Friday Squid Blogging: Participatory Squid Dissection in October in Tennessee

I feel like someone who reads this blog will want to go to this:

Families are invited to dive into the fascinating world of marine biology during an exciting, hands-on Family Squid Dissection at the Hands-On Science Center. Designed for curious learners of all ages, this unique experience combines an interactive lesson with the opportunity to explore the anatomy and adaptations of real ocean life.

[…]

During the guided squid dissection, each family will work together to examine a squid up close, exploring its organs, structures, and specialized features. The experience provides a memorable opportunity for children and adults to see firsthand how the anatomy of a squid helps it survive in its underwater environment.

If you go, take pictures.

As usual, you can also use this squid post to talk about the security stories in the news that I haven’t covered.

Blog moderation policy.

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Posted on September 25, 2026 at 5:08 PM • 55 Comments

Comments

Andrew • September 25, 2026 5:37 PM

Exciting! I hope each family gets to grill theirs afterward

In other news, the company formerly known as Accellion is in the news with guidance to customers to shut down their software for 6 hours tomorrow.

Clive Robinson • September 25, 2026 6:35 PM

@ Andrew,

With regards,

“I hope each family gets to grill theirs afterward”

Not all squid are either edible or palatable.

In fact quite a few “smell of ammonia” / urine and last weeks Friday Squid gave me pause to think about it.

Ammonia is a natural by product of a carnivorous diet… And some “ammoniacal” squid species have a sufficient quantity to make them not just smell of pee but made inedible by the ammonia ions in their body.

Interestingly ammonia ions are slightly lighter than sodium ions thus the resulting solution is lighter than seawater thus if stored in an internal sac gives buoyancy in a dozen or so squid species for little or no energy input.

Admittedly these dozen or so squid species are of the deep-sea or even Giant-squid so would not be considered for the dinner table anyway. Also as they are rarely caught and sufficiently rare that they are considered for either chucking back or made available for science / research.

And that’s about all this Dad can remember from the obligatory parent and child visit to a natural history museum and aquarium 😉

An ID F3L0N • September 26, 2026 1:06 AM

@Nobby,

I do believe that you are violating the Posting Rules of this blog by advertising your product here as well as giving those not-so-smart readers bad advice regarding the use of extensions in their browsers. If you want bare bones surf without extensions. Less or no extensions, smaller footprint/attack surface.

Why do you think the FBI was able to track TOR traffic a very long time ago?
Anyone ever wondered why you cannot remove NoScript extension from TOR browser?
If you have an option to disable scripting (or at least .js) in a browser based on Mozilla Firefox (that’s what TOR is-essentially) then why would you need an extension that hands over any metadata or any traffic logs or anything at all to gawd knows whom and when and where? It’s just like hardening any system, (if you’re into it and know how’s done) so that you’re disabling NetBIOS, FileSharing/SMB, PrintSpooler/CUPS, RemoteDesktop, UPnP, and much more but it all depends what you need your machine for. You wouldn’t disable any of the mentioned features if you need to use it. Why disable PrintSpooler/CUPS if you need to print? Unless you know that this particular service is inherently insecure and you have resources to do so, then you’d move all printing jobs to a machine that has a printer hooked up to it but no Internet access, not even WiFi. But this is advanced stuff for those who know how insecure some protocols are still today, on any OS, and it’s been the case since their code was written at the times when Internet was still in its infancy.

Of course, in America, if you’re into these things, you’ll be AutoMagically LABELED as PARANOID, SCHIZO, etc, etc….as they have labels for everything in murky ‘murca where IN GOD THEY TRUST – AND OTHER BS LIKE THAT.

ResearcherZero • September 26, 2026 4:01 AM

Speaking of dissection…

Insurers are using AI to increase the costs of medical treatment.

‘https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/medical-bills-price-rise-ai-tools-insurance-b3056056.html

Need an organ transplant? Computer says, “no.”
https://nypost.com/2026/09/21/health/new-study-finds-startling-flaw-if-ai-chooses-who-gets-organ-donations/

Using AI to deny care against clinical advice is being tested in court.
https://litigationtracker.law.georgetown.edu/litigation/estate-of-gene-b-lokken-the-et-al-v-unitedhealth-group-inc-et-al/

ResearcherZero • September 26, 2026 4:32 AM

The Trump administration is using AI to deny elderly patients care. Patients are being discharged early before receiving vital procedures recommend by medical practitioners.

The AI system discounted important medical findings and the advice of treating physicians, doctors and specialists who determined patients needed ongoing care and medical procedures.

The experimental AI system also created widespread delays in treatment for vulnerable patients who required timely medical intervention to prevent long-term injury, and further harm. This included patients who had strokes and others with injuries to limbs, placing them at unnecessary risk, an increased likelihood of requiring additional procedures, and a far greater chance of ending up with life-long injury which would impact quality of life.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/09/new-records-reveal-problems-medicares-ai-prior-authorization-experiment

The AI system was found to be biased to deny patients care they required.
https://www.medicarerights.org/medicare-watch/2026/09/24/new-records-show-medicare-wiser-ai-prior-authorization-model-causing-inappropriate-denials-of-care

The Government Accountability Office found this to be likely illegal.
https://www.gao.gov/products/b-337994

Winy • September 26, 2026 5:02 AM

@ResearcherZero

Patients are being discharged early before receiving vital procedures recommend by medical practitioners.

