity marketing has hit marginalized creators directly in the pocketbook, four creators told Digiday. It’s no secret that the advertising world has moved away from DEI messaging in the wake of the 2024 presidential election. As brands from Target to Harley-Davidson scale back or remove their DEI programs in 2025, they are signing fewer influencer or creator marketing deals that focus on the marginalized identities of creators. Six months into the year, creators who previously leveraged diversity and equity to build their sponsorship businesses have seen this revenue stream drop off or disappear entirely. Last year, Twitch streamer Alex Norimaki signed 14 brand deals around Black History Month and Women’s History Month; so far this year, she has had one DEI-focused partnership, a Black History Month sponsorship by Twitch. “There’s usually so many brands that reach out specifically to Black creators — and, in recent years, they were doing a heavy push for Black women creators as well. I’ve been at this for five years now, and it’s like clockwork,” she said. “This year, they just did not come.” The creator added that she had experienced a “very noticeable” drop in sponsorship income, but declined to share a specific revenue drop figure. Four creators across different marginalized identities told Digiday anecdotally that their revenue has been hit by brands’ pullback from DEI messaging. “The pullback has been for not just LGBTQ+ creators, but for anything that’s cultural or orientation-based,” said mixed-race creator Erin Ashley Simon, who said that she hasn’t signed a single DEI-focused brand partnership in 2025 after leaving XSET, a diversity and inclusion-focused esports organization, at the beginning of the year. Veronica “Nikatine” Ripley, a transgender and Latina creator, said that her diversity-focused partnership business dropped off considerably between 2024 and 2025, although she did not provide specific numbers. “My personal business has definitely been affected. I’ve been passed over or dropped by longtime brand partners,” said Ripley, who declined to name specific partners that had dropped her to avoid damaging professional relationships. “Big brands are just silent now; opportunities are almost completely limited to fundraisers for other queer organizations.” Across the board, creators blamed the current sociopolitical climate in the United States for brands’ pullback from diversity or equity messaging, with prospective sponsors increasingly cagey about political scrutiny or boycotts sparked by their involvement with creators perceived as pushing DEI.  In particular, government organizations’ sunsetting of so-called “identity months” such as Black History Month, Women’s History Month and Pride Month have put a chill on brands’ spending around them. In the past, these months were boom periods that allowed marginalized creators to pack away brand partnership revenue for the rest of the year; now, for creators, they’re just like any other month. “In a perfect world, we wouldn’t need to lean on national months and holidays for this inclusion — but it was the month when we could at least expect companies to halfway pretend to have us be a part of the conversation,” AlexNorimaki said. “So, now, we’re just not very hopeful for the rest of the year.” The wider pullback from DEI marketing is bad news for marginalized creators, but it also creates opportunities for some advertisers to build stronger bonds with these creators and their fans, creators told Digiday. Both creators and audiences from marginalized communities increasingly feel overlooked by the advertising industry, making it all the more valuable when brands and marketers choose to stand by them. “This is a window of advantage for brands,” said Sheryl Daija, CEO of Bridge, a marketing industry trade organization focused on promoting diversity and equity. “While some might go quiet, others that are staying consistent are gaining ground, building reputational trust and relevance. Despite the politicization of DEI, the high potential growth markets haven’t gone anywhere.” One particularly effective way for brands to build connections with marginalized communities is to work with micro- or mid-tier influencers whose audiences index highly within those communities, according to Raul Rios, head of strategy for the creative agency Saylor, who cited data from e-commerce ad tech tool Cropink showing that 73 percent of Gen Z consumers trust micro-influencer recommendations over celebrity endorsements. “Brands that invest here don’t just maintain visibility,” Rios said. “They build sustained cultural credibility.” https://digiday.com/?p=583773 More in Media Read More

By Digiday Editors  •  July 22, 2025  • Earlier this year, eMarketer predicted that year-over-year growth in U.S. CTV media budgets would reach 17%, surpassing $33 billion, with the acceleration in ad spend finally exceeding the increase in time spent with CTV (7%).  However, while advertisers begin to catch up with viewers’ eyeballs — that’s more than 70% of the population, according to eMarketer — there are still numerous sticking points to resolve if marketers are to feel they’re receiving value for their investment, with audience measurement and pricing transparency being the most common complaints. Last month, tensions flared between TV networks and Nielsen over its new “big data plus panel” measurement system. Networks — especially smaller ones and those with multicultural audiences — say fluctuating metrics are hurting their businesses, compared to Nielsen’s legacy system. Despite concerns, the new methodology is expected to become the de facto standard for upfront deals, prompting fears that it could unfairly influence future TV and streaming ad pricing. VAB organized the meeting after repeated complaints. Meanwhile, at Digiday’s first-ever CTV Ad Strategies event earlier this month, townhall discussions — conducted under the Chatham House Rule — focused on challenges in CTV advertising, particularly pricing, fees, and the difficulty of achieving consistent reach and frequency measurement across platforms.  