RSnake Report 20260228

Hello, and thanks for reading! It's been a busy week, both in the news and on the home front. I gave a presentation at i4 and managed to get a new version of cvedata.com out, so go check it out! I was also told, in no uncertain terms, by one of my readers that he would like more news and faster, so the Editor and I are considering how to support something like a self-service feed, similar to what you see at the bottom of the RSnake Report.

If that's something that interests you, please reach out and let me know. I'd like to know whether he's crazy or whether that would really be of value. And in case you were wondering, he asked for this feature in meme form. 😆

Let's start with Russian/Ukrainian news, where Ukrainian attack drones struck the Kalikino pump station in Tatarstan, Russia, on February 23, setting it ablaze and disrupting operations at this critical node in Russia's oil pipeline grid. The Russians continue to be exposed here because these stationary assets are very difficult to protect, especially when you have a lot of them, and they are quite large. 

The fire continued out of control for over a day, with storage tanks for the Druzhba pipeline also destroyed, cutting off Europe's access to Russian oil. So that's it. The only way to get Russian oil now is either via trucks, or dark-fleet boats, or smuggled through China/Iran via train.

Since that Starlink shutdown a couple of interesting things popped up.  First, Russian forces have shifted to Wi-Fi bridges using line-of-sight antennas on towers for communication after those Starlink disruptions. These things are both pretty darned slow, but very easy to detect, leading to collapsed data transfer on sections of the front when the towers are destroyed. In the video, you can see an example of one of the towers that has to be way up high to get good coverage, and also ends up being a really easy target. The Starlink shutdown has also increased risks in Russian "flag-sticking" missions, forcing soldiers to transport drone videos via USB sticks for what really amounts to nothing more than a modern-day version of counting coup. Idiotic bravery for nothing. 👎

Ukrainian forces launched drone strikes on Russia's Engels air force base, with local residents reporting 12-15 explosions starting at 02:30 local time. I haven't yet heard what the damage was, but based on the size of the explosions, I am going to guess they hit some rather large ordinance at the least, or perhaps fuel storage for the airplanes. It's hard to say.

Russia attacked Kostyantynivka with white phosphorus munitions and a FAB-1500 bomb on February 27. There was some back and forth about whether these munitions are legal or not, but Whisky Pete, as it is called, is probably fine in this use case, because they can easily claim it was used for marking, even if there were any prohibitions that Russia cared about. They can claim it was for marking specifically because they followed it up with a FAB.

Finland has started supplying the commercial explosive Kemix-B. To make it last longer, the Ukrainians have begun to mix the gelatin explosive with recovered TNT from Ukrainian TM-62M anti-tank mines to meet demand for explosives. The funny part is you'd think they need those anti-tank mines, but then again... what Russian tanks are left? 😆

In South East Asian news, the Taliban sent heavy reinforcements to the Pakistan-Afghanistan border as clashes escalated on February 26. Pakistan fired heavy artillery, including 122mm Ghazab MLRS rockets, at a Sheraz terror camp in Nangarhar, Afghanistan. So that could start to become a bigger conflict, and we'll keep our eye on it.

A private project linked to North Korean national Kil-Nam Kang, managing an IT worker cell, operates from Beijing, China. It is quite likely that the CCP knowingly allows this behavior, which should give you some sense of their loyalty towards us as partners.

India's IT services market lost $50 billion in value over the last 30 days, with the Nifty IT index down 15 percent. Major firms, including Wipro, Infosys, TCS, Cognizant, HCL, Accenture, Capgemini, LTI, Mindtree, Tech Mahindra, and Mphasis, saw share drops of 17 to 30 percent. This is driven by AI tools compressing tasks like SAP ERP migrations from years to weeks. There are huge companies that simply live on the fact that some tasks are annoying and difficult. AI has removed that burden almost entirely. So what are Indian developers to do? 🤔

Anthropic claimed they detected industrial-scale distillation attacks on its models by Chinese labs DeepSeek, Moonshot AI, and MiniMax, who created over 24,000 fraudulent accounts and generated 16 million exchanges with Claude to extract capabilities for their own training. This isn't necessarily the evidence they think it is, but I also wouldn't put it past any of the big players to do exactly this, and definitely not outside the realm of CCP-backed AI labs.

