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The weaponization of cyberspace has been a legitimate concern as nation states aggressively build capabilities to project power, retaliate, and become more offensively minded.
I’ve professionally tracked geopolitical events for my entire adult life, starting as a Navy Intelligence Officer in 1982. Now at OODA I continue this professional watching of geopolitical events (most of which you see reflected in our reporting). Four decades of experience of operational intelligence analysis leads me to the same conclusion most any watcher…
The Annual Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community is an unclassified report released each year concurrent with Congressional testimony to Congress by the Director of National Intelligence. The report focuses on what the ODNI believes are the most direct, serious threats to the U.S. during the next year. OODA leverages the details of this…
Following the initial discussion at the April 2024 OODA Network Monthly Meeting of Domain-Specific Large Language Model Development and Use Cases, the conversation transitioned into technology topics, underscoring the need to stay informed about rapidly advancing tech domains, in a discussion of a broad swath of exponential technologies in the context of the current global…
AI Transparency is a concept centered on openness, comprehensibility, and accountability in technological systems. In the context of AI, transparency refers to the extent to which the inner workings and decision-making processes of AI systems are made accessible and understandable to users and other stakeholders. This includes insights into the data training, algorithms employed, and…
A recent article revealed that the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) would try to counter prolific ransomware gangs beyond using cyber responses, and also include psychological warfare into its toolbox.
Political Realignment and Regulatory Evolution Pave the Way for Blockchain Innovation in the Nation’s Capital
In the wake of the Ascension and Change/United Healthcare ransomware attacks, The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) recently “announced the launch of the Universal PatchinG and Remediation for Autonomous DEfense (UPGRADE) program, a cybersecurity effort that will invest more than $50 million to create…
At this year’s RSA Conference a few weeks ago, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced the release of the United States’ International Cyberspace and Digital Policy Strategy – which we assume was a policy effort led (within State and across all federal agencies) by the Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy, where Nate Fick remains…
Future scenarios involving the Recoding of War Doctrine and the Disintermediation of the Theater of Operation by the Swarm Architecture are transformative, heralding a shift in the very fabric of military strategy and operations. While still evolving, these concepts suggest a future where warfare is increasingly dominated by autonomous systems and decentralized decision-making, fundamentally altering…
In March, Sixty-three companies were selected to participate in an invitation-only MissionLink program for CXOs of innovative, next-gen companies with dual-use National Security technology. MissionLink has also expanded its Board of Advisors. The MisionLink 2024 Cohort MissionLink, an exclusive nationwide community that serves as a force-multiplier and gateway to accelerating innovation and advancing solutions to…
At the RSA cybersecurity conference, the Secretary of State announced the release of the Department’s new International Cyberspace & Digital Policy Strategy whose four goals are to advance economic prosperity; enhance security and address cybercrime; promote human rights, democracy, and the rule of law; and other transnational challenges.
At the April 2024 OODA Network Member Meeting – held on Friday, April 19, 2024 – the network tackled developing (and potential use cases for) domain-specific large language models.
