Europe’s Routers Could Hold the Key to Digital Sovereignty

European technology firms have launched SAFENet, calling for stronger protection of routers and network devices as a critical part of Europe's digital security strategy.

Europe's Routers Are the Digital Front Door – So Why Are We Ignoring Them?

When discussions turn to digital security, most attention tends to focus on cloud services, artificial intelligence, semiconductors and 5G networks. Yet one of the most important pieces of technology in our homes and workplaces is often overlooked: the humble router.

A new alliance of leading European network technology companies believes that needs to change.

Four major manufacturers, devolo, FRITZ! (AVM), LANCOM Systems and TDT AG, have come together to launch SAFENet, the Sovereignty Alliance for European Network Technology. Their message is simple: if Europe wants true digital sovereignty, it must pay far closer attention to the devices that handle the vast majority of its internet traffic.

According to research cited by the alliance, around 93 per cent of European internet traffic passes through routers and home network gateways. These are the devices that connect us to online banking, healthcare services, work systems, streaming platforms and private communications. In comparison, mobile networks account for only around seven per cent of internet traffic.

That makes routers far more than simple networking equipment. They are the digital front door to our connected lives.

The concern raised by SAFENet is that Europe has become heavily dependent on technology produced outside the continent. The alliance points to Chinese manufacturers controlling close to 40 per cent of the router and gateway market, creating potential security and strategic risks.

To address this, SAFENet is calling on European and national policymakers to take three key actions.

First, it wants greater transparency so consumers and organisations can clearly see where network hardware, software and security updates are developed and maintained.

Second, it is urging public bodies and operators of critical infrastructure to prioritise trusted European-made networking technology when purchasing equipment.

Finally, the alliance wants routers and network devices to receive the same level of strategic attention as 5G infrastructure. It is proposing a dedicated "Router and Network Technology Security Toolbox" that would assess risks and identify potentially high-risk suppliers.

The debate around digital sovereignty is likely to intensify in the coming years. While cloud platforms and artificial intelligence often dominate headlines, SAFENet argues securing Europe's digital future may begin with something much closer to home, the router sitting quietly in the corner of your office or living room.

As Europe seeks greater control over its digital destiny, that argument may become increasingly difficult to ignore.

safe-net.tech 

Social Media Ban for Under-16s: Will It Make Young People Safer Online? Experts say "Maybe Not"

The UK Government's plans to introduce stricter social media restrictions for under-16s have reignited a debate that sits at the intersection of technology, safety and personal freedom.

Under the proposals, younger users could face restrictions on popular platforms including TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, YouTube and X. 

New measures being considered include limits on scrolling time, overnight curfews, the blocking of livestreaming features and preventing communication with strangers. These safeguards would be enabled by default for under-16s and under-17s.

Incidentally this could be a prime example of the law of unintended consequences as the BBC is considering taking all its television output from terrestrial broadcasting and using online only transmissions, thus children under 16 would, in effect, be banned from watching broadcast TV programming including children's television.  

It might also mean that children would be banned from joining family group chats on social media channels such as Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, WhatsApp, etc.  

While many parents may welcome stronger protections, the DSM Foundation, a charity that has spent years researching how young people encounter illegal drugs online, believes a blanket ban is not the answer.

Fiona Spargo-Mabbs OBE, founder of the charity, argues that the real issue lies not with young people themselves but with the technology platforms that have failed to create genuinely safe online environments.

The DSM Foundation's concerns are backed by significant research. A University College London study published in 2025 found that 60 per cent of young people aged 13 to 18 had encountered drug-related content online. Social media platforms were identified as the primary source, with TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram mentioned most frequently.

Perhaps more concerning was the finding that almost a third of respondents had seen advertisements for illegal drugs appear in their social media feeds, often without actively searching for such content. This highlights the growing role algorithms can play in exposing young users to harmful material.

For technology companies, the findings raise difficult questions about content moderation, recommendation systems and corporate responsibility. Despite the introduction of the Online Safety Act, critics argue that harmful and illegal content remains far too accessible.

The DSM Foundation's position is clear: technology companies should be required to make their platforms safer rather than governments relying on broad restrictions that may also limit access to the positive aspects of online communities. For many young people, particularly those who are isolated or vulnerable, social media can provide valuable support networks, educational resources and opportunities for connection.

The challenge facing policymakers is therefore not simply whether young people should be allowed on social media, but whether the technology industry can finally deliver the level of safety that users, parents and regulators have been demanding for years.

