🔥 Major Warship Malfunctions

Good Morning. The State of Southeast Asia 2024 survey reveals over half of the respondents in Southeast Asia prefer China over the U.S.

This marks a significant increase in preference for China compared to the previous year, despite widespread concerns about China's growing economic influence and potential coercion in the region.

Are the tides in the Pacific finally drifting away from the U.S.?

— 🐈‍⬛ Acoustic Kitty

THE BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT

The Danish government dismissed the country's defense chief, Flemming Lentfer, on Wednesday, following his failure to disclose critical deficiencies in the air defense and weapons systems of a Danish frigate during an encounter with Houthi militants in the Red Sea. This incident, part of a U.S.-led mission to protect commercial vessels, raised serious concerns about the vessel's operational reliability and the transparency within the Danish defense leadership.

Operational Failures Exposed

During a skirmish on March 9, the Ivar Huitfeldt frigate experienced significant failures in its air defense systems and issues with its ammunition system, resulting in premature detonation of rounds. These problems were detailed in a leaked document from the ship's commanding officer, revealing the extent of the vessel's vulnerabilities during combat situations.

Leadership and Accountability

The incident not only highlights the frigate's operational shortcomings, but also brings into question the accountability mechanisms within Denmark's defense hierarchy.

INTERNATIONAL SECURITY & DIPLOMACY

Counterterrorism

• Over a dozen senior judges in Pakistan have received letters containing suspicious white powder since Tuesday, prompting an investigation. The letters, which criticized the country's justice system and mentioned the term "bacillus anthracis," were received by all eight judges of the Islamabad High Court, according to a police report filed in Islamabad.

• Russia's FSB security service said Thursday it had arrested three more people suspected of helping plot last month's deadly terror attack on a Moscow concert hall, state media reported. The Islamic State (IS) group has claimed responsibility for the massacre, in which more than 140 were killed when gunmen stormed the Crocus City Hall venue on the outskirts of Moscow before setting the building on fire.

• Gunmen stormed security and military compounds in Iran's restive southeast province, leaving at least eleven security service members dead. The attacks are believed to be carried out by Jaish al-Adl, a Sunni Baluch separatist organization.

Military & Defense

• UNICEF reported that fatalities in Myanmar from landmines and explosive ordnance tripled last year, with children comprising 20 percent of the 1,052 verified civilian casualties. This stark increase, from 390 incidents the previous year, was announced in conjunction with International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action.

• A Russian drone attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, killed at least four and injured 10, with Mayor Igor Terekhov reporting hits on residential areas and regional governor Oleg Sinegubov noting attacks in Lozova and Chuhuiv. Meanwhile, Russia's Defense Ministry claimed to have downed Ukrainian drones targeting the Belgorod and Tula regions, marking an escalation in drone warfare.

• Modified tanks, including the T-90M and T-72B3, outfitted with "cope cages" and new electronic warfare stations featuring eight cylindrical antennas, are becoming increasingly common on the battlefield, deployed near the front lines in field workshops. These advanced electronic warfare systems are designed to protect Russian tanks from Ukrainian drone attacks by disrupting communication frequencies, effectively creating a "protective dome" against precise targeting by drones.

• A missile test conducted on April 3 from Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Island off Odisha's coast has reaffirmed the missile's reliability. India’s top military officials observed as the Agni-Prime medium-range ballistic missile met trial objectives that were validated from a network of range sensors. Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and senior leaders including the Chief of Defence Staff and DRDO Chairman lauded the test's success, highlighting its significance in bolstering India's defense capabilities.

• Human Rights Watch accused Ethiopia's army of "summarily executing several dozen civilians" and committing war crimes in the Amhara region earlier this year. Amid silence from the Ethiopian government and military on the allegations, the rights group highlighted a deadly incident in Merawi in late January, calling attention to the civilian toll and disputing government claims of restoring law and order. The group also urged the UN to initiate an independent probe.

• Opponents of Myanmar's military rule, the National Unity Government, said they executed drone attacks on two military targets in Naypyitaw, marking a significant challenge to the junta's authority if confirmed. There has been no independent verification of the attacks, and the military government has not commented on the claims.