Several participants mentioned the lack of transparency in fees, noting that marketers often don’t understand how they are precisely calculated, with supply-side platforms, agencies, and other ad tech players sometimes equally ignorant of the market forces at play. “They [clients] may not be used to seeing every layer of the ad tech fees,” observed one participating media agency executive. “You have things like data, supply, and other ad tech fees, and it just gets compounded… and can be upwards of 15-to-40% of your media when you use certain platforms.”  Meanwhile, a second participant recounted an instance when clients insisted they only run ads on premium CTV properties, such as Amazon Prime and Hulu, etc., with a subsequent RFP returning alarming discrepancies in quoted pricing, particularly in how tech platforms’ prices compared to direct buys.  “We did individual RFPs to understand what their [the streaming services] CPMs were, and individually, they came back with prices in the range of $20 [CPMs], and with all the targeting you want,” explained the participant. “But then the ones with the DSPs came back, and they were between $45 and $55 [CPMs]. How do we justify that to a client?!”  Meanwhile, several additional townhall participants mentioned the challenges of sell-side players often finding ways to make margins without “getting caught,” with overstretched buying teams often lacking the time to interrogate such tactics.  “The brands are putting in dollars, but they expect outcomes,” noted a separate agency executive, alluding to certain sell-side tactics that are increasingly raising the ire of the industry’s buy-side. “Meanwhile, there are a lot of games being played that extract high-margin fees.”   The townhall session also heard testimony from participants claiming that some demand-side platforms attempt to offer better accountability.  “There are certain DSPs, like The Trade Desk [even with its well-documented fees] that offer some additional measurement to help better quantify if you’re driving incremental reach, and manage frequency holistically,” added one. “I don’t think it’s a perfect science, but sometimes having a third party measure that out helps you understand where the duplication is.”    The debate further turned to why reach and frequency challenges persist, despite omnichannel campaign management being a long-standing issue in the sector. “If you’re operating on multiple platforms, different DSPs can give you different outputs at different times. So it’s tough to get the holistic picture,” observed one speaker. “That’s going to take time to prove that, and you can have different methodologies across the different platforms, too. So it’s just more logistical gymnastics.”  Participants often credited this ongoing challenge to the inflexibility of large platforms, which are seldom willing to abandon their walled-garden strategies. “Until such point that there’s one holistic seismic point where there’s one DSP that has access to everything,” noted a separate participant, “that’s just going to be the challenge that the agency faces.” https://digiday.com/?p=583671 More in Media Buying Read More

This Ad Tech Briefing covers the latest in ad tech and platforms for Digiday+ members and is distributed over email every Tuesday at 10 a.m. ET. More from the series → Last week, it was announced that The Trade Desk will join the S&P 500, replacing ANSYS. In a LinkedIn post, CEO Jeff Green underscored the scale of the achievement, stating that it was something he had not dared to dream about at the firm’s inception. For those who haven’t heard, the S&P 500 is a stock market index that tracks the performance of 500 of the largest publicly traded U.S. companies, selected based on their market capitalization, liquidity, and sector representation. Inclusion signals financial strength and stability, boosting a company’s reputation with investors.  It often leads to increased demand for shares, as many index funds and ETFs are required to buy stocks in the index. This heightened demand can drive up a company’s stock price and reduce volatility, offering both prestige and practical financial benefits. For example, The Trade Desk saw its stock price rise by double-digits on the back of the news, with its market capitalization surpassing $41 billion the day before its July 18 admission to the S&P 500. It’s also in stark contrast to the precipitous stock price plunge following the demand-side platform’s first quarterly decline in revenues after 33 straight periods of meeting, if not surpassing, analysts’ expectations. However, ad tech observers can rightly ask why The Trade Desk was inducted into the S&P 500 ahead of its ad tech contemporary AppLovin, which had a market capitalization of approximately $124 billion during the same week. Officially, the answer to such queries is that inclusion in the S&P 500 is based on more than just market capitalization.  While size is a key factor, the index also considers profitability, liquidity, public float, sector representation, and U.S. incorporation. The Trade Desk, despite its smaller market cap compared to AppLovin, evidently met the complete set of eligibility criteria, including consistent profitability and a sufficient percentage of publicly traded shares. AppLovin, although larger in value, may not have met such requirements, like a history of positive earnings over recent quarters or having a sufficiently broad investor base. Additionally, the S&P 500 aims for balanced sector representation. Suppose the index committee determines that a company better aligns with its goals for diversification and stability. In that case, it may be selected over a larger peer that has been deemed to have fallen short of its selection criteria by the powers that be. As highlighted by Investor’s Business Daily, the selection committee for the S&P 500 Index also passed household names, such as Robinhood, in favor of The Trade Desk, but it also asks questions of the wider sector. However, for some, it will also raise questions as to whether transparency in ad tech had anything to do with it. After all, in the last year, AppLovin faced multiple aggressive short-seller attacks from Fuzzy Panda, Culper Research, and Muddy Waters. They accused the company of overstating its AI capabilities, misappropriating user data, violating app store policies, and employing deceptive ad-install tactics, all to inflate metrics. These claims triggered significant declines in stock prices during the same period, with some instances reaching as high as 23%.  