As this debate continues, one thing is certain: the future of online safety will depend as much on responsible technology design as it does on legislation.

https://www.dsmfoundation.org.uk

Bad Data Could Be Costing Tower Operators Millions, New Report Warns

New research from PowerX Technology reveals widespread telemetry data issues across telecom tower networks, highlighting the importance of data integrity before AI deployment.

As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly important across telecoms infrastructure, a new report from PowerX Technology suggests that many tower operators may have a more fundamental problem to solve first: their data.

The AI optimisation specialist has published a new white paper revealing widespread telemetry data integrity issues across telecom tower networks, highlighting how inaccurate sensor readings and unreliable monitoring systems could be masking significant operational inefficiencies.

The report, Data Crisis in the Tower Industry: Why Operational AI and Data Integrity Now Define Competitive Advantage in Tower Networks, analysed nearly 20 million telemetry records collected from hundreds of live tower sites across Africa over a six-month period.

The findings paint a concerning picture.

According to PowerX, 80% of sites recorded telemetry readings above expected operating ranges, while 70% showed inconsistent or erratic fuel sensor behaviour. Over a third of sites with grid connections were still relying heavily on generators because power could not be drawn effectively from the grid.

Perhaps most strikingly, two in ten sites showed unexplained fuel losses averaging more than 140 litres per site every month.

Rather than pointing the finger at operational teams, PowerX argues that the issue lies with the quality of the data itself.

“This is not a competence problem, it’s a visibility problem,” Justin Head, co-founder and Executive Vice Chairman of PowerX told That's Technology.

“The data is broken, not the teams. Our job is to fix the data and give operators the clarity they've been missing.”

The company believes many operators are making critical decisions using incomplete or misleading information because telemetry systems have drifted, sensors are behaving unpredictably, and data pipelines were never designed to meet the demands of modern AI-driven operations.

The good news is operators do not need to wait for a full AI rollout to see improvements.

PowerX says that simply improving data quality can deliver immediate operational and financial benefits. Correcting telemetry errors can help identify fuel losses, detect misconfigured hybrid power systems, and uncover avoidable solar energy inefficiencies.

Looking ahead, the report warns that AI systems are only as good as the data feeding them. Poor-quality data can lead to poor-quality decisions, with errors amplified at scale.

For telecom tower operators investing in predictive maintenance, energy optimisation and automated monitoring, establishing trustworthy data foundations today could become a major competitive advantage tomorrow.

The full white paper is available from PowerX Technology here:- http://www.powerx.ai

AI Is Shrinking Cyber Attack Windows. Can Your Security Team Keep Up?

Horizon3.ai launches Rapid Response to help organisations identify genuine cyber risks as AI-driven attacks reduce vulnerability exploit windows to less than 24 hours.

The race between cybercriminals and security teams is accelerating, and artificial intelligence is changing the rules faster than ever before.

Security specialist Horizon3.ai has unveiled a new capability called Rapid Response, designed to help organisations identify and prioritise genuine security risks as AI dramatically reduces the time between a vulnerability being discovered and attackers exploiting it.

For years, cybersecurity teams have battled an overwhelming stream of vulnerability reports, security advisories and threat intelligence alerts. The challenge has never been finding vulnerabilities. The challenge has been figuring out which ones actually matter.

Thousands of new vulnerabilities are disclosed every year, but only a small percentage are actively exploited by attackers. Yet security teams are often forced to treat every alert as urgent, creating a flood of noise that can distract from the threats that pose the greatest business risk.

According to Horizon3.ai, analysis from more than 250,000 NodeZero security assessments shows that exploitability is the key factor. A vulnerability that can be exploited today presents a far greater risk than one that simply exists on paper.

That distinction is becoming increasingly important as AI-powered tools enable attackers to discover weaknesses and develop exploits at unprecedented speed. Security experts warn that exploit windows are now shrinking to less than 24 hours in some cases, leaving organisations with very little time to react.

Rapid Response aims to tackle that problem by combining emerging threat intelligence, exposure validation and automated testing. Rather than forcing security teams to investigate every headline vulnerability, the platform helps determine whether an organisation is genuinely exposed, which systems are affected and what actions should be prioritised first.

The company’s Attack Team continuously evaluates newly disclosed vulnerabilities based on factors such as attacker interest, ease of exploitation and the popularity of affected technologies. When a high-risk vulnerability emerges, production-safe validation tests can often be developed within hours.

The result is a more focused approach to vulnerability management. Security teams can quickly identify exploitable assets, verify whether mitigations have worked, track remediation progress and demonstrate measurable risk reduction to leadership teams.