Cybersecurity

• A threat actor of suspected Vietnamese origin, named CoralRaider by Cisco Talos, has been targeting several Asian and Southeast Asian countries since May 2023, using malware to steal data, including financial and social media account information. The campaign, described as financially motivated, employs a range of malware like RotBot, Quasar RAT, and XClient stealer, and focuses on countries such as India, China, South Korea, and others.

• Phishing campaigns targeting the oil and gas sector are deploying an updated version of the Rhadamanthys malware, utilizing a unique vehicle incident lure and spoofing the Federal Bureau of Transportation to trick recipients into downloading a malicious payload. This malware, written in C++, connects to a command-and-control server to steal sensitive data from compromised hosts.

• Ukrainian state security service SBU is preparing to bring Russian hackers accused of attacking Ukraine's largest telecom operator, Kyivstar, before the International Criminal Court in The Hague for war crimes. The attacks, attributed to the Russian GRU-linked group Sandworm, left millions without service and fit the definition of war crimes by targeting civilian infrastructure, according to SBU cyber unit head Illia Vitiyuk.

Counterintelligence & Espionage

• Since 2021, the Biden administration has evolved the U.S. strategy on technological restrictions against China from a focused "small yard, high fence" approach targeting cutting-edge technologies to a broader "large yard, low fence" policy that encompasses all technologies considered related to national security. This expansion reflects a shift from maintaining a clear technological advantage to a broader aim of protecting national security, applying sanctions across a wider range of emerging technologies and products.

• A threat actor has publicly leaked classified documents from the US government and its allies, claiming the information was stolen from government IT contractor Acuity Inc., which collaborates closely with the US government. The leak, attributed to IntelBroker along with Sanggiero and EnergyWeaponUser, includes sensitive details such as names, email addresses, phone numbers, and communications between the Five Eyes, 14 Eyes intelligence alliances, and US allies, according to a post on X by security researchers.

• Austria's Justice Minister Alma Zadic announced plans to strengthen the nation's espionage laws, which currently only explicitly prohibit spying against Austria, but not other countries or international organizations. The proposed legal changes follow the arrest of a former Austrian intelligence officer accused of spying for Russia. The changes aim to address gaps in Austria's criminal code amid its role as host to numerous international agencies in Vienna, reinforcing its stance on espionage amidst its policy of military neutrality.

Transnational Organized Crime

• Lebanon's billionaire caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati has refuted allegations of money laundering, following a complaint lodged against him in France by anti-corruption groups Sherpa and the Collective of Victims of Fraudulent and Criminal Practices. The complaint aims to investigate how Mikati amassed considerable wealth, particularly in France, and scrutinizes the role of financial intermediaries and the origin of funds within the French banking system.

• Executions rose by 48 percent in Iran in 2023, Amnesty International has reported. The rights group has also emphasized the need for stronger international action to prevent thousands more executions in the coming years, with many being for drug-related charges. The surge in executions, particularly following the 2022 protests, is seen by rights groups as a means for the Iranian authorities to instill fear and suppress dissent, with Amnesty highlighting the execution of minors among the recorded instances.

• Authorities in Italy, Austria, Romania, and Slovakia arrested 22 individuals in connection to an investigation into the suspected misappropriation of 600 million euros ($650 million) in European Union post-pandemic relief funds. The European Public Prosecutor's Office identified a criminal organization accused of diverting non-refundable funds from Italy's National Recovery and Resilience Plan. The relief funds were provided by the EU's Recovery and Resilience Facility between 2021 and 2023 to rejuvenate economies affected by the pandemic.

• The Royal Thai Police have initiated the formation of a committee to investigate Deputy National Police Chief Gen. Surachate Hakparn following his arrest on allegations of money laundering connected to an online gambling network. Acting National Police Chief Gen. Kitrat Panphet stated that Surachate would not be immediately suspended, and instead given a chance to respond to the accusations, with the investigation to be conducted within 60 days, extendable upon request.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

In February, NASA celebrated a milestone with the landing of the Odysseus spacecraft by Intuitive Machines, marking the first US-made lander on the Moon in over half a century. This event is a significant step towards the goal of returning American astronauts to the Moon.

