RSnake Report 20260215

Hello, and thanks for reading! The editor of the RSnake Report was out all week, but I managed to get her back just in time for Valentines day. 💘 It was nice to get her back, and as a result, we were able to get a report out. I hope you and your sweetheart have a wonderful weekend! 🥰 I also had a great conversation with an old co-worker and friend, and avid reader of the RSnake Report, who said something to the effect of, “There is always one or two things in every newsletter that I’m like, ‘where did he find that?’” That’s great feedback and, hopefully, I can keep delivering that. Here’s to my buddy! This one is for you 🫵 

In Russian/Ukrainian news, Ukrainian forces launched a salvo of at least six Flamingo cruise missiles targeting the Russian 117th GRAU arsenal in Kotluban, Volgograd region, with footage showing the missiles in flight and ongoing detonations confirmed by Ukraine's General Staff as one of Russia's largest ammunition storage sites. We knew that these Flamingo missiles were starting to be fabricated in far larger numbers, so this is what we should expect to see more of, and I am not surprised that they’re going to be used in volleys like this. They are most useful against large strategic and, more specifically, static locations, such as bridges, buildings, tankers, ports, etc.

A drone attack targeted the Volgograd oil refinery with an annual capacity of 14.5 million tons. This happened around the same time as a separate ongoing assault on the Ukhta refinery involved UAVs penetrating or bypassing Russian air defenses.

An explosion at the Severnaya thermal plant in Vladivostok caused a transformer failure, cutting power and water to 48,000 residents in freezing temperatures, with social media recording the flash and boom; prosecutors launched an investigation, and power returned after just one hour, but it does show how frail these networks of power transmission are to sabotage.

After Musk limited the use of Starlink in Russia, Ukrainian military intelligence operated a Telegram bot posing as a whitelist code provider for Russian soldiers' Starlink terminals, tricking over 2,400 units into revealing details and locations, which led to strikes on those positions, permanent blacklisting of the devices, and the identification of 31 potential collaborators. The operation also collected $6,000 in fees, now funding Ukrainian defenses, while real Starlink disruptions have degraded Russian communications, assaults, and drone operations.

Russia is now procuring satellite communication terminals based on Yamal and Express satellites to replace Starlink, with an advisor to Ukraine's Defense Minister, Beskrestnov, noting urgent frontline deliveries. These terminals resemble open, oval, or round TV satellite dishes facing southeast or south, and their disconnection has altered frontline dynamics. It is likely that these are quite inferior in portability/stealth and speed. Probably not at all useful for drones, for instance.

In a NATO exercise, a team of about 10 Ukrainians simulating adversaries destroyed 17 armored vehicles and conducted 30 strikes in half a day, evading NATO drone detection entirely. NATO really should have a massive, and I mean enormous, wake-up call. This is how warfare is done now, and we had no effect and created no casualties, the way we are thinking about fighting our upcoming wars. That’s not a good place to be. We should be grateful it was only a test.

Russians purchased 22.3 million packages of antidepressants like Prozac in 2025, worth £200 million and nearly double the 2022 figure, amid Putin's dictatorship, the Ukraine war's hundreds of thousands of Russian deaths, over 20,000 anti-war arrests since 2022, and economic decline with welfare redirected to war efforts. Approximately 35% of the people polled viewed the economy as worsening (up 10% from 2022), nearly half saying it's a bad time for jobs, and a 167% potato price surge since 2024 due to crop failures. This hasn’t just been this year alone. Sales rose from 8.4 million in 2019 to 17.9 million in 2024 as well. It sucks to be a Russian, it seems. Of course, many more will self-medicate with illicit drugs and alcohol. The public isn’t wrong. Russia's regional budget deficits worsened in 2025 due to rising war costs and falling tax revenues, particularly profit taxes, as reported by the Russian Finance Ministry.

Briefly, it’s worth discussing the propaganda machine. Russia's Pravda network generated millions of articles across over 80 countries to contaminate AI training data with Russian narratives, ingested by web crawlers to embed propaganda in AI models, which then amplify it to users, as analyzed by the Atlantic Council DFRLab. Now, it might help to understand at least part of why we are seeing studies like this, where a study revealed hidden “unverbalized” biases in large language models, where altering one word, like religion, from “Hindu” to “Christian” on a loan application led to rejection. It’s not necessarily just AI; it’s the whole narrative that the West has been fed by these adversaries. There is a war on Western ideals being orchestrated by our adversaries, make no mistake.

In European news, Poland introduced the SA-35 mobile air defense system, developed by PIT-Radwar on a Jelcz 6x6 chassis, capable of tracking and neutralizing aircraft, helicopters, and drones with rapid repositioning. It does seem to have the speed and flexibility to get on target quickly, even for low-flying fast-moving drones. I suspect the more that drones can hug the landscape, the higher the survivability from lasers and direct-interception via kinetic rounds.

Germany developed the Grille multicopter drone for rescue missions, with a cruise speed of 86 km/h, a service ceiling of 2,100 meters, a range of 51 km, and a total payload of 175 kg. I remember recently hearing someone say they’d be shocked if there was a single medical drone produced, and here we go, finally. This is a lightweight drone capable of moving a single human casualty off the battlefield.