As AI continues to transform both offensive and defensive cybersecurity, the days of spending weeks assessing every new vulnerability may be coming to an end.

The message from Horizon3.ai is clear: in an era where attackers can move in hours, organisations need to focus on what can actually be exploited, not simply what appears on a vulnerability list.

https://horizon3.ai/intelligence/blogs/exploit-window-shrinking-rapid-response

Online Tech Degrees Go Global as OPIT Celebrates First Computer Science Graduates

A new generation of tech professionals gathered in Valletta this weekend as OPIT, Open Institute of Technology celebrated a major milestone in its rapid international growth story.

The online technology institution welcomed 111 graduates from more than 35 countries for its 2026 graduation ceremony at the historic Casino Maltese, marking the graduation of OPIT’s first-ever Bachelor of Science cohort in Computer Science.

Alongside the undergraduate students, graduates also completed Master of Science degrees in Applied Data Science and AI, Responsible Artificial Intelligence, Digital Business and Innovation, and Enterprise Cybersecurity, highlighting the growing global demand for specialist digital skills.

Founded by ed-tech entrepreneur Riccardo Ocleppo and led by former Italian Education Minister Francesco Profumo, OPIT was launched to help tackle the worldwide technology skills shortage through accessible online education focused on high-demand sectors.

And the growth has been rapid.

In just three years, OPIT has expanded to around 600 students across 92 countries, with ambitious plans to reach 1,000 students by 2027. The institution has also broadened its academic portfolio with the introduction of a Foundation Programme and what it describes as Europe’s first Professional Doctorate in Applied Artificial Intelligence.

The ceremony itself reflected OPIT’s increasingly international reputation, attracting graduates from countries including the UK, USA, Germany, India, Malta, Nigeria, Romania, Italy, and the Netherlands.

One of the biggest themes running through the event was the growing importance of practical, career-focused technology education. Around 70% of OPIT students are already working professionals employed across industries including finance, consulting, cybersecurity, software development, and global technology firms.

Every degree programme concludes with a hands-on capstone project tackling real-world challenges. Recent projects explored AI-driven anti-money laundering systems, predictive modelling for climate disasters, responsible AI governance, and cybersecurity risk management.

The event also featured contributions from several prominent figures in the global technology and education sectors, including Matt Symonds and Zorina Alliata, whose keynote focused on artificial intelligence, innovation, and digital transformation.

As businesses worldwide continue racing to adopt AI, automation, and cybersecurity technologies, institutions like OPIT are positioning themselves at the centre of the next wave of global digital education.

Best Image-to-Video AI Generators in 2026: Tested and Ranked

The AI video race is heating up fast, and in 2026, turning a static image into a slick cinematic clip is no longer futuristic wizardry. 

It is rapidly becoming an everyday tool for creators, marketers, ecommerce brands and social media teams trying to produce eye-catching video content at speed.

But while dozens of platforms now promise “Hollywood-quality AI video”, the reality is that not all image-to-video generators are built for the same job.

Some focus on cinematic motion and dramatic camera effects. Others prioritise realism, consistency or rapid content production for social platforms. And increasingly, creators are discovering that choosing the right tool depends less on hype, and more on workflow.

One of the biggest names gaining traction is Magic Hour, which positions itself as an all-in-one AI video and image platform. The appeal is clear for busy creators and marketing teams: fast generation, multiple export formats, built-in editing tools and even free daily access.

Rather than specialising in a single cinematic niche, Magic Hour focuses on scalable production. Users can quickly generate vertical TikTok clips, square Instagram videos or widescreen promo footage from the same source image without constantly switching apps.

The platform also integrates several major AI models including Veo, Kling and Seedance, giving users flexibility depending on the style of output they need.

Meanwhile, Kling AI continues to attract creators looking for dramatic cinematic movement from a single still image. Its strengths lie in camera motion, environmental animation and scene continuity — making it particularly attractive for music visuals, teaser trailers and stylised advertising campaigns.

For creators chasing narrative storytelling, Higgsfield AI has emerged as another serious contender. The platform focuses heavily on smooth transitions and cohesive visual sequences, helping transform static concept art and photography into short cinematic scenes.

Then there is Google Veo, which has rapidly become associated with high-end realism. Veo’s detailed lighting simulation and texture rendering make it especially attractive for premium product showcases and luxury brand campaigns where realism matters.

The biggest lesson from 2026’s AI video boom? Showcase demos rarely tell the full story.

Experienced creators increasingly recommend running identical tests across platforms using the same high-resolution image and prompt. Motion quality, lighting consistency, export speed and regeneration reliability often matter far more than a single polished promotional clip.