China plans to supply Iran with supersonic anti-ship missiles capable of targeting U.S. naval vessels up to 200 miles away. So this is yet another example where China is siding against the US, and going so far as to pledging to help other countries harm the US. The CCP is not our friend. That said, China lost 800,000 barrels per day of Venezuelan oil imports in January, which is now being redirected to Texas refineries. But now, with the US and Israel attacking Iran, Iranian oil imports are also at risk. China is losing more and more friends as of late, it seems.

Okay, onto the Middle East news, Israeli media reported growing indications that Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei may have been killed in U.S. and Israeli strikes that began around 8 AM Iranian time and may have decapitated a lot of Iranian leadership as well. We don't know for sure if he's dead, and of course, Iran is saying no with no video to back up that claim, but I suspect we'll find out in the coming days. The footage is pretty impressive, and it's just starting to come out. Thus far, there have been no US casualties.

For those fans who were betting on it, I hope you saw last week's RSnake Report, where I called that it would happen in a week. It happened 6.5 days after I sent out that newsletter. Pretty darned close, and a good reason to pay close to Witkoff in the future. 🎯

The Internet looks like it is mostly down in Iran at the moment, so I am sure there will be a lot more footage coming out, so for now we only know what is trickling out via US and Israeli sources and a few random other people who likely still have Starlink. Iran's Internet connectivity dropped 98 percent starting around 07:00 UTC following the strikes, resembling past government shutdowns.

The Israeli Air Force, using about 200 fighter jets, conducted its largest-ever strike sortie against Iranian missile arrays and defense systems in western and central Iran, dropping hundreds of munitions on 500 targets including air defenses and launchers, expanding aerial superiority and degrading offensive capabilities; one strike hit a Tabriz site used by Iran's surface-to-surface missile unit for planned attacks on Israeli civilians.

Footage showed U.S. Tomahawk cruise missiles heading toward Tehran, with additional strikes on the Ayatollah Khamenei's headquarters, Damavand in Tehran province, and multiple crossings of Iraqi airspace.

Jordan's foreign minister condemned Iranian ballistic missile strikes on Jordanian territory as unjustified aggression. I flatly think Iran's strategy there was incredibly dumb. At least up until now, the surrounding countries had to at least pretend to look the other way about Iran. This fully puts them in the crosshairs and requires retribution, almost as a default. Idiotic choice if you ask me. 🤷

Iran fired missiles at something like five countries. For instance, there were multiple intercepts in the UAE with one civilian killed by debris. In Abu Dhabi, an intercept in Qatar with no damage, missiles that caused a fire in Kuwait and an airport terminal and Ali Al Salam base, two shot down in Jordan, and unconfirmed claims in Saudi Arabia, oh yeah, and Bahrain had a drone hit a building. Dumb move, but hey, if they want to make hardened enemies in every direction... go for it!

The locals were celebrating the Bahrain hits, likely because they were targeting US assets. For instance, one of the targets was a US Navy Base in Bahrain.

There was a confirmed hit on the U.S. Navy Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain with no casualty figures yet. There was another video of a Shahed drone hitting a radar station. But there's a lot of destruction happening.

As far as I know, this is the first successful hit of a US asset by a foreign drone. A first, but likely not the last, it makes it super critical we start taking the drone situation much more seriously. Not that they did that meaningful amount of damage, but clearly it does work enough of the time to cause problems.

A high-rise in Bahrain and the Fairmont The Palm Hotel in Dubai were also hit, with explosions near Burj Khalifa and a missile landing on Palm Jumeirah, causing a hotel fire. 

Although they were unable to hit the Burj, the drone came very close, which leads me to believe it was a navigational error or targeting issue, not an active defense of any kind that protected it.

Iran's Red Crescent reported at least 201 killed and 747 wounded across 24 provinces targeted by U.S.-Israeli strikes. That sounds low to me, given that the US said that this is the largest Air Force strike sortie in its history. I wouldn't be surprised at all if this number skyrockets. Though Trump did give the Iranians an out, where he said that anyone who surrenders gets full immunity. That may help.

Khamenei's son-in-law and daughter-in-law were killed in the strikes, per a Tehran city council member. Residents of Karaj chanted for Reza Pahlavi's return from rooftops during the strikes. He is the most likely next premier and thankfully non-secular and pro-western, so fingers crossed there. The U.S. military reported minimal damage from Iranian attacks and no U.S. personnel killed. The IDF released footage of strikes neutralizing Iranian soldiers arming missiles and primed launchers in western Iran, including many ballistic missile launchers ready for immediate attacks on Israel. 