Last week: another high-impact ransomware attack in the healthcare sector, this time on Healthcare Giant Ascension. The attack has been attributed to a Russian non-state actor Black Basta – a “group…believed to have been started by former members of the infamous Conti ransomware collective, which dissolved in May 2022. Since then, Black Basta and its…
We continue to track the thought leadership of Will Roper, former Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology, & Logistics. Roper is currently on the advisory committee for the Defense Innovation Board and, since he founded the company in 2022, is the CEO of Istari, Inc. Roper recently co-authored a white paper with…
Sri Lanka’s long-standing policy of non-alignment is facing renewed scrutiny, as deepening ties with India strain its neutrality amid rising tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad. Analysts say Colombo’s recent tilt towards India in the security realm – most notably through a formal defence pact – risks unsettling its delicate balancing act, particularly as it…
North Korea has placed a cover over a destroyer that suffered damage in a botched launch attempt, with the vessel now appearing to be on its side and partially submerged, satellite imagery indicates. The 5,000-ton Choe Hyon-class destroyer — one of the North Korea’s largest warships — was a key part of the state’s naval…
The British government has finalised a deal to transfer sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius after a court-ordered injunction briefly delayed the signing, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said. Speaking to reporters on Thursday afternoon, Starmer said the deal is “absolutely vital for our defence and intelligence, and therefore, for the safety and security of…
Foreign investors could once barely imagine that China would invade neighbouring Taiwan, but with Donald Trump as president of the United States, many view it as a tail-risk scenario they must prepare for, although they cannot find ways to do so. The democratically-governed island has long been a point of contention in U.S.-China relations, which…
Qatar plans to pour $1 billion over the next decade into quantum computing, one of the biggest government sponsorships of the technology. A joint venture between US quantum computing company Quantinuum and privately held Qatari investment firm Al Rabban Capital is spearheading the effort to boost adoption in Qatar and the Gulf. The government’s investment…
Google this week announced a series of impressive AI updates at its IO developer conference, including improved video generation, expanded AI Mode in search, and an advanced reasoning architecture called Deep Think. But the news came as the AI industry reckons with questions about how much better these models can get, and whether there is…
Heavy industry remains one of the last frontiers of automation. In an age of digital transformation, many of society’s foundational industries – shipbuilding, construction, offshore energy – remain predominantly analogue. These sectors form the physical backbone of our economies, yet their production methods are often manual, slow and difficult to scale or decarbonize. This presents…
OpenAI said it was partnering with United Arab Emirates firm G42 and others to build a huge artificial-intelligence data center in Abu Dhabi, the ChatGPT maker’s first large-scale project outside the U.S. OpenAI and G42 said Thursday the data center would have a capacity of 1 gigawatt, putting it among the most powerful in the…
More details are trickling out about Jony Ive and Sam Altman’s new AI device. In a post on Thursday, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says his research indicates that the device could be larger than Humane’s AI pin, but with a “form factor as compact and elegant as an iPod Shuffle.” Kuo adds that “one of…
OpenAI will acquire the AI device startup co-founded by Apple Inc. veteran Jony Ive in a nearly $6.5 billion all-stock deal, joining forces with the legendary designer to make a push into hardware. The purchase — the largest in OpenAI’s history — will provide the company with a dedicated unit for developing AI-powered devices. Acquiring…
Bitcoin continued its rally on Thursday, hitting a brand new record high above $111,000. The price of the flagship cryptocurrency was last higher by 3% at $111,529.78, according to Coin Metrics. Earlier, it rose as high as $111,886.41. Unlike the fast rallies to new records long-time bitcoin observers are used to, it’s been a slow…
A main opposition party leader has been placed in pre-trial detention. A main leader of the Georgian opposition leader has been placed in pre-trial detention. The charge made against him is contempt of parliament for refusing to cooperate with an invesitgation into crimes committed under former President Mikheil Saakashvili. The opposition party has said the…
The EU and Mexico have moved to finalize a trade agreement. After being stalled for several years, the EU and Mexico are moving foward on a trade agreement. Italy has lead the charge to restart talks due to the nation’s interest in investing in the region. Officials expect an agreement to be signed by the…
South Sudan’s government have been reorgnized as violence continues to increase. South Sudan’s President has ordered a reorganization of the government to take place. Several senior officials have been replaced as violence accross the country continues to increase. The President choose to replace officials with sanctioned allies. Questions also continue to be raised about the…