And with AI video tools evolving almost monthly, today’s “best” platform may look very different six months from now.

One thing is certain though: the era of static online content is fading quickly, and AI-generated motion is becoming the new digital battleground for brands, creators and businesses alike.

https://magichour.ai

ChatGPT Is Changing How Fans Discover Concerts and Football Matches

The rise of conversational AI is beginning to reshape one of the internet’s most familiar behaviors: search.

For years, discovering live events online has depended on structured interfaces built around filters, categories, and endless scrolling. 

And trying to avoid "sponsored" search returns that have zero relevance to the live event you are searching for! 

Whether users were searching for football matches, concerts, or major tournaments, they were expected to manually refine their intent step by step.

That model is now starting to evolve.

As conversational platforms become more widely adopted, users are increasingly interacting with services by simply asking for what they want rather than navigating traditional search systems.

One example of this shift is Seatpin, which recently launched its app inside ChatGPT.

The app allows users to discover live events conversationally through prompts such as:

“Find me football matches in Madrid this month”

“Show me concerts in London this weekend”

“Find ticket listings for the 2026 World Cup”

Instead of restarting searches or manually changing filters, users can continue refining results naturally through follow up prompts like “show cheaper options” or “find seats with the best atmosphere.”

The interaction reflects a broader transition happening across digital marketplaces, where conversational AI is increasingly becoming an interface layer between users and services.

This shift may be particularly significant for live events, where preferences are often subjective and difficult to capture through conventional filtering systems. Requests like “great atmosphere,” “best experience under €100,” or “good weekend concert” involve context that conversational systems can interpret more flexibly.

Seatpin’s ChatGPT integration connects users with live event marketplace listings, allowing them to explore current ticket availability and pricing through a conversational flow.

The company is part of a growing group of startups experimenting with how AI can move marketplaces away from static search experiences and toward more adaptive interaction models.

As conversational interfaces continue evolving, ticketing and live event discovery could become one of the clearest examples of how AI changes the way consumers navigate online platforms.

https://www.seatpin.com

Antigravity Launches “Project Eternal”: A Global Initiative to Preserve Cultural Memory Through Gaussian Splatting

Following the International Day for Monuments and Sites, Antigravity has announced the launch of Project Eternal.

This global initiative brings together advanced imaging technology, creators, and cultural institutions to digitally preserve humanity’s shared heritage.

Project Eternal is driven by two core missions. First, preservation without disruption. Traditional heritage documentation often relies on intrusive setups, but Antigravity’s 249g A1 drone enables high-fidelity capture with minimal human impact, safeguarding fragile sites while recording them in detail. Second, technology democratization.

By combining Insta360’s world-renowned panoramic cameras with Antigravity’s industry-leading 360 drone, the project creates a seamless air-to-ground ecosystem for full-sphere capture in a single pass. 

To make advanced 3D reconstruction truly accessible, Antigravity has partnered with leading 3D Gaussian Splatting platform Splatica to launch the world’s largest Gaussian Splatting UGC campaign, offering 1,000 free 10-minute uploads, so anyone can turn 360 footage into immersive 3D models with ease.

As part of Project Eternal, Antigravity is collaborating with CyArk to launch a pilot project in Italy to create high-fidelity 3D Gaussian Splatting models of Civita di Bagnoregio and Pompeii. 

Also known as the “Dying City,” Civita di Bagnoregio exemplifies the urgency of preservation in the face of erosion and time, while Pompeii, suspended in time by volcanic ash, offers a uniquely detailed record of ancient life. Together, they highlight both the fragility and enduring value of cultural heritage.

Beyond institutional collaboration, Antigravity is inviting creators worldwide to participate. Global influencers will use Gaussian Splatting to generate digital twins of sites such as Roman theaters and Jeju Island, sharing their creative processes and results across social platforms in the coming weeks.

Project Eternal will also launch a global UGC campaign themed: “If you could preserve one place forever, what would it be?” Open to panoramic camera and drone users worldwide, the initiative invites 3DGS creators, architects, archaeologists and everyday users to capture meaningful locations, generate 3D models via Splatica, and share their stories online. 

A distinguished jury of experts across technology, art, and heritage will select outstanding submissions for global recognition and awards.

In the long-term, Project Eternal is envisioned to evolve into a global IP, uniting creators, technologies, and communities to collectively preserve the world’s memories before they fade.