Such claims led AppLovin to be hit with a class-action securities lawsuit alleging fraud and misleading disclosures about its AI platform, AXON, and data practices. The company responded by retaining Quinn Emanuel to investigate and vigorously defend its business, while analysts debated the impact of these controversies. Similar circumstances befell fellow publicly-traded ad tech firm Zeta Global in the last 12 months, and it’s also worth noting that  AppLovin’s stock price has since started to move up and to the right. However, historians of the sector will note how Rocket Fuel’s drawn-out exit from the highs of its float on the public markets (arguably) began with similar finger-pointing.  So while the first ad tech firm to land on the S&P 500 is truly a moment to remember, and a collective pat on the back, it’s also worthy of some a moment for reflection that the sector as a whole needs to be wary of misdeeds. Numbers to know 11%: The number of respondents planning to decrease their retail media spend in H2, according to MediaOcean’s latest report.  47%: The number of respondents using generative AI for data analysis, per the ad tech firm’s survey findings. 45%: The number of executives citing “conversions” as the most critical metric when evaluating CTV/live sports buys.  52%: The number of executives citing fragmented measurement as the critical challenge to measuring reach and frequency. What we’ve heard “Amazon DSP is a very different competitor than Google…  if the Amazon DSP tech eventually matches their aggression, Amazon and The Trade Desk will be a real match.” — Daniel Salmon, an equities analyst specializing in ad tech at NewStreet Research, reflects on recent meetings charting the rise of Amazon’s demand-side platform, and how it is leveraging wider Amazon capabilities, such as free clean room services from AWS, as part of the ongoing DSP wars.    What we’ve covered: Streaming is reaching 50% of all upfront dollars Streaming is set to dominate the 2025 upfronts, with up to 50% of commitments shifting from linear TV. Buyers are consolidating DSP partners — favoring Amazon, Google, or The Trade Desk — making programmatic a “buyer’s market.” Yet transparency remains a sticking point, with unclear CPMs and ROI metrics. Advertisers demand better data to justify higher costs, but many still face challenges in proving CTV’s value and navigating complex pricing structures. The transition is real but gradual, with trust and clarity lagging behind spend. CMOs might be pushing ahead on AI, but lack of measurement’s holding them back Generative AI is widely adopted in marketing, but clear ROI remains elusive. Marketers track time saved and efficiency gains, yet standardized metrics are lacking. While some report cost savings and productivity boosts, many remain cautious. Without clear benchmarks, full-scale adoption

Key Takeaways: Password breaches are common: The latest data leak exposed 16 billion passwords. Hackers can use these leaked credentials to access your emails, bank accounts, and other sensitive data.   Hackers have many ways to steal your passwords: They rely on phishing scams, keyloggers, brute-force attacks, and compromised websites to get unauthorized access to your passwords.   Password managers can keep you safe: Tools like Bitwarden can protect you against many attack vectors used by hackers, especially brute-forcing (by creating strong passwords). It can also scan for weak and reused passwords, and verify if your credentials have been leaked in any data breaches. Passwords are the first line of defense for your digital identity. They guard everything from emails and bank accounts to social profiles and sensitive data.  Think of passwords as the key to your entire digital life. Whoever has the key can access everything you have online. That’s why hackers are constantly trying to guess or steal them. And the recent leak of 16 billion passwords shows just how determined they are. Hackers can use your stolen credentials to impersonate you, steal your data and money, or sell them on the dark web (which puts you at further risk).  Have your passwords been exposed in the recent or past data leaks, and are they strong enough to resist snooping attempts? Can password managers help keep them safe?  I have been using Bitwarden extensively for several years. From its password generation feature to its Data breach reports and Autofill function, I experienced everything it has to offer.  And I’m here to tell you it’s a complete game-changer in securing your digital life.  Are Your Passwords Safe? After news broke about the 16 billion leaked passwords, one question crossed everyone’s mind: Are my passwords safe?  There’s an easy way to find out if your passwords have appeared in known data breaches. Have I Been Pwned (HIBP) lets you do it in just a few clicks. Visit HIBP’s website, type your password in the search box, and click on the ‘Check’ button. It shows whether your password was part of a known leak. For demonstration purposes, I deliberately used a common password, 123456789, which has likely been exposed in data breaches. And indeed, it has. If HIBP finds your password in a data leak, you should immediately change it.  