RSnake Report 20260419

Hormuz closed again, Market rebounds, etc

Author

Robert RSnake Hansen
April 19, 2026

What's In the News

Hello, and thanks for reading! I had a nice week, though it was quite busy as the retail ISAC was in town, and it led to a lot of in-person meetings. But I did manage to hang out with some fellow Austin hackers (you can see me in the back there). It's kinda impressive how big the local community here in Austin is.

Starting with Russia/Ukraine News, updated versions of Ukrainian FPV drones can now strike targets up to 100 km or more, with the 422nd Air Defense Regiment hitting a Russian Buk-M1 missile system from over 120 km from the front line. This is a huge increase, doubling their effective range and therefore extending the DMZ considerably.

One of the best uses I have seen for FPV drones was shown this week. Drones patrol defensive lines of anti-personnel barbed wire to detect Russian infantry breaching attempts. The barbed wire slows down the movement at a very specific line, so that the drone can go back and forth on it over and over again. It slows advances and gives operators time to respond with the FVP drone, which also destroys them when detected. Very smart.

Ukrainian soldiers have learned survival tactics against FPV drones. It starts with an old rule, which is don't clump your soldiers together. One strike can eliminate a cluster. So if they spread apart, that divides into a game of chance where almost certainly one person will die, but not everyone in the group, increasing the relative odds of survival. Pretty awful.

Ukraine unveiled its domestically produced Areion missile, which carries a warhead weighing up to 120 kg and has a range of up to 600 km. This is not quite as long range as the Flamingo but also looks far smaller and more portable, which likely has advantages in production, transport and increasing the options for firing positions.

Ukrainian Special Operations Forces and Unmanned Systems Forces used drones to destroy fuel trains and damage rail infrastructure near occupied Luhansk, disrupting Russian logistics for front-line supplies.

A video popped up that shows a Russian Courier unmanned ground vehicle towing a D-30 howitzer. Now, granted, this is not going to be useful without personnel and ammunition, but still a very impressive means of moving equipment. The question is how this handles uneven terrain, in mud, etc.

Not to be outdone, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense stated that it aims to shift up to 100% of frontline logistics to robotic systems, with over 9,000 missions conducted using ground unmanned vehicles in March alone. The ministry plans to purchase 25,000 UGVs in the first half of 2026, double the total contracted for 2025. We are rapidly approaching a fully autonomous front-line.

So there have been a lot of attacks against oil and gas production this week. Here's a smattering of what I saw. First was a fire at the Syzran oil refinery in Russia that continued burning for 15 hours into the evening.

Ukraine destroyed two more fuel tanks at the Feodosia oil terminal in Crimea in a recent drone strike, confirmed by high-resolution satellite imagery. The black oil tanks have been destroyed. There are almost no white ones left.

Unmanned Systems Forces struck the oil port in Sevastopol, with satellite images showing a fire and destruction of at least two tanks.

Ukrainian drones hit the Yeysk seaport on the Sea of Azov overnight, where explosions and a smoke column were recorded by residents, and a fire broke out in the port area, though Russian authorities claimed only drone debris fell there. 🤡

A fire at the Tuapse sea terminal was extinguished, with over 150 people and 49 pieces of equipment involved. They had interesting photos that show you that you can see it from space.

These graphics come out every once in a while, showing how many refineries are operational or have been hit. Basically, Russia has a massive task ahead of it if it wants to get its oil production back up to previous levels.

Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces downed a Shahed drone for the first time using an interceptor UAV launched from an unmanned naval platform, carried out by the 412th Nemesis Brigade in the maritime domain. This means that drone carriers can lie in wait on the sea, being almost invisible because they can just stay adrift, until they are needed. This is an ambush predator, but targets air assets.

Speaking of air assets, I went and took a look at the losses that Ukraine publishes, and what is notable here is the lack of air assets. We just aren't seeing losses for Helicopters and airplanes anymore. It's all ground losses, trucks, or UAVs. Also, not a lot of boats are getting destroyed anymore. That likely means that in modern warfare, there is going to be active denial of air and sea assets early in any major conflict. These are big, expensive pieces of equipment, and neither side is going to have a lot of them.

However, it's not like Russia isn't doing its fair share of damage without these assets in the theatre. A Russian drone operator used a Geran-2/3 loitering munition with an electro-optical seeker to strike an oil depot in Chernihiv, with footage showing the impact aftermath. If Ukraine doesn't have oil, they'll have to get it from somewhere, and that generally drives up prices and demand for the oil that they are producing.

