Issue 25
January 10, 2024
FLASH Secretary of Defense has prostate cancer
1 Western forces stop Houthi attack in the Red Sea
2 OPINION Expensive military hardware is obsolete
3 SEC X account hacked, Bitcoin swings wildly
4 Offices at emptiest level since 1979
5 2023 worst year ever for ransomware cyberattacks
49 BC Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon
see ad astra on x @greg_loving
1 Western forces stop Houthi attack in the Red Sea
On Jan. 9, at approximately 9:15 p.m. (Sanaa time), Iranian-backed Houthis launched a complex attack of Iranian designed one-way attack UAVs (OWA UAVs), anti-ship cruise missiles, and an anti-ship ballistic missile from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen into the Southern Red Sea, towards international shipping lanes where dozens of merchant vessels were transiting.
Eighteen OWA UAVs, two anti-ship cruise missiles, and one anti-ship ballistic missile were shot down by a combined effort of F/A-18s from USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, USS Gravely, USS Laboon, USS Mason, and the United Kingdom’s HMS Diamond. This is the 26th Houthi attack on commercial shipping lanes in the Red Sea since Nov. 19. There were no injuries or damage reported.
@CENTCOM
Western importers are reporting a steep rise in ocean-shipping rates and weekslong delays as carriers divert ships from the Red Sea to avoid Houthi rebel attacks. Average worldwide costs to ship 40-foot-long containers have nearly doubled since late November, according to London-based Drewry Shipping Consultants.
WSJ
2 OPINION Expensive military hardware is obsolete in the face of newer, cheaper tech
The war in Ukraine has made it increasingly clear that modern warfare is now undergoing its own aggressive period of commodification
The commodified versions of the technology are now being used to create new weapons systems that are highly effective and cheap. The most prominent piece of this sort of now-commodified technology in the Ukraine war is Russia’s ZALA Lancet drone. These have been used extensively to target tanks and other vehicles belonging to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. It is now commonplace to see videos of Lancet drones being used to destroy advanced tanks, such as the German Leopard II. Consider the relative costs. A Lancet drone costs around $35,000. It appears to be easy and quick to produce, with ZALA Aero Group announcing it will increase production by “several times this year.” A Leopard II tank, on the other hand, costs around $11 million. It is also slow to manufacture, with maybe fifty or so produced each year.
for the cost of producing one Leopard II tank in Germany, Russia can produce 683 Lancet drones
National Interest
https://nationalinterest.org/feature/shrinking-cost-war-threatens-western-militaries-208177
Ed note: 95% of commercial shipping has diverted around the Red Sea. The added shipping costs will be inflationary.
3 SEC X account hacked, Bitcoin swings wildly
Prices of cryptocurrencies swung sharply on Tuesday after a false posting on the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s official X account claimed the regulator had approved the first ever US spot bitcoin exchange traded funds. The fake post declared just after 4pm Washington time that the SEC “grants approval for #Bitcoin ETFs for listing on all registered national securities exchanges”. It was picked up immediately on social media, business news websites and Bloomberg TV. Just over 10 minutes later, the SEC chair poured cold water on the announcement. Gary Gensler posted on his personal account on X: “The @SECGov twitter account was compromised, and an unauthorized tweet was posted. The SEC has not approved the listing and trading of spot bitcoin exchange-traded products.”
FT
Bitcoin price
4 Offices at emptiest level since 1979
America’s offices are emptier than at any point in at least four decades, reflecting years of overbuilding and shifting work habits that were accelerated by the pandemic. A staggering 19.6% of office space in major U.S. cities wasn’t leased as of the fourth quarter, according to Moody’s Analytics, up from 18.8% a year earlier. That is slightly above the previous records of 19.3% set in 1986 and 1991 and the highest number since at least 1979, which is as far back as Moody’s data go. The new record shows how remote work has upended the office market.
WSJ
https://www.wsj.com/real-estate/commercial/offices-around-america-hit-a-new-vacancy-record-166d98a5
5 2023 worst year ever for ransomware cyberattacks
average individual ransom payments doubled from around $800,000 in 2022 to more than $1.5m in the first three months of 2023. And Chainalysis, a data company, estimates that ransom payments between January and June 2023 added up to $449m, compared with about $559m for the entirety of 2022.
Economist
https://www.economist.com/international/2023/12/31/how-ransomware-could-cripple-countries-not-just-companies
This day in history
49 BC Julius Caesar defies the Roman Senate and crosses the Rubicon, uttering "alea iacta est" (the die is cast), signaling the start of civil war and his appointment as Roman dictator for life
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