🔥 International Pressure

Good Morning. Agents at the FBI headquarters in Atlanta were in for a major surprise on Monday as Ervin Lee Bolling, a former Navy submarine technician, attempted to ram the secure facility

Bolling is now facing legal repercussions for damaging government property. Further investigation into his social media activity uncovered his involvement with various conspiracy theories and his expressed desire to become part of a militia.

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— 🐈‍⬛ Acoustic Kitty

THE BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT

Israel Under Pressure Over Gaza War Tactics as Reports of Foreign Aid Worker Deaths Emerge

Israel is currently under intense global scrutiny to explain its actions in Gaza following the repatriation of six foreign aid workers' bodies, who were killed in a drone strike. The strike targeted a World Central Kitchen (WCK) convoy, resulting in the death of seven members. The convoy, clearly marked as belonging to the charity, was attacked systematically by an Israeli drone after leaving an aid warehouse, according to WCK's founder José Andrés, who emphasized the IDF's awareness of their movements.

International Reaction and IDF Response

The incident has sparked a wave of criticism and demands for accountability, with José Andrés rejecting the notion that the strike was a mere accident and condemning the targeting of civilians and humanitarian workers.

IDF Response

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israel Defense Forces have issued apologies, and an investigation has been initiated. Further, Israel's Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, announced the establishment of a "joint situation room" with international groups to improve the coordination of aid distribution, aiming to prevent such tragic incidents in the future.

INTERNATIONAL SECURITY & DIPLOMACY

Counterterrorism

• British counterterrorism police are investigating the stabbing of Pouria Zeraati, a journalist for the London-based, Iran-critical TV channel Iran International; he was attacked outside his home and three suspects have fled the country. Zeraati, who was stabbed in the leg and has since been released from the hospital, was assaulted by two men who escaped in a vehicle driven by a third.

• A drone attack in Idlib Governorate, Syria, wounded four servicemen, with terrorists launching the drone on Syrian government forces, as reported by the Russian Center for the Reconciliation of Opposing Parties. Meanwhile, violations of Syrian airspace by the U.S.-led anti-terrorist coalition's aircraft are escalating tensions and creating risks for air incidents, Russian media wrote.

• The U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control announced sanctions against six individuals, 11 businesses, and two ships related to Syria, targeting Captagon drug operations, government sanction evasions, and mining exports. Under Secretary Brian E. Nelson stated the measures aim to counteract the Assad regime's repression and illicit financial activities, emphasizing the U.S.'s commitment to holding those involved accountable.

Military & Defense

• The U.S. Navy is working to fully integrate information warfare into its training, with the NAVIFOR pushing to incorporate this critical aspect across warfighting domains, expecting results by 2025. Challenges include merging classified information warfare systems into the Navy's live, virtual, and constructive training environment, as emphasized by NAVIFOR's deputy commander, Elizabeth Nashold, at the WEST 2024 conference.

• Indian defense exports surged to INR210.83 billion (USD2.5 billion) in fiscal year 2023-24, marking a 32% increase from the previous year, with the private sector contributing 60% of these exports, according to the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD). The MoD highlighted a significant growth in defense exports over the past decade, noting a 31-fold increase since FY 2013-14 and a rise in export authorizations from 1,414 in FY 2022-23 to 1,507 in FY 2023-24.

• Four F-35 Lightning II aircraft from the U.S. Air Force's 48th Fighter Wing have been deployed to Lask Air Base in Poland, marking a continued U.S. commitment to strengthening NATO's Eastern Flank defense as of April 1, 2024. This deployment, which replaces F-16 Fighting Falcons previously stationed there, aims to enhance joint training exercises with European allies and bolster NATO's collective defense capabilities against potential threats.

• The US Navy and Missile Defense Agency successfully intercepted a medium-range ballistic missile using the upgraded Standard Missile-6 during a test involving the USS Jack H Lucas, equipped with the new SPY-6 radar, on 28 March. Australia enhanced the test with the ANZAC-class frigate HMAS Stuart and an E-7 Wedgetail aircraft, providing radar capabilities, data collection, and target tracking, marking its most robust participation in an Aegis test to date.

