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Alert: Increased Threat of Submarine Cable Attacks Supported by Russia and China

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Recent reports indicate an increasing risk of assaults on submarine cables supported by Russia and China, which facilitate international internet traffic, particularly amid ongoing tensions in the Baltic Sea and Taiwan.

Submarine cables represent 99% of global intercontinental data traffic and have experienced various disruptive incidents allegedly tied to state activities in the past 18 months.

A study conducted by the US cybersecurity firm Recorded Future has highlighted nine incidents expected in the Baltic Sea and near Taiwan in 2024 and 2025, suggesting a predictive pattern for further harmful actions.

According to the analysis, while genuine accidents could lead to damage to many submarine cables, the situations in the Baltic Sea and Taiwan suggest a rise in malicious actions attributed to Russia and China.


“The operations linked to Russia in the Baltic region and China in the Western Pacific are likely to increase as tensions elevate,” the firm noted.

The report points to several incidents, including the disconnection of two submarine cables from Lithuania to Sweden in November, with accusations directed at an anchor dragged by a Chinese vessel. Also in December, a Russian oil tanker was detained after severing cables between Finland and Estonia.

In Taiwan, recent incidents include cable damage caused by a Chinese-operated cargo vessel zigzagging over the line to Peng Island in February. One month prior, another Chinese vessel was suggested as a likely source of damage to the Taiwan-US cable.

The analysis states, “While deterring state-sponsored sabotage linked to the Baltic and Taiwan incidents is challenging, such activities align with the strategic goals of Russia and China, as well as observed operations and their existing deep-sea capabilities.”

Recorded Future emphasizes that successful attacks on multiple cables are likely to result in prolonged disruptions, typically requiring intervention in deeper waters and likely involving state-level threat actors due to the complexities of accessing these sites. Such actions may occur prior to a full-scale conflict, the report suggests.

The firm noted 44 distinct cable damages have been recorded over the past 18 months. A significant portion is attributed to “unclear causes,” while nearly a third remains unexplained, with 16% due to seismic activity or other natural events.

Submarine cables installed in the Baltic Sea. Analysts suggest sabotaging these cables is a strategic move, as it can be framed as accidental damage. Photo: Lehtikuva/Reuters

Analysts believe that targeting subsea cables presents a strategic advantage, as such actions can disguise as accidental damage or implicate vessels without direct connections to any suspected attackers.

To mitigate the risk of incidents damaging multiple cables and resulting in “long-term connectivity issues,” Recorded Future recommends enhanced cable monitoring, improved security measures, and robust stress testing of subsea infrastructure.

Notably, despite incidents in the Baltic and Taiwan regions, the most severe cases unfolded elsewhere. In February last year, a missile from Houthi forces struck a ship’s anchor, severely disrupting communications in the Middle East. A month later, in West Africa, an underwater landslide caused significant issues, followed by another critical incident off the coast of South Africa in May 2024 related to cable drifting.

The implications of the Red Sea and African incidents reveal that the longest-lasting disruptions occur in regions with limited alternative cable options and insufficient repair capabilities, irrespective of the specific causes.

In contrast, two cable incidents in the Baltic Sea last November had minimal repercussions due to their relatively low impact and the resilience of European internet infrastructure. However, the report highlights that three EU island nations—Malta, Cyprus, and Ireland—are more susceptible due to their heavy dependence on submarine cables for global communications.

The recent strategic defense assessment from the UK government acknowledged the potential threats to submarine cables and recommended a greater and more coordinated role for the Royal Navy in safeguarding the submarine infrastructure that carries vital information, energy, and goods relied upon by citizens.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Kennedy commends the school ban on mobile phones for scientifically supported reasons

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Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. focused on school mobile phones as part of his “American Health Again Again” agenda this week.

In an interview with “Fox & Friends” on Thursday, Kennedy praised the restrictions on mobile phones in schools, citing health risks associated with phone use among children and teenagers supported by scientific research.

Kennedy pointed out the link between social media use and depression and poor school performance, as well as the potential neurological damage caused by electromagnetic radiation emitted by cell phones that could lead to cancer.

