- RSnake Report
- Posts
- RSnake Report 20250202
RSnake Report 20250202
DEI Erased by DOGE, Oil and Gas imperiled in Russia, etc

What's In the News
Hello, and thanks for reading! It's been a busy week for American politics, combined with my editor doing some travel, we’re just catching up with the headlines. But what good would an editor be without reminding me about our most treasured holiday, Groundhog Day? Read more about Phil’s predictions about what we have in store for the next six weeks, and don’t forget to re-watch the treasured movie Groundhog Day.

Bill Murray, a National Treasure.
With that, let’s jump in!
Let’s start with Russia/Ukraine. Another major hit landed on Russian energy infrastructure, this time at the Kstovo oil refinery, one of the biggest in the country. Ukrainian kamikaze drones managed to strike the facility, a staggering 800 kilometers from the front lines, meaning whatever Russia’s air defense situation is, it’s not improving. Kstovo processes 17 million tons of oil per year.

“Russian oil refinery in Kstovo”
And it’s not just refineries—Ukraine’s special forces went after an oil pumping station in the Baltic Pipeline System-2 last night, specifically the "Andreapol" facility. The attack damaged the filtration pump site and storage tanks, setting off an oil spill and forcing the Russians to shut down the entire main pipeline, feeding the Ust-Luga terminal in Leningrad. But Ukraine wasn’t done—the 23rd missile arsenal of the Russian Ministry of Defense in the Tver region also took a direct hit, with over 20 explosions reported and locals mentioning emergency evacuations.
One of the biggest oil pipelines supplying Hungary just got targeted as well. The Druzhba pipeline, the same one that fuels Viktor Orbán’s Kremlin-friendly cronies, was damaged. Ukraine would likely have had NATO and EU backing—or at least a quiet nod of approval—for taking it out, considering Hungary’s increasingly rogue behavior within the alliance. But remember, Hungary is a NATO country. So, NATO countries are funding attacks that affect NATO countries. 😆

“the Druzhba pipeline”
Oh, you think that’s a lot of oil and gas destroyed in one newsletter. Oh, sweet summer child… they also lost another major refinery, this time in Volgograd—formerly Stalingrad, for those keeping track. Ukrainian drones targeted the facility, which processes 14.8 million tons of oil per year. That brings Ukraine’s total confirmed refinery takedown tally to 16% of Russia’s refining capacity in just a few days. For those keeping track that is about half of Russia’s refineries hit. That cannot be helping their war efforts much, although economics has a funny way of doing the opposite of what you expect - this also means that Russian gas is more expensive, so they make more money per barrel.
And speaking of drones, Ukrainian FPV operators have started to use more ambush tactics to harass Russian supply convoys—by simply parking their drones and waiting. I talked about this before but this is a great video showing it in action. Instead of wasting battery flying around, they camp along known supply routes and launch only when a target appears. No wasted resources, no warning signs for the enemy, just an explosion when they least expect it. It is not dissimilar from a mine and can only used to discern targets.

“FPV ambushes on Russian supply transport”
Ukrainian drone strikes hit at least three different strategic oil and gas locations over the last couple of days, and yet, locals reported no outgoing anti-air defense fire. Where exactly is Russia’s air defense? Have they run out of interceptors? Or worse, are they simply out of operational ADA systems entirely? Moscow has burned through thousands of S-300s, even repurposing them for ground-to-ground strikes early in the war. I doubt they’d ever run out completely because they are still able to manufacture them. But they may be extremely low in stock and unwilling to pull other systems from even more strategically important areas on the East Coast, for instance.

“where is the Russian ADA”
While Ukraine keeps taking apart Russia’s logistics and energy network, it’s also getting creative on the battlefield. One video making the rounds shows a Ukrainian soldier repelling a Russian assault using a weapon controlled remotely, almost like a battlefield remote-controlled turret. I have always thought this should exist - only with more distance between the operator and the gun. The reason is that it allows the operator to safely operate it, and it’s a huge battlefield advantage because it’s absolutely humiliating and morale-destroying to the enemy to capture a position after losing troops and get nothing more than a single gun out of it. It could be a massive force multiplier. Allow vetted people all over the world to help shoot at Russians and now all you need to do is drop some guns off near the front-lines and wait for some hillbilly in Alabama to click some buttons on his keyboard…

“Russian attack using a weapon with a controller”
Meanwhile, Russia’s infiltration attempts into Kyiv aren’t going well. The SBU just arrested a Russian agent carrying a 7kg TNT-equivalent homemade explosive device, apparently meant for an attack in the city center. It’s hard to tell by the blurry photos, but it does appear this is a female sapper. Lucky catch for the SBU.

