RSnake Report 20240903

Russia advance, thermite, Israeli strike

Author

Robert RSnake Hansen
September 03, 2024

Table of Contents

Hello, and thanks for reading! Over the weekend, I got another great testimonial from a friend: "Love your newsletter. I have been urging my contacts to sign up. Very high quality." All of those referrals help a lot. Thanks for your support!! Btw, some people have been surprised that the newsletter cuts off in gmail, so you may have to click the link at the bottom to see the whole thing, in case you weren’t aware of that. Google! 🙄 

Let's dive into the latest from the Russia/Ukraine conflict, starting with tech developments. Russia is deploying landmine drones to target Ukrainian forces - not drones that drop landmines, drones that are landmines. Mines are used by both sides for obvious reasons, but landmines that can re-position themselves is an interesting innovation. More camouflage mines have also made an appearance on the battlefield, but in this case, they have also appeared to Russian forces. The exciting thing about these is that they are covered in real bark.

“Russian land mind integrated with a drone”

Also, there have been reports of thermite attacks against Russian positions in tree lines, causing devastation and deforestation. Apparently, a new class of drones are being produced that uses thermite or some derivative that does a good job of igniting trees. Thermite burns at several thousand degrees, so moist trees will likely ignite.

“Combustion temperature - up to 2500C”

The Russians, not to be outdone, have started doing the same thing, but a much more low-tech version, dripping lit fuel into tree lines to burn out opposition forces.

“Russians on ATV’s are setting fires”

Some analysts are increasingly pessimistic about Ukraine’s position even amid an ongoing horrific Russian stock market crash. There are several reports suggesting that the situation is becoming more dire by the day, even with a huge drop in the use of artillery and massive daily body counts on the Russian side. Some are even suggesting that the raid on Kursk is having minimal effect at all, as Russians are advancing while Ukraine is not. It is not to say Ukraine isn’t doing significant damage to the transport, and oil, and gas, and therefore, the economy, but it is not the same as taking land.

“serious issues in the Ukrainian ability to control the Russian offensive”

That may be a somewhat temporary situation, though, as Ukrainian military tactics have been to slow down, swap out exhausted infantry with fresh troops, swell up forces, and then push forward. So we shall see. I think what people are really experiencing is a short-term memory where they forget exactly how much land mass the Russians have previously taken and held and they only see the short-term occupied land mass changes.

“an area equivalent to all Russian advances since the end of April”

I did see something interesting related to Kursk though. Brimstone missiles may have been used around Russia by Ukrainian forces. They are a UK missile system, that can be fired covertly from the back of what appears to be an innocent, small, moving truck. Brimstone missiles have swarm capability to feed targeting data to one another in flight. More details here.

“Operation of #BrimstoneMissiles” against russian troops”

A military institute was hit, killing 41 people in Poltava. Zelenskyy has confirmed the strike, which is a huge OPSEC fail to have such a large group of trainees so easily spotted and so close to the front.

“educational institution and a neighboring hospital”

Kharkiv is getting hit hard, and most of Pokrovsk has been evacuated, leaving only the military and 8,000 coal mine workers. The video coming out of Pokrovsk trying to keep Russians at bay (and more here) is pretty impressive, though. Ukrainian air intercepts have been on the rise, and some footage released of attacking fast-boats is pretty impressive.

“armored personnel carrier fires at an enemy infantry landing force”

On a different note, some oil and gas depots in Rostov are reportedly up for sale, likely because they are impossible to insure, and all static targets are too easy targets for Ukrainian drones. If the current owners cannot find suitable buyers and staff to run them, this will likely lead to the nationalization of the oil and gas systems entirely, which usually leads to less efficiency and an increase in failures.

“Does insurance even cover drone strikes?”

In yet another example of Russian forces using substandard weapons and equipment and lacking what they need to function, most recently, there has been an investigation into substandard body armor, with some pieces failing to protect soldiers adequately. A Russian defense contractor was arrested on charges related to this low-quality body armor. Russia has also had trouble training pilots and flight mechanics because they ran out of parts for their flight schools.