There were a few schools that were hit, and this will likely be used as a massive press blitz against the West.  But as a matter of making sure you know what's happening, there were two, and the first one was a massive Israeli strike that hit Sahand University of Technology in Tabriz. 

A girls' elementary school in Minab was hit, killing dozens of students. Iran's official outlets are saying it was targeted, but very likely this was actually a failed missile launch from one side or the other. There's no upside in hitting a school, and Iranian missiles do have a fairly high failure rate.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced this operation, which was called Operation Epic Fury, in what I thought was a rather well-designed speech. The US coordinated with Israel's Roaring Lion strikes to destroy Iran's missile and naval capabilities and to stop the nation state and eliminate the nuclear threat. This was definitely a regime change strike, not just delaying the nuclear clock like the last strike against Iran. More specifically, he urged Iranians to overthrow their government, warning of a multi-day operation. This is how he keeps US troops out of Iran, and it's a smart decision. At the end of the day, Iran has to govern itself, and the protesters did ask for our help. Maybe it was a bit later than they would have liked, but now is the time if they want to get rid of the IGRC. We'll see if it pays off.

Strikes intensified around 10:00-11:00 IRST, hitting Tehran presidential areas, IRGC sites, Minab, Kermanshah, and Karaj, with explosions in residential and military zones. The first 24 hours focused on Israeli strikes, followed by U.S. activation, including F-22 Raptors. This was a no-nonsense strike. That is a lot of firepower.

USS Gerald R. Ford and Abraham Lincoln carrier groups, B-2 bombers with GBU-57 penetrators for Fordow, and additional fighters; Iran's retaliation caused one civilian death from debris, while Saudi Arabia pledged support against Iran. And why wouldn't they, given that aggression? The map looks pretty lopsided. Again, I cannot stress how incredibly stupid this move was. Even if the regime holds out, they are now completely surrounded by countries that will want them gone.

An unconfirmed report claimed Iran shot down an Israeli fighter jet. But please do not repeat it as fact, though it did come with footage of unknown origin.

Okay, as if Iran wasn't crazy enough, let's head to South of the Border and see how Mexico is doing. The Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) leader, El Mencho, was killed in a Mexican military raid on February 22, prompting retaliatory attacks across Mexico including gunshots at Guadalajara International Airport, burning vehicles in a Puerto Vallarta Costco parking lot, and dozens of narco-blockades with burning vehicles and highway closures in Jalisco, Tamaulipas, Nayarit, Michoacán, Puebla, and Guanajuato. 

Citizens' cars were seized for blockades, and fires were set throughout the city. It was a pretty crazy scene. We actually had one of our employees get stuck there for a few days until things got back under some semblance of control.

The blockades were built using stolen cars that were lit to deter military incursions into certain areas of the city. They also lit up buses and other debris.

They have also started looting and burning stores as well, using Molotov cocktails, which is putting a larger strain on public resources and making it more difficult to contain.

CJNG, composed of former military and special forces, conducted peer-level operations against Mexican forces, using heavy machine gun vehicles for ambushes and military-grade drones at the border. It's also spilled over into other states, like Jalisco, Michoacán, Guanajuato, Tamaulipas, and Puebla. So this isn't just limited to one specific area, and in fact more or less cuts the country in half, which is likely the exact territory that the cartel throttles product through.

It's also quite likely that the cartel caused multiple prison breaks to increase their ranks. It's not clear how many were released, though. I am sure that has got to be demoralizing to the police and military who worked hard to find, prosecute, and imprison them.

The group is responsible for most U.S. smuggling and has shot down military helicopters with RPGs. They also engage in ambushes using heavy machine guns hidden in shipping vehicles.

Of course, Claudia Sheinbaum seems completely bought and paid for by the cartels, it seems, and is saying that there is no way that she can return the fight to the cartels. So what happens? We will likely have to exert a lot more control over what happens in Mexican politics and with her in particular to make her act in her people's interest on this one.

Okay, in North American news, Sam Altman reached an agreement with the Department of War to deploy its models on their classified network, incorporating safety principles prohibiting domestic mass surveillance and ensuring human responsibility for force, including autonomous weapons. Of course, that sounds like a lot of nonsense, because the DoW has said they can use it for anything that is legal, and that includes both. So one of the two of them is lying, and I cannot imagine a world where Sam would be truthful on this matter. He does need the business, though, and so it's worth playing ball.