“SBU detained a Russian agent”
And if the supply issues weren’t bad enough for Russian troops, the drone campaign is forcing them to travel on foot more than ever before. Thanks to continuous strikes on logistics hubs and supply trucks, Russian soldiers are now walking up to 35 km (21.7 miles) per day just to form up for attacks, evacuate wounded, or reposition along the front. Can you imagine how exhausted you’d be and then be asked to perform some incredibly hard task and then do it again tomorrow? The more Ukraine cuts off its wheels, the more Russian troops are left to perform forced death marches. This has a lot to do with the increasingly lacking armor too - some of the smaller drones are ineffective against tanks, but there are almost never tanks on the front lines. It’s mostly technical or straight-up unmodified civilian cars that drones chew up.

“Russian soldiers are having to walk up to 35 km (21.7 miles) per day”
In Europe, a Swedish migrant, Salwan Momika, an Iraqi Christian genocide survivor who escaped ISIS, was murdered on Swedish soil - not by the jihadists he once ran from, but by the radicalism now thriving inside Europe. Despite repeated warnings that his life was in danger, Sweden denied him full asylum and even tried to deport him back to Iraq, where he faced an execution sentence. Undeterred, he continued protesting by burning the Quran and the Palestinian flag, etc.

'“commemorating freedom of speech'“
And then came the reaction: thousands of people across Europe are now burning Qurans in protest, a direct message that Western values will not be dictated by religious extremists, instead of addressing the fact that jihadists openly celebrated Momika’s murder on social media. Look - I’m pretty against book burning. Knowledge should be free, but I get where the frustration and anger is coming from on both sides. The more I think about it the more I think the West and Muslim cultures are incongruent fundamentally and the more intermixing you do the worse it is until one side kills the other. See Palestine/Israel and now Christian protesters in Sweden and the Charlie Hebdo attacks and so many other examples.
Briefly onto South East Asia, where China’s economy isn’t just slowing—it’s cracking due to corruption. The latest sign? Local governments are so strapped for cash that they’ve resorted to arresting and fining business executives just to squeeze money out of them. I have talked about this before, but it’s now having an interesting effect where entrepreneurs are more wary of starting businesses because they know it will lead to harassment by officials to force them to pay completely unwarranted fines. The CCP is looking into it and wants it to stop but it’s just an example of how corrupt and desperate that society is under their rule.
Meanwhile, the great state of Missouri has decided it’s time to send Beijing a bill—and it’s a big one. Missouri is demanding $25 billion from China for damages caused during COVID-19 and has made it clear: if Beijing refuses to pay, the state will start seizing Chinese assets instead, including farmland. Considering the sheer amount of U.S. soil and infrastructure that Chinese firms have quietly bought up over the years, this could turn into a very messy geopolitical fight. I do wonder what will happen there and if other states join suit.

“We're demanding $25 billion in penalties for the harm China caused”
Now onto Africa. ISIS in Somalia just got a very rude awakening. Trump ordered precision airstrikes targeting a senior ISIS attack planner and his recruits, who were hiding in caves plotting attacks against the U.S. and its allies. The caves and the ISIS personnel are no more. At least this is consistent with our aid to the Kurds in the north of Syria fighting against ISIS on multiple fronts.

“Precision military air strikes on the Senior ISIS Attack Planner”
In Middle East news, the Palestinians rushed back to northern Gaza, who are claiming “victory,” but reality just hit like a ton of bricks. It looks like that joke meme of a Lego set of Palestine with a million grey bricks. It’s something that even Hollywood would have a hard time re-imagining. What they found wasn’t a liberated city but a post-apocalyptic hellscape—bombed-out streets, destroyed infrastructure, and no real plan for rebuilding. For some, at least, the tone has shifted dramatically from celebration to regret, as many now realize that “returning” isn’t the same as actually having something to return to and how Hamas’ propaganda wasn’t what it was cracked up to be.
In the fight against the Houthis, the U.S. is burning through missiles at an alarming rate. To counter the drone and missile threat in the Red Sea, the U.S. is deploying laser-guided APKWS missiles—way cheaper than AMRAAMs or Sidewinders, but still $25,000 a shot. It’s a smart move for now, but the real question is: how long can this game of whack-a-mole last before the Houthis get lucky, maybe with the aid of Russia or China, and take out a US naval vessel in the region? It feels like it’s only a matter of time if we keep our ships in range.