On the commercial side, they had a disastrous press conference where they announced the new Lada car, and it wouldn’t start - and this happened with lots of journalists present in front of the St. Petersberg International Economics Forum. 😆 

Turkey's recent moves are also worth mentioning; they’ve shown interest in joining BRICS and have acquired S-400 missile systems, further complicating the geopolitical landscape - I would be unsurprised to see Turkey join a coalition with Russia if the Ukraine conflict begins to involve NATO rather than continue their obligations. This seems to be related to the delays in their applications to join the EU. The Turkish people seem to be at minimum split, if not anti-west, given the fact they just abducted some US Navy personnel in broad daylight but were eventually released.

Russia has been innovating with glide bombs, which now have extended range thanks to some modifications which, we talked about last time. This means more devastation from above for Ukraine. The video is actually the best I’ve seen, showing how it works, inverting immediately after being dropped.

“tests of the Russian FAB-3000M54 bombs are being completed”

Last time, we also discussed hybrid warfare as well, with cyberattacks aimed at industrial control systems. In this case, there is another pretty nasty example of how more routers that drive industrial equipment are being attacked in Russia. This is where cyber meets kinetic.

“industrial control equipment with no security whatsoever”

Over in Europe, there's a disturbing trend of attacks on religious sites. Multiple French churches have been targeted, with significant damage reported. Not far behind, a British church was also hit by protesters, raising concerns about the safety of religious sites across the continent. This string of attacks shows how the diversity of religious populations is not leading to harmonious outcomes, to say the least. 🚒 

“Another church has burnt down in France”

The Germans have ordered the social media platform Gab, which specializes in freedom of speech, to give up the name of one user who had said something nasty about the weight of the leader of the German Green Party. Why Germany has decided making fat jokes illegal is a good choice is beyond me. Wait until they find out about yo-mama jokes! 🤣 

In Norway, Chinese electric vehicles are being used on military bases. The problem with these vehicles is that they are manufactured by Chinese state-owned manufacturers, and they have the ability to eavesdrop on activities due to built-in cameras and microphones, including the ability to watch Norway’s F-35s, sending the data back to Beijing.

Taiwan has decided to be a little cheeky and suggest to China that they annex some lands that were given to Russia now that Russia is in a weakened position. They’re not the first to describe how China could actually be a formidable force against Russia and actually get a huge amount of additional territory if it took over the bulk of the eastern country, including more ports, which could be very useful for its naval ambitions in the region.

China has been up to some tricks too. Firstly, it is covertly involved in a huge amount of shipments that have even lead to at least one shipping crash, related to smuggling oil and gas from Russia. Thankfully the tankers were empty at the time. At the same time China has stopped allowing Russian signatories on checks, to attempt to avoid any additional sanctions, coming at the same time when they say that their relations are never better.

In the Middle East, tensions continue to simmer. Israeli police have been targeted, with reports of three casualties following an attack. This is coming at the same time that the UK is saying they will halt some military sales to Israel.

There have been reports of a massive labor strike in Tel Aviv. All international flights have been suspended, as a result. This appears to be related to the protestors demanding that the Israeli government take a deal with Hamas for the release of prisoners held by the terrorist organization.

“General strike beings across Israel”

Psychological operations against Israel are intensifying, with information and psychological campaigns seeking to destabilize the nation further and increase the public’s sympathy for Hamas or, at minimum, feeling like the war is not winnable. For instance, Hamas just published footage of the six hostages who were murdered to help push forward ceasefire talks and reportedly admitted that Hamas did, in fact, murder them when they were getting close to being found. That has done nothing thus far to stop the IDF from going into Jenin with bulldozers, but the real question is how does Israel get new leadership instead of Hamas?

“create psychological pressure (on Israel)”

The maritime situation near Yemen also remains precarious, with yet another tanker holding around a million gallons of oil called the Blue Lagoon I being hit by the Houthis in the Red Sea. Shipping rates are soaring as a result, tripling the cost, and disruptions becoming the new norm. That will increase the cost of goods.

