'No such thing as a regional conflict anymore,' US Strategic Command chief says

Food for thought! However, the article below seems to be strangely limited to information warfare.

By any other name, e.g. the Russo-Ukrainian War is already a World War III given how many countries are involved on both sides.

The Iran war of 2026 is fast expanding geographically encompassing more and more countries.

Then we have weaponized drones flying into other than the warring countries either by defensive measures, or intentional rerouting or otherwise (e.g. Ukrainian drones ending up in Baltic States or Romania etc.).

"... “There is no such thing as a regional conflict anymore,” Correll said. “Every conflict is global in the information domain.” ..."

'No such thing as a regional conflict anymore,' STRATCOM chief says - Breaking Defense "The Internet, social media, cyber and artificial intelligence extend the effects of war far beyond the battlefield, the admiral warned."

U.S. Army troops were defeated by Ukrainian drone operators at a military exercise in Germany earlier this year.

Bad news! Maybe like the knights in shining armor, the time for human army soldiers is over too in the very near future.

It is only a matter of time unitil terrorists will use drones for their attacks.

"During the exercise, Ukrainian drone units easily spotted and took down U.S. troops and armored vehicles on rotation from Fort Hood in Texas, according to people familiar with the events. The exercise, coupled with U.S. casualties in Iran, shows American vulnerabilities to uncrewed systems—years after the U.S. made them an essential part of warfare."

The Wall Street Journal What's news

U.S. and Ukrainian Forces Went Head-to-Head in an Exercise. Ukraine’s Drones Won. (behind paywall) "Battlefield drill shows Pentagon hasn’t fully absorbed lessons of Russia’s war"

Well known Hackers with ties to Iran Hit Water Systems in 12 US States since March 2026

Bad news! Very concerning!

Maybe future wars will not be so bloody anymore as far as the military is concerned, but more devastating if not dangerous to the civilian population.

"Cyberattacks have hit water and wastewater systems in at least 12 states, officials say, with an Iran-linked hacking group suspected of trying to disrupt American infrastructure as the war drags on.

The self-proclaimed “CyberAv3ngers,” which cybersecurity experts tie to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, locked administrators out of more than 30 systems in Minnesota alone and blocked water from being pumped into towers. No supplies were harmed, but sources say hackers could have reached chemical dosing controls.

President Trump doubted Iran’s involvement, instead blaming “grossly incompetent” Minnesota leaders after an attack shut down a water plant there. ..."

"... The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stated in their July 30 joint public service announcement (Alert: I-073026-PSA) that since July 27, 2026, water and wastewater utilities in at least seven states had reported incidents, and that some of that activity had "degraded water operations." The FBI stated that reported operational effects have included pressure loss and flooding, and identified Rockwell Automation MicroLogix 1100 and 1400 series PLCs as the targeted devices. The PSA does not attribute the activity to any specific actor, referring only to "malicious cyber actors." ...

How has CyberAv3ngers evolved over time?

CyberAv3ngers has demonstrated a deliberate capability escalation across four documented phases:

In Phase One (2020–2022), the group operated as a propaganda persona, claiming responsibility for infrastructure disruptions in Israel that were later assessed as fabricated. DomainTools Investigations demonstrated that several claims reused imagery from earlier data leaks.

In Phase Two (October 2023–January 2024), the group compromised at least 75 Unitronics Vision Series PLCs across the United States, Israel, the United Kingdom, and Ireland by exploiting default passwords on internet-exposed devices. The Municipal Water Authority of Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, was the highest-profile victim.

In Phase Three (2024–2025), the group deployed IOCONTROL, a custom-built malware platform for IoT and OT devices. OpenAI disclosed in October 2024 that CyberAv3ngers had used ChatGPT to assist with target reconnaissance and code debugging.