“APKWS cost: ~$25,000”
The bulk of the interesting news this week is Domestic news. The NGO money faucet just got shut off, and the fallout was immediate. Trump’s federal grant freeze has slammed the brakes on the taxpayer-funded left-wing activist machine, cutting off a network of 55,000 NGOs that have operated as a shadow government, funneling money through major institutions like Vanguard and Morgan Stanley into far-left causes. With billions suddenly evaporating, these groups scramble to figure out their next move. The “full” financial web has now been mapped, and it’s not a welcome sight for those who find themselves on it. Think about the amount of waste, though - 55k companies?! That’s incredible. Just to do bare-bones maintenance on 55k companies is millions a year, assuming they’re sitting still, which of course, they aren’t.

“"SHADOW GOVERNMENT" WITH 55,000 ORGANIZATIONS”
And if that weren’t enough, Trump’s defunding of mass-migration NGOs is already being felt. These organizations, which facilitated the well-oiled immigration crisis, are now crippled. Without them, the system grinds to a halt—so while some may argue about immigration policies, the fact remains: defunding NGOs just took the biggest tool of the open-borders lobby out of their hands and will keep them non-functional for the next four years at least.

“well-oiled system, facilitated by powerful NGOs”
I saw some good analysis on this, obviously these people working at the NGOs are political radicals in large part (not all, but a lot). And now they’ll be out of work for years. Not only does that defund their efforts, but it has a second order effect of giving them a lot of time to backlash. The first order of business is go to the courts and file lawsuits against the administration. Still, they’ll likely try to start a much larger protest against the administration - it sounds a lot like a prelude to a civil war, but that does require coordination, leadership, and guns - something the left is currently lacking. I hope this analysis is wrong, but either way, it’s worth a read.

“what I think is likely in the coming weeks, and why”
On the policy side, Trump just saved taxpayers an estimated $1 billion—overnight. His executive order wiped out federal DEI programs, canceling contracts that funneled money into “diversity, equity, and inclusion” mandates across the government. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) released a breakdown showing just how much money was being wasted on bureaucracy and activism instead of actual governance. When you dig into the sub-bullets, some of the programs are fairly crazy. It reminds me of an old idea I had a long time ago - if I have to pay taxes, let me vote on which percentage I send to which programs, and you’d get rid of 90% of the fluff. Of course that would never work, but now that system is getting looked at under a microscope. Keep in mind, though, that these are just the DEI-related cuts. There are a lot of others coming. This is a small cut, considering they plan to cut $1 trillion out of the $2 trillion in the budget. One of the theories is that by injecting an engineer into each of the cost-cutting teams, they can dig into where the money is going at a very granular level that the government has never seen before.

“Trump’s executive order”
And the cost-cutting spree isn’t over. The GSA’s left-wing tech arm, 18F, just got gutted after an Elon Musk ally took over and nuked their bloated, ideological pet projects. One of the first things to go? Their absurd "DEI bot," which was literally designed to lecture employees on “inclusive language.” Man, I knew I made the right choice in never joining the DoD - that would have driven me crazy. 18F is a strange little org in some ways - a development shop within the DoD. Their X.com logo is a trans flag and if you dig into the old operating files that are still up, it’s all about finding ways to be more equitable at the expense of getting things done. I get the idea of making sure something is ADA accessible, but this group seemed like it was taking things a bit too far. DEI is literally being erased.

“FBI Academy in Quantico”
The government sent a letter to all federal employees - a “fork in the road” memo that was designed to offer them 8 months severance to resign. I heard this from two people I trust, so I think it’s real and makes sense. It saves in lawsuits, especially for the short-timers and those who wanted to leave anyway.
Also, federal employees should be aware that there is a strong possibility that there will be mandatory drug tests for government employees might be on the table. Not because anyone cares about their personal habits, but because if they fail, the government doesn’t have to pay severance. Not only that, but they can never be rehired or sued for wrongful termination. Brilliant and surgical.