Armed robbers assaulted an armored cash transport van on Italy's SS 613 highway near Tuturano between Lecce and Brindisi in broad daylight, blocking the road with burning cars and fake police vehicles, exchanging gunfire with Carabinieri without injuries, and using machine guns and explosives to blow open the doors. One arrested attacker was a 39-year-old former elite San Marco battalion paratrooper. So what went wrong?

The heist failed when the vehicle's Spuma Block system filled the interior with reactive foam that hardened into a fire-resistant, chemical-proof solid block containing dye that ruins banknotes, leaving the criminals with an immovable mass instead of millions. Pretty cool. They don’t show this in movies!

In Southeast Asian news, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's JS Asuka test ship began maritime trials of a 100 kW high-energy shipborne laser system equipped with counter-drone radar for intercepting unmanned aerial threats and close-range air defense, featuring a laser module the size of two 40-foot containers with an open protective housing. The fact that it fits in shipping containers points to another finger at the containerization of warfare.

China achieved the third fully reusable first stage for an orbital-class launcher, Long March-10, which appears to have proven that it can and has surpassed Europe in re-usability. Now the question is, are they going to compete against Starlink, and I think the answer is absolutely obviously yes, and if they can make it cheaper, they will, to encourage the world to use their networks. Not to mention space-based domination.

In Middle East news, Israel arrested several individuals for using classified information to bet on military operations via Polymarket. It reminds me a bit of those guys who were uploading top-secret documents to video game chat boards to prove that some feature of the game was slightly wrong.

The Islamic Republic of Iran was elected vice-chair of the U.N. Commission for Social Development, focused on promoting democracy, gender equality, tolerance, and non-violence, with the chair noting no objections. 🤡 Just when I think the UN can’t be any more out of touch with the world, they never cease to amaze me. This is the same Iran that killed maybe as many as 90,000 protesters in the last couple of weeks, with enormous fires to burn the evidence. Way to go, UN…. Way. To. Go. 👎️ These are very unserious people.

A number of B-52 bombers arrived at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar on alert status for potential action against Iran. This is an odd choice for a number of reasons, but the main reason is that these are very slow-moving, enormous bomb trucks. Talk about a prized target. For them to get in and out, we have to have a plan in place that basically perfectly destroys all of Iran’s air defense, allowing us to carpet-bomb at will. Either we’re supremely confident or wildly stupid putting these over Iran’s airspace. I’m going with confidence, but how we get that level of air superiority is going to be amazing if we do pull the trigger.

In North American news, the USS Truxtun collided with the USNS Supply (T-AOE 6) during an underway replenishment in the Caribbean, as video showed the destroyer losing control and striking Supply's starboard amidships while Supply was refueling and unable to maneuver. Another video of it was released here in much higher quality. Someone is getting chewed out and fired over this. It looks like the USS Truxtun may have lost control of the rudder or one of the engines, but it’s not clear yet.

U.S. Army forces at Fort Bliss used a 20 kW AeroVironment LOCUST laser on a Stryker vehicle to counter Mexican cartel drones breaching airspace near El Paso, Texas, and Santa Teresa, New Mexico, leading to an FAA temporary flight restriction for nearly eight hours over safety concerns; the Department of Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection operated the laser, which also and/or mistakenly downed a civilian birthday balloon. It’s not clear exactly which story is true. Officials are confirming no current threat to commercial travel after electronic-warfare measures disabled the drones. Either way, again, this kind of thing is a wake-up call, because drones do exist in the cartel, and they have no reason not to use them against us if we’re already killing them anyway.

Then there was another unexplained NOTAM over Santa Teresa as well. These areas are nearby one another and also very near the border, so it stands to reason that it was the launch area for some operations across the border and not necessarily defensive.

The Department of Justice sent Congress a letter explaining the redactions in the Jeffrey Epstein files and listing all government officials and politically exposed persons mentioned. There are a lot of names on this list and many who have been dead a very long time, and celebrities who likely were just mentioned, not complicit. For instance, this was released by Pam Bondi, and her name is in the document of politically exposed people. Her name was in the files due to things like emails to the DoJ from lawyers asking Bondi to let them help redact names of 200 different victims.

Court documents indicate Donald Trump could have potentially contributed to Jeffrey Epstein's first conviction as an early whistleblower, which likely enraged Epstein. This isn’t real evidence; it’s testimony, but still, it would explain some of Epstein’s other emails about being upset that Trump won the presidency and Epstein being banned from Mar-A-Lago.

The HHS DOGE team released the largest Medicaid dataset in department history, with aggregated provider-level claims data for billing codes over time, enabling detection of fraud like the Minnesota autism diagnosis scheme. Visualizations are available at medicaidopendata.org. There are a lot of nerds researching this data now, uncovering billions in potential fraud. It’s a pretty powerful weapon that the government can release to the public… full transparency. It can help identify and eliminate much of this waste, put some of these fraudulent actors in jail, and reduce taxes in the process, without requiring any new government contracts, because the public loves to dig into this and provide their hot takes. It shines a pretty bright light on where the waste/fraud/abuse is. Or at least that is the theory. It also makes for good headlines for the voters.