In Phase Four (March 2026 to present), the group pivoted to exploiting CVE-2021-22681, a critical authentication bypass in Rockwell Automation Logix controllers. Actors connected to internet-facing PLCs from foreign hosting providers using the same manufacturer engineering software (Studio 5000 Logix Designer) that legitimate operators use. Once connected, they downloaded and modified controller project files and altered operator display data. The July 22 advisory update expanded the manufacturer scope to include Schneider Electric and Siemens PLCs alongside Rockwell Automation. ..."

Wednesday, August 5, 2026 - Join The Flyover

At least 12 states face cyberattacks on their water systems, sources say

Iran-backed hackers likely behind attack that shut down Minnesota water plant — and they’re not done yet

Coordinated "cyberattack" on U.S. water utilities: What you need to know (original news release)

SpaceX moves to keep Chinese nationals, parts out of supply chain

Good news!

I blogged here yesterday that President Trump asked the federal government to do similar things.

Exclusive: SpaceX moves to keep Chinese nationals, parts out of supply chain - Nikkei Asia (behind paywall) "Industry leader aims to insulate US space program from China influence"

US government bans new foreign-made humanoids, robot dogs, and solar inverters, citing risks to national security targeting China

Good news! Serious stuff! The Art of the War meets The Art of the Deal!

Remember Sun Tzu's The Art of War (published around 5th century BC/BCE):
"The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting."

Preventing a war from within! One day all the robots deployed by China robots deployed on American soil could come out to fight or sabotage!

"The Trump administration is banning the import of new foreign-made humanoid robots, robot dogs, and power inverters, citing an “unacceptable” threat to national security. The move largely affects imports from China, which currently has the vast majority of the global market share. 

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced the ban on Tuesday, saying that devices made overseas could be remotely controlled or used for surveillance by foreign governments, or otherwise used in cyberattacks. ..."

US government bans new foreign-made humanoids, robot dogs, and solar inverters, citing risks to national security | TechCrunch

China behind massive nationwide SIM farm network that directly threatens American critical infrastructure

Bad news! However, how serious is this threat? But the scale of this Chinese clandestine operation is breathtaking!

I am not sure the KGB of the former Soviet Union ever pulled off something quite like this! Or during the Cold War the KGB showed more restraint than the Chinese counterpart post Cold War?

Maybe reading the The Art of War by Sun Tzu is recommended!

The Open Society and Its Enemies!

"The discovery of SIM farms that threatened cellular networks in New York City is only the tip of a massive nationwide network run by the Chinese Communist government that poses an immediate threat to critical American infrastructure and has led to terrorist acts including hoax SWAT raids at the homes of national leaders, Blaze News has learned.

Sources in the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. intelligence community said these SIM card networks were operating in the United States as early as 2004. They have proliferated exponentially since President Donald J. Trump was re-elected to the presidency in November 2024. ...

“The only reason we found this network is because a senior Secret Service official was targeted for a SWAT raid,” the source said. “Otherwise, this investigation would have never been initiated.”

No U.S. intelligence or law enforcement agency detected the secret network, nor did the three major wireless carriers in the U.S., AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile, and Verizon.

Homeland Security Investigations led raids that disrupted five SIM farm sites in the Tri-State area of New York City just before the United Nations General Assembly, where President Trump spoke Sept. 23. The raids led to seizure of more than 300 co-located servers and more than 100,000 SIM cards. ...

A nationwide network using millions of SIM cards operated by China has the capability to wipe out communications across entire regions with a cyberattack; target large lists of victims for hoax SWAT calls; act as chatbots to interact with teens and young adults in online forums such as Reddit; and operate identity-theft rackets, among other applications. ...

The SIM farms can cost $10-$15 million annually per location to operate, but they actually make money because criminal organizations including drug cartels and scammers are allowed to use the networks, the source said. A site with 100 SIM gateway boxes can generate $240,000 per month in profit. ..."

