Category: Government

BusinessGovernmentTechnology

Google Challenges UK Regulator’s Market Dominance Designation for Mobile Ecosystem

Google has pushed back against the UK competition regulator’s designation of its mobile platform with strategic market status. The company argues Android and Chrome were designed to increase consumer choice rather than restrict competition.

Regulatory Designation Under New Powers

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority has formally designated Google’s mobile platform with Strategic Market Status under the Competition and Consumers Act 2024, according to reports. Sources indicate this designation covers Google’s Android operating system, Play Store, Chrome browser, and Blink engine. The new regulatory regime, which took effect January 1, 2025, reportedly grants the CMA expanded powers aimed at ensuring fair treatment for consumers and businesses.

by Darren Holt
BusinessGovernmentTechnology

UK Competition Authority Designates Apple and Google as Digital Market Gatekeepers Under New Powers

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority has designated Apple and Google as strategic market gatekeepers, citing their control over mobile operating systems and app stores. The decision marks the second set of designations under new digital competition rules that grant the regulator enhanced enforcement powers.

Expanded Digital Market Oversight

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority has expanded its digital market oversight by designating both Apple and Google as strategic market gatekeepers, according to reports. The designation specifically targets the companies’ control over mobile operating systems, app stores, and web browsers – areas that sources indicate have created what the CMA describes as a near-duopoly in key digital markets.

by Darren Holt
BusinessCybersecurityGovernment

CISA’s Critical Partnership Division Gutted in Major Staffing Cuts

Sweeping layoffs at CISA have dismantled the agency’s primary partnership division, eliminating international coordination and industry collaboration functions. Security experts warn the cuts create dangerous vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure protection.

Major Restructuring Eliminates Key Cybersecurity Partnerships

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has effectively dismantled its primary partnership division through sweeping layoffs that eliminated nearly all staff positions, according to reports from multiple sources familiar with the matter. The Trump administration’s cuts to the Stakeholder Engagement Division (SED) have left three of its four units without any staff as the reductions take effect in early December.

by Noah Vance
BusinessGovernmentTechnology

UK Regulator Imposes Stricter Mobile Platform Regulations on Apple and Google

The UK Competition and Markets Authority has designated both Apple and Google with strategic market status for their mobile platforms. This move will subject the tech giants to stricter conduct requirements aimed at fostering greater market competition.

New Regulatory Framework for Mobile Platforms

The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will implement stricter regulations on Apple and Google regarding their mobile platform operations, according to reports. The regulatory body has designated both technology companies as having “strategic market status” (SMS), which sources indicate will require them to adhere to specific conduct rules under new digital legislation that took effect this year.

by Marcus Linfield
CybersecurityGovernmentPrivacy

Hackers Amass Personal Data on 22,000 US Officials via Breached Salesforce Platform

A cybercriminal collective has assembled a database containing personal information for over 22,000 US government officials, according to cybersecurity reports. The group reportedly obtained the data through compromised Salesforce customer records and other leaks. Multiple federal agencies have acknowledged awareness of the security breach.

Massive Government Data Compilation Exposed

A hacking collective known as Scattered LAPSUS$ Hunters has compiled personal data on more than 22,000 U.S. government officials, according to reports from cybersecurity journalists. The group claims to have built this extensive database by sifting through stolen Salesforce customer information obtained during a series of breaches earlier this year that targeted the platform’s corporate users.

by Marcus Linfield