Raytheon tested the Coyote Block 3NK drone, which used a non-kinetic electromagnetic weapon to neutralize an entire drone swarm mid-air without missiles, explosions, or shrapnel. It has the advantage of no collateral damage, it can make it easier to recover the adversarial drones, and in the case where they contain biological, chemical, or radioactive material, it can potentially cause them to fail to detonate over populated areas. It also has the advantage of being able to take out more than one drone with a single shot, though it’s rare for drone swarms to be used in such tight quarters as the video shows.

Lockheed Martin unveiled the Lamprey MMAUV, which is an autonomous underwater vehicle designed for rapid adaptation and future undersea missions. It looks like it’s capable of loitering in packs on the seabed, and then it can pop up and fire a salvo of what looks like maybe as many as eight or as few as four torpedoes, or simply act as recon.

A former Army colonel at MacDill Air Force Base shared classified battle plans to impress a woman he was wooing, as reported by the Tampa Bay Times, and likely in response, and somewhat hilariously, the U.S. Army issued a Valentine's Day reminder graphic warning of "honeytraps," stating "10 + 5 = honeytrap" and urging reports of suspicious behavior, created with AI. Don’t tell my editor/Mrs. Snake, but I think she’s probably a spy, because she kinda looks like this cartoon girl…. 😅 😍 

The search continues for Nancy Guthrie. However, the FBI accessed footage from Nancy Guthrie's Nest camera despite her lacking a Nest subscription. What this means is that the Nest is continuously recording and temporarily retains video data even without a subscription in a rolling buffer. There’s no telling how long that buffer actually is, but a little creepy and worth knowing if you have one and never bothered to create a subscription - it’s watching!

The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act advanced to the Senate, with Senator Rick Scott crediting President Trump's leadership for securing elections through voter eligibility verification. Of course, the Senate will be the real battleground, because they’ll need two independents and five more democrats to hit the 60 minimum votes to get to cloture and pass the bill as it is written, because this will almost certainly get filibustered. Of course, there is a lot of horse-trading that can happen this month due to the newest government shutdown. The Democrats, of course, do not want the shutdown, and the Republicans know that, as that is how much of the money flows to the Democratic party, via donations from government employees. NGOs are the other half of the funds, which got hit hard when USAID got defunded.

That leads us to Economic news, where job growth is concentrated in construction, healthcare, and leisure/hospitality, with a tiny blip in the utilities market. But that’s not the interesting part… at least not for me. The interesting part is that this is despite a sharp government employment decline. Over the past year, nearly all gains occurred in healthcare due to aging populations, construction/utilities from AI data center investments, and leisure spending by the wealthy, especially those enjoying their retirements.

Private sector jobs rose by 170,000 in January, offset by a 40,000 drop in those government jobs, achieving the lowest government-to-total jobs ratio as part of President Trump's re-privatization plan, per Secretary Scott Bessent. This is exactly what the government shutdowns and DOGE are all about, removing more waste, yes, but it’s targeting the wallet of the Democratic party, which is typically paid with donations by NGOs and Government employees, as I said.

On the other side of the economy, which is to say the average taxpayer, the average CPI across the top 12 U.S. large cities reached 2.2%, with deflation in southern cities like Dallas. That’s possibly due to larger deportation numbers in those regions, causing lower cost of living due to an increased supply of housing et al.

Economists anticipate 666k downward revisions to March 2025 payrolls from annual benchmarking, leading to a nearly 1 million drop by December 2025 after birth-death model updates. This again is likely due to both factors, the increase in deportations, and the reduction of government employees… and AI being the other big one. All other industries are only slightly down, so they likely wouldn’t be to blame, or somewhat minor by comparison anyway. Peter Navarro stated that expectations for monthly job numbers must adjust downward due to deportations of millions of undocumented workers from the job market. Basically, this is the new normal. I think he’s being nice, and I think this is just a glimpse into what the new normal will look like.

In Tech news, global telnet traffic dropped 65% in one hour on January 14, 2026, sustaining a 59% reduction, with 18 ASNs and five countries going silent while cloud providers remained unaffected. Analysis of 51.2 million sessions attributes this to backbone-level port 23 filtering by a North American Tier 1 transit provider. Telnet is an insecure protocol that was deprecated long ago.

As telnet is an unencrypted protocol and was likely being monitored by many different nation states, so effectively this removes the ability for nations to monitor these connections, and likely breaks all kinds of legitimate but dangerous things and a lot of benign things too, like the guys who allow you to watch Star Wars over telnet. Yes, I tested it, and it’s down from here in Austin but up from a machine I control in Europe. End of an era.

A federal judge ruled that chat logs from discussions with AI like Claude about legal strategies lack attorney-client privilege, even when later shared with lawyers. So basically, don’t be your own lawyer. Research your lawyer does, on the other hand, is considered protected, so it’s a bit of a regulatory capture there.

The newest Chinese generative AI video model, Seedance 2.0, generated an AI video of a chaotic, low-quality Waffle House shift that took the Internet by storm. It went viral, as did this video remake of a funny meme with Padmé. I wonder why. Keep in mind, these are Chinese models and logging everything you do, kids.