“federal workforce-wide, mandatory, immediate drug test”
There have also been massive tariffs applied against Mexico, Canada and smaller ones against China. The Canadian ones are probably the most contentious because what Donald Trump is saying and what is happening aren’t quite congruent - they aren’t the major source for fentanyl or illegal immigration - there is some, but not on the same order as Mexico. I think it’s safe to say that this has more to do with politics and his goal to push the people of Canada into wanting to join the USA.
Meanwhile, Missouri’s Attorney General is suing to protect states' rights from unconstitutional federal gun control. After filing a writ of certiorari, with Supreme Court, the goal is to get them to review the case and allow the states to preserve their rights. This is a fight about the Second Amendment and the Tenth Amendment (states rights). Missouri is hot this week!
Meanwhile, the U.S. just lost another F-35A—again. This time, the jet crashed at Eielson Air Force Base, and in an odd twist, it went down with the landing gear deployed. The pilot ejected safely, but given the cost of these planes, that’s still a very expensive accident. And while that incident ended without casualties, the same can’t be said for the next one. A catastrophic collision between an American Airlines flight and a Black Hawk helicopter has reportedly left 60 people dead. Body recoveries are already underway, and the DoD is doing announcements.

“American Airlines Flight collided with a Black Hawk helicopter”
In another tragic air incident, a Learjet 55 in Philadelphia was caught on Ring doorbell footage spiraling toward the ground in flames before impact. This wasn’t a controlled crash; it looked like it was a lawn dart.
In Tech news, Boom Supersonic just pulled off what many thought was impossible—a privately developed supersonic jet is now a reality. While commercial aviation has been stagnant for decades, Boom just revived the dream of Concorde-style travel. I will be honest; I didn’t think they’d pull it off. They weren’t the first to try and fail, so congrats to them!

“Boom is officially the first independently developed supersonic jet.”
On the AI front, China’s much-hyped DeepSeek AI just faceplanted—hard. In a NewsGuard audit, the chatbot failed 83% of the time, ranking 10th out of 11 competitors and regurgitating false information in 30% of its responses. Even when China wasn’t part of the conversation, DeepSeek still found a way to push CCP talking points. So much for efficiency—it’s basically a propaganda machine that doesn’t even function well. Garbage tech.

And if that weren’t enough, DeepSeek’s entire database just leaked. Chinese state-controlled AI plus a major security breach? What could go wrong? Do not trust this company for so, so many reasons.
Meanwhile, here in Austin, Pipedream Labs is taking delivery logistics underground. Their vision? A citywide “internet for atoms” that allows for 15-minute deliveries using underground pipes. It sounds futuristic, but they’re already rolling out the network in Austin, Texas. If this scales, it could completely change how goods move through cities. Think it as one of those vacuum tubes that sent written messages around before the Internet, only for groceries.

“citywide network starting this year”
In Other random news. If you’ve ever wondered whether humans are still evolving, the answer is yes—but not in a good way. A new study shows genes associated with educational attainment are being selected against, while genes linked to depression, asthma, and earlier childbirth are on the rise. Idiocracy wasn’t a joke; it is happening for real.