For further testing, I used a password generator to create a strong 19-character password and ran it through the tool.  As you can see, it hasn’t appeared in any known data breaches, so it’s safe to use. However, remember that HIBP only tells you if the password was part of a known data leak. It doesn’t indicate the strength of your password.  Disclaimer: We mentioned HIBP only for informational purposes. It’s trusted in the security community, and doesn’t store passwords. Still, no site is fully hack-proof. The safest course of action, if your password was leaked, is to change it immediately. That said, you can have weak passwords that are easy to crack but haven’t been exposed in any known data breach. However, hackers can easily crack weak passwords through brute-force, where they try common combinations until they find the right one. For instance, a short, simple password like ‘password123’ can be cracked in less than a second. Other methods often employed by hackers are: Phishing: Hackers send you fake emails or messages that look legitimate. Often, these messages urge you to click a link that takes you to fake websites set up by hackers to steal your login credentials.  Keylogger: Hackers secretly install keyloggers on users’ devices. These malicious tools record every keystroke you type, including usernames and passwords. Later, they send the recorded credentials to the hackers.  Data breaches: Sometimes, threat actors hack the websites you use and steal login credentials from the websites’ databases. Aside from practicing security best practices (like knowing what a scam email looks like), having hard-to-guess passwords is the next step in better protecting yourself. But it’s not so easy to remember complex passwords, is it? Fortunately, you don’t have to. Not when you have a password manager like Bitwarden that does that for you. Bitwarden can not only create strong passwords but also help you keep them safe.  I have extensively tested the leading open-source password manager to assess its capabilities in protecting your digital life.  Did it meet my expectations? Let’s find out next. But a little context first.  What Is Bitwarden? Bitwarden is an open-source password manager that lets you create, store, and manage passwords securely. Its codebase is available online on GitHub, where thousands of security researchers and third parties can review and audit it for vulnerabilities. You can download the desktop app for macOS, Windows, and Linux, and the mobile app is compatible with both Android and iOS devices. The browser extension is available on the most popular browsers, including Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Opera, and Vivaldi. Its key features include a password generator, passkey storage and access, vault health reports, and advanced two-factor authentication (2FA), including security keys like YubiKey.  As for pricing, the free plan works well for saving and auto-filling passwords, but the premium subscription (starting at $1/month) offers additional features such as emergency access and security reports. I’ve been using Bitwarden Premium for over four years, and it was more than worth it for me. But if you just want to test it out or if you won’t use it extensively, the free plan is one of the best I’ve seen. Can Bitwarden Really Protect You From Password Leaks? Yes, Bitwarden can protect you from password leaks by making you aware your passwords were exposed in one (through vault health reports). Its password generator, secure auto-fill, and industry-standard encryption give you additional protection from hacking attempts.  Now let me show you what Bitwarden can do and what I liked the most. 1. Password Generator Short passwords with familiar patterns, such as QWERTY or 123456789, are easy to hack. That’s why cybersecurity experts recommend creating passwords that

Tommy Lee Walker – stock.adobe.c Hitachi Vantara says its approach to storage and AI offers the most comprehensive solutions, based on its industrial heritage and RAG-like functionality it claims others don’t have By Stéphane Larcher, LeMagIT Yann Serra, LeMagIT Published: 22 Jul 2025 10:24 Among storage player claims about how well-suited their products are to AI workloads, Hitachi Vantara has a unique backstory to support its arguments. Namely, that the Japanese array maker is part of a giant manufacturing conglomerate that makes everything from nuclear power stations and high-speed trains, to air conditioners and household appliances, and handles its data using Hitachi Vantara products.   Also key to the narrative is that the company offers a converged infrastructure portfolio – Hitach iQ – that combines Nvidia GPUs and Enterprise AI software with Hitachi Vantara’s VSP One storage arrays, Hammerspace file storage and data orchestration, Hitachi Vantara server products, plus Cisco networking equipment. “Our group uses Nvidia’s Omniverse digital twin ecosystem, which provides training data for AI that allows for development and extension of robotic capacity in manufacturing,” said CTO for AI at Hitachi Vantara, Jason Hardy. Converged infrastructure for AI Meanwhile, Hitachi Vantara’s AI converged product family, Hitachi iQ, is a complete converged infrastructure that can go from one to 16 SuperMicro servers, each with eight Nvidia GPUs for AI processing using Nvidia’s HGX configuration. Then there are multiple Hitachi HA G3 servers that share the (object storage) contents of VSP One array nodes. Some of these servers run the Nvidia AI Enterprise software layer in Kubernetes containers. Others run Hammerspace storage software that allows parallelised access between GPUs and storage. Finally, Cisco Nexus switches connect the whole thing. Regarding the role of the VSP One array – the flagship of the Hitachi Vantara array family – it is connected to Hammerspace servers to provide object storage to the bulk of the data which these servers distribute in file mode.  