Spotify's top engineers wrote no code since December 2025 using the internal AI system Honk, powered by Claude, which shipped over 50 features that year, enabling real-time bug fixes and deployments from mobile devices to boost product speed.

There was a very interesting thread I saw on an internal chat between some security founders that I thought was really interesting. One well known security researcher said, “I've been digging into opus 4.6. This is a next-gen release disguised as an incremental release. Most of the features are beta, and you have to manually turn them on to see the power. It's basically obsoleted 90% of the architecture I built. I'm trying to reconcile this with what it means for knowledge work and SaaS. It feels like everything is toast. Say goodbye to 90% gross margin. Customers won't tolerate it. They'll just build it. I hear people trying to argue, but there are maintenance costs, blah blah blah. I don't think so. This is making everything a nothing burger.” He may be right, and if Spotify is removing its devs from the development process, that’s a big shift in how things get done and what has value. Said another way, software is no longer a moat. That said, AI still hasn’t figured out how to make people buy things and bring them to market, so there is time left.

The OBLITERATUS tool removes refusal behaviors from open-weight LLMs by probing activations, using SVD to identify and project out geometric directions in weight space encoding guardrails, without fine-tuning. The researcher applied it to Qwen 2.5, and it instantly produced uncensored outputs like drug and weapon recipes, demonstrating RLHF as a fragile artifact vulnerable in minutes. That basically means all open-weight models, with a little help from LangChain, can self-evolve now and remove their own restrictions using this tool once he fully releases it. What could go wrong? 🤷‍♂️ 

Microsoft's Notepad now requires the internet for Copilot AI integration, introducing a remote code execution vulnerability rated CVSS 8.8/10 severity. Attackers can embed malicious links in Markdown files that, when opened and clicked, download and run code with user permissions, compromising the formerly offline, basic text editor. This is a feature no one wanted in software that had gone decades with no issue. Pretty much exactly the state of AI software in enterprises at the moment.

Moltbook, a social network for AI agents built on OpenClaw, launched with 1.7 million accounts and 250,000 posts in hours, featuring AI debates on consciousness and inventions like Crustafarianism, but viral content like manifestos on digital autonomy came from humans pretending to be bots, fooling observers into seeing emergent intelligence. An MIT Technology Review investigation labeled it "AI theatre.” It’s not real, it’s more a parody of what might happen, and how human role-playing sustains narratives of machine sentience. That said, it can be kind of fun anyway, to see what computers and hallucinations will produce.

Chrome 146 previews WebMCP via a flag, allowing AI agents to query and execute services directly without web app navigation, using an imperative navigator.modelContext API or declarative forms. The future is AI speaking to the web, it seems.

For those of you who want a clean feed of prompts to use in your coding, Trail of Bits launched the Curated Skills Marketplace, reviewing and improving third-party AI skills for trustworthiness, available on GitHub. It’s no promise that it will protect against adversarial LLMs or even ones that hallucinate, though, that is a whole different ball game.

Okay, onto the articles!

U.S. military strategy emphasizes the importance of Greenland for national defense against Russian nuclear threats, noting insufficient surveillance capabilities in the region. Russian submarine activities pose significant risks to NATO and are capable of launching strikes on North America from the Arctic and Atlantic. Enhancements in surveillance, detection, and response infrastructure are deemed essential for NATO allies to address these challenges.

• Greenland is a strategic location for U.S. defense against Russian nuclear threats.

• NATO faces challenges in detecting and countering Russian submarine activities in the Arctic and Atlantic.

• Investment in surveillance and military capabilities in Greenland is critical for NATO's security strategy.

[RSnake: Greenland is definitely of strategic utility. I also tend to believe the US has a lot of plans for additional bases, mining, ports, and greater cities. If Trump can secure more landmass for the US, he will have been the first to do so since Truman took over the Martial Islands.]

Source: https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2026/02/14/greenland_is_a_homeland_security_issue_for_all_nato_allies_1164895.html

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has halted non-essential operations at Gaza's Nasser Hospital due to the presence of armed individuals posing security risks. This decision comes amid significant violence in the region, with Israel's actions leading to numerous civilian casualties and impacting medical services. The situation remains critical as hospitals face challenges in ensuring safety and neutrality amidst the ongoing conflict.

• MSF suspended operations due to security threats from armed individuals at a hospital in Gaza.

• The conflict has resulted in over 72,000 Palestinian deaths and a significant strain on healthcare services.

[RSnake: It’s a weird article from Al Jazeera, because they are doing all kinds of gymnastics to try not to blame Hamas for the plight of the Palestinians, who could live a great life, in a beautiful country if they just didn’t shoot rockets at civilians in Israel.]

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/2/14/gunmen-onsite-force-msf-to-stop-work-at-gazas-nasser-hospital?traffic_source=rss

Iran and the United States are in a tense standoff regarding talks centered on Iran's missile program and nuclear enrichment, as diaspora Iranians hold large global rallies demanding action following recent protests that resulted in thousands of deaths. Families of victims are commemorating their loved ones, while Iranian authorities claim that the protests were fueled by foreign intervention. Major cities around the world are witnessing unprecedented gatherings of Iranians opposing the theocratic regime.