“Houthis hit another crude oil tanker”

Iran is reportedly preparing to arm Russia with more ballistic missiles, which could be due to the fact that Iran does not intend to use them against Israel. Meanwhile, Lebanon is facing internal struggles as opposition to Hezbollah grows, which is understandable as it is not a war they want to be brought into. Zibquin was heavily attacked by Israeli airstrikes, for instance.

“Iran to deliver ballistic missiles to Russia”

On the domestic front, Robert Reich has launched a scathing attack on Elon Musk, calling for a variety of boycotts, and lawfare, and government actions against him, including arrest. Like him or hate him, Musk is definitely being targeted by the left globally. It should be interesting to watch that one play out.

“Arrest him”

In other Starlink news, it turns out some officers on the USS Manchester installed an unauthorized Starlink Wi-Fi setup on the ship, which, of course, is a terrible idea if you are trying to be stealthy. The EM signals are noticeable by enemies, not to mention, people sending unauthorized messages can compromise the mission.

Pro-Hamas protests continue in the United States in several cities, including New York. The scope of these protests is getting to the point where they are a political hot potato. Kalmala and Biden likely aren’t anxious to crack down on them, as they represent a traditionally left-wing voter bloc, especially prior to the election next month. However the Biden’s Whitehouse did condemn the protesters - whatever that means. I think the current administration will be lucky if they can hold the economy together until election day.

Meanwhile, there’s been a study about left-leaning biases in large language models (LLMs). I, too, have found this to be true on a wide variety of topics, and it was exceedingly obvious during the Google Gemini debacle where Google refused to output any image of a caucasian person, favoring to output minorities even when it made absolutely no sense to do so. Be extremely careful with the output from an LLM - do your homework. 📚️ Even if you are left-leaning, it can lead to confirmation bias.

“left-leaning answers to political questions”

Okay, onto the articles!

The global power dynamics are shifting with Russia and China playing a more active role in international decision-making, particularly within the UN Security Council. The US and its European allies have historically dominated sanctions policies, but this is no longer the case. The West's attempts to impose unilateral sanctions are likely to face increasing resistance from other nations.

  • The US and its European allies have historically dominated UN Security Council sanctions, but this is no longer the case.

  • Russia and China are playing a more active role in international decision-making, particularly within the UN Security Council.

I think this is one of the reasons many dovish politicians would like to withdraw from the UN. Let Europe and Asia manage themselves, they might say. Sanctions barely work or only work after a long time and ultimately weaken our status internationally as people hedge against the US. I’m on the fence personally—I see the advantages, at least in the short term. Long term, I doubt China is part of the consideration of the Western world at all.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing significant domestic pressure for a cease-fire deal in Gaza amid ongoing protests and a general strike, while U.S. President Joe Biden has expressed impatience with the current situation. Despite calls to prioritize the release of hostages being held by Hamas, Netanyahu insists on maintaining control over the Philadelphi corridor, citing its importance for security against arms smuggling. The conflict continues to result in significant casualties and hardship for civilians in both Israel and Gaza.

  • Benjamin Netanyahu is rejecting calls for a cease-fire deal while emphasizing security concerns over hostages.

  • Both domestic protests and international pressure are mounting on Israel regarding the ongoing conflict with Hamas.

Netanyahu isn’t crazy here or purely power-hungry or bloodthirsty. The greater the distance between his population and the short-range unguided missiles that Hamas has, the better. It forces them to use other tactics entirely. A buffer zone of at least a few miles is hugely useful. In fact, I am a little surprised all borders haven’t been built this way, given that ballistic attacks are not exactly a new invention. I guess not all borders are as contested as Israeli borders.

A NATO invasion of the Kursk region in Russia is currently underway amidst significant military engagement, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides. The conflict is characterized by NATO's involvement in Ukraine and military assets actively being utilized against Russian territories, escalating tensions between NATO and Russia, which may lead to further actions from either side.

  • NATO forces are actively engaged in the Kursk region of Russia, leading to significant Russian and Ukrainian casualties.