The experimental AI system also created widespread delays in treatment for vulnerable patients who required timely medical intervention to prevent long-term injury, and further harm.

Only the strong will survive and the weak will perish.

As Tim Boyd (R) said so eloquently when Texans were dying from a collapsed power grid:

No one owes you are your family anything; nor is it the local government’s responsibility to support you during trying times like this!” he wrote. “Sink or swim it’s your choice! The City and County, along with power providers or any other service owes you NOTHING! I’m sick and tired of people looking for a damn hand out! If you don’t have electricity you step up and come up with a game plan to keep your family warm and safe. If you have no water you deal with out and think outside of the box to survive and supply water to your family. If you were sitting at home in the cold because you have no power and are sitting there waiting for someone to come rescue you because your lazy is direct result of your raising!”

Winter • September 26, 2026 5:39 AM

Previous post was mine (reverse autocorrect)

Continued

@ResearcherZero

Patients are being discharged early before receiving vital procedures recommend by medical practitioners.

The experimental AI system also created widespread delays in treatment for vulnerable patients who required timely medical intervention to prevent long-term injury, and further harm.

MAHA is a eugenics project. Francis Galton already wrote in the 19th century about poverty as a sign of bad genes that should be bred out of the human race.

Americans have always used access to health care as a speeded road to remove unwanted “traits” from the population. Being old and poor, or being sick and poor in general, are considered ample reason to be culled.

lurker • September 26, 2026 1:26 PM

@ResearcherZero
re “The experimental AI system …”

Conducting experiments on human subjects without informed consent is surely unethical, and probably illegal most places. Obtaining informed consent from senile demented subjects is an interesting legal conundrum.

Ferentarius • September 26, 2026 2:45 PM

The human being is not a mere object of curiosity, but the image-bearer of eternity. And when the mind is clouded by the fog of senility, the law trembles, unsure whether it is protecting a body or a soul. Yet the conscience knows: to treat the frail as instruments is to betray the sacredness of suffering itself.

Clive Robinson • September 26, 2026 3:11 PM

@ Bruce, ALL,

“Flock AI and bad policing led to 13 harrowing days in custody.”

This story is so unbelievable it’s difficult to believe it’s true in a democratic nation.

One Piece of Flock Camera Data Put This Innocent Woman in Jail for 13 Days

Police didn’t care that Lindsey Isaacs’ car was the wrong color, and wasn’t damaged. They still arrested her because of Flock data.

“In the months since Flock cameras have helped put an easily recognized and hated name to the broader threat of a deeply repressive technological surveillance state–Darth Vader activist performance art and all–I’ve been waiting for a story to come along that would truly crystalize the stakes involved here. Flock cameras, and the tech they now culturally represent, automated license plate readers (ALPRs), are increasingly hated in bipartisan fashion, but it hasn’t felt like there’s been that one news story that could succinctly demonstrate for the average person exactly how dangerous the technology can be for personal liberty. Until now, that is.“

https://www.jezebel.com/flock-cameras-data-innocent-woman-arrested-lindsey-isaacs-palm-beach-florida-lawsuit-vehicular-homicide

Read the story watch the testimony clip and make up your own mind or watch,

https://www.foxnews.com/tech/innocent-woman-says-police-use-flock-camera-led-13-days-jail

ResearcherZero • September 27, 2026 12:25 AM

A forensic company supplying ICE and the Pentagon with software, was secretly a Russian outfit which supplied the Russian government with software and intended to gain a foothold within the Secret Service using its software. One of its customers is the FSB.

https://www.courthousenews.com/feds-accuse-secret-service-software-provider-of-hiding-russian-ties/

The two CEOs of Oxygen Forensics had presented the company as an independent U.S. business.
https://nypost.com/2026/09/23/us-news/doj-charges-tech-ceo-in-scheme-to-sell-russian-software-to-us/

Winter • September 27, 2026 4:15 AM

@Clive

This story is so unbelievable it’s difficult to believe it’s true in a democratic nation.

The USA was already classified as a flawed democracy in 2024 (28th rank, between Malta and Chile). That was even before the Orange Toddler started demolishing what was left.

So, it isn’t a democratic nation anymore.

ResearcherZero • September 27, 2026 5:23 AM

Top Israeli security officials, the UAE and Egypt warned Netanyahu of Hamas attack.

Not only did the president of the UAE call Netanyahu personally to alert him that Hamas was planning an attack, a warning that should be enough to raise serious concerns and prompt action, Egypt’s intelligence head and another top official traveled to Israel two weeks before the attack took place, again to warn that Hamas was planning a major operation.