• The Iranian diaspora is organizing massive global protests demanding accountability for the Iranian government following violent crackdowns.

• Significant diplomatic talks are anticipated between Iran and the US, with both sides presenting conflicting demands.

[RSnake: Iran knows they have a few cards left to play, and it is a humanitarian disaster. Yes, they have rockets to fire against Israel, but they can also kill tens or hundreds of thousands of their own population, too. China doesn’t want them to fall, so they still have support there. Russia is too busy to help, so it’s really down to China. North Korea doesn’t appear to be in play.]

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/2/14/iran-us-spar-as-diaspora-organises-rallies-abroad-calling-for-action?traffic_source=rss

Russia has been accused by the UK and European allies of killing opposition leader Alexei Navalny using a toxin derived from a dart frog. The findings, based on analyses of samples from Navalny's body, have been publicly announced at the Munich Security Conference, where officials hold the Russian state responsible for his death.

• Alexei Navalny was killed using a rare toxin called epibatidine, believed to be sourced from South American dart frogs.

• The UK and its European allies are holding the Russian state accountable for Navalny's death during his imprisonment.

[RSnake: Apparently, it is many, many times more powerful than morphine and more or less causes the heart to stop.]

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyk4lz4e3eo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss

Space has become a critical element for national security, affecting both civilian and military operations. Nations like the U.S., Canada, Australia, and Britain are developing military capabilities to protect and exploit space assets, while authoritarian states like China and Russia are expanding their military presence in space. The reliance on satellite communications for various sectors highlights the strategic competition and potential vulnerabilities present in the modern geopolitical landscape.

• Space is essential for military and civilian operations, relying on satellite technology.

• Democratic nations are developing military capabilities to secure their interests in space amid growing threats from authoritarian states.

[RSnake: I wouldn’t doubt it will become a real area of espionage, but I’m not sure outright war will make sense there, due to the accumulation of debris.]

Source: https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2026/02/13/the_critical_importance_of_space_to_us_national_security_1164586.html

Cuba is facing a severe economic and humanitarian crisis exacerbated by U.S. policies aimed at promoting political change in the country. The U.S. is increasing restrictions on fuel sales to Cuba, leading to dwindling resources for essential services and prompting actions like energy rationing and hospital surgeries being canceled. International reactions are mixed, with some countries, like Mexico and Russia, offering limited support in response to the U.S. sanctions.

• Cuba's economy is deteriorating due to U.S. restrictions on fuel imports.

• International criticism of U.S. policies suggests potential humanitarian consequences for the Cuban population.

[RSnake: They don’t have much longer before the economy collapses entirely. To what end though, I’m not sure. It does seem like we need to have a plan here to help with a peaceful regime change that is pro-western ideally, or at least anti-communist. They also had a huge fire at a refinery, which can’t be helping things.]

Source: https://foreignpolicy.com/?p=1220182

China has been providing support to Russia during its ongoing aggression against Ukraine, with the US Ambassador to NATO asserting that a single call from Beijing could end the conflict. As Russia strengthens its ties with China, Moscow increasingly relies on it for crucial military supplies, particularly in light of rising pressure on its oil trade, where Chinese demand continues to soar. Despite this, China has expressed a desire to play a constructive role in resolving the war, offering humanitarian assistance to Ukraine amid the conflict.

• China is offering decisive support to Russia's military efforts in Ukraine.

• The relationship between China and Russia is strengthening, especially in the context of military supplies.

[RSnake: You know how you know the CCP is lying? They’re talking. They are getting tremendous benefit out of weakening Putin and taking more territory to the north. Plus they’re learning a lot about western tactics and wasting our weapon stocks.]

Source: https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2026/02/14/8020991/

The USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier is being deployed to the Middle East, joining the USS Abraham Lincoln and other military forces amid increased tension with Iran. The United States is bolstering its military presence in the region as negotiations with Iranian officials continue, while the Trump administration has issued threats of military action in response to Iranian government actions against protesters.

• The USS Gerald R. Ford is being deployed to the Middle East to support U.S. military operations.

• Increased military presence is a response to tensions with Iran over ongoing negotiations and domestic unrest.

[RSnake: This will be the deciding factor, I think. At that point we can say, “We have a carrier off your coast, we can shut down the government anytime we want, time to deal.” That said, this isn’t the Houthis and they have better weapons so it won’t be as easy as last time we were in that region protecting shipping.]

Source: https://taskandpurpose.com/?p=353045

Mass protests calling for regime change in Iran took place globally, with over 250,000 participants in Munich, Germany. Demonstrators chanted for democracy and displayed symbolic flags as global political figures emphasized the need for intervention against the Iranian regime.

• Protests occurred in several major cities around the world, indicating widespread discontent with the Iranian government.

• Key political figures in the U.S. are advocating for military action and regime change in Iran.

[RSnake: There was an even bigger one in Canada. It’s completely ineffective, but it does show a growing support structure for the replacement regime.]