“educational attainment are being selected against”
And finally, an interesting philosophical take: Mundians live in the world of immutable laws - gravity, economics, hard sciences - while Modians live in a world defined by relationships, power, and status. The divide explains everything from political shifts to why certain industries lean left or right or why they begin one way and end another.
Cool concept - which are you? There is a fair criticism of this idea, such as that there isn’t a zero-sum game with status, though in some ways there is - such as viewership to TV shows, and so on. But it is interesting nonetheless.
Okay, onto the articles!
Geopolitics
On February 1, Russian forces launched a large-scale attack on Ukrainian cities, resulting in civilian casualties, including 11 deaths in Poltava. In related incidents, attacks damaged UNESCO-protected sites in Odesa, while a strike occurred in Russian-controlled Kursk, trapping several civilians under debris. Additionally, the ongoing conflict has led to humanitarian and military recruitment challenges in Ukraine, amid concerns over escalating regional tensions and the plight of civilians caught in the crossfire.
Russian missile strikes caused civilian deaths in multiple Ukrainian cities.
Norwegian diplomats were targeted in an attack that damaged historical sites.
[RSnake: This is fairly common news headline coming out of Ukraine for the last two years, sadly. My question is did the Norwegians alert Russia to the presence of diplomats to avoid collateral damage, because that could be a very different situation.]
Source: https://euromaidanpress.com/?p=319419
The Federal Aviation Administration has indefinitely closed helicopter routes near Reagan National Airport following a midair collision between an Army helicopter and a commercial jet that resulted in 67 fatalities. Ongoing recovery efforts are underway, and investigations are focusing on the circumstances surrounding the crash, including actions of air traffic control and the helicopter's altitude at the time of the incident.
The FAA has restricted helicopter traffic near Reagan National Airport due to a deadly aviation collision.
Investigations are ongoing to determine the cause and circumstances of the crash that killed all 67 people aboard.
[RSnake: It is very hard to say what caused this, but the best guess I heard was that the pilot may have identified another aircraft over the busy airport and mistaken it for the one that was close-by, assuming they were in no danger. How the airplane missed the helicopter is more understandable because the helicopter was likely operating without its beacon.]
Source: https://www.military.com/daily-news/2025/01/31/faa-indefinitely-closes-routes-near-reagan-national-most-helicopter-traffic-after-deadly-crash.html
A former senior adviser for the US Federal Reserve has been charged with spying for China, sharing sensitive information that could allow China to manipulate the US market and gain a strategic economic advantage.
China steals tens of billions of dollars worth of sensitive information from the U.S. every year.
The data Rogers allegedly shared with his co-conspirators could allow China to manipulate the US market in a manner similar to insider trading.
[RSnake: I highly doubt this is the only one. Whether knowingly or not.]
Source: https://www.dailywire.com/news/former-senior-adviser-for-federal-reserve-charged-with-spying-for-communist-china-feds
Elon Musk's associates have allegedly taken control of several U.S. government agencies, including the Treasury Department and Office of Personnel Management. Reports indicate there have been clashes over access to sensitive payment systems, leading to significant changes in the management and operation of these agencies.
Elon Musk's team is reportedly managing key government agencies, impacting federal operations and access to financial systems.
There have been conflicts between Musk's aides and career civil servants regarding sensitive data access, resulting in significant administrative disruptions.
[RSnake: Yep, and I am sure there will be more of these to follow.]
Source: https://techcrunch.com/?p=2957807
Recent geopolitical developments include the expiration of a key contract allowing Russian natural gas transit through Ukraine to Europe, severely impacting Russia's energy revenues. This shift has enabled the European Union to reduce its dependency on Russian gas from over 40 percent to less than 15 percent, with significant involvement from NATO countries like the United States and Norway increasing their energy exports to Europe.
The expiration of a Russian gas transit deal with Ukraine has significant implications for energy security in Europe.
The reduction of Russian gas dependence is a major achievement for the EU and NATO in response to the ongoing conflict with Russia.
[RSnake: That last 15% is very meaningful to the Russian war effort.]
Source: https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/?p=821508
US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order halting funding and promotion of gender transitions for LGBTQ youth under 19, directing federal agencies to end reliance on World Professional Association for Transgender Health guidance.
The number of young people diagnosed with gender dysphoria in the US has surged severalfold in recent years, though only a relatively small minority have undergone medical interventions.
At least 26 US states have passed laws or policies limiting minors' access to gender-affirming care.
[RSnake: That is an interesting number - below 19. 18 is the legal age of an adult. I do wonder if this is on purpose because that would make it even more difficult to know if someone should get the marketing - just because they were an adult wouldn’t mean they could get it. Or Aljazeera is misquoting here - easily could be the case.]
Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/1/29/trump-signs-order-to-defund-gender-transitions-for-lgbtq-youth?traffic_source=rss