One interesting article I saw was that sanctions on electronic components have reduced the accuracy of some Russian missiles, with the Kh-101 cruise missile's circular error probable worsening from a declared 10-20 meters to an actual 50-100 meters. That is a massive decrease in accuracy, and means that it really is only good against mass effects, and not for anything that needs direct fire. So useless for trenches, but okay for terrorizing cities, basically. The effect of the sanctions can be seen on the kamikaze drones. Recent weeks have seen many Russian kamikaze drones recorded without their hatches. Those hatches once had Starlink terminals and now, not so much, though there may be other types of sensors that they can no longer find or source.

In European news, Dutch authorities seem set to allow a planned acquisition of DigiD hoster Solvinity by U.S. firm Kyndryl. I know Kyndryl well and talk to their team regularly, so from a technical prowess perspective, I think it's fine. But it does mean that Dutch ID verification will be controlled by a US company. This reminds a lot of when Grindr was bought by a Chinese company - talk about an OPSEC fail. While a controversy, it looks like this deal will likely not get the political tailwinds to block it, the central privacy officer at DigiD administrator Logius filed a summary proceeding against the Dutch state to halt Solvinity's acquisition by Kyndryl, as it would expose DigiD data to U.S. reach.

There was a very interesting tweet about how by shaming Trump and Netanyahu, the EU has de facto allowed Putin to pre-position forces and threaten European cities, and to do anything about it now would become hypocritical by a strict adherence to the Caroline test for self-defense. But the tweet itself is a bit of a masterpiece, so here it is in all its glory:

It does seem that the relationship is fracturing between NATO. Unwilling to help in the conflict with Iran, France, the UK, Italy, and Germany met in Paris to coordinate reopening the Strait of Hormuz, following Trump's past criticism of NATO as a "paper tiger." They would like to benefit from the conflict, but have done nothing useful to help thus far. This is the talk track from the White House.

Along the same lines, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced that his government will propose to the EU on Tuesday to end its association agreement with Israel, citing violations of international law by Israel's government, while affirming friendship with the Israeli people. So, not only is it not helping, but actually fracturing relations with Israel in the midst of the conflict with Hezbollah and Iran.

In South East Asia News, the Japanese government approved a relaxation of arms export rules, ending post-war pacifism and opening its military-industrial complex to global markets. Companies like Toshiba and Mitsubishi are expanding production, projecting over 50% growth in defense sales by 2031. Tokyo plans to supply second-hand missile frigates to the Philippines to counter China in the South China Sea, pursue joint electronic warfare and anti-drone projects with Poland, and form an industrial group with Ukraine for drone manufacturing. This will allow them to rival South Korea for arms production and further push China back as they ramp up war material production.

A suspicious fire erupted at one of Australia's two remaining oil refineries, which processes 120,000 barrels per day and supplies 10% of the country's fuel, impacting gasoline and jet fuel production. Over the last 45 days, multiple oil refineries worldwide have caught fire or been destroyed under mysterious circumstances. I am not saying they are linked (also, they may be), but what it does mean is that fuel is going to be a lot more important to import, and right now, not a lot of countries are exporting.

On April 13, 2026, U.S. Defense Secretary Hegseth signed a Major Defense Cooperation Partnership with Indonesia at the Pentagon, focusing on the Strait of Malacca, through which 80% of China's oil imports and 40% of global trade pass, with Indonesia positioned directly on the strait. This is a very big deal for China, which will absolutely see it as the Pentagon boxing them in, and deciding what China can move through its ports, more or less only allowing cargo ships to go eastward unless they want to go far further south, around Indonesia.

Iran pre-positioned quite a lot of offshore oil that it could sell after the war began to keep revenues flowing. However, their main buyer is China, and the U.S. threatened China with additional sanctions to prevent purchases of Iran's floating oil storage outside the Persian Gulf, disrupting Tehran's anticipated blockade workaround, which is a huge economic blow to both Tehran and Beijing at the same time.

