RSnake Report 20250212

Hello, and thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed the Superbowl, the commercials, or whatever you prefer to do on Superbowl weekend. Let’s get into it.

In the Russian/Ukraine conflict news, Ukraine has pulled off yet another surprise, this time in Kursk, where its forces made an unexpected push southeast of Sudzha, advancing about 5km in about one day. Additional reports are suggesting large Ukrainian formations are amassing near Sudzha. If true, this would be the second significant ground incursion into Russia since the start of the war—exactly the kind of nightmare scenario the Kremlin has tried to avoid. It also puts to bed the idea that Russians have the Ukrainians penned in at Kursk. If anything, it is possible they will make even more advances eastward, past Guyevo.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian UAVs continue hammering Russia’s critical oil infrastructure. Two oil pumping stations near Chertkovo in Rostov took hits, along with an oil refinery in Volgograd. Russian air defenses scrambled over Slavyansk-on-Kuban and Rostov-on-Don, but it seems like at least some of these drones slipped through the cracks. Word on the street is that Ukraine might have deployed its homegrown jet-powered ‘Peklo’ missile-drone for this operation (more on the Peklo workshop here). In the Kuban region, the Afipsky refinery went up in flames after a drone attack. More energy sector casualties. 🔥 

Over in Moscow, Armen Sarkisyan, a Russian-Armenian paramilitary figure with serious underworld connections, was assassinated in his apartment by a suicide bomber. They were packing a Soviet-era copy of the U.S. M18A1 Claymore mine. This might be the first time I have seen this kind of attack carried out, and the question is how did the rival group recruit someone who would kill themselves. That must have been one serious debt owed and consequences that likely extended to their family. Just an odd situation.

Russian forces are now showing evidence that they received FPV drone goggles rigged with explosives, eerily reminiscent of Israel’s old trick of booby-trapping pagers. Now, they can’t even trust their own gear. Now, Israel did a much better job of hiding the explosive and planned it better to coincide with the bulk of people wearing it at the time of detonation rather than only killing a few who happened to use the goggles before realizing that it was dangerous, but still, very impressive. Supply chains are not to be trusted in warfare. ⛓️ 

On the diplomatic front, former U.S. National Security Advisor Keith Kellogg claims Trump is prepared to double down on sanctions to force Russia to the negotiating table. Right now, Russia’s economic pain is only at a "3 out of 10," he says, but the theory is that dialing it up to an 8 or 9 might force Putin’s hand. Sanctions have been mediocre at the moment. But I am curious what they think a 10 would be. A Chinese-style blockade as they demonstrated with Taiwan?

If Russia is even considering a ceasefire, it’s doing it badly. Russia is currently trying to make sure its mobilized soldiers don’t demobilize anytime soon. Reports indicate that the army is forcing conscripts to sign permanent contracts or, if they refuse, sending them straight into the meat grinder. If true, that means Russia is bracing for a long war, or at the very least, trying to lock down its manpower before any future peace talks. It is also invading MMA training camps to find people to deport or people to conscript. That said, it is removing much of its air defense out of Crimea, which is an odd signal. Is Crimea something they expect to have to give back to Ukraine? Otherwise, why stop protecting it from air assaults?

On a side note, look at the trigger discipline on these soldiers - it’s pretty clear firearms training has long since been abandoned with the new cadre of front-line troops. Also, note that not one of them has a modern optic on their rifles, they have a mismatch of camo, one is in white low-top tennis shoes, and only one has body armor or a helmet. Wow. This looks more like a terrorist cell than a modern army. 🤡 

Speaking of professionalism a few other things that are worth noting. The first is that Russia attempted to launch another Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missile, but it exploded over Russian territory. There is a working theory that the bulk of the missile defense people were actually previously from Ukraine, so the current state of ballistic missiles is woefully understaffed. I don’t know if I believe that theory, but the fact that the previous Oreshnik missile hit nothing of value with its MIRVs, and this one exploded prematurely isn’t a great sign for Russia.