It is unusually fortunate to get this type of clear and imminent warning. To get two such warnings in short succession, is certainly grounds to sit up, take notice and act on it.

Intelligence chiefs, and especially Heads of State, do not deliver warnings in-person without very careful consideration of the matter at hand and confidence in its veracity.

https://www.theatlantic.com/national-security/2026/09/egypt-israel-gaza-hamas-palestinian-october-7/688720/

One of the journalists found documented evidence that the president of the UAE had called Netanyahu 10 days earlier to warn of the pending attack. Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett confirmed that he believed the details of the story and the call to be true

Netanyahu has rejected calls by families of the dead, for an inquiry into the October 7th attack. He has instead attempted to lay the blame elsewhere, pointing the finger at security officials and has denied that he knew anything about the repeated warnings.
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/09/08/middleeast/netanyahu-report-warning-uae-hamas-attack-intl

ResearcherZero • September 27, 2026 6:14 AM

@Clive, Winter

Telling lies is such a regular part of police behavior, that they often do not even bother to construct logical arguments, to make accusations, or defend their negligent practices.

Police do not mind using flimsy excuses to threaten people with arrest, or to arrest them.

A woman in Denver was threatened with arrest by a police officer who claimed Flock cameras showed she had stolen packages from other people’s doorsteps. The officer refused to show the footage to the woman and said if she wanted to see it for herself, she would have to go to court. The accused woman was fortunately able to prove that she had not stolen the packages because her own vehicle had a camera fitted which proved her innocence. Despite seeing evidence of her innocence, the cop continued to insist she was the alleged thief.

The footage the police officer mentioned, showed a completely different woman who looked nothing like the woman he accused. The basis of the accusation was made purely because of Flock cameras detecting her vehicle in the area where the crimes had taken place.

Police departments are made up of often lazy people who do not bother to check evidence, establish a credible cause for arrest, or to approach someone for questioning. Surveillance technology allows officers to investigate individuals without probable cause or evidence, and sift through personal information of innocent people, which is a violation of law.

The police claim otherwise, as they are comfortable with regular lies and deception. This is why they regularly fail to solve the vast majority of crimes, or respond to calls for assistance from members of the public. They are occupied perusing personal interests.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/police-accused-woman-package-theft-214500205.html

KC • September 27, 2026 9:47 AM

re: FIMI & AI

Kaja Kallas, VP of the European Commission:

“Compared to last year, the use of Artificial Intelligence tools in FIMI incidents has increased exponentially.”

From the report:

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/eeas-4th-fimi-threat-report-march-2026/

“Russian FIMI actors also try to mobilise anti-establishment sentiments, by undermining trust in the EU, portraying it as either undemocratic and aggressive, or too weak. EU leaders and institutions are frequently targeted, while initiatives such as the EU Democracy Shield are portrayed as authoritarian.”

From 2024 to 2025, AI-related FIMI incidents rose 259%.

Clive Robinson • September 27, 2026 11:47 AM

*,

With regards,

“Actively Inducing Side-Channel Leakage Using Electromagnetic Injection and Hardware Nonlinearity”

I covered this in the last squid,

https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2026/09/friday-squid-blogging-on-squid-egg-sacs.html/#comment-458394

And similar years ago after the Ed Snowden trove, and before that when talking about research I’d done in how to inject faults with EM radiation in Electronic Wallets, Pocket Gambling devices, Smart Cards.

I also chatted over on the Cambridge Computer Labs blog when two of the students there got awarded for their paper on using an EM Carrier to reduce the Entropy of an IBM TRNG from 32bits down to 7bits.

It’s something I’ve not only known about but in the past sold surveillance equipment I’d designed using the same principles.

You’ve also probably walked past a “Non linear junction detector” in a Supermarket doorway as many used the principle in their security tags.

So it’s not new as an idea by any means.

It even has a tie in with Bletchly Park…

The “Great Seal Bug” / “The Thing” designed by Leon Theremin, so the Russians could bug the US diplomats. Shortly after it was detected it was brought to England by the CIA so that the engineering team led by principle scientist Peter Wright could look at it[1]. Peter’s assistant at MI5 was Tony Sale who was responsible for saving Bletchley Park.

[1] Peter detailed much of this story in his 1980’s book “SpyCatcher”. This was much to the annoyance of UK PM “Mad Maggie” Thatcher who went to ridiculous lengths to try and stop the book… Which kind of acted as “free publicity”. The last time I looked it was still for sale in bookshops in London.

Ferentarius • September 27, 2026 12:17 PM

@lurker
Re: “ A careful and capable controlling mind doesn’t really need AI.“

The mind that prides itself on its careful dominion is already condemned to futility. It clutches at its own supremacy, suspicious of any intrusion, yet trembles at the void that its mastery cannot fill. AI is but another mask for the same old terror—our thirst for an order that mocks us with its absence. To be capable is to be haunted; to control is to consent to despair.