European countries have condemned Israel for firing at diplomats in the West Bank. Several european countries have condemned Israel for an incident that occured in the West Bank. Israeli soliders fired several shots at a group of European diplomats visiting the West Bank. Nobody in the group was injured and Israel has said that its…
Coinbase has disclosed that nearly 70 thousands users’ data was compromised in after a data breach. Coinbase has disclosed that nearly 69,461 users’ data was compromised as a result of data breach. The data breach occured after an ex-employee stole data and demanded a ransomware for its return. Coinbase refused to pay the ransomware but…
A pathology lab in North Carolina has disclosed that thousands of people had their data stolen. Marlboro-Chesterfield Pathology has disclosed that a databreach has impacted 235,000 individuals. The ransomware group SafePay has taken credit for the breach. Observers have noted that the group has removed the group from its victim list which typically means that…
UK retailor Marks & Spencer estimates the cost of a recent ransomware attack to be $400 Million. Major UK retailor Marks & Spencer has disclosed that a recent ransomware attack caused roughly $400 million in damage. The attack significantly disrupted the companies internal operations and the company is still restoring operations. The ransomware group DragonForce…
US and other Western governments are warning that Russia is targeting supply lines to Ukraine. The US and other Western government have released a warning that Russian government hackers are zeroing in on companies which provide equipment and support to Ukraine. The warning notes that attacks these companies are increasing in frequency and success. The…
The US has obtained new intelligence suggesting that Israel is making preparations to strike Iranian nuclear facilities, even as the Trump administration has been pursuing a diplomatic deal with Tehran, multiple US officials familiar with the latest intelligence told CNN. Such a strike would be a brazen break with President Donald Trump, US officials said.…
Heavy rain in Australia’s southeast triggered flash flooding and cut off entire towns on Wednesday, stranding some residents on the roofs of their homes, as authorities issued snap evacuation orders with rivers staying above danger levels. Rural towns in the Hunter and Mid North Coast regions of New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state, were…
OQC, a global leader in quantum computing, today announced the appointment of Sir Jeremy Fleming KCMG, former Director of GCHQ, to its Board. The appointment underscores the critical importance of quantum computing for the UK’s economic growth and its industrial strategy for the future of sectors such as national security, defence, and cyber security. Sir…
The Myanmar junta’s growing use of advanced drones – many supplied by China and Russia – has intensified its campaign against resistance forces, shifting the momentum on the battlefield and inflicting rising civilian casualties, analysts say. While the military’s gains remain limited, experts warn that the deployment of infrared and night-vision-equipped drones has raised the…
Uganda’s parliament has passed a controversial bill authorising military tribunals for civilians, drawing condemnation from opposition figures and rights groups, who accuse the government of trying to silence opponents, which it denies. The practice has long been used in Uganda, but was struck down by the country’s top court in January. The Supreme Court had…
At least three people died after heavy rainstorms hit France’s Var region causing widespread flooding on Tuesday. A couple in their 80s died in Le Lavandou on the coast, where the mayor described “scenes of war” after a “truly violent, nasty, incomprehensible phenomenon”. Full report : Southern France seaside Var region devastated by violent storm…
At least six people, including four schoolchildren, were killed when a bomb hit a school bus in Pakistan’s restive southwestern Balochistan Province on Wednesday morning, officials said, the latest outbreak of violence in a region plagued by separatist insurgency and militancy. Sarfraz Bugti, Balochistan’s chief minister, said that, as well as the four students, the…
Nvidia chief Jensen Huang has condemned US export controls designed to limit China’s access to artificial intelligence chips as “a failure” that spurred Chinese rivals to accelerate development of their own products.In strongly worded criticisms of chip policies pursued by successive US administrations, the chief executive of the world’s leading AI processor maker also criticised…
A Texas data center that the startup Crusoe is building for OpenAI has secured $11.6 billion in new funding commitments, expanding a site that is core to increasing the ChatGPT maker’s long-term computing capabilities. The funding, a mixture of debt and equity, will expand the data center to eight buildings from two and increase the…
Scientists in the U.K. have successfully connected two separate quantum processors, paving the way for a quantum internet and, potentially, quantum supercomputers. Increasing the number of quantum bits (otherwise known as qubits) in a quantum computer has proven challenging, as quantum computers are “noisy” — they are sensitive to any interference from heat, movement or…