I want to talk about something serious before I show why it’s actually comedy. Russia produced a documentary, which, even if you don’t speak Russian, is pretty interesting. It’s a 40 minute long take on the state of commercial drone manufacturing in Russia, with everything from machine-gun-laden dog drones, to drones that carry injured soldiers on the field. Some are definitely far more hokey than others - some are glorified RC cars, and others look like they might be able to get over something more daunting than some low-brush. That’s me being generous.

That is what the MOD would like you to believe - it is a modern techno battlefield. But here is where it turns into comedy: its logistics have collapsed so badly that front-line supplies are now being hauled by one-wheeled delivery hand trucks, and in some cases, literal donkeys. That’s right, the self-proclaimed "second most powerful army in the world" has officially regressed to medieval logistics. But think about it from the Russian side - these soldiers are tasked to walk 10+ miles a day, and there is nary a single operational sci-fi logistics drone to be seen. A mule/donkey that can go over uneven terrain for miles without issue must be a welcome change. Though, given the state of the logistics, the dearth of potable water and volume of Ukrainian FPV drones, I don’t expect many of those animals to survive for long.

Yet another Russian oil tanker is sinking, this time at Ust-Luga, carrying 130,000 tons of mazut (is a low-quality heavy fuel oil, used in power plants). Three explosions were reported in the engine room before the ship started going down, but Russian authorities insist there’s no risk of an oil spill… because Russia has such a great track record with tankers and oil spill disasters. That said, what caused the explosions - I don’t think we have any good intel on it.

Ukraine’s air defenses shot down a Russian Su-25 attack jet near Toresk. The footage appears to prove it was a MANPAD that did the damage. The plane flipped, nosedived, and slammed into Donetsk Oblast. Video footage shows Ukrainian forces also tried (but failed) to take down the Russian Mi-8 helicopter that arrived to recover the wreckage. The helicopter crew and the pilot used up most of their lives getting out of there - seriously harrowing.

And for the cherry on top, Russian forces shot down one of their own Eleron-3 drones, then tried to cover up the mistake by slapping a fake Ukrainian flag and Wehrmacht symbol on it. The attempt at an "enemy infiltration" story might have worked—except they forgot to remove the Russian-language markings on the wing. This is the definition of false flags. So not only didn’t they down anything of use to the Russians, but they actually took out their own drone in the hopes of getting paid for it and spreading fake Nazi propaganda at the same time. Lol. What a mess.

Two other quick drone things - the first is that FPV drones have started communicating back to HQ to alert other drones that are lying in wait nearby to activate and fly to the target. This keeps the ISR functions separate from the attributable drones and allows them to maintain greater battlefield observability. Also, Russia has begun creating huge net-tunnels. Giant nets surround the road that they travel through, potentially making them un-molestable because the lighter-weight FVP drones can’t penetrate. This got a lot of flack online, for being easily destroyed by the thermite drones, or easy to fly into from either end, etc. I can’t help but think it’s still a cheap/clever idea that is just waiting for a low-flying strafing run to destroy everything that is boxed into the open-air tunnel. Where’s the A10 when you need one? Also, I can see a situation where even one destroyed tank means now you have to do a lot of surgery on that net to get around it, leaving holes, making it easy to kill repair crews, etc.

Meanwhile, inside Ukraine, the armed forces have unveiled their own thermobaric rocket system, similar to Russia’s TOS-1 Buratino. There was a lot of uproar about the Russian use of thermobaric weapons, but to a large extent, this is just another evolution of the bomb - instead of fragments, it uses over-pressurization. I never did quite understand how dying of one is better or worse than dying of the other - they are all awful.

And; as the cherry on top, Russian partisans in Karelia torched a railroad relay cabinet, disrupting military logistics. It is a little hard to see what is going on, but these static assets are super vulnerable. We have the same issue here in the US with our train networks as well. It’s scary-easy to cause outages.

Russia’s people are increasingly believing that the economic situation is getting worse and is likely to cause a crisis this year. 42% of the population believes it’s coming, and are already having a difficult time clothing and feeding themselves, and this is before the supposed crisis has even hit. I think they are right to be concerned because there is no good news in the forecast. The best Russia can do is get to a peace deal and lick their wounds, hoping sanctions get lifted and get back to some sense of normalcy.