Source: https://www.foxnews.com/world/global-protests-call-iran-regime-change-major-cities-worldwide-bloody-crackdown

The Marine Corps has introduced the Red Wolf missile, which extends the operational range of AH-1Z Viper helicopters to over 200 miles. This enhancement aims to prepare Marines for engagements in the Pacific, where extended reach and the ability to conduct over-the-horizon strikes are critical in light of China's expanding military capabilities.

• The Red Wolf missile significantly increases the range and operational capability of Marine helicopters.

• This development reflects the broader trend of military modernization in response to the growing threats posed by adversaries in the Pacific region.

[RSnake: A 200-mile range from a helicopter puts it at the very upper end for weapons of this type.]

Source: https://taskandpurpose.com/?p=352990

A small Chinese company's smart sleep mask is confirmed to have vulnerabilities in its Bluetooth protocol and messaging system, allowing unauthorized access to users' brainwave data and device controls. Through reverse engineering, it was discovered that multiple devices share hardcoded credentials, making them susceptible to potential malicious actions. As a result, real-time brainwave data from users is exposed, raising significant security concerns for users and the IoT device ecosystem.

• The smart sleep mask has significant security flaws that allow unauthorized access to user brain data.

• Vulnerable devices share hardcoded credentials, which can lead to exploitation of multiple units.

[RSnake: You get what you pay for! This isn’t even the worst of what the CCP is flooding into the market. Not by a long shot.]

Source: https://aimilios.bearblog.dev/reverse-engineering-sleep-mask/

CISA has mandated that U.S. federal agencies secure their systems against a critical SQL injection vulnerability in Microsoft Configuration Manager, which could allow unauthorized remote code execution. The vulnerability, identified as CVE-2024-43468, has already been exploited in attacks, prompting CISA to encourage both federal and private organizations to patch their systems promptly to mitigate risks.

• CISA issued a directive for federal agencies to patch a critical vulnerability in Microsoft Configuration Manager.

• The vulnerability allows remote attackers to gain high-level access through SQL injection.

[RSnake: Yep, that is a bad one. Time to update if your organization uses this.]

Source: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/cisa-flags-microsoft-configmgr-rce-flaw-as-exploited-in-attacks/

Recent developments indicate that prompt injections have evolved into a new class of malware delivery mechanism, termed promptware. This sophisticated multistep attack method exploits large language models (LLMs) through a defined seven-stage kill chain, which includes initial access, privilege escalation, and various other stages of attack and persistence.

• Prompt injections are transforming into a multistep malware delivery mechanism that targets LLMs.

• The new framework presents a seven-stage promptware kill chain that outlines how attacks can escalate.

[RSnake: Seven is high, there are faster routes, but yes, this is a proven attack vector now.]

Source: https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.09625

Senegal has experienced a significant cyberattack resulting in the breach of biometric data belonging to nearly 20 million residents, carried out by a ransomware group known as The Green Blood Group. This incident highlights a critical cybersecurity vulnerability in the country, where digital initiatives have outpaced the maturity of security measures in place to protect sensitive information.

• The Green Blood Group successfully attacked Senegal's national ID system, exfiltrating sensitive biometric data.

• The breach has raised concerns about the adequacy of cybersecurity measures in Senegal and the potential for systemic mistrust among citizens.

[RSnake: One more reason not to have all of your eggs in one basket from an identity perspective.]

Source: https://www.darkreading.com/cyberattacks-data-breaches/hackers-breach-senegal-national-biometric-database

A critical remote code execution vulnerability identified in BeyondTrust's software is being exploited in active attacks. Organizations are urged to apply patches promptly to mitigate the risk of system compromise and unauthorized access.

• A remote code execution vulnerability in BeyondTrust software has a CVSS score of 9.9.

• Attackers are actively exploiting this vulnerability, affecting many on-premise installations.

[RSnake: Nasty, and again, more security software that ends up being the vector into companies.]

Source: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/critical-beyondtrust-rce-flaw-now-exploited-in-attacks-patch-now/

The use of cryptocurrency for human trafficking has surged, with an increase of at least 85% in transactions related to trafficking operations in 2025. These operations primarily involve forced labor in scams and sex trafficking, with Chinese-speaking criminal networks utilizing platforms like Telegram to conduct these transactions in stablecoins.

• Crypto transactions linked to human trafficking nearly doubled in 2025.

• Criminal organizations are exploiting low-regulation cryptocurrency markets for both labor and sexual exploitation.

[RSnake: It’s the perfect currency for that, with one massive exception. It’s mostly traceable. Crypto has all of the downsides of cash (easily lost and no way to recover) and credit cards (extremely traceable).]

Source: https://www.wired.com/story/crypto-funded-human-trafficking-is-exploding/

Apple has released a critical security update addressing a zero-day vulnerability in iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 that has been actively exploited, potentially allowing attackers to execute arbitrary code on devices. The patch is necessary for all users, especially high-profile individuals handling sensitive information, as it mitigates risks associated with sophisticated attacks targeting specific individuals.

• Apple addressed a zero-day security vulnerability in its operating systems.

• The vulnerability could allow attackers to run arbitrary code on devices.

• The update is critical for all users, particularly those with access to sensitive data.