Exclusive: China behind massive nationwide SIM farm network that directly threatens American critical infrastructure | Blaze Media "Millions of linked SIM cards carry out surveillance, target leaders for harm, and should be considered ‘acts of war.’"

Beware 'drone-tastic' thinking: UK armed forces chief says 'traditional' capabilities still matter

A prescient and timely warning of drone warfare exuberance!

And what about biological and chemical warfare. In the past, there was lots of restraint using BC weapons (even terrorists only rarely have used them), but will this continue?

"Drones alone will not be enough to secure victory in future conflicts, according to the outgoing head of the UK armed forces, but the aircraft offer an opportunity to “adjust the way that we’ve traditionally fought” today.

Speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank on Thursday, Adm. Tony Radakin, UK Chief of the Defence Staff, said that he worries of “drone-tastic” thinking and urges “caution” from those who believe “every future fight is going to be just drones.” ..."

Beware 'drone-tastic' thinking: UK armed forces chief says 'traditional' capabilities still matter - Breaking Defense

Trump administration secretly probing hundreds of scientists from 'countries of concern' like China

Good news! Bravo! Trojan horses? Espionage?

Perhaps Trump was reading Sun Tzu's The Art of War (published 5th century BCE)! 😊

"The Trump administration has secretly launched an intensive vetting process for hundreds of foreign scientists brought into the United States from "countries of concern" like China, using visas procured with the help of the National Institutes of Health and other federal research agencies, officials told Just the News.

The review involving intelligence and security agencies began weeks ago over concerns prior administrations did not adequately vet the backgrounds of scientists or their ties to actors like China's military or its Communist Party. ..."

Trump administration secretly probing hundreds of scientists from 'countries of concern' like China | Just The News "Review of foreign scientists from countries like China began even before three Chinese scientists in Michigan were caught trying to smuggle dangerous pathogens into U.S."

Fentanyl: China's Double-Dealing | ARTE.tv Documentary

Serious stuff! Excellent journalism! In times past this would have been a cause for war! This is hybrid warfare of the Communist Party of China against the US! Like The Art of War by Sun Tzu!

The report also hints that the 46th President and his clan were too corrupt and compromised to stop this drug trafficking.

Joint US University Programs with China Escape Financial Reporting and scrutiny

Certainly concerning! How China exploits open societies!

Lessons from the The Art of War by Sun Tzu!

"Following last year’s reporting on DEI spending, federal money and foreign donations at elite private universities, Open the Books auditors have been taking a closer look at the finances of a sampling of public universities across the country.

Strikingly, these problems have spilled far beyond those elite Ivory Towers and out to some of the best state schools around the nation. ...

It’s a troubling comparison. Over the past decade, American institutions began pouring money into counterproductive, divisive DEI infrastructure. Meanwhile, China was spending to gain influence in American academia, accessing research and technology to advance their national interests. It happened under Uncle Sam’s radar, and Congress believes the spending continues unreported today – to the tune of hundreds of millions or billions! ...

UC Berkeley has accepted $790.8 million from foreign sources since 2013, including a staggering amount of Chinese funding.   

China sent $87.5 million to UC Berkeley, more than any other country. The figure doesn’t include $59.4 million from Hong Kong and $57.5 million from Taiwan, which are reported separately.    

The two largest Chinese contracts — worth $19 million and $15 million — were to help fund the Tsinghua-Berkeley Shenzhen Institute (TBSI), a partnership with Tsinghua University that has campuses at Berkeley and in Shenzhen, China.   ...

The Georgia Institute of Technology has accepted $162.8 million from foreign sources since 2013. 

China has spent at least $32.3M with the school in that time period, and at least $18.3 million worth of those contracts helped fund the Georgia Tech-Shenzhen Institute (GTSI). Like Berkeley’s, it’s another partnership with Tsinghua University that has campuses in Georgia and Shenzhen, China.  ..."

Joint University Programs with China Escape Financial Reporting "Unreported billions could be helping China access American STEM research, defense tech."