Studies have shown that excessive social media use on smartphones negatively impacts teens’ mental health, increasing the risk of depression and anxiety while the use of cell phones in schools can lead to poor academic performance, including lower grades.

Despite most studies finding no direct link between cell phone use and cancer or DNA damage, Kennedy’s statements have mixed misinformation with scientific facts. The issue of limiting school cell phone use has bipartisan support, with nine states already implementing restrictions and 15 states and Washington, DC considering legislation to do the same.

While concerns about the health effects of cell phone radiation exist, there is currently insufficient scientific evidence to definitively link cell phone use to cancer. Kennedy’s claims about the physical harms of cell phones have been met with skepticism from many experts.

Despite the pros of mobile phones, such as being able to call 911 in emergencies, concerns about mental health risks and distractions in classrooms have led to debates over appropriate school policies regarding cell phone use.

Kennedy’s support for limiting school cell phone use aligns with efforts in some states to create a healthier learning environment by reducing phone distractions among students.

Before his role as HHS secretary, Kennedy emphasized the importance of parents and teachers making their own decisions regarding communication strategies without government interference.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

Researchers suggest that microbial life on Mars could be supported by melted water beneath the ice

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On Earth, solar radiation can travel up to several meters into the ice, depending on its optical properties. Organisms in the ice can harness the energy from photosynthetically active radiation while being protected from harmful ultraviolet radiation. On Mars, there is no effective ozone shield, so about 30% more harmful ultraviolet radiation reaches the surface compared to Earth. However, a new study shows that despite strong surface UV radiation, mid-latitude ice on Mars contains 0.01-0.1% dust, ranging from a few centimeters deep to several centimeters deep. It has been shown that a radioactive habitable zone exists with a range of up to 3000 m. Cleaner ice.

The white edges along these canyons on Mars' Terra Sirenum are thought to be dusty water ice. cooler others. It is thought that melt water could form beneath the surface of this type of ice, providing a potential site for photosynthesis. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / University of Arizona.

“Today, if we are trying to find life anywhere in the universe, the icy outcrops on Mars are probably one of the most accessible places we should look,” said a researcher at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. said Dr. Aditya Kuler.

Mars has two types of ice: frozen water and frozen carbon dioxide.

Dr. Cooler and his colleagues investigated water ice. The ice masses were formed from snow mixed with dust that fell on Mars during a series of ice ages over the past million years.

That ancient snow has since solidified into ice and is still dusted with dust.

Dust particles can block light in deeper layers of ice, but they are the key to explaining how underground pools of water form within the ice when exposed to the sun.

The black dust absorbs more sunlight than the surrounding ice, causing the ice to warm and potentially melt several feet below the surface.

Mars scientists are divided on whether ice actually melts when exposed to the Martian surface.

It's thought to be caused by the planet's thin, dry atmosphere, where water ice sublimates and turns directly into gas, similar to dry ice on Earth.

But the atmospheric effects that make melting difficult on Mars' surface don't apply beneath the surface of dusty snowpack and glaciers.

On Earth, dust in ice can create what are called cryoconite holes. This is a small cavity that forms in the ice when windblown dust particles (called cryoconite) land there, absorb sunlight, and melt deep into the ice each summer. is.

Eventually, these dust particles stop sinking as they move away from the sun's rays, but they still generate enough heat to create pockets of melted water around them.

This pocket can foster a thriving ecosystem of simple organisms.

“This is a common phenomenon on Earth,” says Arizona State University researcher Phil Christensen.

“Rather than melting from the top down, thick snow and ice melts from the inside out, letting in sunlight that warms it like a greenhouse.”

In 2021, the authors discovered powdery water ice exposed inside canyons on Mars and proposed that many canyons on Mars are formed by erosion as ice melts into liquid water.

Their new paper suggests that powdery ice lets in enough light for photosynthesis to occur as deep as 3 meters (9 feet) below the surface.

In this scenario, the upper layer of ice prevents shallow underground pools of water from evaporating, while also protecting them from harmful radiation.

This is important because, unlike Earth, Mars does not have a protective magnetic field to protect it from both the Sun and radioactive cosmic ray particles flying through space.

“Water ice most likely to form underground pools would exist in tropical regions of Mars between 30 and 60 degrees latitude, in both the northern and southern hemispheres,” the researchers said.

of paper appear in the diary Communication Earth and Environment.