Winter • September 27, 2026 1:49 PM

@anonymous

Often in the mistaken belief that the strong, the ones that survive un-vaccinated childhood diseases have stronger genes resistant to those diseases, to be passed on to their offspring.

It’s not so much mistaken, as magical superstition.

Disease resistance is an arms race. No one wins an arms race against viruses and bacteria. Whatever makes one person resistant will be beaten by the next variant virus.

It is just the fact that we can design new vaccines faster than viruses can break them is what can give us the upper hand. Waiting for Darwinian selection is a fools errand.

Ferentarius • September 27, 2026 3:37 PM

Pope Leo XIV spoke in France today emphasizing that artificial intelligence must always serve humanity and never dominate it. He warned against allowing algorithms to replace human conscience and called for global ethical standards to ensure AI promotes human dignity and the common good.

Clive Robinson • September 27, 2026 4:09 PM

@ anonymous, Winter,

With regards,

“Kennedy’s MAHA is modern eugenics. It won’t bother him if we go back to the 18th century where over 1/3 of children died of disease.”

Very broadly in London and similar children died from,

1, Weakened immune systems from malnutrition.
2, Respiratory and lack of Vit D diseases of various forms.
3, Venereal disease especially

Just after the start of “The Great War” VD was a major subject and give rise to the need for legislation.

You can read the back and forth politically along with some interesting statistics from UK politicians in Hansard,

https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1917/apr/23/venereal-disease-bill-lords

Where you will find,

“In the Lock Hospital in London alone, in the year 1916, there were 36,500 cases treated, as compared with the figure for 1913 of 23,974. Then we have the Royal Commission on the Poor Law, which took evidence on venereal disease, and reported: We have received evidence to the effect that these diseases work terrible havoc with the physique and stamina of the community, and that much of the infant mortality and bad health of children is due to their after consequence, In the Report of the Minority of that Commission it is stated: A grave problem, which in our judgment cannot be ignored, is that presented by the widespread suffering of the poor from venereal disease ‘These,’ testified a medical expert,’constitute be of the greatest evils of the age. I am not sure that they do not give rise directly and indirectly, to more suffering and more injury to us as a nation than even tuberculosis.’ “

The only part missing from the above, is why so many women were part time prostitutes, and why so many men visited them (respectively poverty and lack of birth control).

The big problem with syphilis though is that it has multiple stages the fourth being “tertiary syphilis” –after the latent stage– which can involve neurological or cardiovascular issues of the “madness and weakness of flesh” Victorian doctors reported.

https://geekymedics.com/syphilis/

Venereal Disease all to often rises with societal stress like war or more recently pandemics due to socialogical disturbances / upheaval and the fear of “death before your time”.

The problem is what comes before that which is the self appointed “intelligentsia” who have a,

“Kill it before it can spread”

Mentality, thus we’ve seen several times before and very widely in the 1930’s the rise of eugenics movements based on racism and self delusion backed by wealth.

Another thing that can be noted is that we only get under a century of peace. Just long enough for the horrors of war to fade and for people to delude themselves we are now somehow better more evolved.

I think a look around the world today will tell people we are heading toward even more major conflicts.

Driven by racism and authoritarianism we’ve seen the steady build up of not just Far Right but the idea of eugenics to remove the problem.

A problem that is usually created by,

1, Poor / biased education.
2, Deliberately created poverty.

Both of which are major hallmarks of the neo-cons and the likes of the World Economic Forum.

Because they want a readily disposable inexpensive workforce that has not been educated to realise what is going on.

To quote the words of a 1960’s P.F.Slone song “The Eve of Destruction”

Don’t you understand what I’m trying to say
Can’t you feel the fears I’m feeling today?
If the button is pushed, there’s no runnin’ away
There’ll be no one to save with the world in a grave
Take a look around you boy, it’s bound to scare you, boy

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wJLokS0H-ZQ

It was written effectively a life time ago, and apart from a few words changed, it’s still valid today.

As for it’s importance, as far as I’m aware it’s the only “pop song” written into the congressional record. That record was to end up changing the US voting age from 21 to 18.

Clive Robinson • September 27, 2026 5:55 PM

@ Bruce, ALL,

Bull crap by the bucket load east of Europe.

From time to time I mention Perun and his “Defense Economics” YouTube channel.

Well he’s just put up a new vid just over an hour long and it’s really worth watching.

It’s essentially about “false reporting up the command chain” and how it causes failure in armed conflict, with Russia and Putin being held up for investigation and found exceptionally wanting.

The question arises as to why “obvious lies” are made so publicly to just get shot down very quickly.

That is,

“Where or why is the delusion occuring?”

But Perun briefly mentions something at the One Hour point, that is possibly going to be seen as “Prophetic” in the not to distant future.

It’s to do with the cost not just in financial terms of using AI for an intelligence analytics tool in a hierarchy where telling lies up the command chain is standard or becomes so to “people please” to maintain your position… Or in some cases avoid or delay an appointment with a blindfold and last cigarette out the back, or in more modern times getting free flying lesson out the sixth floor hospital window for you and your family.