In Europe, the EU is gearing up for a large-scale operation to seize Russian-linked tankers from the shadow fleet operating in the Baltic. The new legislation would allow for the confiscation of ships not just for environmental damage but also for any threats they pose to submarine cables and critical infrastructure. That won’t help Russian economics very much and will make it much less attractive for businesses who see money to be made in smuggling Russian oil/gas.

Meanwhile, Estonia has officially disconnected its power grid from Russia, marking a historic step toward full energy independence. Moscow has long used energy dependency as leverage over its neighbors, but the Baltic states are apparently done with that arrangement. This gives them energy independence and hurts Russian revenue in the process. I know it took them a while to get their ducks in a row because sourcing energy is tough when you have done everything you can to export the pollution and environmental risk to other nations for decades. The age of independent/balkanized energy coming back into vogue is here.

Over in the Middle East, Iran, we finally got better footage of the drone carrier, IRIS Shahid Bagheri. It has no catapult system, as I previously speculated, but it does look like it has some anti-aircraft defenses, which you can see on both sides of the ship at 0:21 into the video. It looks like they are using arrestor hooks for the drones at 0:56. In one case, at 0:25, it almost looked like the drone took off accidentally before it got off the ski jump, meaning it likely could have taken off without the ski jump quite easily - in reality it might be harder to use the ski jump than to just take off without it. It looks like there may be some sort of tug pushing it on the starboard side at 0:35 because there is a lot of wake coming off the side of the ship. Either that or it's trying to stay in a stable position and using it's turbines to do that, rather than heading into the wind, like you might normally expect a carrier during. At 0:49 you see no wake at all, except for another boat behind it, and again none at all at 1:02 - meaning they aren't sailing into the wind. They didn't fly the actual, supposedly stealthy, Qaher-313, but some small-scale RC scaled model of it, but at :02, you can see the large visible actuators on its rudders that would make it very un-stealthy. It is also clear that they don't have good capabilities to launch and recover at the same time with only one operational runway. This is what you get when you buy an aircraft carrier on Temu.

None of this makes much sense because Iran already knows how to launch drones from stationary positions. They’ve been using truck-mounted launchers for years. It’s unclear why they felt the need to slap a runway on a barge unless they’re just flexing for the cameras. I somehow ended up less impressed than I expected to be. Funny enough, this apparently used to be a container ship. One of the virtues of containerized drone launchers and helicopters is you can put them on anything with a flat surface. Almost anything would have been better than this weird boat.

Meanwhile, just across the border, the Egyptian military is building up its forces near Gaza. Whether this is just a defensive measure or something more ominous remains to be seen, but it does raise eyebrows. Cairo is said to be upset over statements from both Israel and the U.S. suggesting that a total population removal is on the table. The idea that Washington would pressure Egypt with sanctions if it refuses to accept Palestinian refugees isn’t sitting well in Cairo, and this issue could drive an even deeper wedge between the U.S. and its Arab allies.

While Egypt is posturing militarily, Jordan’s King Abdullah seems much more open to discussing alternatives for Gaza’s future. When pressed on whether the U.S. should take over administration of the territory, he gave a squirmy, noncommittal response. No outright rejection, no strong opposition—just a lot of diplomatic hedging. That’s interesting because Jordan has traditionally been very vocal about keeping Gaza separate from any external control. The fact that he didn’t slam the door shut on the idea suggests some behind-the-scenes maneuvering is happening. So perhaps Jordan will be the new home of the Palestinians…? 🤷‍♂️ 

In Domestic news, Trump is making good on his Second Amendment promises. He’s ordered the Attorney General to review all Biden-era regulations and legal stances that infringe on gun rights and come up with a plan to roll them back within 30 days. The directive is being celebrated as a major win for gun rights advocates, particularly as it frames firearm ownership as the foundation for all other American freedoms. We’ll check back in a month.

In other 2A news, a federal judge in Mississippi just ruled that the machine gun ban is unconstitutional. 🤯 The ruling came in a case where a man was charged with illegally owning a machine gun under a federal law banning them since 1986. The judge torpedoed the government’s argument that machine guns are "dangerous and unusual," pointing out that there are currently 740,000 legally owned machine guns in the U.S. If nearly a million people have them, are they really that unusual? If this ruling survives appeal, it could be the beginning of the end for federal machine gun restrictions.

