Health Minister Simon Harris has said the cyber security of Irish hospitals is being "closely monitored" in the wake of confirmed attacks on hospitals in Britain, writes Daniel McConnell of the Irish Examiner.

A clash between the Data Protection Commissioner and the US government over the adequacy of US legal safeguards for the data privacy rights of EU citizens has emerged at the Commercial Court.

A global industry has turned email hacking into a weapon for sale, writes Mattathias Schwartz.

Good afternoon. Here’s all the news you need to know this lunchtime.

Oliver Stone’s new film aims to show the human side of CIA whistleblower Edward Snowden, writes Helen Barlow

New rules governing transatlantic data transfers have been formally approved, months after Europe’s top court ruled against the previous arrangements amid concerns over surveillance activity by US intelligence agencies.

The privacy campaigner who successfully challenged a treaty which allowed the data of millions of European citizens be transferred to the US has warned he may take more cases.

A treaty allowing technology giants to send personal data about millions of EU citizens to the US has been ruled invalid.

Europe’s highest court will give its first indication this week in how it will rule in a landmark case that may determine how the data of EU citizens held by US firms is protected.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has failed in a bid to win asylum in France.

An Austrian student’s legal battle against Facebook, accusing it of helping the US security service collect personal data, suffered a setback after a Vienna court rejected his case on procedural grounds, both sides said yesterday.

The US National Security Agency (NSA) wiretapped the communications of two successive French finance ministers and collected information on French export contracts, trade and budget talks, according to a report by WikiLeaks.

Terrorist attacks across three continents last Friday demonstrate the influence of Islamic State and wide reach, as well as the difficulties of countering its use of the internet to galvanise and inspire global violence.

German prosecutors have closed their investigation into the alleged tapping of chancellor Angela Merkel’s mobile phone by the US National Security Agency, saying they have been unable to find evidence that would stand up in court.

The US National Security Agency lost its authority to collect phone records in bulk, with intelligence officials warning it could jeopardise Americans’ safety.

One in three Germans feels deceived by chancellor Angela Merkel regarding a row over spying on Germans, but almost half are not very interested in the whole affair, a poll showed.

Germany’s BND intelligence agency sends mammoth amounts of phone and text data to the US National Security Agency (NSA) each month, Die Zeit Online has reported, highlighting the scale of spying co-operation which has unleashed a political row.

The German government rejected suggestions it intentionally misled the public about the US’s willingness to negotiate a “no-spy” agreement between the countries.

German conservatives warned their Social Democrat (SPD) partners not to score points in a row over the activities of the BND intelligence agency after an attack on Chancellor Angela Merkel by the SPD chief threatened unity in the coalition.

Gemalto, the world’s largest maker of mobile SIM cards, said a preliminary company probe of sophisticated attacks against it in 2010 and 2011 showed British and US intelligence services “probably” hacked into its office networks.

Britain’s electronic spying agency, in co-operation with the US National Security Agency, hacked into the networks of a Dutch company to steal codes that allow both governments to seamlessly eavesdrop on mobile phones worldwide, according to documents given to journalists by Edward Snowden.

Minister says people must have their trust and confidence in digital environment strengthened

Facebook is remaining hush-hush on reported plans to develop a workplace version to compete for a share in the corporate social networking market.

Germany is investigating a suspected US spy in its military days after the arrest of a member of its foreign intelligence agency as a double agent tested US relations already strained by espionage.

The Central Intelligence Agency was involved in a spying operation against Germany that led to the alleged recruitment of a German intelligence official and has prompted renewed outrage in Berlin, two US officials familiar with the matter said yesterday.

The Irish High Court has gone to Europe over a privacy law ruling that could have major repercussions, writes Maria Helen Murphy

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) is to be asked to examine the law governing data protection following a student’s legal challenge over the rejection of his complaint about interference with personal privacy by the mass transfer of data by Facebook to the US intelligence services.

Britain’s top counter-terrorism official says the country’s espionage rules allow its electronic spy agency to routinely intercept online communications between Britons who use US-based platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Google.

Vodafone, one of the world’s largest phone companies, revealed the scope of government snooping, saying authorities in some countries are able to directly access an operator’s network without seeking permission.

Germany’s top public prosecutor has launched an investigation into the bugging of Angela Merkel’s mobile phone by US intelligence in the light of revelations by former spy agency contractor Edward Snowden, authorities announced last night.

Germany’s chief federal prosecutor says he has opened an investigation into the alleged monitoring of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s mobile phone by the US National Security Agency.

The data protection commissioner was wrong to refuse to investigate a complaint that the Irish arm of Facebook could not permit the mass transfer of personal data to US intelligence services, it has been claimed.

We don’t yet know what Putin’s real agenda is generally with Ukraine and specifically with Crimea. But it echoes the murky events that eventually led to the first global war, writes James G Neuger

Edward Snowden was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Norwegian politicians, including a former government minister, for contributing to transparency and global stability by exposing a US surveillance programme.

US mobile group AT&T has ruled out a bid for Britain’s Vodafone for now, with banking sources saying a US spying scandal and a surge in European telecom shares may have disrupted a deal that many think could still happen.

A new generation of computer hackers are set to target smartphones and televisions, games consoles and even smart cars, a leading IT security company has warned.

US NATIONAL Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden delivered a Christmas message from his Russian sanctuary on British TV in which he said: “I didn’t want to change society. I wanted to give society a chance to determine if it should change itself.”

The US National Security Agency is making strides towards building a “quantum computer” that could break nearly any kind of encryption, The Washington Post has reported.

Secret documents appear to show British and American intelligence agencies targeted a far wider list of organisations and people than previously thought.

US National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden has said he would be willing to help Brazil’s government investigate American spying on its soil – but only if he is granted political asylum.

The US National Security Agency’s bulk collection of phone records violates the Constitution’s ban on unreasonable searches, a judge has ruled. He put his decision on hold pending a nearly certain government appeal.

Australia’s spy agency offered to share information about its own citizens with foreign intelligence partners, according to leaked files, sparking calls for an inquiry.

Indonesia has recalled its ambassador from Australia following reports the country’s security agency tried to tap the mobile phone of president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.