Anthropic, on the other hand, is out. No more Anthropic models in the military, which likely includes government contractors and vendors that work for those contractors - it's a long list of very large companies. CEO Dario Amodei offered assistance for transitioning to another provider if blacklisted, but held firm that he didn't feel his models were good enough for any of these purposes. I think he's right, but also, that's how you build better systems - letting the military do what it wants to do.

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1043, mandating system-level age verification in operating systems like Windows, Linux, macOS, and FreeBSD, effective January 1, 2027. Colorado's SB26-051 advances as well for a similar implementation, but in 2028. Utah, Texas, Louisiana, and Alabama have app-layer laws related to only very specific adult content websites, and it is trivial to bypass with a VPN. As one person I saw said, enjoy this freedom while it lasts, because things are going to change drastically for Californians at a minimum. That said, in case you weren't aware, many VPN providers are owned or controlled by the CCP, so I am not in favor at all of the app-level age verifications unless they are universal and they make the use of a CCP-controlled VPN useless.

I saw an interesting article about how towns with Republican prosecutors saw reduced firearm homicides and lower death rates among young men due to the prosecution of criminals. This was mostly due to gunshots and mostly amongst young men. Based on what I have seen of how Austin's prosecutor has failed to address crime in the past, this makes a lot of sense. Sanctuary cities are really not great.

In Tech News, an autonomous AI financial analyst called Dexter, handles complex queries like NVIDIA's DCF valuation by planning research, pulling live data and SEC filings, calculating metrics, validating, and delivering theses using four AI agents for planning, execution, checking, and output. This is effectively like a Bloomberg terminal had a baby with Claude Code.

A hacker found and exploited some issues in a DJI robotic vacuum and ended up taking over 7,000 camera-enabled robots. This was done somewhat by accident because he just wanted to control the robot with a remote control, but gives you some sense how bad these systems actually are, and if I were a less paranoid person I may not think that these holes are designed to allow the Chinese company to use them, but... I am.

The OpenClaw Report compiled over 130 AI use cases and news from X posts. So for those who were trying to figure out what to do with it, you might want to check out that report.

GitNexus open-sourced a browser tool that parses GitHub repos into interactive D3.js knowledge graphs, mapping functions, classes, imports, and calls via a 4-pass AST pipeline stored in KuzuDB. An AI agent queries in English using Cypher for graph relationships, supporting TypeScript, JavaScript, and Python with Web Workers for large repos. It looks beautiful, frankly. They did a good job. This feels like what Powergrep was supposed to be.

There is a new project that does autonomous "Dogfooding". It's a tool for agent-browser explores URLs, interacts with pages, tests edges, captures videos and screenshots, and reports issues without scripts. 

Google released an agent builder in Opal, programmable in English with tool calls, memory, and conditional logic. I have a feeling this will become a fairly big deal, and will try to compete with a lot of the low-code tools out there. Given that it will likely have strong ties to the Google ecosystem, this will likely be used heavily by the business world once people figure out how to use it.

Context+ open-sourced a tool reducing context bloat via undo trees, semantic search, refactoring, blast radius analysis, and file trees. The tool allegedly saves 6,000-10,000 tokens per prompt and halves task times for agents. I strongly suspect this will just get added directly into the major IDEs, but I could be wrong.  Worth looking into either way.

In Economic news, U.S. housing inventory flipped, with sellers outnumbering buyers by 600,000, the largest gap recorded, shifting from bidding wars to desperate sales. This is one of those graphs that means affordability, which is good, but it also means liquidity is low. 📈 Google searches for "can’t sell house" reached an all-time high, exceeding 2008 and COVID peaks. Housing prices may crash 60-80 percent due to unaffordability and insufficient younger buyers to inherit boomer homes, creating cataclysmic selling pressure similar to Japan's 1990s bubble. 

Lastly, one of the most interesting graphs I saw was about software development. It looks like job postings for software engineers are rising rapidly. This is likely because companies are figuring out that you need good engineering talent to manage LLMs. That's my bet anyway.

Okay, onto the articles!