Weather forecasting is getting cheaper and more accurate. An AI model named Aurora used machine learning to outperform current weather prediction systems, researchers report May 21 in Nature. Aurora could accurately predict tropical cyclone paths, air pollution and ocean waves, as well as global weather at the scale of towns or cities — offering up…
AI startup Mistral on Wednesday announced a new AI model focused on coding: Devstral. Devstral, which Mistral says was developed in partnership with AI company All Hands AI, is openly available under an Apache 2.0 license, meaning it can be used commercially without restriction. Mistral claims that Devstral outperforms other open models like Google’s Gemma…
A humanoid robotics startup co-founded by prominent artificial-intelligence futurist Ray Kurzweil said on Tuesday that venture capital firm Gauntlet Ventures will back its $100 million Series B funding round. The company, Beyond Imagination, will be valued at $500 million, and venture capital firm Gauntlet Ventures will be the round’s sole investor. Kurzweil is known for…
Alphabet’s latest artificial intelligence offering has analysts on Wall Street standing by their optimistic view of the stock. The company unveiled a suite of AI-powered tools at its Google IO developer conference on Tuesday that are available via $249.99 per month subscription called “Google AI Ultra .” The service includes higher usage limits, which will…
The United Kingdom has announced the suspension of free trade negotiations with Israel in retaliation for the country’s military conduct in Gaza. The suspension comes after Israel’s launch of a new ground offensive, killing hundreds of Palestinians in recent days. The British government also announced that it would impose additional sanctions on illegal Israeli settler…
The European Union announced on Tuesday that it would lift all remaining economic sanctions on Syria, following the U.S. in a bid to help the nation recover after years of war. European officials have been working on lowering sanctions on Syria since January to give its government some relief while officials assess Syria’s new power…
U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth have announced new additions to the Golden Dome missile defense program plan, including putting weapons in space for the first time. In his clearest plan yet, Trump announced his selection of the system’s architecture which will be designed to fend off missile attacks. The system…
The United Kingdom, alongside the European Union, have announced a package of sanctions against Russia. The move is an attempt by the EU and UK to increase pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to reach a ceasefire deal with Ukraine. The sanctions target Russia’s shadow fleet of oil tankers which transport oil by circumventing Western…
Wireless carrier Cellcom has confirmed that its week-long widespread service disruption was caused by a cyberattack. The Wisconsin telecommunications provider’s voice and text services have been down for a week, but Cellcom has begun to restore some of them over the past few days. The carrier is working to investigate the incident and restore impacted…
A majority of recent sophisticated cyber attacks have been enacted by China and North Korea aligned advanced persistent threat (APT) actors. While a majority of attacks from these nations have been on targets in Europe, Southeast Asia also saw an increase in state-backed attacks. These expansions of global cyberattack activity come as regional players develop…
A threat actor being tracked as “Hazy Hawk” has been found to be using a new version of an attack vector to take control of abandoned cloud resources. The attacker is using these hijacked domains to send users to malware-infected sites, scam pages, and other shady websites for malicious activity. Victims of Hazy Hawk so…
CISA and NIST researchers are proposing a vulnerability exploitation probability metric which will help to identify the likelihood that a vulnerability has been exploited in the wild. The metric would be called Likely Exploited Vulnerabilities, or LEV, and hopes to bridge the gap between the thousands of vulnerabilities discovered each year and the small percentage…
Sudan’s army chief and de facto head of state, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has appointed former United Nations official Kamil Idris as prime minister, as the country’s civil war grinds on into its third year. Tens of thousands of people have been killed, critical infrastructure has been destroyed and more than 12 million people have been…
The conflict between China and the Philippines over control of the South China Sea is now reaching the Israeli government. The Philippines is demanding an official Israeli declaration recognizing its sovereignty over the maritime area, which has been in dispute for many years between the two Asian nations. While Israel is maintaining a neutral stance,…
Harnessing nuclear fusion—the process that powers the Sun and stars—has been a beacon of hope for scientists and energy pioneers alike. Unlike nuclear fission, which splits heavy atomic nuclei, fusion combines light atomic nuclei, such as isotopes of hydrogen, to release immense amounts of energy. This energy, derived from the fusion of hydrogen into helium,…
In mid-April, the arrival in Dhaka of three U.S. State Department officials – two deputy assistant secretaries and the charge d’affaires in Naypyidaw, Myanmar – signaled the first signs of a critical engagement between American officialdom and the Muhmmad Yunus interim government since it took charge in August 2024. Following the August 2024 political transition,…