In African news, further showing that the US is trying to disrupt and control world trade, the U.S. and Morocco signed a new Defense Cooperation Roadmap at the Pentagon, guiding their partnership for the next decade and building on ties that began 250 years ago when Morocco first recognized the United States. Morocco owns the choke point by Tangier, just south of Spain. As we have seen Spain is moving to an anti-Israeli stance, and likely also an anti-American stance at the same time, making this choke point extremely important to control, by the Alborian Sea, not to mention it can control inflows and outflows to all Tyrrhenian Sea, the Black Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, the Ionain Sea, and the Adriatic Sea, etc. That's a lot of countries that would be at risk if this choke point falls into the wrong hands.

In the Middle East, following Iran's bombings of Gulf neighbors, those countries opened Iranian regime bank accounts to U.S. Treasury scrutiny, enabling asset freezes for the IRGC and the Iranian leadership. The U.S. also warned companies and countries buying Iranian oil of secondary sanctions, equating the financial measures to kinetic actions. This will have a huge impact on the ruling class in Iran, who now cannot bank overseas, even amongst the Middle Eastern countries that were previously exempt from being controlled by the US. Talk about a bad move on the Iranian front. Guess they shouldn't have picked a fight with every neighbor all at once. This is something China should really learn a lesson from - when all of your peers hate you, you're not going to have a very easy time holding power.

Five IDF divisions advanced in southern Lebanon with ground and air support, as the 98th Division encircled Bint Jbeil, a key Hezbollah stronghold, where Givati Brigade fighters forced Radwan Force members to surrender weapons. Per IDF Chief of Staff orders, the area south of the Litani River became a zone for destroying Hezbollah, who still appear to have some fight left in them, even now.

For instance, Hezbollah released footage of an FPV drone targeting an IDF Namer armored personnel carrier in Beit Yahoun, southern Lebanon, using a possible PG-7V(L) or PG-7-AT warhead, misidentified as a Merkava tank. That Hezbollah has access to FPV drones is a major problem for front-line Israeli troops, though I don't know how easy these are to come by.

U.S. intelligence assesses Iran retains 40% of its pre-war long-range strike drones and 60% of ballistic and cruise missile launchers. During the April 8 ceasefire, over 100 systems were recovered from underground facilities after clearing tunnel entrances blocked by U.S. and Israeli strikes. Iran could restore up to 70% of buried pre-war missile stockpiles. Earlier estimates showed 30% of ballistic capability destroyed, 40% trapped underground, and 30% unaccounted for. But that does mean Hezbollah could get resupplied by them or the Russians. China is temporarily not shipping weapons to Iran based on conversations with or threats from the United States.

Hezbollah MP Ali Fayyad stated to Al Jazeera that any ceasefire must be full and comprehensive, with continued Israeli strikes or presence on Lebanese soil justifying resistance, demanding full withdrawal and return of displaced persons. But if you read between the lines, this means they are open to a peace deal; it's just that it needs to have the appearance of a win. Meanwhile, President Trump plans to invite Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Lebanese President Aoun to the White House for talks, the first such meeting since 1983. So it is clear that Hezbollah does not speak for Lebanon, which is a moral defeat, if not a tactical one.

U.S. Naval Forces Central Command expanded the Iran maritime blockade globally, authorizing boarding and seizure of Iranian-linked, sanctioned, or contraband vessels to target Iran's shadow fleet of over 500 tankers and disrupt oil exports, which generate $400 million daily and account for 90% of Iran's sea-based trade. This raises risks of liquidity stress in Iran and disruptions in global shipping and insurance. Just another economic hit to the regime. It has been reported that the U.S. and Iranian negotiators shifted from a comprehensive peace deal to a temporary memorandum to avoid renewed conflict. U.S. Naval Forces Central Command published a contraband list enforcing the blockade, subjecting Iranian, sanctioned, or suspected contraband vessels worldwide to visit, board, search, and seizure under laws of naval warfare, targeting over 570 ships in Iran's ghost armada, including in Southeast Asia, like Malaysia's EOPL, with neutral states urged to comply.

The Iran conflict tightened helium supply, critical for MRI scanners, semiconductors, and fiber-optic cables. Qatar's Ras Laffan facility halted production, and instability in the Strait of Hormuz disrupted tanker exports. Russia imposed export controls on helium outside the Eurasian Economic Union through 2027 to protect domestic needs, especially for drone manufacturing. The U.S., the leading producer globally, will likely not fully offset shortfalls from Qatar and Russia, potentially raising prices and causing production issues in semiconductors and AI, affecting companies like Exxon Mobil, Linde, and Air Products. This exerts pressure on the US to find a deal.