Israel is releasing 110 terrorists, including many responsible for the murder of dozens of Israelis, in exchange for eight hostages being released, according to a deal reached with Hamas.
Some of those being released include Zubeidi, a commander of Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades who was involved in multiple terror attacks and escaped from prison in 2021.
Others include Mohammed Abu Warda, responsible for sending suicide bombers that killed 45 people, and Wael Qassem, Wassam Abbasi, and Mohammed Odeh, members of a Hamas terror cell responsible for bombings that killed over 30 people.
[RSnake: I know how this will play out. Every person they meet with will be tied to them. This will be a huge intelligence-gathering operation. Using tech like Gorgon Stare, they can re-wind the tape and see exactly who they met with and where those people came from/went, etc.]
Source: https://www.jewishpress.com/?p=725835
Colombia's cocaine production has reached a record high of 2,664 metric tons in 2023, marking a 52% increase from the previous year. The growth of the cocaine trade has led to increased insecurity, corruption, and violence, impacting various economic sectors, including the oil industry. The situation is exacerbated by the country's ongoing struggles with illegal armed groups and a weak state presence in rural areas.
Cocaine production in Colombia has significantly increased for the tenth consecutive year.
The rise in cocaine production is linked to ongoing violence and corruption in the region.
[RSnake: I do wonder how the price of drugs in the US will fluctuate due to the border situation; my guess is they’ll go up, but not terribly. There are still tons of ways to smuggle things through ports and via the Ocean in subs.]
Source: https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/cocaine-outpaces-oil-colombias-most-valuable-export
The U.S. government is increasing enforcement of civil rights laws related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in colleges and universities. President Trump's executive orders aim to eliminate discriminatory practices and could lead to significant penalties for institutions that fail to comply.
Federal DEI offices have been shut down under the current administration.
Colleges may face loss of federal funding for non-compliance with civil rights laws.
[RSnake: Well, it’s illegal, so…]
Source: https://www.dailywire.com/news/anti-dei-enforcement-is-coming-for-americas-colleges
Cybersecurity
A widely used health monitoring device, the Contec CMS8000, has been found to contain a backdoor that sends patient data to a Chinese IP address, linked to a university. The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) confirmed the device allows for remote execution and full control, posing serious risks for patient data security.
The Contec CMS8000 device transmits patient health data to a Chinese IP address.
CISA found a backdoor that enables remote execution and control of the device.
[RSnake: Internet of things. Just think of what Israel was able to do with those pagers. Now, give China nearly complete access to the US buyer, and what do you think they’d do with that? Another article about it here.]
Source: https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/widely-used-chinese-made-health-monitor-using-backdoor-send-patient-data-chinese-ip-address
Federal Trade Commission requires web hosting company GoDaddy to implement a robust information security program after finding it failed to secure its website-hosting services against attacks that could harm its customers and visitors to their websites.
GoDaddy is required to establish a comprehensive data security program to protect consumers around the globe.
The FTC alleges GoDaddy misled customers about its security practices, including claims on its websites and in email and social media ads.
[RSnake: I think this is going to happen more and more. CISOs are going to have to start really working with product marketing to make sure that the marketing team isn’t saying things that will get them into trouble. Frankly, it’s a good thing. Marketing has gone too far.]
Source: https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/01/ftc-takes-action-against-godaddy-alleged-lax-data-security-its-website-hosting-services
Law enforcement agencies in eight countries including Europol and FBI have taken down two of the largest cybercrime forums, Cracked and Nulled, resulting in the arrest of two suspects and the seizure of 17 servers, 50 electronic devices, €300,000 in cash and cryptocurrencies, and 12 domains. The operation aimed to target cybercriminal marketplaces and demonstrate improved cross-border cooperation among agencies.
Cracked and Nulled enabled cybercriminals to engage in conversation, buy and sell illegal goods, and offer cybercrime-as-a-service components like stolen data, malware or hacking tools.
The operation resulted in the seizure of €300,000 in cash and cryptocurrencies, demonstrating the significant financial impact of targeting cybercrime marketplaces.
[RSnake: Surprisingly, it's a small amount of cash, actually. I would have assumed they’d be in the millions at a minimum. Makes me think a lot is missing.]
Source: https://www.vulnu.com/p/europol-fbi-seize-nulled-cracked-cybercrime-forums
A US federal judge has ordered three Israelis to pay $451.6 million for their involvement in a binary options fraud, with $338.7 million in fines and $112.9 million in compensatory damages.
A US federal judge has ruled that three Israelis—Lee Elbaz, Yossi Herzog, and Shalom Peretz—and the companies they own, Ucom Communications and Linkopia Mauritius, must pay a total of $451.6 million for their involvement in a binary options fraud.
The businesses promoted binary options to customers through websites with fabricated trade names like BigOption, BinaryBook, and BinaryOnline, collecting around $100 million from investors, according to the CFTC.
[RSnake: Wow - that’s a big fine.]
Source: https://www.jewishpress.com/?p=725848