Over in Congress, Rep. Michael Waltz grilled top Navy brass over the shrinking U.S. fleet, pressing admirals on why the Navy isn’t keeping pace with global threats. The exchange was particularly damning as the visual contrast between America's dwindling ship numbers and China's massive naval expansion became impossible to ignore. The Q&A session was far too short, but it sounded as if the admirals were having a problem even understanding that the US ship-building military industrial complex could be flexible and extend beyond it’s current scope. Eek!

Meanwhile, the Department of Justice has launched Joint Task Force October 7, a full-scale operation to dismantle Hamas-linked networks in the U.S. and abroad. They’re going after terror financing, arrests, extraditions, and even capital punishment for those responsible for the October 7th massacre. The FBI, Homeland Security, and Treasury Department are mobilized to track every dollar funneled into Hamas from American-based entities. College campus activists who have been glorifying Hamas might want to reconsider their public enthusiasm.

For those still paying attention to Ukraine, Rep. Joe Wilson just introduced the FREEDOM FIRST LEND-LEASE ACT, a bill designed to give Trump broad authority to send weapons to U.S. allies, including Ukraine, with minimal bureaucratic delays. The bill’s intent is clear—had Biden done this sooner, Wilson argues, Putin would have already been forced to the negotiating table. Like the meat of the bill or not, it is refreshing to see Congress starting to put forward bills, instead of everything being an executive order. Ideally we are a nation built on laws, not dictated by fiat. That said, this bill looks only to expand Trump’s authorities, so… maybe not quite the spirit of what the law-making system is for.

Speaking of new policies, there is a new bill that seriously wants to rename Greenland to “Red, White, and Blue-land”. Yes. Seriously. Like… really really. Remember when Trump said that you’re going to get tired of winning - I think this is what he was talking about. It’s embarrassingly ostentatious, and very funny at the same time.

Then there’s Trump’s latest ultimatum to Hamas: return all hostages by Saturday at noon, or else. He hasn’t specified what "or else" means, but given his past rhetoric, it’s safe to assume it won’t be a strongly worded letter. This kind of deadline-setting is classic Trump—it forces the other side to react while putting pressure on Israel and the U.S. government to act decisively. Whether Hamas takes it seriously is another matter entirely. I am not holding my breath for Hamas to comply, but I am curious what Trump has in mind for the repercussions.

On the tech policy front, U.S. Vice President JD Vance made waves at the AI Action Summit in Paris, pushing back hard against European-style AI regulation. His message? America will not tolerate AI being warped by ideological bias, nor will it accept heavy-handed government oversight stifling innovation. This is one of the most refreshing takes on AI coming out of government that I have seen to date: stay out of the way, unless that intervention means reducing censorship and stopping intentionally introduced anti-western bias. It’s also clear he gets that US is going to get the bulk of the funding, and that’s not likely to change anytime in the near future.

In the Tech news, someone just pulled off GPS-free visual-inertial navigation on a Raspberry Pi 5, and in real-time, no less. Using only a consumer-grade IMU and a camera, this system can navigate without satellite signals, which is exactly the kind of technology that’s invaluable in electronic warfare, underground environments, or anywhere GPS jamming is a problem - think the battlefields of Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Hugging Face, the go-to platform for sharing AI models, just got hit with a malware scare. Researchers found malicious pickle files lurking inside ML models, which is particularly nasty since pickle files can execute arbitrary code when loaded. It means someone could booby-trap an innocent-looking AI model and gain access to a user’s machine the moment they try to use it. The weaponization of AI is already here.

On the performance front, a new AI model running on Swiss-designed Cerebras chips is claiming to generate text 15 times faster than ChatGPT, without relying on Nvidia hardware. The kicker? It also has internet access and a built-in image generator called Flux, which supposedly outperforms DALL-E. French telecom giant Free Mobile is giving all of its users 12 months of free access to the system. In practice, in my testing, it was unable to write even a single function in Python no matter how many times I asked it and re-clarified. Granted it was a complex function but still. The free version appeared to be about the same speed too, so the speed boost wasn’t there at all. Though, if it were able to do that it opens the door to lots of things I would probably do if I had that kind of performance, like test thousands of theories at once for instance. The French are known to spy on Americans, so I wouldn’t use this for anything serious/important. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Okay, onto the articles!