An Iranian-flagged cargo vessel attempted to evade the U.S. blockade after leaving Bandar Abbas and transiting the Iranian coast, but USS Spruance redirected it back to Iran. After 72 hours, U.S. forces enforced the blockade on Iranian ports, turning around 14 vessels, bringing the total to 23 since the start, with no Iranian vessels testing the line. Things seemed to be pretty cold there for a couple of days, with a few notable exceptions. For instance, satellite imagery from April 15 shows Sirri Island in Iran lost its first crude oil storage tank, with a 110-meter diameter capacity of one million barrels.

Iranian state media claimed the arrest of four alleged Mossad agents in Gilan province, who provided images and locations of sensitive military sites via the internet, has now been handed over to judicial authorities. While not great for Israel, it's not even clear if these people were operating as agents or protestors who have been aiding Israel in regime change. A distinction without a difference to the IRGC, most likely.

For their part, the IRGC stopped following regime orders and acted independently in the Strait of Hormuz. This could easily be the earliest warning bells of a civil war amongst Iranians, with the government on one side and the IRGC on the other. The French cargo ship CMA CGM Everglades was fired upon by the IRGC Navy fast attack craft while exiting the Strait of Hormuz, despite the master's belief in his having permission from Tehran. Talk about the perils of bureaucracy!

Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya HQ spokesman accused the U.S. of piracy, claimed reassertion of strict control over the Strait of Hormuz, and warned of restrictions unless Iranian shipping moves freely. So they blockaded the street and then get upset when we blockaded the street. 🤣 While funny, it's not great news, because it means we could see a rise to a hot war again if the IRGC doesn't find a way to get consistent with the Iranian government's peace deal and stated agreement to keep the Strait open.

I spotted one seemingly innocent image of the U.S. embassy in Baghdad that equipped its radar with an anti-drone cage. This is a huge statement by the US, which is that it needs protection from drones at the last mile, and that all of the layers of defense are still not good enough, and it is relying on the same tactics that the Russians use on their tanks - a cope cage. The word "cope" was designed to be derogatory, as in "cope harder," but it turns out it is one of the last means of defense for static targets.

Iran is in the process of removing sea mines from the Strait of Hormuz with U.S. assistance. That said, it still has thousands of fast boats at its disposal that it can use to keep the strait effectively closed, even if the mines are cleared, which they are not, yet. The U.S. Navy deployed autonomous underwater drones in the Strait of Hormuz to detect and clear sea mines, securing the route.

A convoy of four cruise ships transited the Strait of Hormuz at full speed under fire through Iran's declared minefield. They didn't have much choice, as there were thousands of stranded passengers who had been on the boat for weeks longer than expected, and I am sure the situation for them was dire enough that it seemed worth the risk. I bet the passengers were terrified, but I also bet that the Americans cleared just enough of a path for them to squeeze through, or they wouldn't have risked the mines.

IRGC Aerospace Commander Maj. Gen. Seyed Majid Mousavi stated that during the ceasefire, Iran upgraded and refilled missile and drone platforms faster than pre-war levels. If that is true, that is both good and bad. It means there will be a lot of juicy targets to hit, and it also means Iran will likely fire a lot of them at its peers and, of course, Israel, as well as a resupply to Hezbollah. President Trump, for his part, threatened to destroy every power plant and bridge in Iran while announcing his team's trip to Islamabad.

In North American news, the Department of Defense requested GM, Ford, and other automakers to manufacture weapons, particularly artillery shells. Better late than never, as resupply of modern weapons takes time.

There was some question about whether the US would or would not extend the sanctions on Russian oil. It was a few days of flip-flops in policy. Scott Bessent said, "We will not be renewing the general license on Russian oil, and we will not be renewing the general license on Iranian oil. That was oil that was on the water prior to March 11." Okay, makes sense, but then, the U.S. extended the sanctions waiver for Russian oil through May 16. Which is it!? This is the first tactical error I've seen the Treasury Secretary make, and I'm not sure why it happened; instead of just saying they are looking at it, but do not believe. That strong language is always risky when the economics are in flux. That said, I am sure the Ukrainians will be pissed off.

FBI Director Kash Patel faces scandals, including allegedly skipping work, alcohol abuse, and erratic behavior like panicking over a login glitch, thinking he was fired, described as a national security risk, with the Trump administration discussing replacements amid missed briefings and absences. It's not clear if any of this is real, but it is unwelcome drama and likely will lead to a future firing/re-assignment if this continues to snowball. Given the handling of the Epstein case, I think it may be overdue anyway.