  • The situation is escalating with NATO's military presence on Russian territory and strategic operations targeting Russian assets.

We need to be super careful with reporting like this. Yes, it is true that NATO’s weapons are being used by Ukraine, and I am sure there are tons of overseers, consultants, and NATO advisors in the country. But that is a far cry from NATO directly firing a shot. Let’s not get overly excited here.

Russian authorities are allegedly mistreating Crimean Tatar political prisoners in detention centers, with reports of physical abuse, intimidation tactics, and toxic fumes.

  • Crimean Tatar political prisoners allegedly enduring severe mistreatment in Russian detention centers

  • At least 108 Crimean residents imprisoned in connection with a case against Hizb ut-Tahrir

  • Human rights advocates argue that these trials violate the right to fair judicial proceedings

It’s not a huge surprise. Look how they treat their own prisoners!

Mark Zuckerberg's recent admission reveals that Facebook previously censored content relating to COVID-19 at the behest of the U.S. government, significantly impacting public discourse during critical election cycles. This censorship may have influenced the outcomes of numerous elections globally, as dissenting opinions were suppressed and critical topics were excluded from public debate.

  • Zuckerberg acknowledged that Facebook censored information related to COVID-19 based on government requests.

  • The censorship likely affected the visibility and success of candidates opposing governmental COVID-19 policies in elections.

  • The admission suggests widespread manipulation of information and speaks to larger implications for free speech and public discourse globally.

The only way to save democracy is to destroy it, I guess? But seriously, censorship of any kind that doesn’t cover actual illegal activity generally ends up badly. I recall when Kyle Rittenhouse’s case was in court, the proceedings were blocked everywhere. Everyone really wanted to kill that story, and you couldn’t even search for it on Facebook. But why? It’s a tiny case in the middle of Kenosha - the only reason I even followed it was because I was curious how the case would be handled. But for weeks you couldn’t find any shred of it on Facebook. Yet he was ultimately deemed innocent by a jury of his peers. Just shows how poor Facebook’s judgement is on these cases. They cannot be trusted to censor innocent men on trial, let alone deep technical and political issues related to vaccines.

A judge in Venezuela has issued an arrest warrant for Edmundo González, the opposition's candidate in the country's recent presidential election, amid rising political tensions. The opposition claims González won the election by a significant margin, while the government has yet to publish evidence of its victory. The move has been met with criticism from international bodies and governments.

  • A judge in Venezuela issued an arrest warrant for Edmundo González, the opposition's candidate in the recent presidential election.

  • The opposition claims González won the election by a significant margin, while the government has yet to publish evidence of its victory.

  • International bodies and governments have criticized the move, with some accusing the Maduro government of suppressing dissent and creating a climate of fear.

This is obviously the result of an authoritarian government. Venezuela has been on my radar since its massive hyperinflation and demonetization schemes. Nationalizing is almost never going to be a good idea. In related news, the US also seized one of Maduro’s airplanes, which was housed in the Dominican Republic.

Polish aircraft were scrambled to secure airspace after Russia launched large-scale strikes on Ukraine. The attacks caused explosions and fires in Kyiv, with wreckage falling in several districts. This is not the first time Poland's airspace has been secured due to Russian activity near its border with Ukraine.

  • Polish aircraft were scrambled to secure airspace after Russia launched large-scale strikes on Ukraine.

  • The attacks caused explosions and fires in Kyiv, with wreckage falling in several districts.

  • This is not the first time Poland's airspace has been secured due to Russian activity near its border with Ukraine.

The Poles are going to start destroying drones and equipment that cross the border. They have all but promised to do so. They do not want Russia to feel comfortable using Poland as an overflight. Russia is reportedly starting to use Belarus to launch Shahed drones, so there are more concerns that this will escalate to other countries as a result.

Two oil tankers were hit by projectiles in the Red Sea, with one tanker burning and risking a major spill, while another tanker was carrying a large amount of crude oil that could potentially become the fifth worst oil spill of all time.

  • Houthi militants targeted two ships with missiles and drones in the Red Sea.