The FBI and Dutch police have disrupted a major phishing gang known as 'The Manipulaters' by seizing dozens of servers and domains used for distributing spam and malware, with connections to organized crime. This operation targeted a service that facilitated scams and phishing attacks, affecting thousands of victims worldwide, particularly in the Netherlands, and is part of a broader investigation into cybercrime activities and their participants.
FBI and Dutch police seized servers and domains from a significant phishing gang operating out of Pakistan.
The operation was aimed at disrupting cybercrime activities, including techniques used to evade detection by security tools.
[RSnake: Don’t hear about the Dutch being big phishers, oh, wait, no, it was from Pakistan, never mind. Lol]
Source: https://krebsonsecurity.com/2025/01/fbi-dutch-police-disrupt-manipulaters-phishing-gang/
Recent research reveals that vulnerabilities in Apple chips allow unauthenticated remote attackers to access sensitive information such as credit card details and location history through two newly identified side-channel attacks, named FLOP and SLAP. These attacks exploit speculative execution features in Apple's A- and M-series chips, affecting various models of MacBooks, iPads, and iPhones, potentially putting a significant number of users' data at risk.
FLOP and SLAP exploits allow attackers to read sensitive data from browsers like Safari and Chrome.
The vulnerabilities affect all recent Apple devices equipped with A15 or M2 chips and newer.
[RSnake: Gnarly, it does require some user interaction to trick a user to visit a website under the attacker’s control and it does seem rather difficult to exploit without deep knowledge of how they expand the heap, but the bad news is there is no patch yet.]
Source: https://arstechnica.com/security/2025/01/newly-discovered-flaws-in-apple-chips-leak-secrets-in-safari-and-chrome/
The Department of Justice has seized domains and servers allegedly associated with the Saim Raza hacking operation in an international effort to disrupt a long-running cybercrime business, taking down a phishing enablement enterprise that has operated for years across multiple countries.
Saim Raza, a nebulous cybercrime persona, has been using sites since at least 2020 to sell phishing kits and other tools to organized crime groups worldwide.
The group's operations facilitated business email compromise schemes that tricked companies into making payments to third parties, resulting in significant losses to victims.
[RSnake: Good reporting by Matt over at Vulnu. It seized a bunch of domains as well.]
Source: https://www.vulnu.com/p/doj-seizes-domains-associated-with-saim-raza-cybercrime-operation
Hackers are targeting WordPress websites by exploiting outdated versions to display fraudulent browser update alerts. These scams aim to persuade users into downloading malicious software that steals personal data from computers. Affected users are advised to update their WordPress installations, plugins, and potentially harmful files on their devices.
Hackers are hijacking outdated WordPress websites to manipulate content with fake update alerts.
The malware used in these attacks can steal sensitive information such as usernames and passwords.
[RSnake: As old a story as WordPress itself after the second version was released. Otherwise, the story read “Hackers are targeting WordPress websites” full stop.]
Source: https://lifehacker.com/tech/chrome-update-scam-wordpress-sites
Technology
OpenAI is reviewing evidence that Chinese start-up DeepSeek may have improperly harvested data from its technologies, which could violate its terms of service. This situation has caused significant concern in Silicon Valley and impacted U.S. financial markets following DeepSeek's recent release of competitive A.I. technologies.
OpenAI alleges that DeepSeek may have used its data to develop competing A.I. systems.
This controversy is causing disruption in the financial markets and raising alarms among tech companies.
[RSnake: The fun part is where OpenAI sues DeepSeek for stealing the NYT scraped data from OpenAI. Lol. OpenAI should be careful here because as much as I dislike DeepSeek, they could countersue and get a lot of intel out of OpenAI that can be used for all kinds of future suits and theft of technology. Think of what they could get in discovery.]
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/29/technology/openai-deepseek-data-harvest.html
A new algorithm called DeComFL has been developed for federated learning that significantly reduces communication costs, which have been a major bottleneck. This innovation allows for dimension-free communication by transmitting a constant amount of data regardless of model size, enabling more efficient collaborations in machine learning.
DeComFL reduces communication costs in federated learning from O(d) to O(1).
The algorithm demonstrates effectiveness through empirical evaluations in deep learning and large language model fine-tuning.
[RSnake: There is a lot of data passing required. My issue is this feels like more compression and the problem with compression is that it introduces more hallucinations. So, for novel ideas, fine, but for fact-preserving truth machines? Not fine.]
Source: https://arxiv.org/abs/2405.15861
A German startup, Sphere Energy, has developed an AI-powered system called Batty that predicts the lifetime of electric vehicle (EV) batteries under various conditions. The technology aims to accelerate battery testing, potentially reducing development time and costs for European EV manufacturers, which are facing stiff competition from Chinese companies.
Sphere Energy has created an AI system to simulate and predict battery behavior for EVs.
The technology could significantly shorten the battery testing cycle and help European manufacturers remain competitive.
[RSnake: Cool - I think this concept could be expanded to anything with a lifetime associated with it and that can be measured. I heard a similar idea for measuring the inside of oil and gas pipelines.]
Source: https://thenextweb.com/news/sphere-energy-build-ai-battery-brain-for-evs