U.S. Army CH-47F Chinook helicopters completed their first fully autonomous landing without pilot input. That would be great in case of pilot injury/death, but it also means you can start using them for extremely risky operations where you don't want to risk a human pilot.

Never-before-seen footage shows Palantir's Maven Smart System aggregating classified, unclassified, and commercial data to aid warfare decisions. I think the most notable thing they said was that they spend a lot of time doing human training of what things look like, for instance, tanks were the example they gave. Presumably, this helps ISR by removing the human from the bulk of the manual tasks of having to look at all footage and only focus on the footage that has been selected. Lots of room for error in image classification, though, so this makes me ask more questions than it answers for me.

The U.S. Army will field an unmanned ground vehicle for evacuating wounded soldiers and delivering supplies in the last tactical mile. It was said to be operating without GPS, which means it likely is radio-operated by a remote operator in the field. But it just shows how they are already moving towards autonomous vehicles to reduce losses.

New images from U.S. Air Force tests show the FAMM-L (AGM-188A "Rusty Dagger") small cruise missile launched from an F-16D over the Gulf of Mexico. Weighing 230 kg with a 900+ km range, it costs around $250,000 per unit under the ERAM program, possibly for Ukraine delivery. It matches JASSM-ER performance but is compact, far cheaper, and mass-producible for salvos saturating defenses. It also has the advantage of preserving more expensive/exotic munitions when they aren't necessary.

Briefly in Economic news, the S&P 500 recovered all losses from the Iran war and neared its record high of 6,978.60 from January 27, as investors moved past the conflict despite unresolved control over the Strait of Hormuz. Investors seem to like this move.

U.S. oil prices fell by over 13% to $80 after Iran reopened the Strait of Hormuz. This may pop again as the street remains closed. We shall see what happens on Tuesday when the peace deal in Islamabad restarts.

In Tech News, Google open-sourced Magika, an AI tool trained on 100 million files for detecting over 200 content types with 99% accuracy in 5ms per file, exposing disguised malware or scripts regardless of extensions, after using it internally for Gmail, Drive, and safe browsing on billions of files weekly. Install via pip install magika if you want to use it for your projects.

Even the "cat readme.txt" command poses risks due to the way PTY terminals like iTerm2 work. The "cat readme.txt" command is unsafe in iTerm2 due to the way it sees output as if it is a PTY terminal command. Pretty scary design flaw, so if you use iTerm2 you may want to look into alternatives.

Anthropic Labs introduced Claude Design, allowing prototypes, slides, and one-pagers via conversation, available in research preview on Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise plans. One thing I will say about it that I am already not in love with is that it is really team-centric, so you cannot just toy with it without impacting your team accounts, which could get noisy and overwhelming if you use a team account.

Anthropic shipped Claude Opus 4.6 as the most powerful model, but it turns out it was unprofitable, noting 98% of users as poor prompters, whom 4.6 fixed silently by improving their prompts by adding more context. Opus 4.7 stops auto-fixing, tripling tokens for vague requests to boost revenue. It's an ambiguity tax. Lovely.

Browser Harness is an open-source tool for LLMs to complete any browser task without frameworks, using direct Chrome DevTools Protocol, editing helpers.py on the fly for freedom in tasks like those for Claude Code and Codex. This will be a big deal for certain devs who want flexible control but don't want the annoyance of having to script things themselves.

Okay, onto the articles!

Geopolitics

Iran's navy has declared the Strait of Hormuz closed, restricting access to commercial vessels and reportedly firing upon at least two ships attempting to transit the key waterway. This closure affects hundreds of ships and approximately 20,000 seafarers, as the strait is critical for the global oil and liquefied natural gas trade.

  • Iran's navy issued warnings to merchant vessels about crossing the Strait of Hormuz.

  • At least two ships were struck by gunfire from Iranian boats during transit attempts.

[RSnake: Closed, but we will know a lot more on Tuesday. It could be really closed and about to turn into a hot war again, or simply a short-term negotiation tactic.]

Source: https://www.defensenews.com/news/pentagon-congress/2026/04/18/vessels-report-being-hit-by-gunfire-as-iran-says-strait-of-hormuz-shut-again/

Russian forces launched an attack on Ukraine using 236 drones, resulting in the Ukrainian air defense systems shooting down 203 of them. The attacks impacted 18 locations, while debris from the downed drones fell in multiple areas across the country, with the situation still ongoing as some Russian UAVs remain active in Ukrainian airspace.