  • A Greek-flagged oil tanker is burning and risking a major spill, while another tanker was carrying a large amount of crude oil that could potentially become the fifth worst oil spill of all time.

  • The attack has raised concerns about the potential environmental catastrophe unfolding in the Red Sea.

The Sounion and the Blue Lagoon I - I talked about them above. At some point, the insurers will stop insuring those ships. It’s unclear what that tipping point will be, but at that point, shipping will be all but done in the Red sea.

Israeli citizens are protesting and calling for a general strike following the discovery of six hostages who were brutally murdered by Hamas militants, while world leaders condemn the killings as devastating and outrageous.

  • Hamas militants killed six Israeli hostages before they could be rescued.

  • The Israeli government is calling for a general strike in response to the hostage murders.

  • World leaders are condemning the killings as devastating and outrageous, with some promising to hold Hamas accountable.

This is more or less tantamount to telling Hamas leadership that their tactics work, and they should keep it up, as far as I can tell. At a minimum it’s driving a huge rift through the country, which Hamas can exploit - either through general political instability and shutting down of key industries or even as recruitment.

US Vice President Harris and President Biden will meet with the US hostage deal negotiating team in the Situation Room to discuss efforts to secure the release of remaining hostages.

  • The US is seeking to secure the release of remaining hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

  • Protests have erupted in Israel following the murder of six hostages, including an American citizen, by Hamas.

  • The Israeli government estimates that nearly a third of the remaining 101 hostages are dead.

Hamas made the six hostages record pro-Hamas propaganda videos prior to murdering them. I remember back when I was a kid, and Regan once said, we will not negotiate with terrorists, and we will work with others if possible and act alone if necessary. Even Obama said he won’t negotiate with Hamas until they accept Israel and renounce violence. How times have changed.

The Biden administration plans to present a 'take it or leave it' deal to Israel and Hamas, which includes the Philadelphi corridor proposal. The US will stop negotiations if the proposal is not accepted within a certain timeframe. The hostages are expected to be freed under this deal.

  • The Biden administration plans to present a 'take it or leave it' deal to Israel and Hamas.

  • The US will stop negotiations if the proposal is not accepted within a certain timeframe.

  • The hostages are expected to be freed under this deal.

Hamas would be wise to take the deal, if for no other reason than to claim a huge victory and get back to digging tunnels. Right now, they are losing the war and this would give them some breathing room. Israel, and Netanyahu in particular, are likely wary of making another deal they know Hamas will break.

A far-right party in Germany, the AfD, has won a state election in Thuringia, achieving 32.8 percent of the vote, marking the first major electoral victory for a far-right party in Germany since World War II. This victory presents significant challenges for the current coalition government led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, as the AfD is expected to be excluded from forming a governing majority due to resistance from other political parties. Additionally, the AfD has shown strong support in neighboring Saxony, indicating a potential shift in the political landscape in eastern Germany.

  • The AfD achieved a historic electoral victory in Thuringia, winning 32.8% of the vote.

  • The results pose challenges for Chancellor Scholz's coalition government, with potential repercussions for the national election.

It is unclear how much power they will actually have, but it does show that the general population is starting to react against the open-border policies that the German government has been advocating.

A large-scale drone attack reportedly involving over 150 Ukrainian drones targeted 16 regions in Russia, causing damage to key infrastructure including an oil refinery and thermal power plants.

  • Ukraine's drone strikes aimed at disrupting Russia's energy supply chain.

  • The Russian Ministry of Defense claims to have intercepted many of the drones but acknowledged some strikes were successful, resulting in fire and damage to energy installations crucial for military and economic operations.

Elon Musk warns of censorship certainty if Kamala Harris wins the US election. Judge Alexandre de Moraes in Brazil has been accused of acting as an evil dictator to censor X. This situation could easily unfold in the US if Trump does not get elected, according to Musk.

  • Judge Alexandre de Moraes in Brazil has been accused of acting as an evil dictator to censor X.

  • Elon Musk warns that censorship is a certainty if Kamala Harris wins the US election.