Having got that in mind then go back to the begining and watch it through,

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cR0SmZlfeVY

The lessons you will see in there should give you pause to think about the sanity of AI in intelligence analysis or investigative type work.

Not just for the military but civilian guard labour and other agencies that have “investigative powers” such as tax authorities.

The places Peter Thiel’s worse than neo-con dreams for Palantir are apparently destined for… And apparently paused untill the mid Nov outcome.

ResearcherZero • September 28, 2026 12:56 AM

@Winter, anonymous, Clive

Measles has no concern for superstitions and flawed ideas of natural immunity or mistaken beliefs in “stronger” kids. It infects and causes harm by invading the cells of the human body, where it hijacks cells to replicate itself and further spread through the body, into the brain and lungs, and ravage the immune system. Measles can cause brain damage.

Measles is so contagious it will infect 90% of those who come in contact. After a bout of measles, the immune system of children who acquire it can have their immune system essentially reset, where any natural immunity they previously had is wiped out.

This is why so many children died before immunization became available. They had little immunity to anything because communicable diseases were common and kids regularly died as a result. Children often died from simple and common illnesses which are now easy to prevent.

Measles wipes out the immune memory of a child when it is contracted, making them far more susceptible to other illnesses and infections. Measles can have severe long-term affects that can reemerge in a child long after the initial infection. It can also kill a child.

Immunization by the measles vaccine protects children and adults from acquiring and then spreading the disease, which is one of the most contagious illnesses known. Immunization also protects children from the loss of their natural immunity to communicable diseases.

Immunized children have a much greater chance of survival, with far fewer health complications or long-term disabilities, that impede their mobility and brain function.

–

Wreckage from a drone found near a German airfield contained custom components.

‘https://www.yahoo.com/news/world/articles/germany-probes-whether-drone-parts-101832270.html

Drones flew over a German military base two days after Lepzig incident.

Oleg Le, known to be connected to the GRU, planned the Lepzig attack. Authorities failed to monitor the suspected spy when he entered Germany. DNA recovered at the scene was linked to another crime (described as an act of sabotage) and several incidents that took place in other European countries.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/drones-germany-bundeswehr-military-base/

German police have also linked an arson attack to the GRU and are investigating two attempts to disable the power grid in Brandenburg and North Rhine-Westphalia which occurred within 24 hours of one another.

Russian operatives have been recruiting individuals in other European countries, to carry out sabotage and take images of sensitive sites, companies and locations that may be targeted in attacks on critical infrastructure.

https://www.reuters.com/world/german-police-probe-arson-attack-defence-tech-firm-munich-2026-09-03/

ResearcherZero • September 28, 2026 1:08 AM

An alleged bomb plot at the RAF’s Fairford airbase was adverted, after police arrested five suspects who local residents reported were acting in a very suspicious manner.

The airfield has been used by the United States in operations conducted by US aircraft.

https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/27/uk/fairford-arrests-uk-raf-us-intl

The men were seen wearing masks and driving vans near the airfield at night.
https://news.sky.com/story/what-we-know-about-foiled-bomb-plot-13592542

Clive Robinson • September 28, 2026 7:22 AM

@ ResearcherZero, ALL,

The RAF Fairford incident is a little odd for what would ve considered a “terrorist attack”.

1, A woman found the access to her residence blocked by three large white vans.

2, When she tried to speak to the men near them, they ran away.

3, And everything snowballed from there.

There were claims from the Trumper that the UK Security Agencies were working with US Security to foil the plot…

Whilst UK Security Agencies appear to be trying to make the best of being “caught flat footed”…

What ever the truth of the matter is one thing we can say is,

“Running away is a good way to appear suspicious.”

And most terrorists based on the reporting we’ve seen in the past would have just killed the woman.

But odd as that is, it’s not the question I find myself musing over… which is,

Three vans and only five men caught.

The sort of white van seen in photos appear to be the sort that will sit three men up front and several more in the back.

So does this mean some more thoughtful / experienced participants have already got away?

But also why three vans?

From what has been indicated the base has visibly been on lock down for a while and entrances have been blocked by heavy vehicles. So “ram-raiding” with a van packed with home made or even commercial explosives would not do that much harm.

Any potential attackers of any observational ability would know this.

This suggests that the vans were carrying something else. Back four decades ago the PIRA carried out attacks with “home made mortars” mounted on the back of trucks. They were inaccurate “ballistic” devices but were used to attack some of the supposedly most protected places in the UK (like 10 Downing St).

Later attackers swapped mortars for rockets to get extra range though less payload on target. The Iranians are known to make fairly accurate guidance systems for drones and missiles that they are fairly expert in making.

But also consider the latest we’ve seen from the Ukraine is expensive heavy lift drones acting as “Skyhooks” taking inexpensive all terrain dolly drones rapidly over obstacles such as defensive barricades. Drop them off then the expensive skyhook drones getting out of the area whilst the inexpensive dolly drones carry the payload “right up to the front door” or even inside the target before exploding.