Israeli airstrikes targeted Tehran and several cities in Iran as part of a military operation that the U.S. and Israel described as preemptive. Concurrently, Iranians received hacked notifications from a prayer-timing app urging military personnel to surrender for amnesty, contributing to a digital disarray amid ongoing internet disruptions in the country.

• Israeli and U.S. forces launched preemptive strikes against Iranian targets.

• Hacked notifications appeared on Iranian phones, encouraging military personnel to surrender.

• Iran experienced significant internet disruptions and retaliated with attacks on military bases across the Middle East.

[RSnake: Fingers crossed that the people on the ground see this and take the bull by the horns!]

Source: https://www.wired.com/story/hacked-prayer-app-sends-surrender-messages-to-iranians-amid-israeli-strikes/

Pakistan and Afghanistan are engaged in intense hostilities, with Pakistan's defense minister declaring a state of 'open war' following a series of cross-border attacks. The clashes stem from escalating tensions over airstrikes and alleged support for militant groups, with significant casualties reported on both sides and ongoing military operations continuing along the Torkham border area.

• Pakistan's defense minister announced an 'open war' with Afghanistan following cross-border attacks.

• Both countries are accusing each other of supporting terrorism and engaging in military operations that have resulted in significant casualties.

[RSnake: Taliban said it would take over in 24 hours, and now hundreds of its fighters are dead. Not going that well so far. Saudi Arabia said it would offer support if Pakistan needed it. Here’s another article on it. Pakistan helped us against the Taliban, so there really is a lot of hostility there.]

Source: https://www.defensenews.com/global/mideast-africa/2026/02/27/pakistan-in-open-war-with-afghanistan-defense-minister-says/

Airspace across multiple countries, including Iran, Israel, and several Gulf states, has been closed due to escalating military conflict following a joint US-Israeli attack on Iran. This battle has led to a significant disruption in global air travel, prompting airlines to cancel or reroute flights in and out of the Middle East, which is a critical hub for international travel.

• The conflict between the US, Israel, and Iran has escalated to a level resulting in multiple countries shutting down their airspace.

• Global airlines are heavily impacted, with numerous cancellations and diversions of flights due to the ongoing military actions and regional instability.

[RSnake: Yep, steer clear of those areas. Americans have been warned against getting near the Turkish border as well.]

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/2/28/airspace-closed-airlines-halt-flights-as-us-israel-attack-iran-responds?traffic_source=rss

Russian forces have amassed 100,000 troops to capture Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, the last free cities in the Donbas region of Ukraine. A major Ukrainian stronghold, Hill 207, stands as a critical obstacle to this offensive, with ongoing fierce battles determining control of the area.

• Russian forces plan to attack the last two free cities in Donetsk Oblast.

• Control of Hill 207 is crucial for determining the success of the Russian offensive.

[RSnake: That is a lot, but keep in mind they have very little armor. So this is a meat wave! I wouldn’t be terribly surprised if they lose most of these troops, even if they do win.]

Source: https://euromaidanpress.com/?p=394158

The ongoing conflict in Ukraine has led to significant disruptions in the education system, with millions of children facing challenges due to war-related destruction and displacement. As a result, many students are attending makeshift schools or online classes, leading to educational disparities that could affect the future economic potential of the country. Additionally, the Russian occupation has forced Ukrainian schoolchildren into a system that promotes propaganda, further complicating their educational landscape.

• Millions of Ukrainian students are affected by the war, with many displaced and facing educational losses.

• Russian occupation has led to systemic educational inequalities among Ukrainian children.

[RSnake: Yes, but they are getting an education of a different kind. Maybe a much more practical one, but I promise those kids are learning, even if it’s not arithmetic.]

Source: https://foreignpolicy.com/?p=1222094

Canada has expressed support for U.S. military strikes on Iran, citing Tehran's failure to dismantle its nuclear program and stop aid to militant groups. Following the strikes, multiple countries in the Middle East have closed their airspace, resulting in significant flight cancellations across the region and impacting international air travel.

• Canada supports U.S. actions against Iran for its nuclear program and militant support.

• Several Middle Eastern countries have closed their airspace, leading to widespread flight cancellations.

[RSnake: Kinda impressive that they are saying anything nice about what Trump has done, given previous statements, but I think everyone is pretty much on the same page in the Western world about how bad Iran has been with regard to terrorism.]