A proposal by President Donald Trump to acquire the Gaza Strip and relocate its Palestinian inhabitants faces strong opposition from both Palestinian officials and international leaders, who argue the idea is unviable and illegal under international law. Meanwhile, the ongoing conflict in Gaza continues to cause significant civilian casualties, displacement, and infrastructure destruction, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in the region.

• Trump proposes purchasing and controlling the Gaza Strip, which has been rejected by Palestinian leaders.

• The humanitarian crisis in Gaza is severe, with extensive loss of life and infrastructure due to ongoing conflict.

[RSnake: Anything to do with Palestine is controversial. I think we’ve moved past that point. Now the question is what to do about it, since nothing to date has worked?]

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn57neepx4vo

Recent developments indicate that political interference is compromising the impartiality of the U.S. Treasury's payments system, posing potential risks to financial stability, data privacy, and national security. Additionally, actions taken recently by appointed officials, lacking the required ethics and training, have raised alarms about the integrity of federal funds management and the overall democratic governance process.

• Political interference is undermining the impartial management of the U.S. Treasury's payments system.

• Recent appointments have led to risks in data privacy and national security, raising constitutional concerns.

[RSnake: DOGE is going to always be a big question mark, and those DOGE people likely need some oversight themselves, to make sure they aren’t accidentally breaking classification, etc. But this is a necessary evil, since we haven’t gotten even close to a balanced budget since Bill Clinton was in office.]

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/10/opinion/treasure-secretaries-doge-musk.html

In northeastern Congo, at least 55 civilians were killed in an attack by militia fighters affiliated with CODECO in Ituri province. The violence in the region has intensified, with over 120 armed groups engaged in conflicts primarily over control of land and mineral resources, and reports indicate that previous attacks may amount to war crimes.

• CODECO militia fighters attacked villages and a displaced persons camp, resulting in at least 55 civilian deaths.

• The overall conflict in eastern Congo has escalated significantly, with many armed groups fighting for land and mineral resources.

[RSnake: 120 armed groups. That is a lot of armed groups. Think about that for a minute.]

Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/at-least-55-civilians-killed-by-militia-fighters-in-northeastern-congo/articleshow/118145874.cms

The National Institutes of Health has announced cuts to medical research funding, which could adversely affect American health and the pharmaceutical industry. A federal court has temporarily halted these cuts in response to lawsuits from 22 states. The reductions in funding may particularly harm public institutions and the development of new medical treatments.

• Cuts to N.I.H. funding threaten the biomedical research infrastructure in the U.S.

• The reduction could impact the development of new treatments for various diseases.

[RSnake: There is a lot of speculation in what the NIH could do, compared to what it actually has done. I suspect most of these lawsuits stem from lobbyists in Pharma.]

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/11/opinion/pharmaceutical-industry-musk-nih.html

On February 10, 2025, significant military activity was reported in Ukraine, with 127 combat clashes occurring throughout the day, particularly concentrated on the Pokrovsk front. Russian forces conducted multiple missile strikes, airstrikes, and drone attacks across various fronts, while Ukrainian defenders successfully repelled numerous assaults.

• 127 combat clashes occurred in Ukraine on February 10, with a focus on the Pokrovsk front.

• Russian forces launched extensive air and drone attacks against Ukrainian positions.

• Ukrainian troops successfully repelled multiple Russian assaults across several fronts.

[RSnake: This is interesting because I’ve seen other reporting that says that the Russian offensives are at a 7 month low. Clashes up but offensives down?]

Source: https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2025/02/10/7497623/

Sen. Chris Murphy warns of an assault on the Constitution under President Trump, citing efforts to overhaul the federal government and shutter USAID as a threat to democracy.

• The US is in a red-alert moment, with Trump's actions threatening to eviscerate democracy and crush opposition through funding and violence.

• Elon Musk's role in shuttering USAID is seen as an opportunity for the billionaire class to gain control of government, benefiting China at the expense of America's safety.

