Privateering.

Apocalyptic scenarios.

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1. The modern economy rests on a rule so old that hardly anybody alive can remember a time before it: Ships of any nation may sail the high seas. Suddenly, that pillar of the international order shows signs of buckling. In the Red Sea, Houthi rebels have stormed onto cargo ships, causing freight rates to quadruple and setting a precedent that American vessels aren’t welcome across one of the world’s most vital transport lanes. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has turned the Black Sea into a gauntlet of warships and mines, navigated by grain-laden bulk carriers sailing under the fragile consent of two warring states. Near the Horn of Africa or the Strait of Malacca, pirates who had once seemed quelled have roared back, crimping sea traffic. In the South China Sea, Beijing has asserted sovereign control over parts that have long been international waters, while its push to reunite Taiwan with the mainland raises questions about future transit through the Taiwan Strait. “Throughout my long career as a naval officer…I have never seen such intense competition on the oceans of the world,” said retired U.S. Adm. James Stavridis, who served as NATO supreme allied commander and wrote his doctoral thesis on the United Nations’ Law of the Sea treaty. (Source: wsj.com)

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2. The U.S. government said it had disrupted a uniquely dangerous and potentially life-threatening Chinese hacking operation that hijacked hundreds of infected routers and used them to covertly target American and allied critical infrastructure networks. Senior officials described the operation in unusually blunt terms as part of an evolving and increasingly worrisome campaign by Beijing to get a foothold in U.S. computer networks responsible for everything from safe drinking water to aviation traffic so it could detonate, at a moment’s notice, damaging cyberattacks during a future conflict, including over Taiwan. Wednesday’s announcement was part of an effort by senior Biden administration officials to underscore what Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray called the “apocalyptic scenarios” animating their fears about China’s advanced and well-resourced hacking prowess. Western intelligence officials say its skill and sophistication has accelerated over the past decade. Officials have grown particularly alarmed at Beijing’s interest in infiltrating U.S. critical infrastructure networks, which they say poses an unrivaled cybersecurity challenge. (Source: wsj.com)