A resurgent wave of Covid-19 is spreading through Southeast Asia, with densely populated regions in Hong Kong, Singapore, China and Thailand witnessing a spike in cases. Health authorities are on alert in major cities like Hong Kong and Singapore, China and Thailand have asked people to take new booster vaccinations. According to the Hong Kong’s…
Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and following a resounding loss in the national elections this month. “It’s time to have a break,” the National leader, David Littleproud, told reporters on Tuesday. The split shows the pressure…
Parts of the southern Indian city of Bengaluru, often called India’s Silicon Valley are under water after heavy rainfall. The city is on high alert for more pre-monsoon showers on Tuesday due to cyclonic formations over the Andaman Sea, according to authorities. Three people, including a 12-year-old boy were killed in rain-related incidents on Monday.…
BreachRx, provider of the first intelligent incident response platform designed for the entire enterprise, today announced the closing of an oversubscribed $15 million Series A funding round led by Ballistic Ventures, with participation from SYN Ventures, Overline, and Silver Buckshot Ventures. The company also announced the appointments of Ballistic Ventures General Partner and former Mandiant…
Autonomous cars that are trained to respond more like humans to danger will cause fewer injuries during road accidents, according to a study that shows how driverless vehicles might be made safer. Vulnerable groups such as cyclists, pedestrians and motorcyclists saw the biggest gains in protection when driverless cars used “social sensitivity” in assessing the…
Pfizer has joined the PD-1xVEGF bispecific gold rush. The Big Pharma is paying 3SBio $1.25 billion upfront for ex-China rights to a clinical candidate, establishing itself as a challenger to BioNTech, Merck & Co. and Summit Therapeutics in a scorching-hot area of immuno-oncology. Interest in PD-1/L1xVEGF bispecifics has been high since Summit and Akeso’s ivonescimab…
Quantum computing promises transformative potential for industries and society by solving complex problems more efficiently than classical computers. However, challenges like scalability, high error rates, costs, and a skills gap hinder the commercial realisation of quantum computing. Milestones like IBM’s Flamingo machine and Microsoft’s topological qubits show progress. These advancements, alongside initiatives like the Quantum…
Apple Inc. is preparing to allow third-party developers to write software using its artificial intelligence models, aiming to spur the creation of new applications and make its devices more enticing. The iPhone maker is working on a software development kit and related frameworks that will let outsiders build AI features based on the large language…
Nvidia said it is racing ahead with humanoid robotics technology, providing a custom foundation model for humanoid reasoning, a blueprint for generating synthetic motion data, and more Blackwell systems to accelerate humanoid robot development. At the Computex 2025 trade show in Taiwan, Nvidia unveiled Isaac GR00T N1.5, the first update to Nvidia’s open, generalized, fully…
Microsoft’s GitHub unit on Monday introduced a Copilot artificial intelligence agent that can take on specific programming work and inform people once it has finished. From there, developers can check the agent’s work from GitHub, a widely used repository for code. They can request modifications and then allow GitHub to add the source code to…
Venture capital firms focused on artificial intelligence are driving much of the growth in the startup market, while companies in other areas are struggling to raise cash, according to a report from Silicon Valley Bank. About 40% of the total amount raised by U.S. venture funds last year was from funds that “list AI as…
Israeli allies including the United Kingdom, France, and Canada are threatening to take action against Israel after its recent military escalation in Gaza. The allies are urging Israel to stop its renewed offensive in Gaza and lift the restrictions it currently maintains against aid entering the area. The three countries released a joint statement on…
U.S. aid cuts to Africa are threatening key road and energy projects as large infrastructure projects financed by the U.S. face an uncertain future. Workers are rushing to complete such projects in anticipation of funding being rescinded by the U.S. government. Last week, U.S. and Ivorian companies signed multiple deals including drone supply and border…
Britain and the European Union struck a landmark deal which would remove some post-Brexit trade barriers on Monday. The agreement will increase cooperation between Britain and the E.U. on issues such as security and defense, coming as they work to reduce reliance on the United States. Several important policies have details which have not been…
On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin talked on the phone for over two hours. Following the conversation, Trump announced that Russia and Ukraine would immediately begin negotiations towards a ceasefire deal to end the war between the two countries. Putin stated that these efforts seemed to be “on the right…
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