Source: https://www.eurasiantimes.com/?p=271685

India's Defence Acquisition Council has approved a significant deal to procure 114 Rafale fighter jets from France, marking a crucial investment in the Indian Air Force's operational capabilities. This acquisition is anticipated to transform the domestic defense industry, enhance India's airpower amidst a challenging geopolitical landscape, and facilitate a shift towards indigenous defense production.

• India's Defense Acquisition Council approved the procurement of 114 Rafale fighter jets valued at $40 billion.

• The deal aims to boost India's operational airpower and strengthen its defense industry through indigenous production.

• This acquisition is a strategic response to evolving regional threats, particularly from China and Pakistan.

[RSnake: That’s a lot. It’s clear that they see the campaign against Pakistan as only a partial success, and they want optionality with air support.]

Source: https://www.eurasiantimes.com/?p=271672

Google is implementing quantum-resistant cryptographic methods in its Chrome browser to secure HTTPS certificates against potential attacks from quantum computers. The new system utilizes Merkle Tree Certificates, which significantly reduce the data size needed for secure communications, addressing concerns of increased latency and browsing efficiency during the transition towards post-quantum cryptography.

• Google is deploying a quantum-resistant root store to enhance the security of HTTPS certificates.

• Merkle Tree Certificates are introduced to minimize data size while maintaining security against quantum threats.

[RSnake: Yeah, I have been thinking this for a long time, that this would happen. Until Chrome created it, no one else would start using it, but now that it’s here, the bulk of the Internet will likely adopt it and be cryptographically more secure against quantum without even realizing it as a result.]

Source: https://arstechnica.com/security/2026/02/google-is-using-clever-math-to-quantum-proof-https-certificates/

North Korean hackers, identified as APT37, are using new malware called Ruby Jumper to exploit air-gapped networks. This malware facilitates covert surveillance and data transfer between isolated systems using removable drives, posing a significant threat to critical infrastructure and military sectors.

• APT37 hackers are deploying a suite of malware to breach physically isolated air-gapped systems.

• The Ruby Jumper campaign uses removable storage devices to bridge air-gapped networks for covert data extraction and command delivery.

[RSnake: Smart. But also, you shouldn’t be bringing USB sticks back and forth from a hardened environment.]

Source: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/apt37-hackers-use-new-malware-to-breach-air-gapped-networks/

A Europol-led operation has resulted in the arrests of 30 individuals associated with a cybercrime collective known as 'The Com,' which targets children and teenagers for extortion and the production of child sexual exploitation material. This initiative, involving law enforcement from 28 countries, identified 62 victims and aims to disrupt the activities of this decentralized network that threatens youth online. The operation reflects a significant multinational effort to combat the growing influence of cybercriminal groups exploiting vulnerable populations.

• A yearlong operation led to the arrest of 30 individuals connected to a cybercrime group targeting children.

• Law enforcement from 28 countries collaborated to disrupt this international network known for recruiting minors for illegal activities.

• The operation identified multiple subgroups within the collective, each engaging in various forms of cybercrime and exploitation.

[RSnake: Good riddance. Kids really should be off limits even to scumbag hacker groups, but I guess not.]

Source: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/police-crackdown-on-the-com-cybercrime-gang-leads-to-30-arrests/

A critical vulnerability in Ivanti Connect Secure has been exploited in zero-day attacks by a threat actor linked to China, which remains undetected on compromised devices. The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has provided details about a malicious implant used in these attacks, which employs sophisticated evasion techniques and could potentially maintain latent infections until contacted by a remote actor.

• A zero-day vulnerability has been actively exploited by a Chinese threat actor.

• The CISA has provided technical details about a malware implant capable of evading detection.

[RSnake: Ivanti and Fortinet. Just say no, folks.]

Source: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/cisa-warns-that-resurge-malware-can-be-dormant-on-ivanti-devices/

The Pentagon is engaged in a dispute with Anthropic over the use of the company's AI technology for military applications, particularly concerning autonomy in weapons and surveillance. Anthropic is hesitant to allow its models for uses it deems harmful, while the Pentagon insists on its right to use the technology for lawful purposes, threatening to designate Anthropic as a supply chain risk if it does not comply.

• Anthropic has stated it does not want its AI models used for mass surveillance or autonomous weapons without human oversight.

• The Pentagon claims it should have the autonomy to deploy AI for any lawful purpose and has threatened to blacklist Anthropic if it does not agree.

