Temu has been fined 232 million dollars by European Commission regulators for allegedly failing to prevent illegal and unsafe products from being sold on its platform.

Temu

The European Commission announced the penalty on Thursday, saying the company failed to adequately identify and manage risks linked to goods sold to consumers within the European Union.

The case was brought under the Digital Services Act (DSA), the EU law regulating large online platforms and digital services.

According to the Commission, investigations into Temu began in 2024 following complaints from the European Consumer Organisation and 17 affiliated national consumer groups over the circulation of unsafe products on the platform.

Regulators said mystery shopping tests carried out during the investigation revealed that several phone chargers failed basic safety requirements, while some baby toys contained chemicals above legal safety limits or posed choking hazards.

The Commission further accused Temu of failing to properly assess how its recommendation systems and influencer-linked promotions could amplify the visibility of unsafe goods.

Henna Virkkunen criticised the company’s approach, saying the platform’s risk assessment did not provide regulators and consumers with adequate information about the scale of harm posed by illegal products sold through the site.

“Now it is time for Temu to comply with the law,” she stated.

The Commission directed the company to submit a compliance plan by Aug. 28, 2026, adding that the plan would be reviewed within two months to determine whether the platform had fulfilled its obligations under the law.

Reacting to the decision, Temu said it respected the objectives of the Digital Services Act but disagreed with the Commission’s findings and described the fine as disproportionate.

A spokesperson for the company said the decision related to its initial DSA assessment conducted in 2024 and did not reflect the current state of its systems.

The company added that it had since strengthened its risk assessment procedures, governance systems and user protection measures, while pledging continued cooperation with regulators.

The fine is the largest issued so far under the Digital Services Act and marks the second enforcement action under the law.

The EU has also launched separate investigations into Shein and AliExpress over allegations relating to unsafe or counterfeit products.

Kaspersky has updated its Cloud Workload Security (CWS) offering, introducing AI-powered workload analysis, enhanced integrations and performance optimisations designed to help organisations better secure complex cloud and hybrid environments.

The latest update brings integration with OpenAI API in the Kaspersky Container Security (KCS) part of the offering, also resulting in the creation of a new Advanced Pro license within the product.

The new capability provides contextual descriptions of detected vulnerabilities and potential risks, helping accelerate investigations, reduce knowledge gaps and support faster decision-making.

Designed for modern DevOps and hybrid cloud environments, Kaspersky CWS provides centralised visibility across workloads, Kubernetes clusters and cloud platforms, while supporting runtime protection, shift-left security practices and regulatory compliance requirements.

AI-driven visibility and improved workload protection

The update allows organisations to enrich container image scanning results with automated explanations and risk context generated by third-party large language models integrated via OpenAI API. By transforming technical scan data into actionable insights, the feature helps teams prioritise remediation and streamline security operations.

Additional improvements include single sign-on (SSO) integration and multi-domain Active Directory support, enabling more seamless deployment across distributed enterprise environments.

To optimise performance, Kaspersky CWS now also enhances image scanning efficiency by skipping oversized images when needed and avoiding rescans of identical images within a predefined timeframe. Expanded security policy capabilities and UX/UI updates further simplify workload protection and policy management.

Enhanced protection across cloud environments

The new release also updates Light Agent components, now leveraging the latest versions of Kaspersky Endpoint Security for Windows (version 12.12) and Kaspersky Endpoint Security for Linux (version 12.4) to improve overall security and integration capabilities.

“As AI adoption accelerates across industries, organisations are increasingly relying on containerised environments – placing additional pressure on security teams.

“To help ease this burden, we introduced AI integration within Kaspersky Cloud Workload Security that enables security professionals, including those just beginning their journey in container security, to make faster decisions and gain deeper insight into potential risks and vulnerabilities,” comments Anton Rusakov-Rudenko, Senior Product Marketing Manager, Cloud & Network Security at Kaspersky.

“Combined with performance optimisations and expanded integration capabilities, the solution helps organisations to protect cloud environments more efficiently while maintaining operational resilience.”

South African Revenue Service (SARS) has dismissed claims that its systems were breached, following allegations by a hacker group that it had compromised the tax authority’s digital infrastructure.

The controversy emerged after Nullsec Nigeria, a threat actor  also known as Anonymous Nigeria, claimed to have breached both SARS and the State Information Technology Agency (SITA).

The hacktivist group allegedly posted links to download what it claimed was compromised data on the Breached hacker forum on Saturday, 23 May 2026, sparking concerns over a possible cyberattack targeting government systems.

However, SARS said it had conducted a thorough investigation into the claims and found no evidence that its systems had been compromised.

“SARS continuously monitors its systems for any suspicious activity and has conducted a thorough investigation in response to these reports. These claims are false and unsubstantiated,” the revenue service said in a statement.

“At this stage, there is no evidence that SARS’s systems have been compromised. SARS wishes to reassure the public regarding the integrity of its systems.”

The tax authority stressed that safeguarding taxpayer information remains one of its core responsibilities and forms part of its broader efforts to maintain public confidence in South Africa’s tax administration system.

SARS said the “protection of taxpayer information and the security of its digital platforms” is treated as “sacrosanct”.

The agency also urged South Africans to avoid sharing unverified claims and instead rely on official channels for accurate information.

“Members of the public are urged to verify information before sharing and not to circulate unverified claims or rely on information from unofficial sources,” SARS said.

At the same time, SARS warned taxpayers to remain vigilant against phishing scams and fraudulent messages falsely claiming to be from the tax authority.

For guidance on identifying scams and phishing attempts, SARS directed the public to its official online resource page: SARS scams and phishing guidance

SARS said it would continue monitoring its digital environment and communicate any developments through official platforms should the need arise.