Why Ukraine's all-drone, multi-domain attack could be a 'seminal' moment in warfare

The art of war constantly changes! The incessant evolution of warfare! Sun Tzu is smiling! Carl von Clausewitz is taking note!

Human civilization has not reached its apex until we bless the peacemakers more than we tolerate or ignore the warmongers!

"Ukraine successfully pulled off an all-drone, multi-domain attack on Russian positions near Kharkiv in December, an official speaking at the International Armoured Vehicle (IAV) conference disclosed this week, in what they are calling the first-ever such operation. ...

described how the operation exclusively featured weaponized uncrewed ground vehicles (UGVs) and first person view (FPV) attack drones and did not feature any crewed platforms or boots on the ground.

UGVs conducted the full spectrum of mission sets including surveillance, mine clearance and direct fire, supported by uncrewed aerial systems (UAS), the official stated before explaining how the “tactical air-land operation” represented the first instance of an “uncrewed battle fought by one side” in the ongoing war. ..."

Why Ukraine's all-drone, multi-domain attack could be a 'seminal' moment in warfare - Breaking Defense "A December operation exclusively featured weaponized uncrewed ground vehicles and FPV attack drones and did not feature any crewed platforms or boots on the ground, according to a speaker at the International Armoured Vehicle conference."

A D-21 reconnaissance and combat ground robotic complex is pictured during an event organised by JSC Ukrainian Defense Industry (UkrOboronProm) to mark the Defence and Industrial Complex Employee Day, Kyiv region, northern Ukraine.

Iceland: China’s Trojan Horse in Europe? by Michael Rubin

How China conquers the world one island at a time in the South China Sea/Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean and in the Atlantic Ocean.

The island of Iceland (a NATO founding member) is strategically located like Guam!

Very clever! Like taken out of the book The Art of War by Sun Tzu.

"... Whereas Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama saw China as a partner, even if also a “near peer” competitor, Trump recognized China as an enemy and existential threat to the United States. ..."

While Bjarni Benediktsson, a conservative, led Iceland for ten months in 2017 and since April 2024, Iceland’s other prime ministers since 2009 have all hailed from left-of-center parties: Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, the world’s first openly lesbian head of government, arose from the Social Democratic Alliance. The next two prime ministers, Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson and Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson, were progressives. Katrín Jakobsdóttir, prime minister between 2017 and 2024, was chair of the Left-Green Alliance.

Iceland’s China problem began with the 2008 Icelandic financial crisis when the country’s three largest private banks all defaulted sparking what, proportional to Iceland’s size, was the world’s largest banking collapse. A joke at the time asked, “What’s the capital of Iceland?” The answer was not Reykjavik, but rather “25 cents.” ... Sigurðardóttir also sought Chinese assistance after Western countries objected to Russia helping to bailout one of NATO’s founding members. In June 2010, Beijing and Reykjavik agreed to a three-year $500 million currency swap deal to enable Iceland to pay for Chinese imports in the kronur, Iceland’s currency. The two countries subsequently renewed the swap. While Icelandic negotiators said China’s interest and investment in Iceland was to tap Icelandic expertise in geothermal and hydroelectric generation, China’s record in the Atlantic and Arctic suggests Beijing had ulterior motives. ...

While the crisis passed, the Iceland-China relationship continued to solidify with successive Icelandic leaders looking at China as a cash cow. On April 15, 2013, Iceland and China signed a Free Trade Agreement, the first such agreement between China and a European country. The agreement affirmed the rights of Iceland and China to invest directly in the other. For Iceland, this was theoretical; its major exports to China are frozen fish, tin foil, and processed crabmeat. Icelanders pin their hopes on geothermal cooperation, a market they say could translate into more than $11 billion. In 2006, Sinopec, China’s leading energy firm, and an Icelandic company Enex-China partnered to produce geothermal energy for Xianyang, a city of around five million people in central China. The results were mixed ...