[RSnake: And we saw what happened with this. But I don’t think this is necessarily the end of the story either. I interchangeably use Claude Code, Cursor, Aider, or VSCode. IDEs don’t mean much to me, nor the models that they default to. If any one of them gets a meaningful edge, that’s pretty much where the market will go, regardless of what the Government says/does.]

Source: https://techcrunch.com/?p=3097642

A critical vulnerability in Cisco's SD-WAN has been actively exploited since 2023, allowing remote attackers to compromise network controllers. This flaw has led to unauthorized access and the potential insertion of rogue devices into affected networks, prompting urgent advisories from the U.S. and UK cybersecurity agencies for organizations to patch their systems immediately.

• Cisco SD-WAN vulnerability allows remote attackers to access and manipulate network configurations.

• Urgent action is required from organizations to patch the vulnerability and investigate potential compromises.

[RSnake: That sounds like a bad one. Cisco has been getting hit a bit more recently, so they will need to start really spending more time on security and quality control.]

Source: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/critical-cisco-sd-wan-bug-exploited-in-zero-day-attacks-since-2023/

The U.S. Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on a Russian exploit broker, Operation Zero, and its owner for purchasing stolen hacking tools from a former executive of a U.S. defense contractor. This action is the first application of the Protecting American Intellectual Property Act to target foreign adversaries involved in intellectual property theft.

• The U.S. sanctioned Operation Zero for acquiring exploited vulnerabilities developed for U.S. government use.

• The sanctioned individuals and entities are involved in the unauthorized sale of zero-day exploits to Russian clients.

[RSnake: I wonder if these sanctions actually do anything useful. It’s a bit hard to imagine the hackers care much, but perhaps they felt that they could be legitimate. I do know a number of people who do similar work here in the US, and it’s basically on the up and up, and even have the US .gov as a customer.]

Source: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/us-sanctions-russian-exploit-broker-for-buying-stolen-zero-days/

As the FIFA World Cup approaches in 2026, concerns have emerged regarding the potential risks posed by drones and wireless surveillance in host cities throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Experts warn that sophisticated wireless threats can disrupt essential operational systems and highlight the need for effective defenses to address these emerging risks at large-scale events.

• The FIFA World Cup will present complex wireless threat environments for host cities.

• Drones and wireless surveillance are seen as significant risks that could impact public safety and operational technology during major events.

[RSnake: It is a very real concern in this day and age. LA is a huge county, with an insane amount of people too, so the Olympics will be a challenge as well.]

Source: https://www.darkreading.com/cyber-risk/cities-major-events-wireless-drone-defense

Lilly has launched LillyPod, a powerful AI factory designed to accelerate pharmaceutical discovery and development, powered by NVIDIA's technologies and housing over 1,000 GPUs. This supercomputing infrastructure enables large-scale data analysis and aims to revolutionize drug discovery by breaking the physical limits of traditional laboratory processes.

• LillyPod aims to accelerate drug discovery and development using advanced AI and computational power.

• The AI factory enables analysis of vast amounts of data, allowing scientists to simulate billions of molecular hypotheses.

[RSnake: AI plus biological testing. From the article, “Now in the dry lab, you can test billions of molecule ideas at your fingertips”. What could possibly go wrong?]

Source: https://blogs.nvidia.com/?p=90297

China is rapidly advancing in the field of humanoid robotics, outpacing U.S. competitors due to a robust hardware supply chain and strong manufacturing capabilities. This acceleration is driven by government policies favoring automation, significant private investment, and a focus on operational deployments rather than just demonstrations.

• China's humanoid robot development is fueled by strong government support and a competitive manufacturing ecosystem.

• Chinese companies are experiencing faster iteration and deployment of humanoid robots compared to their U.S. counterparts.

[RSnake: It stole a lot of the information as well, so that is how they have managed to keep up and even surpass us. Also, they can drop the price to get their products into the world, giving them access when those Internet-capable devices are in use.]

Source: https://techcrunch.com/?p=3097319

A coalition of over 360 employees from Google and OpenAI have signed a letter urging their companies to support Anthropic in its stance against the use of AI for domestic mass surveillance and autonomous weaponry. Anthropic is facing pressure from the Pentagon, which has indicated it may invoke the Defense Production Act to compel compliance with military demands. The situation highlights a growing tension between AI companies and government use of advanced technologies for defense purposes.