IQ Time Machine: VSP One gives LLM a memory “To base the whole thing on our VSP array offers some benefits,” said Hardy. “Among them is our new Hitachi iQ Time Machine functionality, which allows submission to an LLM of previous versions of documents and data that has since been updated.” Hardy’s point here is that such documents in other systems will have been updated and therefore past versions will be lost to LLMs that interrogate that dataset. The RAG-like function rests on the retention of historic data in object storage on the VSP One array, and iQ Studio – the chatbot that provides the Hitachi iQ infrastructure to Hitachi Vantara – provides this via a timeline in the interface. For example, if a member of the finance team wants to ask the AI about an event, they can hover over the date and potentially see details notified via a document ingested at the time. And so, customers can access data from different time periods via an LLM. Data storage is a critical component for AI projects because it must deal successfully with three constraints – the array must communicate very rapidly with the GPUs; for RAG, data needs to be in a format compatible with Nvidia’s software modules that build AI applications; and, finally, they are required to help enterprises prepare and test data that they submit to AI. With Hitachi iQ, which goes way beyond just storage functionality, Hitachi aims to tackle these three challenges at the same time.  Read more on Flash storage and solid-state drives (SSDs) Hitachi Vantara: VSP One leads revamped storage portfolio By: Antony Adshead Storage players ride the Nvidia bus at GTC 2025 By: Antony Adshead What is Hitachi Vantara? By: Alexander Gillis Hitachi Vantara expands in hybrid and multi-cloud storage By: Scott Sinclair Read More

A former BBC journalist who exposed the involvement of MI5 in concealing evidence of abuse at the Kincora boys’ home in Northern Ireland was repeatedly placed under electronic surveillance by the police and intelligence services, it is claimed. The Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) is investigating allegations that the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and MI5 unlawfully spied on the phone communications of Chris Moore, a former reporter with the BBC’s Spotlight programme, who has reported about police collusion with terrorist organisations. Computer Weekly has learned that the PSNI engaged in sustained surveillance of BBC journalists in Northern Ireland from at least 2006 to 2022 by using powers under Section 22 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act to obtain communications data from target phones. Surveillance against BBC journalists allegedly took place during multiple PSNI operations, codenamed Operation Oxbow in 2009, Operation Settat in 2011, Operation Basanti in 2014 and Operation Grimmicaeie in 2022. PSNI maintained secret database During one police operation, the PSNI maintained a secret database containing the contact details of 34 BBC journalists in Northern Ireland, which was allegedly used to attempt to identify confidential sources that provided information to the BBC. Chris Moore, who wrote ‘Kincora: Britain’s Shame’, which exposes the involvement of the security service MI5 in concealing evidence of abuse at the boys’ home to protect establishment figures in the 1960s and 1970s, believes he was subject to electronic surveillance for at least 16 years Moore, who is known for his book Kincora: Britain’s Shame, which exposes the involvement of the security service MI5 in concealing evidence of abuse at the Kincora boys’ home (pictured being demolished above) to protect establishment figures in the 1960s and 1970s, believes he was subject to electronic surveillance for at least 16 years. The investigative journalist, who worked on investigations exposing how law enforcement knowingly paid informers involved in repeated multiple murders and returned guns to an IRA informant that were later used to murder police, has received multiple warnings over the years that he had been placed under surveillance to identify his informants. Police spied on BBC Spotlight journalists Moore filed a legal complaint after the BBC’s Spotlight programme submitted the names of 16 journalists who may have been subject to surveillance to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal. The IPT requested the dates of birth of three of the BBC journalists – Moore, Vincent Kearney and another BBC journalist – believed to have been subject to monitoring. Computer Weekly reported in May 2024 that the BBC had instructed lawyers after it emerged that the PSNI had spied on former BBC journalist Kearney during his work on a 2011 Spotlight documentary investigating the independence of the police watchdog in Northern Ireland. Moore says he received warnings from police sources that he had been placed under surveillance between 1991 and 2001, while investigating allegations that Special Branch had withheld evidence from detectives investigating terrorist crimes, including murder, which allowed killers to escape and “subverted the course of justice”. In 2015 and 2016, working for BBC’s Spotlight, Moore took security precautions after receiving further warnings that he may have been placed under surveillance by Special Branch and MI5 as part of a further operation to identify his confidential sources. The BBC reporter had discovered that two Special Branch handlers at the Royal Ulster Constabulary had received two guns from an IRA informer, sent them for testing on a police firing range, and had returned them to the IRA without taking steps to disable them. A Special Branch officer who test-fired the guns met Moore at his home and provided documentary evidence of the incident. The officer, who is no longer alive, told Moore that he “was disgusted” that the guns were returned intact and later used to murder two police officers. Moore