There is a lot to say about Brazil, but apparently some of the people there are fighting back. There’s some interesting news about this: political leaders are ignoring the sanctions and posting to X anyway.

Researchers have found that GPT-4o can be used for web scraping, with varying success rates depending on table complexity and structure.

  • GPT-4o was able to extract structured data from HTML strings in some cases.

  • However, the model struggled with tables that had merged rows or inconsistent column sizes, and required additional prompts or tweaks to produce accurate results.

  • The cost of using GPT-4o for web scraping can be high, with even small HTML tables containing many characters and resulting in significant expenses.

I have used it in this way a number of times, but it is pretty flakey and not good for anything production, as a result. It also hallucinates, so while you think you are getting good data sometimes it returns with nonsense; particularly if you need it to fill in data that may not be there.

Multiple flights have been cancelled globally due to faulty engine components in Airbus A350s, with 15 aircraft found to have parts that need replacement, and disruptions are expected to continue until at least Saturday.

  • Multiple flights have been cancelled globally due to faulty engine components in Airbus A350s.

  • The affected planes' engines were made by British engineering giant Rolls-Royce.

  • Several airlines operate the A350 model and are reviewing their situation with Rolls-Royce.

Boeing and now Airbus… I wonder if the increasing complexity of modern systems is just slightly beyond where we can safely build at the moment.

Recent advances in text-to-image generation models raise concerns about their potential misuse for generating “harmful” content. Researchers have proposed a new approach called STEREO to enhance the robustness of concept-erasing techniques in these models, aiming to protect against adversarial attacks while maintaining their utility.

  • Existing methods for erasing harmful concepts in text-to-image generation models are easily deceived by adversarial attacks.

  • The STEREO approach aims to improve the security and effectiveness of concept erasing without sacrificing the model's ability to generate benign outputs.

Paired with better deepfake detection, and you could likely use it to train itself.

Large-scale robotic warehousing operations are being optimized using a novel learn-then-optimize approach to neighborhood search, resulting in increased throughput and improved utilization of robotic fleets.

  • Robotic warehousing operations are being optimized using a novel learn-then-optimize approach to large-scale neighborhood search.

  • The optimization involves coordinating robotic tasks with human operators and avoiding congestion in the facility.

  • The model is being used in collaboration with Amazon Robotics to improve throughput and utilization of robotic fleets.

A new method called MemLong has been introduced to improve the capabilities of long-context language modeling in Large Language Models (LLMs). This method enhances retrieval for long texts, allowing LLMs to extend their context length significantly while outperforming existing techniques in evaluations.

  • MemLong utilizes an external retriever for historical information retrieval to improve long-context modeling.

  • The new method can extend the context length of LLMs from 4k to 80k tokens on a single GPU.

This will be super useful for understanding better context for decision-making, especially for coding and long-form writing/research. Right now, Llama3.1 is sitting at around 4k on my computer, for instance. That’s not even long enough to read a full article in some cases, let alone add context into how to “think” about the data.

North Korean government-backed hackers exploited a vulnerability in Google's open-source browser to steal cryptocurrency. This is not the first time North Korea has targeted cryptocurrencies, with the country's hacking groups stealing billions of dollars worth of digital assets. The incident highlights the ongoing threat posed by these groups.

  • North Korean hackers exploited a vulnerability in Google Chromium to steal cryptocurrency.

  • The attack involved a zero-day vulnerability and sophisticated malware, making it difficult for users to detect.

  • This is not the first time North Korea has targeted cryptocurrencies, with previous incidents involving billions of dollars worth of stolen digital assets.

It's a quick way to bring a lot of money into the country, and who’s going to cry about it and to what agency? Most agencies would have no idea how to tackle such a case, and since nothing is insured, there’s not much anyone can do about getting it back anyway.

In South Korea, a crisis involving the creation and distribution of deepfake pornography has emerged, targeting students at various educational institutions, including middle and high schools. Police are investigating these deepfake porn rings on the encrypted messaging app Telegram, which has been identified as a platform facilitating this illegal activity, leading to calls for government regulation and more stringent punishments for offenders.