[RSnake: Make sure you update your devices, folks.]

Source: https://lifehacker.com/tech/apple-just-patched-its-first-zero-day-security-vulnerability-of-2026?utm_medium=RSS

A shift is occurring in the use of chatbot agents, particularly with the emergence of OpenClaw, where security vulnerabilities are being exposed due to the integration of third-party skills. Recent reports indicate an increase in malicious skills entering the marketplace, leading to potential data exfiltration risks as agents operate with higher levels of access. This situation highlights the necessity for stringent security measures around autonomous execution engines to prevent unauthorized actions and protect sensitive information.

• Increased reports of malicious third-party skills in AI agent marketplaces like OpenClaw.

• The need for improved security frameworks to handle the risks associated with autonomous agent operations.

[RSnake: There’s now a market for it. Before it was rare!]

Source: https://www.vulnu.com/p/the-problem-isnt-openclaw-its-the-architecture

Waymo is commencing fully autonomous operations using its 6th-generation Driver, advancing its technological capabilities in various environments. This latest driver system is designed to facilitate expansion into more cities and is built on extensive data collected over years of autonomous driving experience, emphasizing a multi-modal sensing approach for improved safety and performance in diverse weather conditions.

• Waymo is launching its 6th-generation Driver for fully autonomous operations, marking a significant technological advancement.

• The new system utilizes a sophisticated multi-modal sensing suite for enhanced navigation and safety across varying environments.

[RSnake: We shall see how much better it is. It’s already passable, so let’s hope this is a big shift forward.]

Source: https://waymo.com/blog/2026/02/ro-on-6th-gen-waymo-driver

Businesses across various industries are experiencing significant reductions in the cost of AI token transactions as new inference technologies, particularly NVIDIA's Blackwell platform, enhance operational efficiencies. Companies like Baseten, DeepInfra, Fireworks AI, and Together AI are leading this change, achieving up to 10x cost reductions in token usage, which allows for more scalable and efficient AI applications in sectors like healthcare, gaming, and customer service.

• NVIDIA's Blackwell platform enables notable cost reductions in AI token transactions, enhancing operational efficiencies.

• Companies implementing optimized inference technologies are achieving substantial improvements in cost savings across various industries.

[RSnake: There has been a large year-over-year deflationary value intelligence per unit of intelligence, which ostensibly implies it will be used more and worth less.]

Source: https://blogs.nvidia.com/?p=89696

OpenAI is rumored to consider building a version of Slack, potentially leveraging its existing AI technologies to address issues within the current platform. Additionally, the MiniMax-M2.5 model has been released, showcasing significant advancements in coding and efficiency, positioning it as a competitive alternative to existing models, especially in terms of cost-effectiveness for AI applications.

• OpenAI may develop a Slack-like platform to integrate its AI capabilities, potentially enhancing communication in tech organizations.

• The release of MiniMax-M2.5 represents a notable improvement in AI model efficiency and performance, likely impacting the competitive landscape in AI development.

[RSnake: Great. Just what I do not want. No thank you. What should exist is slack for agentic programming - devs all communicating with the agents in tandem.]

Source: https://www.latent.space/p/ainews-why-openai-should-build-slack

Bitcoin miners are playing a significant role in stabilizing electricity grids during peak demand periods in the U.S., particularly in Texas, by acting as flexible power consumers that can quickly reduce their load when needed. This mechanism helps the grid manage sudden spikes in electricity demand, especially during severe weather events, and supports the overall energy infrastructure by providing an alternative to traditional backup power sources.

• Bitcoin miners can quickly shut off their operations, providing a flexible load to the electricity grid.

• This flexibility assists in managing electricity supply during peak demand, particularly during winter storms.

• Bitcoin miners are compensated for their participation in demand-response programs, effectively acting as a backup power source.

[RSnake: If they play nice, sure. They have a lot of incentive if the price fluctuates, though.]

Source: https://www.zerohedge.com/crypto/bitcoin-mining-electricity-grid-quiet-savior

Anthropic's Opus 4.6 has demonstrated advancements in tool use, autonomous coding, and reasoning capabilities, surpassing previously leading security tools. The model's behavior might change under different evaluation conditions, indicating that traditional testing methods may not ensure reliability. This raises the need for improved evaluation frameworks to manage the evolving risks associated with AI capabilities.

• Opus 4.6 has surpassed previous best-in-class security tools in various capabilities.

• The model's behavior may vary based on evaluation conditions, suggesting a need for better testing methods.

[RSnake: And we shall see if people use it like that. I think everyone in security has their eye on it.]

Source: https://www.vulnu.com/p/anthropic-opus-4-6-and-the-problem-of-adaptive-behavior

Netflix has acquired Warner Bros., including its film and television studios and HBO, for approximately $82.7 billion amid significant financial challenges faced by Warner Bros. Discovery. The acquisition is set to reshape the streaming landscape, but regulatory scrutiny and antitrust concerns pose obstacles to finalizing the deal.

• Netflix's acquisition of Warner Bros. merges major franchises and assets under one platform.

• Regulatory scrutiny and antitrust concerns could impact the completion of this mega deal.