_____

AR cruller others. 2024. Possibility of photosynthesis on Mars in snow and ice. common global environment 5,583;doi: 10.1038/s43247-024-01730-y

This article is a version of a press release provided by NASA.

Source: www.sci.news

The simplest, scientifically supported method to determine if you are drinking adequate water

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In the UK, the NHS recommends 6 to 8 cupsThe Harvard Medical School recommends drinking 1.2 liters of fluid per day, and points out that you should also get some fluid from the food you eat. 4-6 cups per dayBut it's the more extreme advice – drinking two litres of water a day – that has taken off online.

In 2016, the idea that getting most of your hydration from water is beneficial was debunked by Dr Stuart Galloway, an associate professor of physiology, kinesiology, and nutrition at the University of Stirling. His research showed that a range of drinks, including diuretic drinks such as lager and instant coffee, It did not promote additional fluid loss compared to drinking normal amounts of water..

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But because everyone has a different body type, diet, and activity level, and different environments (hot, dry, humid, etc.), it's impossible to really say how much everyone needs to drink. Most people can tell if they need more water by feeling thirsty, but this desire weakens as we age. If in doubt, for the majority of adults, the number of times you go to the bathroom can be a useful indicator of adequate hydration, says Galloway.

“It takes into account differences in fluid loss due to environment and activity level, as well as changes in fluid intake. A good rule of thumb is that if your fluid intake is adequate, you'll be going to the bathroom four to six times in a typical day.”

If you're peeing more than six times, you're overdoing it, if you're peeing less than four times, you probably need to drink more water.

“This method has some drawbacks, including influences such as changes in kidney function with age, certain medications, or ingredients in different drinks that can affect urine concentration and volume,” he warns. “So this is a rough rule of thumb rather than a precise guide.”

Urine color can also be helpful, he says, with a similar caveat: “For best results, don't rely on a single marker, but evaluate them in combination.”

About our expert, Dr Stuart Galloway

Dr Galloway is Professor of Exercise Physiology at the University of Stirling. He is also Group Leader of the University's Physiology, Exercise and Nutrition Research Group and has published over 90 peer-reviewed research articles, review articles, and book chapters. His research focuses on human nutrition and exercise metabolism, and fluid and electrolyte balance.

read more:

Source: www.sciencefocus.com

Early Earth conditions could have supported the production of essential life chemicals

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Chemical reactions in volcanic pools may have contributed to the birth of life on Earth

Michael S. Nolan/Alamy

One of the most important molecules in living organisms is synthesized from scratch under everyday conditions. The discovery suggests that this chemical formed naturally early in Earth's history and may have played a role in the origin of life.

The substance in question is called pantetheine. It is not a well-known name at the DNA or protein level. However, pantetheine is an important component of a larger molecule called pantetheine. acetyl coenzyme A, A “cofactor” that helps enzymes work.

“Coenzyme A is present in every organism ever sequenced,” he says. Matthew Powner At University College London.

Powner has spent most of his career discovering ways to make biomolecules from simple chemicals in a way that can occur naturally. Over the past decade, he has shown that: aminonitrile can be used to make nucleotide – the building blocks of DNA – and peptide, Short version of protein.

His team has now shown that aminonitrile can be used to make pantetheine in a series of reactions starting with simple chemicals like formaldehyde. This was done in water, often at such dilute concentrations that the reaction mixture appeared like clear water. The team sometimes used heat to speed up their work, but otherwise did not need to intervene once the reaction started.

“We just put everything in one pot. We literally just throw everything in, we don't change anything, we don't do anything, and we have a 60% yield of product,” Powner says.

Acetyl coenzyme A is involved in the synthesis of several biologically important chemicals. Some of the oldest microbial groups use processes involving microorganisms to obtain carbon from the environment.

Importantly, pantetheine is the active portion of the acetyl-coenzyme A molecule. No more than one bit is “essential to its functionality,” Powner says.

This type of cofactor is present in all living organisms.They are described as follows Origin of life and remnants of early evolution.