Cybersecurity

• A Department of Homeland Security review revealed that Microsoft's lack of comprehensive insight into a breach by alleged Chinese government hackers led to the unauthorized access of emails from senior U.S. officials, attributed to multiple security lapses at the company. The Cyber Safety Review Board's 34-page report, dated March 20 and made public recently, identified the hackers as Storm-0558 and pointed out their success in accessing accounts of top officials like U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo ahead of a significant trip to China in June 2023.

• Cybersecurity researchers have identified a new malware, UNAPIMON, deployed by the espionage and financially motivated cyber threat group Earth Freybug, active since at least 2012 and targeting diverse sectors globally. Earth Freybug, linked to the China-associated APT41, employs sophisticated techniques, including living-off-the-land binaries and custom malware, for espionage and intellectual property theft, with recent attacks leveraging legitimate tools for malicious purposes.

Counterintelligence & Espionage

• Georgia's government is reigniting efforts to pass a foreign agent law that would label charities, pressure groups, and opposition media as foreign influencers, a move that previously sparked significant protests in Tbilisi. The legislation, similar to Russian measures aimed at suppressing dissent and criticized by the EU as contrary to its values, would impose strict reporting obligations and penalties on organizations funded from abroad.

• China's state media and social media platforms are spreading unfounded theories that blame Ukraine and the United States for a terror attack in Russia, despite Islamic State-Khorasan claiming responsibility for the incident that resulted in at least 143 deaths in suburban Moscow. Despite these allegations, the U.S. had previously warned Russian authorities and shared intelligence about the potential threat, countering claims of American involvement and lack of intelligence sharing.

• A government minister is among 12 individuals caught in a suspected "honey trap" scandal within Westminster, as reported by POLITICO, with targets receiving unsolicited messages from suspicious accounts named "Abi" or "Charlie." Following the initial report, additional Westminster figures have come forward, revealing attempts to entice them with unsolicited naked pictures.

Transnational Organized Crime

• South Korea is investigating a 3,000-ton cargo ship, the DEYI, for allegedly violating United Nations sanctions on North Korea, following its seizure over the weekend as it was reportedly traveling from North Korea to Russia via China. The probe, conducted in collaboration with the United States, examines the vessel's breach of sanctions amidst a backdrop of Russia using its veto power to halt UN monitoring of sanctions enforcement on North Korea.

• The U.S. Department of Justice announced the detention of 23 individuals linked to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) on charges of drug trafficking and money laundering, as part of a crackdown on a scheme that distributed illicit drugs smuggled from Mexico across the U.S. from December 2018 to April 2020.

• Human Rights Watch criticized Colombia and Panama for not adequately protecting the rights and safety of hundreds of thousands of migrants traveling through the dangerous Darien Gap to the United States, highlighting the harsh conditions they face including extortion, kidnapping, and abuse by criminal gangs. Despite these challenges, a record 520,000 people crossed this jungle corridor in 2023.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Microsoft and Quantinuum are advancing in quantum computing, from the era of noisy intermediate scale quantum (NISQ) computers. Their collaboration has led to the successful completion of over 14,000 experiments using Quantinuum's ion-trap hardware combined with Microsoft's novel qubit-virtualization system, all without recording a single error. This breakthrough enables the detection and correction of errors in logical qubits without their destruction, showcasing a significant leap in quantum error correction capabilities.

Quantum Computing Evolution

This breakthrough by Microsoft and Quantinuum signals a pivotal shift in quantum computing, moving it beyond the limitations of NISQ devices that are prone to errors due to environmental fluctuations. Quantum computing's core, the qubit, is highly sensitive, and even minor environmental changes can lead to randomness or "decoherence." Unlike classical bits that represent data as either 0s or 1s, qubits operate in multiple states simultaneously until measured. This characteristic of qubits offers quantum computing the potential to exponentially increase computing power beyond the capabilities of traditional computing systems.