received another warning that he was under surveillance to identify his sources while investigating two members of the Mt Vernon Ulster Volunteer Force who had committed over 20 murders while in the pay of the British State. Given what I now know, it is inconceivable that my phone connection was not subject to surveillance Chris Moore, former BBC journalist “Given what I now know, it is inconceivable that my phone connection was not subject to surveillance,” said Moore. ‘MI5 agent’ repeatedly phoned Moore The tribunal is also investigating whether a man who identified himself as “Mike”, and repeatedly called Moore while the journalist was investigating the alleged cover-up of sexual abuse at the Kincora boys’ home, was an undercover MI5 agent. According to Moore, Mike made many unsolicited phone calls to Moore and attempted to engage him in conversations about how the Metropolitan Police had protected political paedophiles for years. The man identified the names of policemen and apartments, such as Dolphin Square in London, where the abuse allegedly took place. “I never did anything but listen to this individual. Once I answered the phone, he would talk non-stop, allowing me to listen but seldom speak,” said Moore. The journalist said that calls from Mike were “judicious” in their timing and often followed significant discussions Moore had had with people on the phone or face to face. Moore said he persuaded Mike to share his mobile phone number, but the phone was either unavailable or never answered when Moore tried to call. “The nature of the calls is that they were made to me by Mike at interesting times in my working life, and I am now suspicious and 90% convinced that this number belongs to the secret service, MI5,” said Moore. Spying on BBC journalists raises ‘serious questions’ The Investigatory Powers Tribunal’s investigation comes as independent barrister Angus McCullough completes a review commissioned by PSNI chief constable Jon Boutcher following allegations that the PSNI undertook unlawful surveillance of lawyers, journalists and non-governmental organisations. Computer Weekly reported in January that more than 40 journalists – including Computer Weekly – and lawyers had submitted evidence to the review, which is looking into allegations that the PSNI collected phone data, breaching

Thank you for joining! Access your Pro+ Content below. 22 July 2025 UKtech50 2025: The most influential people in UK IT In this week’s edition of Computer Weekly, we share the results of this year’s UKTech50 list of the IT leaders who are shaping the UK’s digital economy. We also feature a profile of this year’s winner, DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis, who is the first person ever to top the list twice. Elsewhere in the issue, we also take a look at what steps IT leaders can take to lockdown their Amazon Web Services stacks, and discover the role that data management platforms play in the delivery of a great customer experience. Read the issue now. Read More

hanohiki – stock.adobe.com UK government officials say that attempts by the Home Office to require Apple to introduce ‘backdoors’ to its secure encrypted storage service will cross US red lines By Bill Goodwin, Investigations Editor Published: 21 Jul 2025 21:56 The government may be seeking to pull back from a diplomatic row with the US over UK demands to require Apple to give the UK access to secure data stored by Apple users. UK government officials have told the Financial Times that pressure from senior US officials, including vice-president JD Vance could force the UK to retreat from the plan. Home secretary Yvette Cooper issued a notice against Apple under the Investigatory Powers Act in January, requiring the company to provide law enforcement with the capability to access encrypted data stored by Apple users on Apple’s iCloud service. The move has attracted opposition from both Democratic and Republican law makers in the US, and has been criticised by president Trump and JD Vance, who object to the UK interfering with US technology companies. Two government officials, believed to be from the Department of Science Innovation and Technology (DSIT), told the Financial Times that the UK’s decision to force Apple to break its end-to-end encryption could disrupt technology agreements with the US. “One of the challenges for the tech partnerships we’re working on is the encryption issue,” one official said. “It is a big red line in the US: they don’t want us messing with their tech companies. This is something that the vice-president is very annoyed about and which needs to be resolved. The Home Office is basically going to have to back down.” A second official said that the Home Office had “its back against the wall” and that the problem was of the “Home Office’s own making”. The government maintains that it needs access to Apple customers’ secure files in order for law enforcement to investigate terrorism and child sexual abuse. The government order, known as a Technical Capability Notice, however, led Apple to withdraw its secure Advanced Data Protection (ADP) service from UK customers. The company is now challenging the lawfulness of the Home Office’s order in the Investigatory Powers Tribunal. Computer Weekly previously reported that WhatsApp, the encrypted messaging service owned by Meta, has agreed to provide legal submissions in support of Apple. Civil Society groups, Amnesty and Privacy International have filed a separate claim to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal challenging the Home Office. A third senior British official told the Financial Times that the UK government was reluctant to push “anything that looks to the US vice-president like a free-speech issue”. The US vice-president attacked Europe and the UK in February for opposing free speech on social media and more generally in a speech at the Munich Security Conference. “In Britain, and across