Microsoft is establishing a new Advanced Planning Unit within its AI division to analyze the societal and economic impacts of AI technologies. This comes as the company reports record capital expenditures, indicating a significant focus on AI and cloud solutions as part of its growth strategy. Additionally, Microsoft is reorganizing its internal structures to prioritize AI development and its implications more closely.
Microsoft is creating an Advanced Planning Unit to understand AI's societal implications.
The company is experiencing record capital expenditures as it prioritizes AI and cloud technologies.
[RSnake: Good, but they really should be focused on the reality that it is not something they will be able to regulate without pushing it out of their control.]
Source: https://techcrunch.com/?p=2957575
Microsoft has increased its spending on data centers and artificial intelligence, with a reported $22.6 billion spent on capital expenses this quarter, nearly double the previous year. The company saw a 10% rise in profit and a 12% increase in revenue, totaling $69.6 billion, as it aims to meet the growing demand for cloud computing and AI services amidst investor concerns regarding these expenditures.
Microsoft is investing heavily in data centers and AI to meet rising customer demand.
The company reported strong financial growth despite investor concerns over spending.
[RSnake: It’s the right move, except for companies like Meta keep producing models for free, which has to undercut Microsoft’s valuation in assets like OpenAI.]
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/29/technology/microsoft-earnings-stock.html
Business
Airbnb is undergoing a transformation under CEO Brian Chesky as it aims to reinvent its business model and expand beyond accommodations. Meanwhile, Sam Altman's brief dismissal from OpenAI and subsequent efforts to stabilize the company highlight the rapid developments and challenges within the tech industry, particularly in AI.
Airbnb is set to expand its business model beyond just providing a place to stay, indicating a major strategic shift.
Sam Altman's temporary ousting from OpenAI and the subsequent stabilization efforts emphasize the volatile nature of leadership in the tech industry.
[RSnake: I do wonder where they are taking things. It feels like they are nearing saturation in most of the larger markets. Maybe more experiences and less focus on the physical home itself?]
Source: https://www.fastcompany.com/91270783/airbnb-ceo-brian-chesky-explains-how-he-helped-sam-altman-during-openais-2023-board-fiasco
India has launched a $1.15 billion Fund of Funds aimed at supporting startups and announced an initiative to develop nuclear energy with a $2.3 billion Nuclear Energy Mission. The government's regulatory reforms seek to ease compliance for technology companies and expand domestic venture capital to stimulate innovation and economic growth, targeting goals of up to 8% GDP growth and boosting self-reliance in various sectors.
India announced a new $1.15 billion Fund of Funds for startups to boost tech innovation.
The government is also investing $2.3 billion in a Nuclear Energy Mission aimed at enhancing energy capacity by 2047.
[RSnake: That's a nice little fund to fund - if you know someone running a fund who wants to oversee investments!]
Source: https://techcrunch.com/?p=2958187
SoftBank is negotiating an investment of up to $25 billion in OpenAI, potentially becoming its largest backer, as part of a larger commitment exceeding $40 billion for AI initiatives. This comes amidst market fluctuations due to competition from a Chinese company, DeepSeek, which recently unveiled an AI model that raised concerns over the necessity of substantial AI hardware investments. OpenAI is also negotiating to shift towards a for-profit model to aid in fundraising efforts.
SoftBank may invest up to $25 billion in OpenAI.
Competition from DeepSeek's AI model has affected Nvidia's market value.
[RSnake: Interesting - that’s a lot, especially given that I think other competitors are catching up. Namely Anthropic, especially for programming tasks. Though o3 is supposedly better, I am still hearing Cursor is having a hard time getting people to use it because they still prefer Anthropic’s models.]
Source: https://techcrunch.com/?p=2956107
Meta has agreed to pay President Trump $25 million to settle a lawsuit regarding the suspension of his social media accounts following the January 6 Capitol riot. Additionally, Meta reported significant revenue and profit growth for the fourth quarter, while Mark Zuckerberg announced policy changes to align the company with the new administration's goals.
Meta's settlement with Trump signifies a shift in relations between tech companies and political figures.
Zuckerberg's policy changes indicate an adjustment in Meta's approach to speech and regulatory alignment.
[RSnake: Lol! Wow.]
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/29/technology/meta-trump-lawsuit-settlement.html
Tesla's profit has dropped sharply due to increased competition in the electric car market, with sales rising but operating profits declining.
The company made a profit of $2.3 billion in the last three months of 2024, down from $7.9 billion a year earlier.
Tesla's operating profit fell 23% in the final three months of the year due to increased competition.
Sales rose 2% to $25.7 billion in the fourth quarter, despite the decline in operating profits.
[RSnake: Most of that competition is from China. I do wonder how that 10% tariff will change this equation. It may be hard to know or measure for sure because the real competition is from European buyers, not US buyers.]
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/29/business/tesla-earnings-elon-musk.html
Got a useful tip? Looking to chat with me? Click here.
Check out the RSnake Show as well.
Full Disclosure: None of this is advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and my opinions. Please be careful, do your own research, and consult a professional before taking action on anything posited here.