  • Deepfake technology is being misused to create pornographic images of individuals without their consent.

  • Over 500 schools and universities in South Korea have been identified as targets of deepfake exploitation, affecting many underage students.

Underage deepfakes - great. 🤢 

A coordinated law enforcement operation known as Operation Endgame has disrupted major cybercrime platforms that deliver ransomware and malware. Authorities across multiple countries have arrested suspects, seized over 2,000 domain names supporting malicious infrastructure, and are now focused on continuing efforts to combat cybercriminal networks that utilize droppers and loaders for attacks.

  • Operation Endgame targets the cybercrime ecosystem by disrupting platforms used for ransomware and malware delivery.

  • Law enforcement has arrested suspects and seized critical online infrastructure to hinder cybercriminal activities globally.

Good on them. Problem is these have a way of being re-packaged,, and re-sold and turned back on. So we shall see what kind of dent it actually makes. One of the ways I like to measure it is to see how much spam I get. As they do a better job of stopping these large scale botnets you do see a drift in the amount of spam. If it doesn’t change, they haven’t made much of a difference.

Microsoft's new feature, Recall, is designed to take constant screenshots of user activity on Windows PCs but has faced backlash due to potential security vulnerabilities and privacy concerns. Initially announced as a mandatory feature, it will now be opt-in after criticism, including warnings from former security experts about its risks. The release of Recall has been delayed as Microsoft works to address these issues and the feature is expected to be tested by Windows Insiders soon.

  • Recall takes continuous screenshots of user activity, which raises significant privacy and security concerns.

  • Microsoft will change Recall from a mandatory feature to an opt-in feature following public outcry.

It is nice that it is now opt-in. But I suspect a lot of advice online from bad actors will be to have people turn it on because of all the great features. It will allow malware authors to “live off the land” using only the tools on the device. By the way, the new integration with Cortana is precisely the reason I moved away from Windows - I do not trust them to watch things I do, search my machine, or force me to use their remote servers to keep my data, etc. It’s not that I specifically think that Microsoft is a bad actor compared to Apple or Google, it’s that I don’t trust them to be able to keep it safe - none of them actually. So, whoever gives me the best data sovereignty wins my business. Currently it is Apple and Linux/BSD.

Researchers have discovered a new vulnerability in software-defined networking technology, known as topology poisoning, which can be exploited to manipulate network information and potentially cause catastrophic damage. A new technique called Marionette has been developed to achieve this vulnerability. The attack can spread globally and evade traditional defenses.

  • A new technique called Marionette exploits a vulnerability in software-defined networking technology, allowing for topology poisoning attacks.

  • The Marionette technique manipulates OpenFlow link discovery packet forwarding to alter topology information and can spread globally.

  • The attack has been shown to successfully target multiple open-source controllers and OpenFlow-based discovery protocols.

Pretty cool - a bit like DNS poisoning.

Researchers propose a method to improve email threat defense systems by detecting visual similarities between emails, as threat actors often reuse email kits and evade detection with little effort.

  • Threat actors reuse email kits extensively, evading detection with little effort.

  • Email threat defense systems are susceptible to evasion techniques and zero-day attacks that can be achieved at low cost.

Back at eBay, we developed something similar. You would change the color of one page to the opposite color palette and then compare the two side by side by overlapping the two colors. If they didn’t average to perfectly grey, you knew there was a difference. If they are almost all perfectly grey with only a few slightly different points, you know it’s basically the same document with one or two small changes. That accounts for graphics and CSS and JavaScript, as long as you are running it from a standard browser. We called it Visdiff. Pretty cool idea even to this day.

A new homomorphic compression scheme has been developed for private database queries, significantly improving the efficiency and performance of maintaining user query privacy. Experimental results indicate that this method can be 4.7 to 33.2 times faster than previous approaches, providing optimal compression rates and good decompression complexity.

  • The proposed scheme enhances the efficiency of private database query protocols.

  • It utilizes homomorphic SIMD techniques for improved performance in compressing encrypted data.