China likely sought the ability to build factories in Iceland and both monitor NATO movements and access the Arctic’s strategic minerals represents a major strategic gain. Between 2012 and 2017, Chinese investment in Iceland amounted to almost six percent of Iceland’s gross domestic product, though that percentage fell because of both the COVID pandemic and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC)’s decision to cease exploration off Iceland’s coast.

China’s expansion into Iceland was multifaceted. The Confucius Institutes are a major pillar of Chinese soft power. The Institutes say they provide language lessons and sponsor cultural events, but they promote an exclusively pro-Chinese Communist Party line and often serve as bases to both spy on Chinese abroad and to disrupt events that counter Chinese positions on Tibet, Taiwan, or Tiananmen. As China began to see Iceland as its de facto base in the North Atlantic, it opened the Northern Light Confucius Institute at the University of Iceland. ...

China has sought to establish a strategic position in Iceland in other ways. In 2011, Huang Nubo, a Chinese businessman, sought to buy 100 square miles of land in Iceland in a deal backed by the China Development Bank. While Huang talked up a golf course as the project’s focal point, his plans also included a private airfield.

China proceeded to open a number of supposedly scientific institutions that, much as in Svalbard, enable Chinese intelligence and security deployment to the island under the guise of scientific research. In October 2018, for example, the Polar Research Institute of China and the Icelandic Center for Research opened a joint China Iceland Arctic Research Observatory in Karholl, a small town in northern Iceland. ..."

Iceland: China’s Trojan Horse in Europe? | American Enterprise Institute - AEI

Marc G. flog den Eurofighter für die deutsche Luftwaffe. Nun bildet er in China Kampfpiloten aus

Wie China westliches Fachwissen erwirbt! Habe hier, hier vor kurzem schon zum poaching von Fachwissen durch China gebloggt. Nun hat auch die Schweizer NZZ das Thema aufgenommen.

Sehr Clever von China! Könnte aus dem Buch Die Kunst des Krieges (ca. 500 CE) von Sunzi stammen.

Geheimes Piloten-Training in China. Jetzt spricht einer der deutschen Ausbilder "Ehemalige deutsche Piloten der Bundeswehr verraten in China ihre Flugtechniken. Die NZZ hat einen von ihnen ausfindig gemacht. Er verteidigt seine Tätigkeit und beklagt eine einseitige Berichterstattung."

Is Huawei Stealing the West’s Top Tech Talent? with Palki Sharma

Recommendable!

From stealing IP and imitation to poaching! I blogged here earlier about this subject. Western countries, Taiwan, South Korea are already responding to this.

Chinese companies are poaching tech talent in chips and AI

How serious is this poaching? Does it go beyond overseas Chinese professionals?

"Hiring engineers in areas such as advanced semiconductors and AI is a shortcut for Chinese companies trying to get ahead, as Western governments have made it harder for Beijing to access sensitive technologies. Many officials in the U.S. and Europe view recruiting as an ordinary business activity that shouldn’t be restricted. Now they’re considering whether to police the practice, and if so, how."

The Wall Street Journal What's news

Estonian-made combat robots, manufactured in the UAE, operating in the Ukraine now come with Starlink

No two wars are the same! 

Weapons and armor of today (e.g. human operated, expensive tanks) might be already obsolete by the next war!

"Estonian-made THeMIS unmanned ground vehicles operating in Ukraine will feature Starlink satellite connectivity, enabling their operation from thousands of kilometers away, the robot manufacturer announced on Wednesday.

A vehicle equipped to that effect, made by United Arab Emirates-owned and Estonia-based Milrem Robotics, will be unveiled at the company’s during Eurosatory 2024 trade show that begins next week, according to a company statement ..."

Estonian-made combat robots in Ukraine now come with Starlink

Meet the Chinese communist hackers preparing for war against the US

More on the new Cold War and the future of warfare!