  • Russia conducted a significant drone attack on Ukraine involving various types of unmanned aerial vehicles.

  • Ukrainian air defense successfully intercepted a majority of the attacking drones.

[RSnake: Pretty good kill ratio there! Good on Ukraine. Although I have heard they have exhausted their Patriot missile batteries.]

Source: https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2026/04/19/8030779/

China is intensifying its information warfare against Taiwan by amplifying criticisms against the Taiwanese government through state media and social media platforms, aiming to discredit Taiwan's ruling party and strengthen support for pro-China opposition groups. Taiwanese officials report a significant increase in disinformation and propaganda being distributed within Taiwan, reflecting an ongoing strategy by Beijing to undermine Taiwan's autonomy and military resolve.

  • China is using Taiwanese opposition voices to propagate anti-DPP narratives.

  • There is a notable escalation in the volume and reach of disinformation campaigns aimed at Taiwan.

[RSnake: You know if lying because they are talking! The problem is most people aren’t educated enough or have enough time to test the narratives and make sure they really do make sense.]

Source: https://www.defensenews.com/global/asia-pacific/2026/04/17/china-turns-taiwans-own-voices-against-it-in-information-war/

Ben Roberts-Smith, Australia's most decorated living soldier, has been released on bail after being charged with five counts of murder as a war crime related to incidents involving Afghan detainees from 2009 to 2012. The case is unprecedented in Australia as it examines war crimes by Australian forces and is expected to face significant delays, complicating the legal proceedings.

  • Roberts-Smith has been granted bail while awaiting trial for serious war crime charges.

  • The case represents a historic and complex legal challenge regarding the conduct of Australian military personnel.

[RSnake: Again, we had something quite similar happen with a Navy SEAL here in the US. It will be interesting to see if they pressure the courts to drop it, as Trump did in the SEALs’ case.]

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c98krg8j06ro?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss

Alexandre Ramagem, a former spy chief in Brazil, was released from custody by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement after being detained in Florida. He is a fugitive in Brazil, sentenced to 16 years in prison for his involvement in an attempted military coup to keep former President Jair Bolsonaro in power. Brazilian authorities are seeking his extradition to serve his sentence.

  • Alexandre Ramagem was convicted in Brazil for attempting to coup against the government.

  • He fled to the US before serving his prison sentence and is now sought for extradition.

[RSnake: Spies are everywhere now. Once upon a time, I thought they were few and far between, but now I feel like I run into them almost every time I am out in large groups. Some of them are even pretty open about it.]

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvglz72rjl2o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss

Cybersecurity

Anthropic's CEO Dario Amodei recently met with senior White House officials, indicating a potential resolution to the ongoing conflict between Anthropic and the Pentagon over access to its powerful AI model, Mythos. The model has demonstrated significant capabilities in cybersecurity, which the government seeks to defend against vulnerabilities, although the Department of Defense is likely to remain excluded from direct access due to previous disagreements.

  • The White House is negotiating access to Anthropic's AI model, Mythos, which can identify major cybersecurity vulnerabilities.

  • Anthropic has been blacklisted by the Pentagon, but discussions may lead to a compromise involving civilian agencies.

[RSnake: They would be wise to put that behind them and have the same BS carveout that OpenAI did - a useless, meaningless statement that appeases the anti-government types.]

Source: https://thenextweb.com/news/anthropic-amodei-wiles-mythos-white-house-pentagon-cybersecurity-2

The U.S. Coast Guard has implemented its first mandatory cybersecurity framework for maritime operations, ending two decades of voluntary compliance. This new regulation mandates U.S.-flagged vessels and maritime facilities to designate a cybersecurity officer, develop cybersecurity plans, and conduct annual assessments, all aimed at enhancing security in response to significant cyberattacks in the industry.

  • The regulations require the establishment of cybersecurity plans for all U.S.-flagged vessels and maritime facilities.

  • Operators must appoint a cybersecurity officer responsible for compliance and incident reporting.

  • The framework aims to prevent cyberattacks that have affected major companies in the maritime sector.

[RSnake: Kinda shocking that they didn’t have the same rules/training as the Navy.]

