This roundup spans several sectors. Major platforms are tightening oversight, companies are rectifying internal errors, and cybercrime persists. Amidst these challenges, new technology is being used to bridge accessibility gaps.
Let's explore these events in detail.
Google Strengthens Play Store Oversight in 2025
Google rejected more than 1.75 million Android app submissions from the Play Store in 2025 after identifying policy violations. A further 255,000 apps were prevented from accessing sensitive user data, including location information and personal identifiers. More than 80,000 developer accounts linked to repeated abuse were removed from the platform.
Manipulated ratings and coordinated review activity remained a key concern. During the year, 160 million inauthentic reviews were blocked, reducing artificial ranking boosts that often mislead users. Android’s Play Protect security system continued large-scale monitoring, scanning 350 billion apps daily and identifying over 27 million malicious apps installed from outside the Play Store.
PayPal Confirms Prolonged Data Exposure Linked to Internal Error
PayPal revealed that a coding error within its Working Capital loan application exposed customer data for nearly six months in 2025. Approximately 100 users were affected, with exposed information including names, contact details, Social Security numbers, and dates of birth.
The incident was traced to an internal software change that unintentionally made sensitive data accessible, rather than an external system intrusion. PayPal has since reversed the update, reimbursed a small number of affected accounts for unauthorised transactions, and is offering two years of free credit monitoring.
Advantest Examines Ransomware Intrusion
Tokyo-based Advantest Corporation, a global leader in semiconductor testing with a $120 billion market capitalisation, confirmed that an unauthorised party gained access to its network in mid-February. The company triggered incident response procedures and isolated affected systems after identifying ransomware activity.
While the investigation remains ongoing, no confirmed evidence of customer or employee data extraction has been reported at this stage. External cybersecurity specialists have been engaged to assess the scope of the intrusion. The incident adds to a growing list of cyber events affecting major Japanese corporations.
French Bank Account Registry Breach Affects 1.2 million Records
France’s Ministry of Finance disclosed a cybersecurity incident involving FICOBA, the national registry for bank account identifiers. Access was obtained using credentials stolen from a civil servant authorised to use an interministerial data sharing platform.
Authorities estimate that information linked to approximately 1.2 million accounts was potentially accessed, including bank identifiers (IBANs), account holder identities, and physical addresses. The system has been taken offline while security controls are reinforced, and affected individuals will receive direct notifications.
Nigerian National Receives Eight-Year Sentence for US Tax Fraud
A US federal court sentenced Nigerian national Matthew Abiodun Akande to eight years in prison for orchestrating a multi-year tax fraud scheme. Between 2016 and 2021, Akande used phishing emails and remote-access malware to steal personal data from clients of US tax preparation firms.
He filed over 1,000 fraudulent tax returns, seeking more than $8.1 million in refunds, of which approximately $1.3 million was successfully obtained. Akande was arrested in London in 2024 and extradited to the US in 2025. He has been ordered to pay nearly $1.4 million in restitution.
Nigerian-UK Startup Advances Sign Language Accessibility
Talksign, a Nigeria and UK-based startup, has introduced Talksign-1, a system that converts American Sign Language (ASL) into speech and text in under 100 milliseconds. The tool uses standard webcam input and works bidirectionally, also rendering spoken or typed words into sign language video.
The product addresses accessibility gaps for the 70 million primary sign language users worldwide. While the system currently supports 250 signs and does not yet handle full sentence-level interpretation, development is underway to expand the vocabulary and add support for British and French Sign Language.
…
That's it for today's news. Subscribe to our blog for more stories and further insights.
You can also join our newsletter to get security updates delivered straight to your inbox.