The military has tons of applications for homomorphic encryption, but it basically comes down to answering the question, “Does this circle overlap with that circle” when you can’t know anything at all about what is in the other circle, where it is or anything else about it.

Telegram's financial statements show a revenue of $342 million and a net loss of $259 million in 2023, making it unlikely to be worth anywhere near $30 billion.

  • Telegram has revenue from crypto sales and premiums that exceed other lines of revenue.

  • Telegram's digital assets, primarily its cryptocurrency holdings, are larger than its cash reserves.

  • The company reported a significant gain on the revaluation of its digital assets, which is unusual in financial statements.

Especially in light of the fact that the CEO is currently in a jail cell in France.

Negotiations between longshore workers and management are stalled over concerns regarding automation in ports, causing the possibility of strikes across more than a dozen key ports on the East and Gulf Coasts. The International Longshoremen’s Association, representing over 47,000 members, fears job losses due to the increased use of technology that can operate without human oversight.

  • The contract for longshore workers is set to expire at the end of September.

  • The use of automation in ports is a primary contention in ongoing labor negotiations.

And yet, automation is exactly the thing that will allow us to move more freight around. This is the modern equivalent of the luddites. The one place I would agree with them though is there is some evidence that a huge amount of these systems are closed-sourced and made in China, which makes me wary of them for national defense reasons. If we forget how to move shipping containers manually, that will be a big problem if our ports shut down or catch fire or whatever.

Global inflation is declining, prompting central banks in several countries to consider lowering interest rates. Although many advanced economies are still grappling with elevated inflation, some emerging markets have already begun reducing borrowing costs. The rising costs of energy have significantly influenced inflation rates, yet recent data indicates that these prices have been decreasing.

  • Central banks globally are expected to lower interest rates as inflation eases.

  • High energy prices were a major contributor to rising inflation, but these costs have been retreating.

Good news for Kamala going into the election, and for the average US Citizen - at least for the time being. Keep in mind we still have a looming debt bubble.

Consumer confidence in the U.S. remains weak, impacting the financial performance of several major retailers. Dollar General's stock plummeted after it revised its earnings forecast downward, and Big Lots is closing underperforming stores amid significant losses. Rite Aid has filed for bankruptcy, closing hundreds of its locations due to financial strife and increasing debt.

  • Dollar General's stock dropped 32% after announcing a reduced earnings forecast.

  • Rite Aid is filing for bankruptcy and closing up to 500 stores due to financial issues.

  • Big Lots reported a 10% decline in net sales year over year and is also closing underperforming stores.

So, while inflation is declining, so is consumer spending. That means people have less discretionary money to be spending on frivolous things, so they have to cut wherever they can. Those employees and their families are likely not going to be happy with the state of the economy.

OpenAI is reportedly considering amending its corporate structure to make itself more investor friendly ahead of a multi-billion dollar fundraising round, and may lift the cap on profits paid out to investors from its for-profit subsidiary. This move would allow the company to attract more investment from tech giants such as Microsoft, Apple, and Nvidia.

  • OpenAI is reportedly considering amending its corporate structure

  • The company may lift the cap on profits paid out to investors from its for-profit subsidiary

  • The change would also enable OpenAI to further distance itself from its current non-profit structure.

I am still waiting for them to… “open” their AI since they are called “OpenAI” and all.

Acadia Healthcare, one of the largest chains of psychiatric hospitals in the U.S., has been accused of illegally detaining patients to increase insurance payouts. Investigations revealed that numerous patients were held against their will without meeting legal standards for such detentions, prompting intervention from judges and law enforcement in various states.

  • Acadia Healthcare's revenue has increased significantly since the onset of the pandemic.

  • Reports indicate unlawful patient detentions in multiple states, leading to legal actions.

The pharma and medical industry make more money the longer you stay sick. When incentives don’t match the desired outcome, you will end up with a really broken system. Case in point.

Thanks so much for reading, and once again, please forward this newsletter to anyone you think should be reading it. It’s how the newsletter grows, how I know you love it and encourages me to keep going. I’d really appreciate it!