• A coalition of Google and OpenAI employees signed a letter supporting Anthropic's opposition to military use of AI.

• The Pentagon is pressuring Anthropic, threatening to label it a supply chain risk.

[RSnake: And it will be ignored. There is no way the DoW is walking that back unless they run into operational issues in doing so.]

Source: https://techcrunch.com/?p=3097820

Apple's iPhone and iPad have been approved to handle classified information up to NATO's restricted level without requiring special software or settings, marking a first for consumer devices. This certification ensures that these devices can securely store sensitive data for NATO nations, reflecting a significant advancement in mobile security technology.

• Apple's devices are certified to handle classified NATO information.

• This marks the first time consumer devices meet NATO's information security requirements.

[RSnake: Wow, that’s somewhat shocking. But remember, iOS has vulnerabilities all the time. Nearly every update has security features/enhancements/fixes.]

Source: https://gizmodo.com/?p=2000727267

$4.8 million in cryptocurrency was stolen after the South Korean National Tax Service accidentally exposed the recovery phrase for a seized wallet. This incident highlights significant security lapses within government agencies managing digital assets, resulting in the loss of funds intended for tax enforcement.

• The South Korean National Tax Service exposed a recovery phrase for a confiscated cryptocurrency wallet during a press release.

• An attacker quickly exploited this exposure to transfer 4 million PRTG tokens, equivalent to $4.8 million.

[RSnake: Very likely North Korea. They love crypto theft.]

Source: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/48m-in-crypto-stolen-after-korean-tax-agency-exposes-wallet-seed/

OpenAI faced criticism from Canadian officials due to its failure to report a suspect's flagged ChatGPT account to the police prior to a deadly shooting that resulted in eight fatalities. Following the incident, OpenAI announced it would enhance safety measures and establish a direct communication line with Canadian law enforcement for future cases involving potential real-world violence.

• OpenAI failed to report a suspect's flagged account to the police, which could have potentially prevented a tragic shooting.

• The incident has prompted Canadian officials to demand clearer protocols and improved safety commitments from OpenAI.

[RSnake: This is a tricky one. OpenAI is spectacularly bad at understanding context, and it’s not even clear how the culpability works in this context.]

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr73m4x8r2lo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss

OpenAI has secured $110 billion in private funding, marking one of the largest private funding rounds ever. This includes significant investments from Amazon, Nvidia, and SoftBank, aimed at scaling AI infrastructure and advancing technology applications in consumer products.

• OpenAI raised $110 billion in funding with major contributions from Amazon, Nvidia, and SoftBank.

• The funding aims to enhance AI infrastructure and product development.

[RSnake: Insane. I just don’t see how this ends up working and making them enough money to justify it. Call me confused, bearish, or whatever, but I just don’t see this gravy train continuing at the rate it has to.]

Source: https://techcrunch.com/?p=3097793

Nvidia reported a quarterly profit of $43 billion, driven by a 71% increase in sales of its A.I. chips, which contributed to a total annual profit of $120 billion. The company dominates the market for semiconductors needed for A.I. data centers and is set to benefit significantly from major spending plans by tech giants like Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta on A.I. advancements.

• Nvidia's profit for the fiscal year reached $120 billion, a dramatic increase from $4.4 billion three years ago.

• The company's A.I. chip sales have surged, making up 90% of the market crucial for A.I. projects.

[RSnake: NVIDIA is the real winner thus far. But if the vendors realize a cheaper way to distill their models, which they really need to be working on, this will be a risky bet.]

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/25/technology/nvidia-earnings.html

The worldwide smartphone market is projected to decline by 12.9% in 2026, attributed to a severe memory shortage crisis. This will result in the lowest annual shipment volume in over a decade, with significant impacts anticipated for low-end Android manufacturers, while larger brands like Apple and Samsung are positioned to potentially expand their market share amid ongoing supply chain issues.

• Smartphone shipments are forecasted to drop to 1.1 billion units in 2026.

• The memory crisis is expected to lead to a structural reset of the smartphone market, affecting smaller vendors and low-end products significantly.

[RSnake: Yeah, memory is the real issue. We’ll have to find new ways to produce it, or everything with a computer screen will skyrocket in price.]

Source: https://www.idc.com/resource-center/press-releases/wwsmartphoneforecast4q25/