Source: https://www.darkreading.com/cybersecurity-operations/coast-guards-cybersecurity-rules-lessons-cisos

A software update transformed adware into malware, compromising around 24,000 computer systems across five continents. This event has raised the risk of follow-on cyberattacks, as the malicious update disabled security protections and left systems vulnerable.

  • A malicious update by Dragon Boss turned adware into harmful malware, affecting numerous users globally.

  • The spread of the malware jeopardizes many organizations, including high-value targets such as government entities and educational institutions.

[RSnake: Smart - those adware solutions are just a few lines of code away from things much more nefarious. It’s one of the reasons I don’t allow ads on this newsletter. You cannot control the third party. Not to mention I see what happens to other people who accept the ads, and how their tunes change. No thanks. I’ll take a loss on this newsletter so that I don’t end up saying things I don’t believe.]

Source: https://www.darkreading.com/cyberattacks-data-breaches/harmless-global-adware-av-killer

Google has blocked 8.3 billion ads and suspended 24.9 million advertising accounts in 2025 due to the rise of cybercriminals using generative AI to create deceptive advertisements. The company is utilizing its Gemini AI models to automate the detection and blocking of malicious ads, achieving an 80% reduction in incorrect advertiser suspensions.

  • Google is heavily utilizing its Gemini AI models to combat fraudulent advertising.

  • Generative AI is enabling cybercriminals to create sophisticated scams that evade traditional detection methods.

[RSnake: Mhmm, and how many did they allow? And how many very nasty industries are they enabling? Trust me, they won’t look too hard into fixing that.]

Source: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/google/google-expands-gemini-ai-use-to-fight-malicious-ads-on-its-platform/

Technology

AI coding tools are seeing rapid growth, with Cursor, an AI coding startup, set to raise $2 billion at a $50 billion valuation, doubling its valuation from five months prior. This surge reflects a generational shift in software development, as AI capabilities become embedded in coding environments, creating a competitive landscape filled with major players like GitHub Copilot and Claude Code. As companies increasingly adopt these tools for coding tasks, the market for AI-assisted development is projected to grow significantly, raising questions about the sustainability of such rapid valuations.

  • Cursor is raising $2 billion at a $50 billion valuation, nearly doubling its previous valuation.

  • AI coding tools are projected to generate $12.8 billion in revenue in 2026, reflecting a rapidly growing market.

  • The competition includes major players like GitHub Copilot and Claude Code, leading to an intense market environment.

[RSnake: I still think Cursor is easily the best if you are an actual programmer needing to edit complex code, but Claude is amazing if you want to avoid looking at code entirely.]

Source: https://thenextweb.com/news/cursor-anysphere-2-billion-funding-50-billion-valuation-ai-coding

Engineers at Northwestern University have developed printed artificial neurons capable of communicating with living brain cells, representing a significant advancement in neurotechnology. These devices mimic the electrical signals of real neurons and may lead to new brain-machine interfaces, enhancing energy efficiency in artificial intelligence systems. This breakthrough indicates potential applications in neuroprosthetics and could influence the design of future computing hardware by drawing inspiration from the brain's efficiency.

  • Engineers created flexible, low-cost artificial neurons that can interact with real brain cells.

  • This technology may revolutionize brain-machine interfaces and improve energy efficiency for AI systems.

[RSnake: Wow, that’s impressive. Brain-tech is getting very close. I am wary of it even if it works well, because I know how many flaws there are in software. That said, if it made me 10x more productive, it sounds attractive.]

Source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/04/260417225020.htm

Researchers have demonstrated that combining quantum computing with artificial intelligence significantly enhances predictions of complex systems, outperforming standard models while requiring less memory. This advancement has potential applications in fields like climate science, energy, and medicine, suggesting a shift in how simulations and predictions are approached in various scientific disciplines.

  • Combining quantum computing with AI improves the prediction accuracy of complex physical systems.

  • This method can be applied to critical fields such as climate science, energy production, and medicine.

  • The new approach requires significantly less memory compared to traditional AI models.

[RSnake: For those of you still thinking quantum is a genuine industry filled with razor-sharp people, this is my regular reminder that most of the studies on quantum are garbage. Read this paper - it’s easy, I promise. I am not saying there isn’t promise, I am saying that I don’t trust anyone as far as I can throw them. If I were to come up with an industry that would waste billions of the enemy’s time on useless tech, thinking they were coming up with incredibly useful tech by doing so, quantum is very close to what I would come up with.]