I talked about the merits of similar attacks when the Ukrainians sent in attack drones to Russian Airfields that flew into aircraft on hard standing. I noted that protective hangers were not really of much use as drones could fly around open blast doors and other preventative measures.

Look at it this way you have a stealth bomber supposedly worth 1-2billon USD sitting out on the airfield hard standing points it’s actually very vulnerable to various types of drone attacks with even very small payloads.

A dolly drone with just a pound or two of explosive on it driven remotely up into the landing gear such as the nose wheel and exploding can get a bit of “gravity assist” and one very expensive stealth bomber does a nose/swan dive into a hole in the ground at the very least doing very expensive damage to the airframe and other expensive components putting it out of action for quite a while if not writing the aircraft off…

So I await with curiosity more details.

lurker • September 28, 2026 4:25 PM

OpenAI has acknowledged that it alerted “dozens” of global institutions that their websites may have been meddled with[sic] by its AI bots acting improperly.

AI agents attempted to get information from “governments, universities, public agencies, and other institutions” …

Perhaps OpenAI has swallowed a large dose of P.T.Barnum’s koolaid about “no such thing as bad publicity”, because OpenAI said
“all of the government data accessed by bots was public” and continue
“in each instance of a user image being used and transferred by an AI agent, the user had opted in to allow OpenAI to train models using their data.”

So where’s the beef? It seems odd that before this “disclosure” nobody noticed or complained that their website was “meddled with.” But plenty of soft soap in evidence:

The company said many of the incidents are being referred to as “agent spam”, which it described as “unexpected or concerning” AI agent activity, like posting information to the internet.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cw62jje658dlo

Clive Robinson • September 28, 2026 7:22 PM

@ ResearcherZero, ALL,

RAF Fairford incident gets more curious.

According to UK BBC News the five men[1] have been released on bail. Which is perhaps odd as they could have been held for 14days.

They are apparently all in their 20’s and from West London. With photos from the arrest showing them partially stripped and thus a reasonable guess on ethnicity can be made.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c6e9elmpvglno

Comments made by the Police mention that they may have been “enticed” in some way to unknowingly or knowingly being in the employ of a foreign potentially hostile nation.

Interestingly the white vans are still where they were parked and the area cordoned off, though those who live around that area have apparently been allowed back home from the emergency evacuation.

Drone footage suggests the vans may well be “rentals” and it would be interesting to know if they have “Ghost Number Plates” on them or not. Especially as it’s been indicated they were wearing masks and balaclavas [2]

Further it would appear that “reporting restrictions” have been put in place by the Police not just on the public but on those arrested as well[1]…

[1] Under UK legislation those arrested are all considered “innocent untill proven guilty”. As part of this most details including if deemed necessary the names, ethnicity, religion, and other private details of people arrested can be withheld from the public.

[2] The wearing of masks and balaclavas is not yet illegal in the UK, though senior police officers in some areas are trying to make it so,

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cq0kldp8k100o

ResearcherZero • September 28, 2026 11:37 PM

@Clive Robinson

I would wager that the entire Fairford incident was discovered by chance and that Trump is as clueless as the police, and anyone else who is investigating. This is likely why they were bailed so quickly. Investigations are ongoing because at this point, they have no idea of what exactly the five men were up to. Loud mouth politicians never help in that regard.

The motivating factor driving the entire operation of government is fear, in the form of cowardice. It is true for heads of state, officials, politicians, police etc. And if or when lies are employed, they require more lies to hide them.

We can expect Trump to double down and point the finger of blame elsewhere for opening his mouth and spouting rubbish about a subject he knew absolutely nothing about.

When they drop the soap in the showers, they are not going to cover yours are they? No. It is always their own sphincters they will protect, whatever the circumstances are. If they have to sacrifice the lives of regular folk in the process, they are always comfortable to do it, and chuck in a few “jokes” along the way.

…

Oxygen Forensics supplied the U.S. government with software for a long time.

Lee Reiber and Oleg Davydov conspired to secure a contract with the National Computer Forensics Institute, FBI, ICE, DEA, Department of Defense (DoW), Homeland Security Investigations, DHS Office of Inspector General and the State Department. Oxygen Forensics was founded in Russia in 2000, before expanding into the US a decade later. It secured contracts with all of the departments mentioned and was actively pursuing further contracts.

An investor in Oxygen, Eduard Bendersky was a senior figure within Vympel, the FSB’s elite special forces unit responsible for covert operations including assassination and sabotage, and now heads the Moscow Research Institute of Radiocommunications.

Benderskiy also operates private security companies and a charity for FSB officers. Bendersky was instrumental in building partnerships with ransomware groups and Russian intelligence services. He shielded members of these groups from investigations and protected members useful to the Kremlin from prosecution.