Addressing Quantum Noise

The success of Microsoft and Quantinuum's error-correction system addresses a critical challenge in quantum computing: the need for reliable performance despite the inherent noise that quickly renders quantum systems too chaotic for practical use. Until now, the fragility of qubits to noise has been a significant barrier, limiting the time available to run algorithms before the system's usefulness deteriorates. This advancement not only enhances the stability and reliability of quantum computing systems but also sets a new standard for future quantum computing efforts, paving the way for more sophisticated and practical applications of quantum technology.

In other news…

🔻 Opera has introduced a new feature allowing users to download and use large language models (LLMs) locally on their devices, marking the first time a major browser offers such capabilities without the need to send data to a server. This feature, part of the Opera One developer stream's AI Feature Drops Program, includes access to approximately 50 families and 150 LLMs, including models from Google, Mistral AI, Meta, and Vicuna.

💫 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) temporarily halted chipmaking operations due to a 7.4-magnitude earthquake in Taiwan, with workers evacuated following safety protocols before returning to work, as the company assesses the quake's impact on production. The earthquake, which also affected United Microelectronics Corp.'s manufacturing, caused at least nine deaths and over 1,000 injuries, with TSMC and other analysts noting the potential for significant disruptions in the high-end chip manufacturing process.

🚀 Agile Space Industries aims to tackle testing facilities scarcity for rocket and spacecraft engines in the U.S., a significant hurdle for smaller space companies faced with long wait times and high costs, unlike industry giants such as SpaceX and Blue Origin. With the inauguration of its second test stand, Animas, Agile offers the only commercial facility capable of vacuum testing hypergolic engines up to 6,000 pounds of thrust, highlighting the company's expansion and the growing demand for accessible engine testing in the rapidly expanding space market.

DEALS & FUNDING

Permiso Security Inc., a startup specializing in identity threat detection and response, has announced a $18.5 million funding boost aimed at expanding its cloud security services. Founded in 2020, Permiso enhances cloud infrastructure protection through an identity-based detection and response solution, creating a comprehensive view of identities across various platforms to identify high-risk entities. The company's approach addresses the complex challenge of tracking threat actors across different authentication methods, offering high-fidelity alerts with clear attribution.

Innovative Solutions

Permiso's strategy involves the creation of a "meta" identity that consolidates both human and nonhuman identities within an organization, providing a synthesized analysis of their activities across the cloud. This methodology enables security teams to discern the specifics of what occurred in their environments and whether there should be cause for concern.

Growth Trajectory

With customers like Autodesk Inc. and Nutanix Inc., Permiso has reportedly undergone significant growth since its inception. The latest funding round, led by Altimeter Capital Management LP and including participation from Point72 Ventures LLC, brings Permiso's total raised capital to $28.5 million. Additionally, the company recently introduced CloudGrappler, an open-source tool for detecting threat actors in Azure and AWS environments, highlighting its commitment to advancing cloud security technology.

In other news…

🤖 CodiumAI Ltd., an Israeli startup, has introduced a new generative AI-powered code testing tool dubbed "proactive AI Agent," designed to streamline the coding process by automatically correcting errors and optimizing code for developers. Launched a year ago with an $11 million seed funding round, CodiumAI aims to tackle the costly issue of poor-quality software, which is estimated to cost U.S. companies over $2 trillion annually, through its OpenAI GPT-4 powered CodiumAI Coding-Agent.

💹 Maniv, a venture firm that started eight years ago in Israel, has expanded significantly in terms of its investor base, portfolio size, and geographical reach, recently securing a $140 million fund and opening a new office in New York City. Despite this growth, founder Michael Granoff emphasizes that Maniv remains committed to its original mission of seed-stage investments, particularly in the convergence of mobility, transportation, and energy sectors.