Source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/04/260417224455.htm

China has significantly closed the technological gap with the United States in artificial intelligence, particularly in AI model performance and industrial robot installations. The flow of tech experts to the U.S. is decreasing rapidly, posing challenges to American technological leadership as China invests heavily in its own AI capabilities and talent development.

  • China has nearly closed the gap with the U.S. in AI capabilities, particularly in large language models.

  • The number of tech experts moving to the U.S. from abroad has dropped significantly, threatening the U.S.'s technological advantage.

[RSnake: It has. I also have very strong reasons to believe there is a vulnerability in the way certain systems work that allows any nation-state to see all of the training models/data for all these frontier models, or even change them during the training phase, without any logging at all. But even if that wasn’t a real threat (and it is), most of what you need to create these models is now openly known, so it wouldn’t take much to catch up.]

Source: https://fortune.com/2026/04/16/stanford-study-how-has-china-gained-on-us-ai-war/

Business

Iran's economy is deteriorating rapidly due to ongoing conflict and sanctions, resulting in high inflation, severe unemployment, and significant damage to key economic sectors such as petrochemicals and steel. Prolonged internet disruptions, combined with soaring inflation rates exceeding 110% for essential goods, have further crippled the digital economy and spurred widespread layoffs across various industries.

  • Iran's economy is experiencing stagflation, characterized by high inflation and increasing unemployment.

  • The ongoing conflict has led to significant damage in critical industrial sectors, exacerbating economic instability and hindering recovery.

[RSnake: I think Scott Bessent knows that that is the biggest pressure point we have.]

Source: https://www.iranintl.com/en/202604170088

Executives from iLearningEngines have been indicted for allegedly fabricating nearly all aspects of their business, including revenues and customer relationships, to mislead investors and inflate the company's value. The operation involved creating fictitious clients and contracts, resulting in severe financial fraud that led to the company's bankruptcy after a critical report exposed the deception.

  • iLearningEngines executives created a facade of a thriving AI company to attract investments.

  • The fraud involved elaborate schemes, including fake contracts and financial entities, to simulate profit.

[RSnake: I never understood why companies do this. It’s not like they won’t be found out. Have we not learned anything from Theranos?]

Source: https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/former-ai-spac-executives-indicted-fabricating-virtually-all-revenue-and-customers

A Paris court has sentenced two former executives of Lafarge, a major cement manufacturer, to prison for financing terrorism in Syria. In a landmark ruling, the court also held the corporation criminally liable for its actions, marking a significant shift in corporate accountability for enabling terrorism and potentially setting a precedent for future war crimes prosecutions.

  • Lafarge executives were sentenced for financing terrorist activities in Syria.

  • The corporation was found criminally liable, marking a historical legal precedent.

[RSnake: Eesh - that is not a good look. But this is an example of going after the means of financing.]

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/17/opinion/lafarge-corporate-terrorism-syria-france.html

Google's investment in SpaceX, estimated to be worth around $100 billion at a potential $2 trillion IPO, positions it as a significant player in the aerospace market. SpaceX is targeting a June IPO that could be one of the largest ever, potentially raising $75 billion and creating considerable financial returns for early investors.

  • Google owned approximately 6.11% of SpaceX at the end of 2025, now estimated at about 5% after dilution.

  • SpaceX's anticipated IPO may generate significant liquidity for employees and insiders.

[RSnake: Imagine that. Google is getting into bed with Musk. I am guessing all of the ultra-left who will never use any Musk products/services will be abandoning Google any minute. Right? 😆 I’m not holding my breath.]

Source: https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/googles-stake-spacex-could-be-worth-122-billion-ipo

The United States is nearing a historic shift to become a net crude oil exporter for the first time since World War II, with exports rising significantly to meet heightened demand from Asia and Europe due to a conflict in Iran. This has led the U.S. to achieve record-low net imports, while European nations, particularly, have notably increased their purchases of American crude oil.

  • U.S. crude oil exports have reached 5.2 million barrels per day, the highest in seven months.

  • Net imports of crude oil have dropped to 66,000 barrels per day, the lowest since 2001.

[RSnake: This is a good turn of events, but we really need to think very hard about protecting those assets, because static oil assets have a nasty habit of exploding during conflict.]

Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/war-brings-us-close-to-net-crude-exporter-for-first-time-since-wwii/articleshow/130320866.cms

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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 any action based on anything posted here.