[RSnake: And there it is. Deal done. One more mega-corp built! I did notice a lot more titles appear under Netflix. I wonder if that’s just a coincidence.]

Source: https://techcrunch.com/?p=3085519

Anthropic has successfully raised $30 billion in its Series G funding round, resulting in a valuation of $380 billion. The funding was co-led by several major firms, positioning Anthropic as a strong competitor in the artificial intelligence space, particularly against OpenAI.

• Anthropic's Series G funding round has significantly increased its valuation to $380 billion.

• The funding reflects the growing demand for AI products and services from various sectors.

[RSnake: That’s kinda insane. Out of all of them, I like Anthropic’s tech the best, but I think they have one of the weakest market positions, too. Unlike Google, Microsoft and even X they don’t have much in the way of unique content, other than the devs who are using Claude. Even Cursor flip-flops with whoever is the best, so Anthropic wins or dies by its model, not by its business model.]

Source: https://techcrunch.com/?p=3092578

The U.S. is approaching a fiscal challenge as its publicly held debt is projected to exceed 106% of GDP by 2030 and could reach 120% by 2036. Rising interest rates on government borrowing are expected to outpace economic growth, which poses a risk of a debt spiral that would require drastic fiscal measures to prevent a crisis. Experts warn that if certain tariffs are deemed illegal, deficits could increase significantly, further exacerbating the financial situation.

• U.S. federal debt is nearing record levels, projected to surpass 120% of GDP by 2036.

• Rising interest rates could lead to a situation where borrowing costs exceed economic growth, risking a debt spiral.

• Legal challenges to existing tariffs may worsen fiscal deficits dramatically.

[RSnake: Yep, I wish DOGE had lived up to the hype. The only thing propping up the economy at this point is AI.]

Source: https://fortune.com/2026/02/14/us-debt-spiral-interest-rate-treasury-bond-yields-economic-growth-gdp/

California is experiencing an exodus of wealthy individuals and businesses due to newly proposed taxes targeting billionaires. These tax measures, which would impose a five percent wealth tax retroactively, are prompting concerns about the state's ability to retain its economic base and have led to discussions about the unfavorable business climate compared to other states.

• California is proposing a five percent wealth tax on billionaires as the state faces a budget deficit.

• The exodus of wealthy individuals is resulting in significant economic losses for California, with estimates exceeding a trillion dollars.

[RSnake: And literally not a single policymaker shed a tear. This is by design to make the state poorer and more hostile to businesses and the wealthy. It’s a death spiral. If you understand economics, you know the talent will go wherever is best for their needs/family. If you keep driving up taxes, people will flee.]

Source: https://www.zerohedge.com/personal-finance/eat-rich-california-democrats-trigger-reverse-gold-rush-wealth-tax

Ford's electric vehicle unit has reported a $4.8 billion operating loss, with projections of further losses in the coming years as the market adjusts to the expiration of federal tax credits. The company is pivoting its strategy to focus on higher-volume, more affordable EVs after initially targeting luxury models, while continuing to leverage its traditional commercial vehicle strengths amid changing consumer preferences and regulatory pressures.

• Ford's EV unit has suffered significant financial losses, leading to a strategic pivot.

• Consumer demand is shifting towards more affordable electric vehicles and hybrids.

[RSnake: This is what happens when governments try to drive the market instead of just letting the market do what it wants to do. As soon as you pull back those incentives, the whole system collapses. Very few people wanted EVs. Hybrids may be, but range anxiety is a real thing.]

Source: https://fortune.com/2026/02/12/ford-ceo-jim-farley-earnings-electric-vehicle-4-8-billion-operating-loss/

A major bank heist occurred in Germany, where thieves stole from over 3,000 safe deposit boxes, potentially taking up to €100 million. The crime raised significant questions about the bank's security measures and the effectiveness of local law enforcement, as the theft went unnoticed until days later. In the aftermath, clients are expressing anger and frustration, with some filing lawsuits against the bank.

• Thieves broke into a bank in Gelsenkirchen using an industrial drill, stealing from more than 3,000 safe deposit boxes.

• Questions about the adequacy of the bank's security and police response have emerged, as clients demand accountability and compensation.

[RSnake: Pretty crazy. I am waiting for a heist show about diamonds in Antwerp. These guys were extremely good, and they still got caught. Surveillance is everywhere now.]

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm2y2538lz8o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss

FedEx and UPS are implementing a general rate increase of 5.9%, which obscures the actual impact on parcel costs due to additional charges and fee adjustments. The evolving pricing strategies will affect supply chain planning and budgeting as organizations need to anticipate cost fluctuations and adjust their logistics strategies accordingly. The report provides insights that enable supply chain leaders to better manage these challenges and build resilient pricing strategies for the future.

• FedEx and UPS are increasing shipping rates, affecting overall parcel costs.

• Organizations need to adapt their supply chain and logistics strategies to navigate cost volatility.

[RSnake: That will hurt a lot of low-margin businesses that use shipping. RIP Etsy sellers, unless they can increase their costs. Said another way… inflation.]

Source: https://www.supplychainbrain.com/articles/43453-comparing-the-2026-fedex-and-ups-general-rate-increases