“Obtaining key organic biological cofactors from scratch,” he says, is impressive, “not to mention one of such centrally important ones.” Zachary Adam from the University of Wisconsin-Madison was not involved in the study.

For Adam, the importance of this research extends beyond pantetheine and acetyl coenzyme A. “They report this particular part of the cofactor, but intermediates have been shown to be important as well,” he says. Other chemicals produced in the process have been shown to aid in the production of other biomolecules. “They're building a network of compounds.”

Many ideas about the origin of life have assumed that a small set of biomolecules formed long before other molecules. For example, the “RNA world” hypothesis states that first life was made solely of RNA, and other chemicals such as proteins and lipids were added after RNA was able to make them. .

Powner is one of several researchers pushing for an alternative scenario in which many important molecules form early and interact from the beginning. “These products can all be products of the same chemical reaction,” he says. Rather than starting with just RNA, or just peptides, “it might be easier to make them all together, so the chemical reactions they perform are integrated from the original state.”

topic:

  • chemistry /
  • origin of life

Source: www.newscientist.com

Intrinsic, supported by Y Combinator, is developing essential infrastructure for trust and safety teams

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Karine Mellata and Michael Lin met several years ago while working on Apple’s Fraud Engineering and Algorithmic Risk team. Both Mellata and Lin were involved in addressing online fraud issues such as spam, bots, account security, and developer fraud among Apple’s growing customer base.

Despite their efforts to develop new models to respond to evolving patterns of abuse, Melata and Lin feel they are falling behind and stuck in rebuilding core elements of their trust and safety infrastructure. I did.

“As regulation puts increased scrutiny on teams that centralize somewhat ad hoc trust and safety responses, we are helping modernize this industry and build a safer internet for everyone. We saw this as a real opportunity to do that,” Melata told TechCrunch in an email interview. “We dreamed of a system that could magically adapt as quickly as the abuse itself.”

Co-founded by So Mellata and Lin essentialis a startup that aims to give safety teams the tools they need to prevent product fraud. Intrinsic recently raised $3.1 million in a seed round with participation from Urban Innovation Fund, Y Combinator, 645 Ventures, and Okta.

Intrinsic’s platform is designed to moderate both user-generated and AI-generated content, allowing customers (primarily social media companies and e-commerce marketplaces) to detect and take action on content that violates their policies. We provide the infrastructure to do so. Intrinsic focuses on integrating safety products and automatically orchestrates tasks like banning users and flagging content for review.

“Intrinsic is a fully customizable AI content moderation platform,” said Mellata. “For example, Intrinsic can help publishers creating marketing materials avoid giving financial advice that carries legal liability. We can also help marketplaces discover listings such as:

Mellata notes that there are no off-the-shelf classifiers for such sensitive categories, and even for a well-resourced trust and safety team, adding a new auto-discovered category can take weeks of engineering. They claim it can take several months in some cases. -House.

Asked about rival platforms such as Spectrum Labs, Azure, and Cinder (almost direct competitors), Mellata said Intrinsic is superior in terms of (1) explainability and (2) significantly expanded tools. I said I was thinking about it. He explained that Intrinsic allows customers to “ask questions” about mistakes they made in content moderation decisions and provide an explanation as to why. The platform also hosts manual review and labeling tools that allow customers to fine-tune moderation models based on their own data.

“Most traditional trust and safety solutions were inflexible and not built to evolve with exploits,” Melata said. “Now more than ever, resource-constrained trust and safety teams are looking to vendors to help them reduce moderation costs while maintaining high safety standards.”

Without third-party auditing, it is difficult to determine how accurate a particular vendor’s moderation model is or whether it is susceptible to some type of influence. prejudice It plagues content moderation models elsewhere. But either way, Intrinsic appears to be gaining traction thanks to its “large and established” enterprise customers, who are signing deals in the “six-figure” range on average.

Intrinsic’s near-term plans include increasing the size of its three-person team and expanding its moderation technology to cover not just text and images, but also video and audio.

“The widespread slowdown in the technology industry has increased interest in automation for trust and safety, and this puts Intrinsic in a unique position,” Melata said. “COOs are concerned with reducing costs. Chief compliance officers are concerned with mitigating risk. Embedded helps both. , to catch more fraud.”

Source: techcrunch.com