A US district court judge has blocked a recently announced ban by the Trump administration of popular Chinese app WeChat, citing free speech concerns.

Judge Laurel Beeler in San Francisco granted an injunction, stating that the government hadn’t convinced in its argument that the ban was due to national security concerns, and that the “balance of hardships tips in the plaintiffs’ favor.”

The Commerce Department had on Friday issued an order requiring Google Play and the Apple App Store to block the Tencent-owned app, which is estimated to have around 19 million users in the US.

As well as blocking this order, Beeler’s judgement also put paid to other demands from the government which would have impacted other “transactions” with WeChat, making it potentially unusable for many.

“Certainly, the government’s overarching national security interest is significant,” wrote Beeler, “but on this record – while the government has established that China’s activities raise significant national security concerns – it has put in scant little evidence that its effective ban of WeChat for all US users addresses those concerns.”

Although it began life as a messaging app in the WhatsApp mould, WeChat has grown into something much broader over the years to include payments and social media capabilities. It’s now used by over a billion consumers, most of whom are based in China.

However, given its Chinese ownership, the app has been viewed with increasing suspicion in Washington as a potential tool for government-led surveillance.

“Like TikTok, WeChat automatically captures vast swaths of information from its users. This data collection threatens to allow the Chinese Communist Party access to Americans’ personal and proprietary information,” Trump wrote in his original executive order in August. 

“In addition, the application captures the personal and proprietary information of Chinese nationals visiting the United States, thereby allowing the Chinese Communist Party a mechanism for keeping tabs on Chinese citizens who may be enjoying the benefits of a free society for the first time in their lives.”

The former CEO of the UK government’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has joined Paladin Capital Group as a managing director. 

The appointment of Ciaran Martin by the global cyber and deep tech investor, headquartered in Washington, DC, was announced today.  

Previously, Martin was hired as director of security and intelligence at the Cabinet Office in 2008, later accepting the position of constitution director there in 2011. In 2014, he became head of cybersecurity at Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) before starting up the NCSC in 2016 and serving as its first CEO. 

“Ciaran Martin is an exceptional talent in the cyber sphere and we’re profoundly pleased to have him join the Paladin team,” said Michael Steed, founder and managing partner. 

“His understanding of the ever-evolving threat landscape and knowledge of the technologies required to meet those challenges will help us assess potential investments and support our portfolio companies in their growth.”

Paladin is a venture capital investor in early stage companies that develop products and services that defend, monitor, and secure our shared critical digital infrastructure. The company invests in businesses based in EMEA, North America, and Asia. 

Martin will be based in Paladin’s European headquarters in the UK, where he will assist with the development of Paladin’s presence in the growing European cybersecurity early-stage market. 

Paladin’s newest managing director will also be part of the company’s global Strategic Advisory Board, advising the company on threats, trends, risks, and opportunities in cybersecurity for businesses and governments. 

This role is in addition to Martin’s position as Professor of Practice at the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford.

“I am delighted to be working with the Paladin team,” commented Martin. “I learned in Government that whether it’s in the UK, Europe, the US or globally, the common cyber threats we face can only be solved if there is a strong, innovative private sector taking care of huge swathes of the problem.

“That presents enormous economic opportunities for talented technologists and entrepreneurs, and I’m looking forward to being part of a venture capital team helping them to succeed.”

The cybercrime gang Netwalker claims to have exfiltrated data from the College of the Nurses of Ontario in a ransomware attack.

A screenshot of data allegedly swiped from the college was posted on Netwalker’s website, where the college’s name has been added to a growing list of the gang’s victims.

In a sparsely detailed statement issued yesterday, the college acknowledged that it had been impacted by a cybersecurity incident but didn’t specify what had occurred.

The statement read: “The College of the Nurses of Ontario (CNO) is in the process of resuming normal operations following a cyber security incident. Upon discovery of the incident on September 8, CNO took immediate steps to contain the incident and engaged a leading cyber-security firm that is assisting with remediation and conducting a comprehensive forensic investigation.” 

As a result of the incident, a number of services offered by CNO are temporarily unavailable, including the public register Find a Nurse, the nurse renewal portal Maintain Your Membership, and the portal for applicants. 

CNO said that investigators are still trying to find out whether any personal information was compromised as a result of the incident.

As the governing body for nurses in Ontario, the CNO could have personal information on all the state’s 121,488 registered nurses, 59,967 registered practical nurses, and 3,864 nurse practitioners.

CNO data that Netwalker claims to have stolen apparently pertains to the college’s human resources department.

Ontario Nurses Association (ONA) president Vicki McKenna told CBC News of her disappointment that the registered nurses her association represents hadn’t been directly informed of the incident. 

“I’m outraged that I didn’t know as a member of the college that this had happened,” said McKenna.

Michael Hurley, the regional vice president for the Canadian Union of Public Employees, said nurses could be placed in physical danger if their address data was stolen.

“I’m concerned about who will have access to private information about these nurses, some of whom have restraining orders against their partners, or have partners who have expressed an intent to be violent,” said Hurley.

In July, the FBI issued a flash alert warning that Netwalker ransomware attacks were on the rise, targeting US and foreign health agencies, education entities, private companies, and governments.