New year, new tech, new problems—from the arrival of entirely new players in the AI market to unprecedented uncertainty about global IT supply chains. Here’s your roundup of what has happened in IT and cybersecurity around the globe over the first weeks of 2025.
Everything’s coming up DeepSeek
It’s not just DeepSeek. While the China-based AI company rattled tech investors in the US by showing off breakthrough AI at a fraction of the cost of US firms like OpenAI, it also spurred a wave of domestic investment into other Chinese firms.
Reuters reported the Hang Seng AI Theme Index, which tracks firms in Hong Kong, was up more than 5% the week of February 6. Other Hang Seng indexes showed chipmaking and IT markets jumping by double digits (over 11%) over the same period.
The jump is notable because Chinese investors have presumably priced in other risks, such as Donald Trump’s announcement of 10% tariffs on Chinese imports and immediate backlash from US legislators. Members of Congress have already proposed measures ranging from banning DeepSeek on government devices to a nationwide ban on importing Chinese AI products.
On the Chinese mainland, Reuters reported, AI, semiconductors, big data, and robotics stock also quickly rose in price—while Hong Kong-based TF Securities wrote in a client note that US efforts to slow Chinese technological progress “backfired, instead accelerating Chinese AI innovation.”
“DeepSeek’s breakthrough shows Chinese engineers are creative and capable of inventions that can compete with Silicon Valley,” China Europe Capital Chairman Abraham Zhang told Reuters. “It has also stirred nationalistic fever in capital markets.”
Scammer blackout
In early February, the Associated Press reported, Thailand cut electricity, internet, and gas supplies to five towns near the nation’s border with Myanmar that authorities said are host to some of the world’s largest scam operations.
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Government officials told reporters they estimated the towns consumed about $17.8 million in electricity annually—while causing $2.3 million in damage to the Thai economy alone on a daily basis. In 2023, the United Nations warned “credible sources” had said criminal syndicates have forced over 120,000 people in Myanmar into working as online scam operators.
According to Myanmar Now, human rights groups have argued the actions will do little to slow down the scammers, who can easily afford generators. One Thai legislator, Rangsiman Rome, also warned the gangs could simply turn to satellite internet services like Elon Musk’s Starlink.
Europe hates Big Red
Oracle isn’t very popular in Europe right now, where 95% of German and 92% of French customers want to ditch its Oracle Java product and switch to alternative Java virtual machines and development kits, according to Dimensional Research data reported on by The Register.
Oracle obtained control of Java in 2009 by purchasing its previous owner, Sun Microsystems. A decade later, it adjusted licensing models for commercial Java customers and started charging for previously free options.
Over the following years, it began auditing customers for Java licensing compliance and began charging per employee rather than user or processor. The Register previously reported Gartner data indicated Java costs rose two to five times for most customers.
Across all Oracle Java users, Dimensional Research found the percentage seeking to transition to other products rose from 72% in 2023 to 88% in 2024, The Register wrote.