Surging Forces.
Rattled bond markets.
News Items is as invaluable a way to start the day as a strong cup of coffee or a sip of mild gin” — Graydon Carter, editor and author of ‘When The Going Was Good’.
1. Michael Sulmeyer:
The United States may only have nine to 12 months to protect its critical infrastructure from AI-powered attacks. Currently, two American companies, Anthropic (for which I consult) and OpenAI, have publicly demonstrated AI models advanced enough to detect flaws in software far beyond the human capacity to find, and they are restricting the use of these models to defensive cybersecurity work.
But the United States’ adversaries, and the criminals in their orbit, will soon wield the same offensive tools. China, in particular, is already racing to build and acquire these AI capabilities and may be closer to developing its own Mythos than many U.S. policymakers hope. Advanced AI will sharpen an instrument that Beijing already prizes: the credible threat to deter a fight over Taiwan before it begins by disrupting the island’s critical infrastructure and that of any nation that seeks to defend it….
The United States has a window to bolster its critical infrastructure’s defenses, but that window is short, and those defenses are weak to begin with. In a campaign called Volt Typhoon, Chinese state-linked hackers already demonstrated how deeply they can burrow into U.S. critical infrastructure, including organizations in the water, power, and transportation sectors. Now is the time to put policy options on the table that were previously considered out of bounds: taking dramatic steps to preempt would-be attacks, making once-in-a-generation investments in cyberdefense, and helping U.S. AI labs protect themselves against the most advanced threats. (Sources: cset.georgetown.edu, foreignaffairs.com)
2. The U.S. is surging forces, medics and weaponry to the Middle East to give President Trump more muscular military options as he considers expanding the conflict against Iran, according to people familiar with the matter. In the past week, special-operations forces have deployed to the region from their U.S. bases, according to flight-tracking data and U.S. officials. Squadrons of jet fighters have been staged across the Middle East, and bomber aircraft at bases in the U.S. and U.K. are on high alert to ramp up operations, according to one of the officials. Additionally, more than 150 medics have arrived at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany in recent days, another official said. The hospital is the primary location for treating troops injured in combat in the Middle East. The preparations are the latest indication that Trump is considering escalating the conflict. (Source: wsj.com)
3. The Iran-backed Houthis claimed their first attack on commercial ships in recent months, opening a new front in the US-Iran war that has already disrupted global energy supplies and rattled bond markets. The militant group, based in Yemen, said it targeted two Saudi Arabian oil tankers in the Red Sea with missiles and drones. The Saudi government confirmed an attack on one refined-products tanker, called the Encelia. The British navy also said a tanker was struck near the Saudi town of Al Shuqaiq in the southern part of the sea. The Houthis said the second vessel was named Layla, which is a crude-oil carrier. While it’s unclear if the ships were hit and damaged, the move could effectively close another maritime chokepoint vital to energy markets, following Iran’s shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz. Some vessels are already avoiding the Bab el-Mandeb strait at the bottom of the Red Sea, while oil prices are rising further. (Source: bloomberg.com)
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