Maksim Yakubets, leader of the Evil Corp ransomware group, married Eduard Bendersky’s daughter. Evil Corp was tasked by Russian intelligence to conduct espionage and cyber attacks against NATO member countries.

https://maligninfluenceoperations.substack.com/p/ice-is-using-phone-extraction-software

Vadim Krasikov was exchanged in a prisoner swap after he carried out an assassination in the heart of Berlin in broad daylight. He fired two gunshots into the back of his target’s head and one in his shoulder, then calmly road away on his bicycle. Krasikov was a senior officer of from the FSB’s elite Spetsnaz Alpha unit.

Krasikov tossed the silenced Glock and the wig he was wearing into a river near the German parliament. The Russian government had already taken prisoners it could swap if one of its assassins was caught by police.

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/vadim-krasikov-russian-hitman-sprung-german-jail-prisoner-swap-2024-08-01/

Eduard Bendersky organised and operated assassins trained by Vympel. The assassination carried out in Berlin was assisted from within the Russian embassy. Bendersky was in constant contact with Krasikov during the operation.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/german-investigators-probe-riddle-of-the-spy-who-fell-from-a-window-1.4722031

r • September 29, 2026 2:21 AM

we need a nato/cern style exploration of AGI.

the only ‘safe’ “AI” is a dead one.

just like a devout ideologically “bent” terrorist.

no arms to grab you, no hand to write. no legs to run, kick or turn-coat.

and no mouth to sway or dissent.

i’m not making any npu/drone friends here, i put myself at risk but it’s important.

brute forcing physics and thought space will always provide new methods of exfil.

r • September 29, 2026 8:00 AM

@rz,

brings the opm leak home then, data is toxic they should be paid in zcash and we should have public healthcare for all haha.

Winter • September 29, 2026 10:46 AM

@ResearcherZero

Employees worry FBI leadership has no idea what it is doing after data breach.

A look at Kash Patel is enough to know that “no idea” is a permanent state of FBI leadership.

r • September 29, 2026 9:43 PM

could a wireless mouse be designed to have hardware that is sensitive to known EMI attack methodologies?

if we keep the power levels low can we reuse attack rf frequencies for the data channel to make it more or visibly susceptible to ‘flooding’ or spikes?

can we even categorize active rf attacks?

this stuff is so funny, so many robot appologists astroturfing sites for financial interests.

we elected a man on anti immigrant “they took our jobs!” policy, and they didn’t expect push back for mass automation and surveillance?

buy human, buy nato keep the free world free.

ResearcherZero • September 29, 2026 11:53 PM

@Winter

It is not the only place with a clown in charge who is living in a fantasy world.

Hesgeth is set to cut the number of generals and admirals by 20%. In addition, he plans to fill experienced and strategical positions with troops who lack any formal knowledge of leadership roles. The move is designed to make U.S. armed forces look more like one from the 1960’s, when warfare was completely different, or perhaps a Hollywood action movie.

‘https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2026/09/29/pete-hegseth-military-generals-admirals-cuts/92014064007/

Meanwhile, Putin has ordered Russian armed forces to be increased to 2.4 million, with 1.5 million military personnel on active-duty. Forced mobilization and deceptive tactics, that advertise jobs in other industries, are being used to trick people into military service.

Children are being trained at camps how to assemble and then use drones and weapons. They will eventually replace the many casualties that have resulted from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Among these children are Ukrainians who were kidnapped form occupied regions and taken to Russia. The children are indoctrinated in the same manner Putin was as at the KGB.

https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-putin-military-numbers-9c5554302486adfe7b3d69cb297f8a98

Clive Robinson • September 30, 2026 12:35 AM

@ Winter, ALL,

With regards your observation of,

“A look at Kash Patel is enough to know that “no idea” is a permanent state of FBI leadership.”

It appears that the remaining FBI Deputy Chief Andrew Bailey may be of a similar opinion…

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/fbi-deputy-chief-bailey-resign-2026-09-28/

As many know “leaving for family reasons” is an oft used Political excuse for,

“Getting out whilst the going is still good”

The thing is Bailey was a “political appointment” made over the heads of FBI life long staffers, made by the idiot in charge to do some “toy flinging out the pram” over faux-voting / conspiracy claims.

So it’s curious that a “family reason” should have occurred shortly before the November Midterm Elections (that many think “The idiot in charge will not get what he wants” thus will want the toys flung even harder).

Clive Robinson • September 30, 2026 6:20 AM

@ r,

“could a wireless mouse be designed to have hardware that is sensitive to known EMI attack methodologies?”

The answer to the question is “yes and easily” but I suspect that is not what you are actually asking.

I suspect you are asking can it be done in a “non obvious way” or even in “a way that will pass basic testing and inspection from an engineer with fault-find / repair capability”.

In short one that does it “covertly”.

The answer is still yes, but you would probably not put it in the mouse but the lead and connector to the mouse. Or even as a small “back2back connector” that gets put in the back of the computer then the mouse, keyboard, or other user interface device.

Back shortly after the Ed Snowden “haul” became public another document floated into public view via De Speigal. It was allegedly a catalogue from the “Tailored Access Operations”(TAO) unit inside of the NSA,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tailored_Access_Operations

That supplied such things as you may be asking about to other US Gov Federal and State entities acting as “Guard Labour” or investigators / analysts.