[RSnake: This “threat to democracy” claim is an interesting one in the case of USAID. It’s a bit of an overused term, usually meaning that they just don’t like something you are doing. In the case of USAID one of it’s clandestine features was spreading western values through aid packages. So in a very real sense this could threaten the expansion of western ideals by deleting USAID from the budget. However, the question I really have is are there more efficient ways to do that and also, is that actually doing what we hoped it would. By what metric are we using to know that it is working?]

Source: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/democratic-sen-chris-murphy-warns-assault-constitution/story?id=118605827

Jordan's King Abdullah is facing pressure from the US regarding a proposal to move Gaza's population to Jordan, which has sparked significant political and social tensions within the country. The suggestion raises fears of destabilizing Jordan, which has already been coping with refugee crises from previous conflicts in the region. Public sentiment in Jordan is largely against taking in Gazans, with many locals concerned about the economic impact of additional refugees.

• Jordan is experiencing heightened tensions due to a proposed relocation of Gaza's population by the US.

• The local population fears economic turmoil if more refugees are admitted, exacerbating existing issues.

[RSnake: No one wants these people. Least of all their Muslim brothers. Pretty telling. I wonder how the Palestinians feel about that, or if they are simply unaware of how the rest of the Muslim world feels about them.]

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c360dkgjrkwo

The trade tensions between China and the U.S. have escalated, with both countries imposing tariffs on numerous goods. China responded with import levies on American products and initiated export controls on rare metals, while the U.S. announced a 25% tax on steel and aluminum imports. Both nations are advocating for dialogue to address their trade disputes.

• China imposed tariffs on American goods worth $15-20 billion as retaliation.

• The U.S. increased tariffs on Chinese imports valued at $450 billion.

[RSnake: And so it begins! Let’s see who blinks first. Really China has so much more to lose than we do if this goes to a full stoppage of goods flowing in both directions. If anything it greatly enhances other countries who would be happy to become the manufacturing base of American goods.]

Source: https://www.supplychainbrain.com/articles/41187-trade-war-between-china-and-us-heats-up

An Alabama man, Eric Council Jr., hijacked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) account on X in a SIM swapping attack, causing Bitcoin prices to jump and plummet, while authorities investigate other cases of crypto theft and hacking.

• A SIM swapping attack was used to hijack the SEC account on X, allowing the defendant to make a fake announcement that Bitcoin ETFs were approved.

• The defendant, Eric Council Jr., faced a maximum penalty of five years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud.

[RSnake: Lol - good hack. Matt Johansen has more on this one.]

Source: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/hacker-pleads-guilty-to-sim-swap-attack-on-us-sec-x-account/

Fear among US Agency for International Development (USAID) staff due to alleged doxxing by Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), with concerns over security, privacy, and job safety after Trump administration's plans to shut down the agency.

• USAID staff are psychologically frightened due to alleged doxxing by Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and are concerned over security, privacy, and job safety after Trump administration's plans to shut down the agency.

[RSnake: Meanwhile Propublica is out there doxing the DOGE team. Lol. What a mess.]

Source: https://www.foxnews.com/media/usaid-employee-psychologically-frightened-musk-targeting-doxxing-private-info

Increased utilization of UAVs in critical operations necessitates secure and reliable communication with Ground Control Stations. A new framework, Aero-LLM, has been introduced to enhance UAV mission security and operational efficiency by integrating multiple Large Language Models. This dynamic, distributed architecture reduces performance bottleneck and increases security capabilities.

• Aero-LLM is a framework integrating multiple Large Language Models for various tasks such as inferencing, anomaly detection, and forecasting.

• The distributed architecture of Aero-LLM reduces performance bottleneck and increases security capabilities.

[RSnake: Interesting. I see these smaller purpose built models getting more and more traction in the military.]

Source: https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.05220

Over 12,000 instances of GFI KerioControl firewalls are vulnerable to a critical remote code execution flaw, tracked as CVE-2024-52875. Despite the release of security patches, a significant number of devices remain unprotected and at risk of being exploited by attackers without requiring advanced skills.

• Over 12,000 KerioControl firewalls have a critical vulnerability that could be exploited by relatively unskilled attackers.

• A substantial number of these vulnerable devices are located in various countries including Iran, the United States, and Germany.