One has to distinguish between espionage and sabotage! Espionage is used by both sides and is acceptable to some degree. Carrying out or preparing to commit sabotage is an entirely different matter.

Is the placing of remote sabotage capabilities within the critical infrastructure of a country by a potential future adversary an act of war (casus belli)? 

In the not so distant past, there would have been little doubt about the answer this question. It would clearly have been in the affirmative!

Communist leader Xi Jinping is playing a dangerous game!

Always remember The Art of War by Sun Tzu.

"Of the cybersecurity risks facing the United States today, few loom larger than the potential sabotage capabilities posed by China-backed hackers, which top U.S. officials have described as an “epoch-defining threat.”

In recent months, U.S. intelligence officials said Chinese government-backed hackers have been burrowing deep into the networks of U.S. critical infrastructure, including water, energy and transportation providers. The goal, officials say, is to lay the groundwork for potentially destructive cyberattacks in the event of a future conflict between China and the U.S., such as over a possible Chinese invasion of Taiwan. ...

In January, the U.S. disrupted “Volt Typhoon,” a group of China government hackers tasked with setting the stage for destructive cyberattacks. Later in September, the feds hijacked a botnet run by another Chinese hacking group called “Flax Typhoon,” which masquerades as a private company in Beijing and whose role was to help conceal the activities of China’s government hackers. Since then, a new China-backed hacking group called “Salt Typhoon” emerged, capable of gathering intelligence on Americans — and potential targets of U.S. surveillance — by compromising the wiretap systems of U.S. phone and internet providers. ..."

Meet the Chinese 'Typhoon' hackers preparing for war | TechCrunch

Is climate change part of the new Cold War? You bet!

I think there is a distinct possibility for that!

Western democracies have several powerful enemies (just to name three: Russia, China, Iran). 

According to the Art of War, the best war is fought, when the enemy is defeated or significantly weakened with no shot fired or attacking soldier killed. Propaganda, demagoguery, and indoctrination can be very effective tools in the arsenal of these enemies.

Thanks to the relentless efforts of these enemies, climate change has become a religion and pseudoscience in the all too gullible West. Even many of the best Western scientists have become lemmings.

China, Russia and other enemies could not and do not care less about climate change! 

Cui bono the most from the global warming/climate change hoax and scam?

Ukrainian government Hackers Cripple Russian Infrastructure in Massive Cyberattack

Good news! The future of warfare has arrived! Forget about tanks, fighter jets, and aircraft carriers etc.

As a Ukrainian hacker I could not resist the urge to completely erase all existing records of Putin the Terrible! Wipe him off as if he never existed! 😊

In an extreme scenario, one may not have to fire a single shot to subdue or defeat an aggressor!

"Computer specialists from Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) carried out cyberattacks against more than 800 servers in various regions of the Russian Federation between Monday, Sept. 23 to Thursday, Sept. 26, military intelligence sources told Kyiv Post. ...

According to one of the news site’s contacts, HUR’s cyber corps completely destroyed documents and data stored on the affected servers belonging to military, administrative, and financial institutions that support Russia's operations against Ukraine. ..."

HUR Hackers Cripple Russian Infrastructure in Massive Cyberattack "Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) cyber specialists attacked 800+ Russian servers, destroying critical military and financial data, halting operations and crippling infrastructure."

Drone warfare and infantry soldiers and other lessons from the Russo-Ukrainian War

The Russo-Ukrainian War has been teaching us a number of lessons about the near future of warfare. Here are some examples:

1. As I blogged here before, tanks today are like the long gone medieval knights. A cheap drone can easily finish a very expensive tank like arrows finished knights.
2. The same or similar fate of tanks maybe applicable to navy vessels.
3. Soldiers on foot are easy targets. They can be spotted day and night and can be quickly and effectively killed. Worse, comrades trying to help an injured fellow soldier are doomed.
4. Drone swarm attacks are cheap and difficult to defend against.