UK puts frontier AI to work strengthening cyber defences
The move builds on two pilots that helped identify and fix more than 1,000 potential cyber vulnerabilities across government systems, [the government said](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/britain-steps-up-national-defences-against-growing-ai-risks) on 12 October. The government will explore strengthening parts of the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill so that essential services such as hospitals and utilities are better protected from AI-related risk, including loss of control. Work is under way with the National Cyber Security Centre and the AI Security Institute on how to respond to incidents involving AI agents.
Chicago City Council's Committee on Pedestrian and Traffic Safety on 9 October backed an ordinance to expand Smart Streets, [the Chicago Sun-Times reports](https://chicago.suntimes.com/city-hall/2026/10/09/chicago-smart-streets-bus-bike-lane-violation). The pilot uses camera-equipped Department of Finance vehicles and Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) buses to enforce parking violations in bus and bike lanes. Coverage would grow in phases and go citywide in January 2028. The department's camera fleet would rise from eight to 26 vehicles, and the CTA could fit cameras to up to 100 buses. Committee chair Daniel La Spata said 82 per cent of drivers who received a warning never got a ticket. The full council has yet to vote.
Ethiopia's National ID Program, re-established in August as Faydaverse Digital Solutions, has opened a sandbox where developers, innovators and early-stage startups can test Fayda digital ID authentication before going live, [Biometric Update reported](https://www.biometricupdate.com/202610/ethiopia-launches-developer-sandbox-to-support-fayda-digital-id-innovation-integration) on 9 October. The [Fayda Partner Portal](https://partner.fayda.et/docs) offers application programming interface (API) references, code examples and guidance on the eSignet OpenID Connect sign-in flow. According to Biometric Update, Fayda had more than 52 million registrations, 150 integrated partners and over 208 million electronic know-your-customer (eKYC) verifications as of 9 October.
Official releaseUK Government Digital Service blog
The UK government is investing £12 million in Data Sharing Infrastructure Initiatives to help businesses access, manage and share data more effectively, according to a Government Digital Service blog post. Over the next three years, the programme will work with businesses and sectors to identify barriers to data sharing and develop practical approaches for use across the economy. The National Digital Twin Programme has spent four years developing the National Node Net, an open-source, Crown-IP data sharing infrastructure, which the National Energy System Operator has adopted.
On World Tourism Day India’s tourism ministry and the Open Network for Digital Commerce launched a National Digital Tourism Stack. It aims to bring 23,000 tourism experiences and homestays onto shared digital rails by the end of 2028, with a pilot from January to June 2027.