[RSnake: Hackers hacking the security hardware of companies. Brutal.]

Source: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/over-12-000-keriocontrol-firewalls-exposed-to-exploited-rce-flaw/

A coordinated global law enforcement operation has resulted in the arrests of four individuals suspected of being part of the Phobos ransomware gang in Thailand, linked to cyberattacks on over 1,000 victims and the extortion of approximately $16 million in Bitcoin. Additionally, law enforcement seized multiple dark web sites associated with the 8Base ransomware operation as part of a broader initiative to combat cybercrime across various countries, including Switzerland, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

• Four suspected hackers of the Phobos ransomware gang were arrested in Thailand.

• Law enforcement seized the dark web sites associated with the 8Base ransomware operation.

[RSnake: Good riddance.]

Source: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/legal/police-arrests-4-phobos-ransomware-suspects-seizes-8base-sites/

L3Harris has introduced a new software platform, Amorphous, designed to manage swarms of uncrewed systems across multiple domains, aiming to enhance collaboration between aerial drones, ships, and other platforms. This development is part of the U.S. Defense Department's efforts to deploy thousands of uncrewed systems efficiently, addressing the challenges associated with their control and coordination. Amorphous is envisioned as a system that allows fleets to operate without a central command platform, potentially increasing operational resilience and mission success.

• L3Harris unveiled Amorphous to control uncrewed systems in a cohesive manner.

• The software aims to support the Pentagon's goal of deploying thousands of autonomous systems effectively.

[RSnake: Wow - this is horrifying, but yep, it’s the way war will be fought. Imagine a swarm of a hundred thousand drones all flying overhead killing every person they see. It would be like dropping a nuke on the city only most of the buildings would survive.]

Source: https://www.defensenews.com/unmanned/2025/02/10/l3harris-unveils-amorphous-autonomy-software-to-manage-drone-swarms/

Python 3.14 introduces several new features, including deferred evaluation of annotations, a simplified Python Configuration C API, and performance improvements across different architectures. Additionally, it announces the discontinuation of PGP signatures in future releases. Certain deprecated functionalities are also highlighted, indicating changes users should prepare for in future versions.

• Deferred evaluation of function annotations improves runtime performance.

• New configuration API simplifies embedding and initialization of Python.

• Deprecation of PGP signatures and other functionalities indicate upcoming changes in Python's development.

[RSnake: Now you need to use sigstore.]

Source: https://docs.python.org/3.14/whatsnew/3.14.html#whatsnew314-tail-call

OpenAI is designing a proprietary AI chip in partnership with TSMC to reduce reliance on Nvidia hardware, with plans for fabrication starting soon. This initiative follows a trend among major tech companies investing heavily in AI infrastructure and chip manufacturing capabilities due to the current market dynamics dominated by Nvidia.

• OpenAI's custom AI chip aims to decrease dependence on Nvidia's GPUs.

• The initiative reflects a larger investment trend among tech firms in AI infrastructure.

[RSnake: Interesting - reminds me of how Google spent a lot of time re-designing how their racks work, removing the bulk of the physical chassis to get more efficient. Why have all that extra metal that heads up and reduces airflow and costs money? A the scale these companies operate at they need all the optimization they can get.]

Source: https://arstechnica.com/ai/2025/02/openais-secret-weapon-against-nvidia-dependence-takes-shape/

Meta has developed a planetary-scale computing infrastructure to enhance its services, utilizing a shared service model that enables efficient resource allocation across global datacenters. The company is emphasizing rapid deployment and productivity through serverless functions and advanced automation, while also evolving its architecture to treat all global datacenters as a single computer, allowing for seamless management of workloads and resources.

• Meta's hyperscale infrastructure supports global services by optimizing resource allocation across datacenters.

• The shift to treating all global datacenters as a single computer enhances efficiency and adaptability in service deployment.

[RSnake: The latency is the real killer, but as long as the data can slowly yet reliably propagate, sure.]

Source: https://cacm.acm.org/research/metas-hyperscale-infrastructure-overview-and-insights/

The European Union is seeking private sector investment to develop AI Gigafactories aimed at enhancing compute capacity for training large AI models as part of a broader effort to boost the region's AI capabilities. The EU plans to mobilize a total of €200 billion for AI investment, which includes a €50 billion contribution to encourage public-private partnerships that focus on industrial applications of AI technology.