Europe, free speech, I fear, is in retreat,” he said. The US director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said in a letter published in the same month that she shared concerns raised by US Congress over reports that the UK has issued an order against Apple that could “undermine Americans’ privacy and civil liberties”. President Donald Trump confirmed in an interview with The Spectator that he had raised the Apple TCN with prime minister Keir Starmer during his visit to Washington, comparing the UK’s actions to the conduct of China: “We actually told him [Starmer]…that’s incredible. That’s something, you know, that you hear about with China.” Ben Collier, chair of the Foundation for Information Policy Research, a think tank for internet policy which today published a report on the Apple affair, said that it was not surprising that the Home Office’s attempt to compel Apple to undermine the security of its products is facing resistance from the US. “Tactics like issuing encryption removal orders to tech companies will only make every iPhone user in the UK less secure,” said Collier. “As the UK government’s own guidance for companies and the public makes clear, strong encryption is at the heart of keeping the services we all use safe and secure. There is no way to undermine encryption which doesn’t leave huge weaknesses that criminals and hostile state actors can exploit. “Law enforcement have much more effective tactics – ones which don’t involve undermining our shared security – to investigate and disrupt serious criminal activity where encryption is being used. The government would be sensible to step back and retract this notice, and instead focus on the important work of renewing the UK’s basic infrastructure, digital security and privacy protections,” he added. Read more on Cloud security Apple encryption row: Does law enforcement need to use Technical Capability Notices? WhatsApp seeks to join Apple in legal challenge against Home Office encryption orders By: Bill Goodwin Government using national security as ‘smokescreen’ in Apple encryption row By: Bill Goodwin US lawmakers say UK has ‘gone too far’ by attacking Apple’s encryption By: Bill Goodwin Read More

AI cyber giant Darktrace buys network security firm Mira for an undisclosed sum, seeking to enhance the tech stack it offers to highly regulated sectors By Alex Scroxton, Security Editor Published: 21 Jul 2025 18:58 British cyber giant Darktrace has announced it is to acquire network traffic visibility specialist Mira Security for an undisclosed sum as it seeks to reinforce its capabilities in network security. Darktrace, which is most famous for pioneering the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the cyber security realm, claimed that the combination will “close the encrypted data blind spot” without degrading network performance or requiring users to go through complex re-architecting processes. “The acquisition of Mira Security is another building block in our strategy to develop best-in-class cyber security solutions and keep our customers safe through continuous innovation,” said Phil Pearson, Darktrace chief strategy officer. “Mira Security has already proven to be a valuable source of insight for our AI, helping us provide unparalleled detection and response capabilities at scale. By bringing the Mira Security team’s deep expertise into Darktrace, we will be able to accelerate innovation, deepen the capabilities of our market-leading Network product and unlock even greater security performance for our customers.” Deeper visibility Digging deeper into the deal, the acquisition will supposedly meld Mira’s in-line decryption capabilities with Darktrace’s analysis and understanding of encrypted traffic to help customers glean deeper and more comprehensive insight into network traffic moving through on-premise, cloud or hybrid environments, and bring more comprehensive decryption capabilities to bear into the bargain. Combined, these are becoming increasingly desirable, if not outright critical, needs for highly regulated bodies, such as operators of critical national infrastructure (CNI), financial services institutions, or government and public sector organisations. Darktrace further plans to expand Mira’s existing engineering team – which is split between its US base in the state of Pennsylvania, and Centurion near Pretoria in South Africa – to reinforce its own networking R&D expertise. It hopes to draw upon Mira’s existing knowledge in high-performance network acceleration firmware and software to improve the next generation of its own hardware which, so it claims, will enable 100Gbps interfaces and increase ingestion capacity to support its more strategic deployments. “The combination of Mira Security and Darktrace’s unique technology and brilliant research and development [R&D] talent will create even more exciting possibilities for protecting complex network environments,” said Niel Viljoen, founder and CEO of Mira Security. “Together, Mira Security and Darktrace will be able to deliver new value for customers and partners.” Big spender This is the latest in a string of acquisitions that Darktrace is currently making as it pursues a programme of investment in both organic and acquisitive growth. At the start of 2025, it picked up UK-based cyber security firm Cado Security – which specialises in automating incident management and response in hybrid environments – for a deal that it was reported may have been worth up to $100m (£74m). Besides augmenting Darktrace’s cloud security offering, which last year was extended to cover Microsoft Azure environments, this deal was similarly touted as being a game-changer for Darktrace’s R&D abilities. Darktrace was itself acquired for more than $5bn by US private equity house Thoma Bravo – a longstanding specialist in technology investments – in the autumn of 2024. Financial terms of the Mira acquisition have not been disclosed. Read more on Network security management Longstanding Darktrace CEO Poppy Gustafsson to step down By: Alex Scroxton Darktrace and Veracode enhancing partner programmes By: Simon Quicke Darktrace, Workbooks and Kyndryl cut ribbon on managed service options By: Simon Quicke NCSC publishes landmark guidelines on AI cyber security By: Alex Scroxton Read More

