Latest news with #securityservices
CNA
2 hours ago
- Business
- CNA
Crypto firm BitGo confidentially files for US IPO
BitGo, a provider of trust and security services for digital assets, said on Monday it has confidentially filed for a U.S. listing, as crypto firms race to capitalize on renewed market momentum. Several high-profile companies, including those in riskier sectors like crypto and fintech, have launched successful listings in recent weeks, signaling pent-up demand and a rebound in capital markets activity. BitGo's announcement follows the crypto sector's market value hitting $4 trillion last week, driven by renewed optimism, regulatory clarity in key markets, and rising institutional inflows. The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the proposed initial public offering have not yet been determined, BitGo said.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Crypto firm BitGo confidentially files for US IPO
(Reuters) -BitGo, a provider of trust and security services for digital assets, said on Monday it has confidentially filed for a U.S. listing, as crypto firms race to capitalize on renewed market momentum. Several high-profile companies, including those in riskier sectors like crypto and fintech, have launched successful listings in recent weeks, signaling pent-up demand and a rebound in capital markets activity. BitGo's announcement follows the crypto sector's market value hitting $4 trillion last week, driven by renewed optimism, regulatory clarity in key markets, and rising institutional inflows. The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the proposed initial public offering have not yet been determined, BitGo said. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
BBC News
4 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Personal details of UK special forces and spies were included in Afghan data breach
Update: Date: 16:37 BST Title: Why the latest revelation was allowed to be reported Content: Joel GunterReporting from the High Court Very little was said in court today that the public was allowed to hear – but what was said paved the way for the dramatic revelation that current and former members of the UK's special forces and security services were compromised by this leak. The judge, Mr Justice Chamberlain, told the court that the barristers for the Ministry of Defence and for a group of media organisations had reached a compromise in a closed-door hearing. That meant that the media organisations involved in the case – including The Mail, Global Media and the Independent – could now report that sensitive British officials were in the leak. That revelation had been prevented by an injunction issued earlier this week, but then Defence Secretary John Healey said in Parliament on Tuesday that a "small number" of senior military officials, MPs and other government officials had been affected. Then on Wednesday the Sun newspaper reported that special forces and spies were involved. It was enough to push the group of media organisations in this case to request an emergency hearing and ask the judge to lift the restrictions on them. Update: Date: 16:20 BST Title: The data breach was much worse than we thought Content: Joel GunterReporting from the High Court It was already a huge scandal earlier this week, when the country learned that the details of thousands of Afghans at risk from the Taliban had been accidentally leaked by someone in UK Special Forces headquarters, and a secret scheme had been set up to bring them to the UK. Today we can report that the data breach was much worse than previously thought: it contained personal details of more than 100 British officials including those whose identities are most closely guarded – special forces and spies. In the light of today's revelations, it is no wonder that the British government obtained an unprecedented super-injunction, a kind of gagging order that prevents the reporting of even the existence of the injunction. Taken together, the leak of the personal information of both at-risk Afghans and some of the most sensitive officials in the UK make this one of the worst security breaches in modern British history. Update: Date: 16:05 BST Title: Special forces' identities are tightly kept secrets Content: Joel GunterReporting from the High Court The security breach was kept under wraps by an injunction until today, when the gagging order was lifted in part by a High Court judge. Details of more than 100 British officials were included in the leaked data, which may have fallen into the hands of the Taliban. The identities of members of the UK's special forces regiments, including the SAS and SBS, and the identities of people working in the security services are tightly kept secrets. The breach occurred in February 2022, when a database was accidentally emailed outside of government by an individual working at UK Special Forces headquarters in London. The database also contained the personal information of nearly 19,000 Afghans who had worked with the British during the 20-year conflict in Afghanistan and had applied to be resettled to the UK after the Taliban retook control in 2021. Many of those who had applied were judged to be at risk of serious harm or even death as the Taliban sought revenge against those who had worked with the British government during the war. Update: Date: 15:59 BST Title: More than 100 British people included in Afghan data leak Content: The details of more than 100 British people - including spies and special forces - were included in a massive data leak that resulted in thousands of Afghans being secretly relocated to the UK. This is a breaking story and we will bring you more information shortly - stay with us.
Al Arabiya
4 days ago
- Al Arabiya
Georgia arrests two men trying to sell weapons-grade uranium
Georgia has arrested two men for allegedly attempting to illegally sell weapons-grade uranium, officials in the Caucasus nation said on Thursday. Counter-intelligence and special operations units detained a Georgian and a foreign national while they were allegedly trying to sell radioactive uranium that 'could be used to manufacture explosive devices or carry out terrorist attacks,' the security services said. The two men were seeking $3.0 million for the uranium when they were arrested in the Black Sea port city of Batumi, the services said. The 'nuclear material', described as a 'radioactive chemical element emitting alpha and gamma radiation', was deemed capable of causing mass casualties if weaponized, the agency added. It said the plot had been 'detected and neutralized at an early stage.' The suspects face up to 10 years in prison for the illegal handling of nuclear material. Concerns have existed for years that extremist groups could get hold of unsecured radioactive materials from countries across the former Soviet Union. Georgia and neighboring Armenia -- both ex-Soviet states -- have reported numerous cases of people trying to sell radioactive substances, including attempts to smuggle weapons-grade uranium.