• The EU is initiating the construction of AI Gigafactories to provide the necessary infrastructure for advanced AI development.

• The investment plan includes €200 billion aimed at fostering collaborative AI innovation within Europe.

[RSnake: I mean, I am sure someone will pony that up, but seriously, it is a terrible investment with the way EU regulations are going. I wouldn’t make that bet.]

Source: https://techcrunch.com/?p=2963497

AI systems, particularly Google's AlphaGeometry2, have reached advanced problem-solving capabilities comparable to top students in the International Mathematical Olympiad, demonstrating significant improvements in solving geometry problems. Continued development in AI mathematics is expected, focusing on more complex mathematical challenges and upcoming competitions will further test these systems.

• AlphaGeometry2 has achieved gold-medal-level performance in solving geometry problems.

• Future advancements will target more complex mathematical concepts beyond current capabilities.

[RSnake: As Musk said, your AI teachers will be like having an Einstein for every subject. Except factual subjects, like history and social sciences - eeek!]

Source: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/googles-deepmind-ai-can-solve-math-problems-on-par-with-top-human-solvers/

A federal judge in New York has granted a temporary restraining order to block the access of Elon Musk's DOGE team to sensitive taxpayer records, citing potential risks of irreparable harm and cybersecurity threats. This legal action has been initiated by nineteen states, including New York, due to concerns over the security of sensitive personal data and compliance with federal laws related to data protection.

• A federal judge blocked access to sensitive taxpayer data for Elon Musk's DOGE team.

• The ruling was due to concerns over cybersecurity risks and potential harm to taxpayers.

[RSnake: It’s a temporary stay of execution. They’ll comply with whatever standards and do what they need to do anyway. Delaying tactics won’t save them.]

Source: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/19-states-sue-block-elon-musks-doge-team/story?id=118592966

A group of investors led by Elon Musk has submitted a $97.6 billion bid to acquire OpenAI, marking a significant move amid an ongoing legal dispute between Musk and co-founder Sam Altman. Musk aimed to realign OpenAI with its original mission of open-source artificial intelligence.

• Elon Musk's team submitted a $97.6 billion bid to purchase OpenAI.

• Musk is involved in a legal dispute with OpenAI's co-founder Sam Altman regarding the company's nonprofit status.

[RSnake: It was turned down. Sam Altman then went on to dismiss the entire thing. I sure hope he got approval from the board before doing that. The press is spilling a lot of ink about this but not a single article was penned about his incest case that his sister levied against him in the last two weeks. Isn’t the press interesting?]

Source: https://techcrunch.com/?p=2963258

The television industry is experiencing challenges in measuring viewership due to the rise of various viewing methods, including streaming services. As traditional ratings systems like Nielsen struggle to adapt, the uncertainty surrounding accurate audience numbers is impacting advertising revenue in a $60 billion market.

• The increase in streaming platforms has led to challenges in accurately measuring television viewership.

• Advertisers are increasingly questioning the validity of viewership numbers, which are crucial for their spending decisions.

[RSnake: More and more people are cutting the cord entirely. If you haven’t already, ask yourself why not. It’s honestly unnoticeable in this household with an Apple TV and a few streaming services. The only advantage to bunny ears is they don’t require the Internet, so keep those around just in case. 😉 ]

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/10/business/media/tv-ratings-streaming.html

Meta is implementing significant layoffs, affecting nearly 4,000 employees across various regions, including the U.S., Europe, and Asia, as part of a shift in focus towards AI. The company is reorganizing resources and making changes based on performance reviews and attrition rates to align with its 'year of efficiency' initiative led by CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

• Meta is laying off almost 4,000 employees globally.

• The layoffs are a part of Meta's strategy to prioritize AI development.

• CEO Mark Zuckerberg's initiative is dubbed the 'year of efficiency'.

[RSnake: Wow - so much for augmenting with AI, but it does explain one of the reasons Meta is betting so heavy on their own AI systems.]

Source: https://mashable.com/article/meta-layoffs-thousands-employees