For further details, visit: https://www.antigravity.tech

VidaBay’s Battery-Free E-Ink Magnet Might Be the Smartest Gadget of 2026

In a world obsessed with ever-more-powerful smartphones, smarter watches, and AI-packed gadgets, one of the most genuinely clever bits of consumer tech this spring costs just US$30 and sticks to your fridge.

VidaBay has created something refreshingly simple: a battery-free e-ink display that works like a reusable instant photo, but without chargers, cables, or disposable film. Called the E-Ink Instant Film, it looks like a minimalist fridge magnet, but it may quietly represent one of the smartest ideas in consumer electronics this year.

The magic lies in what VidaBay calls “power harvesting.” Its Classic Plus model has no battery, no charging port, and no need for plugs at all. Instead, it uses NFC, the same near-field communication technology found in smartphones for contactless payments.

When you hold your phone close to the display, the phone transfers both the image and just enough power to refresh the screen. Once the image appears, it stays there permanently thanks to the bistable nature of e-paper technology, which only uses power when changing the image, not while displaying it.

That means zero standby power, zero charging anxiety, and zero unnecessary tech clutter.

It’s a surprisingly elegant answer to a problem many gadgets create for themselves.

The idea also solves a long-standing issue in instant photography. Traditional instant film gives you a physical print, but once it is printed, that’s it — permanent, single-use, and often wasteful. Digital photos are endlessly editable, but they tend to disappear into phone galleries never to be looked at again.

VidaBay sits neatly in the middle.

It offers the tactile satisfaction of a physical object while allowing unlimited updates. Today it might display a family photo, tomorrow a shopping list, and next week a child’s drawing or a birthday message. It turns the image itself from a disposable object into a reusable physical canvas.

That flexibility has helped it spread quickly across social media, with users on Reddit, TikTok, YouTube and Instagram finding creative new uses well beyond the original “fridge magnet” concept. Some use it as a reusable greeting card, others as desk décor, gifts, or part of custom maker projects.

Even E Ink Corporation, the global leader in e-paper displays, publicly highlighted VidaBay’s design earlier this year — a notable endorsement for such a small consumer product.

Founder Nathan Chee, both an instant photography enthusiast and an e-paper industry veteran, says the goal was never to create a novelty gadget.

“We set out to build a platform, not a single-use product.”

And that may be the real story here.

In an industry often obsessed with adding more, VidaBay succeeded by taking things away, no battery, no waste, no complexity.

Sometimes the smartest technology is the one that simply gets out of the way.

https://www.vidabay.net

London tech firm named top Power BI company – then tells UK SMEs to ‘stop buying dashboards’

Kat Korson

Red Eagle Tech, a London-based bespoke software firm, has been named a London 2026 Top Power BI & Data Solutions Company by global B2B review platform Clutch. 

But rather than taking a traditional victory lap, the firm is using the moment to issue a warning to small and medium-sized businesses: stop wasting your budget on data dashboards.

Despite being recognised as a top London Business Intelligence provider, Red Eagle Tech is pushing back against the tech industry's obsession with passive data visualisation, a problem they call ‘expensive digital wallpaper’.

"We're really proud to be recognised by Clutch, but we think a lot of SMEs are being sold the wrong thing," Kat Korson, Director at Red Eagle Tech told That's Technology.

"Many tech agencies sell SMEs complex, beautiful walls of charts that most teams stop checking within a month. Dashboards don't make decisions. If your data isn't directly triggering an automated workflow or feeding an intelligent system, you've just bought very expensive digital wallpaper."

Red Eagle Tech, founded on the principle that SMEs deserve affordable bespoke technology built around their business operations, won the 2026 award by taking a different approach to data. Instead of building isolated reporting tools, the firm integrates Power BI directly into custom-built software, ensuring clients never sign a blank cheque by using a "Fixed-Price Agile" delivery model with no hourly billing.

In 2026, as AI adoption accelerates across UK businesses, Korson says many are rushing to adopt AI before their underlying data infrastructure is fit for purpose.

"Everyone wants the flashy AI workflow, but very few are fixing the disconnected SaaS tools and spreadsheets actually running their operations," Korson added. "We won this award because we don't just visualise broken data - we actually connect the systems so data flows automatically. We're shifting growing businesses away from just looking at their data, to letting their software act on it."

The 2026 Clutch Award recognises Red Eagle Tech as a leader in Business Intelligence and Data Analytics, highlighting the firm’s ability to turn complex data into useful, bespoke business tools for SMEs nationwide.

UK businesses can assess their own data maturity with Red Eagle Tech's free Data Maturity Assessment, designed to identify whether existing systems are connected and decision-ready, or simply acting as 'expensive digital wallpaper'.

https://redeagle.tech