Daily Mail
08-07-2025
- Daily Mail
Britain's jails are being overrun by drugs: Prison watchdog warns of 'uncontrollable levels of criminality' behind bars as inmates spend 22 hours a day in cells 'high and watching daytime TV'
Prisons are grappling with 'uncontrollable levels of criminality' due to the surge of drugs being brought in via drones, a watchdog chief has warned. Chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor said inmates were able to order from a 'menu' of illicit substances while sitting in their cells for 22 hours a day 'high and watching daytime TV'. He described packages containing up to 10kg of drugs being dropped into prisons by drones alongside 'frightening' blades including a zombie knife. Mr Taylor previously warned that drones dropping drugs at high-security jails HMP Manchester and HMP Long Lartin was a 'threat to national security', and he repeated calls for the threat to be taken seriously 'at the highest levels of Government'. Unveiling his annual report into prisons yesterday, he said there was a 'theoretical' risk of a drone being used to carry an inmate over a wall as part of an escape. The watchdog chief said: 'There is a level of risk that's posed by drones that I think is different from what we've seen in the past, and both with stuff coming in and ultimately the potential for something even more serious to happen. 'What I'd like to see is that the prison service really get a grip of this issue and and we'd like to see the Government, security services coming together, using technology, using intelligence, so that this risk doesn't materialise.' The annual report highlighted concerns that criminal gangs are often using sophisticated drones to target jails and sell contraband to bored and vulnerable inmates. Mr Taylor said that drones can smuggle in contraband more quickly and accurately than through corrupt prison staff or visits, as they can use location app what3words to deliver 'directly to an individual cell'. The report detailed that 39 per cent of respondents to prisoner surveys said it was easy to get drugs in prison, and inspectors regularly visited prisons where the recorded rate of positive random drug tests was more than 30 per cent. It said in many jails there were 'seemingly uncontrollable levels of criminality' that often inexperienced staff were unable to contain. It also found it 'unsurprising' that national rates of violence increased last year, making the chance of rehabilitation unlikely. Last month, the Independent Monitoring Board's annual report on prisons found violence remained 'excessively high', which was driven by overcrowding, inadequate mental health support and a surge in drug use. Of weapons, Mr Taylor said: 'I have been in prisons where they showed inspectors some pretty frightening-looking knives that have got in, which they suspect have got in as a result of drones.' The discovery of the zombie knife was after the period covered in the annual report. The watchdog boss said in the report: 'This is a threat that needs to be taken seriously at the highest levels of Government. 'Only when drugs are kept out, and prisoners are involved in genuinely purposeful activity that will help them to get work and resettle successfully on release, can we expect to see prisons rehabilitate rather than just contain the men and women they hold.' Mr Taylor's report also found overcrowding and lack of activity caused frustration among prisoners which fuelled the demand for drugs, with many spending most of the day in cramped shared cells with broken furniture and vermin. Overcrowding also meant there were not enough places for every prisoner to take part in work or education while in custody, but even when there were spaces available inspectors found underused workshops because of staff shortages. Purposeful activity was the worst performing assessment category by inspectors, with 28 out of 38 adult prisons visited deemed to be 'poor' or 'not sufficiently good' in this area. The findings, reviewed from April 2024 to March 2025, come as ministers grapple with overcrowding and high-profile security incidents in jails. The Government approved the use of protective body armour for prison staff in high security areas after four prison officers were attacked with hot oil and homemade weapons by Manchester Arena bomb plotter Hashem Abedi at HMP Frankland in April. Ministers have also vowed to create 14,000 new prison places by 2031 and have accepted recommendations from the independent sentencing review to curb overcrowding in the long term. Responding to the prison watchdog's annual report, Andrea Coomber KC, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: 'This report is a checklist for all the reasons the Government must prioritise reducing prison numbers, urgently. 'Sentencing reform is essential, and sensible steps to reduce the prison population would save lives, protect staff, and help more people to move on from crime.' Pia Sinha, chief executive of the Prison Reform Trust, also said the report paints a sadly familiar picture of a prison system in deep crisis, which is not just a prison problem but a 'public safety issue'. 'Prisons should be places of rehabilitation, not warehouses of despair,' she said. Responding to the report, prisons minister Lord James Timpson said ministers are improving prisons so they 'cut crime, not create better criminals'. 'This report shows the scale of the crisis we inherited and the unacceptable pressures faced by our hardworking staff - with prisons dangerously full, rife with drugs and violence,' he said. 'We're also investing £40 million to bolster security, alongside stepping up cooperation with police to combat drones and stop the contraband which fuels violence behind bars'.
