Weekly Cybersecurity Digest [January, Week 2]
Posted on January 13, 2026
Dear Valued Clients,
Welcome to this week’s cybersecurity digest from Make Sense, your trusted partner in building measurable resilience across Europe’s evolving digital and public-service ecosystems. The second week of January highlighted how government cyber investment, AI accountability and sector-specific threat campaigns are redefining Europe’s risk landscape.
From state-led cyber reform to opportunistic attacks on hospitality and scrutiny of AI use in public institutions, one message is clear – execution, not policy intent, will define cyber maturity in 2026.
✅ Top Stories of the Week
i. UK Launches £210m Cyber Action Plan
The UK Government unveiled a £210 million Government Cyber Action Plan to strengthen public-sector cybersecurity, establishing a Government Cyber Unit to improve risk identification, incident response and mandatory security standards across departments. The initiative aims to boost the resilience of digital public services amid rising threat levels. [Read more via IT Brief UK]
ii. Malware Campaign Targets Europe’s Hospitality Sector with Fake “Blue Screen” Lure
Researchers warned that Europe’s hospitality sector is being targeted by a malware campaign masquerading as the Windows “Blue Screen of Death”. Tracked by Securonix as PHALT#BLYX, the operation has hit hotels and accommodation providers, aiming to steal credentials and deploy follow-on payloads during a peak travel period. The campaign highlights the rise in opportunistic targeting of tourism infrastructure across Europe this winter. [Read more via Computing]
Question: Which customer-facing systems would attackers compromise first during your own business-critical periods?
iii. ENISA Admits AI Use in Reports After “Hallucinated” Sources are Found
On 11 January 2026, Germany’s Heise reported that ENISA acknowledged using AI tools in two cybersecurity reports that contained numerous hallucinated or incorrect citations. The admission prompted criticism over quality control and transparency at the EU’s cybersecurity agency, as its publications inform policy, procurement and operational practice across member states. The incident renews scrutiny of AI-assisted drafting in public institutions. [Read more via Heise.de]
✅ Industry Trends & Insights
European Security Teams Struggle to Operationalise Compliance and AI Controls
A 7 Jan 2026 report highlights that while many European organisations have strong regulatory frameworks on paper, they struggle to operationalise cybersecurity controls in practice. Gaps are most pronounced in AI incident response, software supply-chain visibility, and automated compliance, particularly across France, Germany, and other EU markets, revealing a key defensive shift from policy creation to execution readiness. [Read more via Help Net Security]
Reflect: Where does your organisation face the biggest gap – governance design or frontline cyber execution?
Cyber Exposure Risks Rise as Europe Expands Cloud and Digital Footprints
Recent analysis from Cyber Exposure researchers highlights that externally visible assets – including cloud workloads, APIs and internet-facing infrastructure are emerging as Europe’s primary attack vector in early 2026. The shift reflects fragmented IT governance, legacy systems, and third-party dependencies, forcing European organisations to prioritise attack-surface visibility, continuous monitoring and unified risk management. [Read more via Cyble]
✅ Regulatory & Policy Updates
EU Awards ENISA Contract to Strengthen Unified Cybersecurity Reporting
On 7 January 2026, the European Union awarded a contract to Wavestone to support the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) in enhancing EU-wide cybersecurity operations. The initiative will help build and streamline the Cyber Resilience Act’s Single Reporting Platform, simplifying incident reporting, improving coordination across Member States and boosting resilience against cross-border threats. [Read more via Wavestone]
EU Commission Seeks Input on Open-source Strategy to Boost Cybersecurity
The European Commission launched a public consultation on its European Open Digital Ecosystem Strategy, seeking feedback from open-source stakeholders on boosting EU tech sovereignty and cybersecurity resilience. The effort aims to reduce dependency on non-EU platforms, improve software transparency and strengthen supply-chain security across digital infrastructure. Responses are invited through early February. [Read more via Cybernews]
Consider: Which open-source tools could strengthen your security posture if paired with stronger governance and support?
✅ Cyber IQ Challenge + Proactive Security Hacks
Quick Quiz:
What most effectively strengthens Europe’s cyber resilience in an era of AI-assisted attacks and sector-specific campaigns?
A) Larger cybersecurity budgets alone
B) Policy frameworks without operational testing
C) Continuous execution of controls across identity, cloud and supply chains
D) Annual compliance reporting
(Answer below)
Smart Security Moves of the Week
- Public-sector resilience: Map incident-response paths across departments – test them with cross-agency simulations.
- Hospitality hardening: Train frontline staff to recognise malware lures disguised as system errors.
- AI governance: Introduce validation layers for AI-assisted reporting and risk analysis.
- Attack-surface visibility: Prioritise continuous discovery of exposed assets across cloud and third-party ecosystems.
Answer: C) Continuous execution of controls across identity, cloud and supply chains.
✅ Conclusion
From the UK’s major cyber-investment push and malware campaigns hitting Europe’s hospitality sector to growing scrutiny of AI use in public institutions, this week reinforces a defining theme for 2026: cyber maturity is moving from intent to execution. Policy ambition, funding and regulation matter – but resilience will be judged by how consistently organisations operationalise controls across people, platforms and partners.
Final reflection: If your organisation faced a coordinated attack tomorrow, would your defences perform as designed or only as documented?
At Make Sense, we convert intelligence into measurable defence, helping organisations operationalise governance, strengthen execution and embed resilience where it matters most.
Stay secure,
The Make Sense SRL Team & CyberTania
