Issue 007

The flaws were found with AI. One security firm, Calif, found them as part of OpenAI's "Patch the Planet" initiative, and another, Wiz, found them separately. Then, the day before the fix came out, Calif accidentally posted a video of the attack working. It was taken down, but the race to patch was on.

These flaws had been sitting in the code for years. AI is what made them dangerous, and the same tools are open to people who want to cause harm. Old software is only going to get more exposed, so keeping systems up to date is no longer housekeeping. It's the job.

Whether it works is another matter. When the UK brought in online age checks in July 2025, VPN traffic, the easiest way round them, jumped more than 1,300% in a day. Greece's twist is how it checks: a token from a government app that tells the platform only whether you're over 15, and nothing else.

Determined teenagers will probably still find a way round it. But a check that proves your age without handing over your identity is genuinely clever tech, and it's the part we'd expect other countries to copy.

There were two days of talks, with an evening startup showcase on the first day where new companies pitched their ideas. What stood out was who was in the room: founders and startups, investors, the organisations that support them, and the people running the region's combined authority. Every part of the ecosystem, in one place, making the case for the North as one economy rather than a set of rival cities.

We came away sold on the idea of a North that works together. Thank you to TECH SY and everyone who made it happen. We got a lot out of it, and we'll be back.