Apple’s AirTag is a small, clever tracker that makes it easy to keep tabs on your everyday items — from your keys and wallet to luggage and backpacks. But to get the most out of it, you’ll need the right accessories to match. That’s where AirTag accessories come in, helping you attach, protect and style your tracker in a way that suits your daily routine. Whether you’re looking for a low-profile AirTag wallet insert, a rugged AirTag mount for your bike or pet’s collar or an Apple AirTag holder with multiple color options that adds a personal touch, there’s no shortage of great options. Some accessories come in hard plastic or hard shell designs for extra durability, while others double as a sleek protective case or minimalist tag holder. From stylish designs to smart attachments, these are the best AirTag accessories to level up your tracking functionality and keep your items secure. Best AirTag holders for 2025 Caseology’s Vault has a more utilitarian design, made with tough, textured TPU. The oval-shaped holder has an opening on one side into which you pop your AirTag. The other side has a smaller opening that attaches to the included carabiner, which is one of the best clips I came across in my testing. It’s pretty basic as far as carabiners go, but it’s better than a standard key ring — especially if you want to easily attach your AirTag to something other than your keys like straps on a backpack, or even a pet collar. Overall, the Caseology Vault is one of the most attractive holders I tested and it will be a solid choice for anyone who doesn’t need stainless steel or leather. $14 at Amazon It’s easy to throw an AirTag into your coat pocket or in the bottom of your backpack, but it’s also easy for the tracking device to fall out of those things. Enter Elevation Lab’s TagVault Fabric mount, which adheres to a number of different types of fabric to discreetly track your stuff. The exterior ring of the Vault is super flexible, so once you stick it to the lining of your jacket or bag, it’ll move and adjust as you do the same with your stuff. The adhesive is quite strong, but it’s still easy to insert or remove the AirTag as much as you need. The plastic enclosure’s cap comes off with a bit of force, so you can take out your AirTag whenever you need to replace its battery. If you want something similar with an even more durable, water-resistant design, Elevation Lab makes these surface adhesive mounts that fit the bill, too. $14 at Amazon Spigen’s Valentinus AirTag cover is one of the best alternatives I’ve found to Apple’s own leather key rings. It has a very similar design to the first-party accessory (albeit made with pleather) , but it comes in much cheaper at only $8. Your tracking device nestles into the perfectly-shaped leather AirTag loop and snaps shut, and since the leather extends slightly over both sides of the tracker, there’s very little chance it will pop out unexpectedly. I also appreciate that it comes with a carabiner-style key ring, which makes it easier to secure to your belongings. $21 at Amazon AirTags can also help you keep track of larger bags and luggage, and you could easily slip one into an interior pocket and call it a day. But if you’d rather hook the tracker to the outside, you’ll need something a bit larger and more flexible than a standard key ring. Belkin’s Secure Holder with Strap is a good option: it comes in different colors and it’s budget friendly at only $13. The case opens up into two pieces, allowing you to sit the AirTag inside the circle and twist and snap the two halves together to lock it in. You can then attach the AirTag to your luggage handle, dog collar, water bottle or other item with the strap, which feels quite strong. I appreciate the unique design of Belkin’s Secure Holder, although it was hard to twist open when the AirTag was inside of it. But that’s a good thing for daily use; your AirTag isn’t going anywhere when in the Secure Holder. I also liked its slightly raised edges, which provide extra protection against impacts and bumps. $13 at Amazon Another exterior-attachment option for luggage with a bit more durability is Belkin’s Secure Holder with Wire Cable. Whereas other holders use a simple keyring to attach the tracker to your stuff, this case uses a braided wire cable that’s extra tough. The case itself unlocks via a small Allen key to let you insert the AirTag, and then you can lock it back up again before putting the tag to use. Not only is it highly unlikely for your AirTag to get knocked out of this thing, it’s also just as unlikely for the wire strap to get caught on something and break. Overall, it’s a thoughtfully designed holder than would make a great luggage tag. $16 at Amazon Whether you’re attaching an AirTag to your house keys or clipping one to your kid’s backpack, you don’t need to settle for a boring holder. There are a number of fun AirTag cases available now and some of our favorites come from Elago. The accessory company makes a bunch of minimalist AirTag holders – which are good options if you’re looking for something simple and cheap – but it also has silicone cases in the shapes of avocados, ice cream bars, floppy disks and even retro game controllers. The best part is that, unlike other brands that can quickly raise prices when you want a fancily-shaped case or a holder with your favorite character on it, Elago’s playful cases will run you no more than $15 apiece. $16 at Amazon Keyrings and straps aren’t the best way to attach an AirTag to anything and everything. Things like bikes, coolers, luggage and other items would be better