Surviving the Lunar Night

The prolonged darkness of the lunar night poses a lethal risk to solar-powered spacecraft due to the extreme cold and lack of sunlight for power. NASA is exploring nuclear power as a viable solution to provide the necessary heat and electricity to survive these harsh conditions, with officials indicating a push towards deploying nuclear systems on the Moon within the next five years as part of their Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program.

The End of Odysseus's Journey

Despite the success of its landing, the Odysseus mission came to an end last month when Intuitive Machines announced that the lander did not survive the lunar night, confirming the spacecraft's permanent cessation. This conclusion was reached after ground teams failed to receive a signal from Odysseus, affectionately nicknamed Odie, marking its end but also cementing its legacy as the first commercial lunar lander to reach the Moon.

In other news…

🌑 An international team of scientists has produced the most extensive 3D map of the universe yet using data from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI). The 3D map offers new insights into dark energy that align with current models, but also hint at possible variations over time. These preliminary findings, while not yet conclusive, suggest potential revisions to the existing theoretical framework of dark energy, with further results from DESI anticipated to clarify these observations.

🚀 The U.S. Navy and Lockheed Martin Corp successfully conducted a historic test by launching four Long-Range Anti-Ship Missiles (LRASM) simultaneously, demonstrating the missile's lethality and mission-cycle effectiveness. This 12th Integrated Test Event (ITE-12) emphasized LRASM's precision and reliability in anti-surface warfare, enhancing the Navy's offensive capabilities.

DEALS & FUNDING

Aerospike Inc., a leading provider of scalable, real-time NoSQL database management systems, has successfully closed a $109 million investment round, led by Sumeru Equity Partners LP with participation from Alsop Louie Partners LLC, elevating its total funding to $241 million.

Expansion and AI Integration

Aerospike has evolved beyond its original key-value store architecture to support JavaScript Object Notation (JSON), graph, and vector capabilities, demonstrating its commitment to meeting the increasing demand for AI development. Last year's introduction of a managed service and plans to incorporate vector and Langchain support into its cloud offerings signal Aerospike's strategy to harness AI's potential.

Strategic Growth and Market Positioning

With the new funding, Aerospike aims to bolster its workforce, enhance AI and cloud service support, and ramp up sales and marketing efforts. The hiring of industry experts such as Chief Scientist Naren Narendran and Chief Engineering Officer Srinivasan Seshadri is part of a broader strategy to leverage talent in accelerating innovation and market reach.

In other news…

🤖 Silicon Valley startup SiMa.ai has raised $70 million in extension funding to launch its second-generation chipset designed for multimodal generative AI processing, targeting the rapidly growing AI-supporting chip market expected to reach $119.4 billion by 2027. SiMa.ai's edge AI SoC platforms, aimed at industries like manufacturing and healthcare, represent a strategic move to capitalize on the shift towards AI on the edge, combining proprietary hardware with no-code software to serve over 50 companies globally.

🔢 DataStax, initially known for commercializing the Apache Cassandra NoSQL database, is now focusing on creating a comprehensive GenAI stack. The company recently enhanced its Astra DB service with vector search capabilities and acquired Logspace, maker of Langflow, a low-code tool for developing Retrieval-Augmented Generation-based applications. Logspace, founded in 2022 to facilitate machine learning adoption, quickly positioned itself in the GenAI app development space with Langflow, attracting attention as a pioneering open source low-code/no-code tool.

💡 LightLink Network Ltd., an Ethereum Layer 2 blockchain developer, announced an extended seed funding round of $6.2 million to expand its no-fee decentralized application platform for enterprises. This funding, which includes $1.7 million in new investments from MH Ventures and NxGen, adds to the initial $4.5 million seed round, enhancing LightLink's solution for cheaper, faster transactions on the Ethereum network amidst high congestion.

🌩️ Permiso, a cloud identity tracking company, secured $18 million in Series A funding led by Altimeter Capital, focusing on creating and monitoring 'meta' identities for enhanced cloud security. This technology, which combines user recognition with a detection platform, aims to preempt attacks by identifying malicious behavior. It is supported by a library of over 1,000 detection signals that has significantly expanded since its $10 million seed funding in January 2022.