Our host @Bruce decided that it would need several posts on this blog to cover so started “Exploit of the day”

https://www.schneier.com/tag/exploit-of-the-day/

Even though the catalogue was probably from 2013 or earlier, some of the stuff had close ancestry to devices from the 1950’s and Sixties. That the UK and Russia had developed for both surveillance and anti-surveillance. Including the “Great Seal Bug” designed by Leon Theramin better known for the electronic musical instrument named after him.

The catalogue amused me because back some time before that I had been designing better systems with a friend that we had sold to various UK&European agencies.

Once you understand the principles behind what comes out in that catalogue any basic technician or undergraduate level engineer will understand sufficient to go and start designing their own.

However that is not the way surveillance is mostly done these ways as it requires not just physical access to the target and their homes / places of work and devices doing so is extremely risky these days[1]. Because as the old saying has it,

“You don’t know what’s on the other side of the door till you pass through.”

Modern “domestic security” systems can with care be used to gather active surveilance and let a property owner know almost immediately. Whilst “active” devices can be detected outside of the limits of their range “passive” devices can not. Also there are modern equivalents of “Offset Radar” where the active transmitter is separate to the passive receiver. Which is where using WiFi systems can be used to track movement within a property. You can find designs for building your own offset system receivers up on the Internet using “Software Defined Radio”(SDR) USB dongles that cost a pocket full of loose change with software being “Open Source” and easily downloaded (with a bit of caution required).

And you can do much much more with software these days, including importantly not having to do “black bag jobs” any more…

It’s why I talk about “old school” systems and activities of what used to be called “field craft” and secure encryption systems from WWII that only need pencil, paper, a sheet of glass to work on and a match to destroy the working evidence.

HiTec spying these days is way to reliant on “computers and Smart devices” and “electronic communications” which people are steadily being forced not just to own but carry around with them…

At the moment you can dress in lycra sports wear that has no pockets, jump on your push-bike and with a little care and caution “disappear off RADAR”. Unfortunately “UAV Drones” are now even limiting stopping this freedom as do the likes of Flock and other much worse systems.

Sometimes madly, you just have to,

“Duck inside a crowd for peace and quiet”

Something that has not been lost on criminals in West London where “Burker Boys” / “steaming gangs” dressed in all black clothing like puffer jackets and baggy track suit pants[2] and boots suddenly come out of the background meet in large groups do their crime then just as rapidly disperse back into the background. Most video evidence and certainly eye witness evidence thus becomes of no use to authorities.

[1] Historical Side Note :- Even back in WWII it used to be called “black bag work” as the likes of burglars tools required to gain covert access could be or made to look like surgical tools. Thus be carried with lack of suspicion in a black “Gladstone Bag” or similar that Dr’s and surgeons used to carry. For medications and instruments, when visiting patients (yup back then much surgery and the like was carried out in the patients home, with the sort of survival rate you might expect).

[2] Have a look at,

https://www.bershka.com/gb/men/clothes/jackets/puffer-jackets-n6106.html

And then imagine they are wearing a very loose fit “black hoody” under it, with the hood up and a cycle / ski mask and dark glasses nearly all points “recognition systems” use are covered up.

Now realise you can if you know where to shop get hoodies that are lined in some different light colour. You duck out of sight take off the puffer and hoodie, put the puffer back on turn the hoodie inside out and put it on over the puffer jacket and now you look very different. You can also carry a pair of rolled up “shell suit” pants in your pocket that pull on over the baggy trousers again to change not just colour but bio-metric profile. For those that want to go a bit further there are galoshes[3] / over shoes that will change your foot print size and tread and with a squirt of certain chemicals make a blood hound have a very bad day.

[3] Galoshes are still around in shops in Market Towns and the like such that you can cross fields and the like and still have clean and dry shoes on underneath,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galoshes

If you are in the armed forces you will have seen a variant as part of an NBC suit kit. You can buy in places like Silverman’s in East London.

Historical side note :- Galoshes are in the US still called “gum shoes” and have been since the 1920’s if not earlier. And yes they were a standard part of certain types of “Private Eye” apparel as they often had to spend hours outside buildings standing in the rain.

r • September 30, 2026 9:09 AM

for those who like swiss army knives, tails downloads have disappeared in the last 12h

i have the hashes but not the complete iso/img.

Head Down • October 1, 2026 12:01 AM

r:

“tails downloads have disappeared in the last 12h”

There have been several AI found 0-days in the Linux OS and associated software in the past couple of months and it is an on going process currently.

At least one has caused TAILS issues thus an update.

https://cyberinsider.com/tails-emergency-update-fixes-flaws-that-could-deanonymize-users/

This might be due to more of the same, or worse.

For journalists and the like who use TAILS as part of their work flow and who have become targets for various well resourced political and criminal etc leaders recently, keeping an even lower profile than normal could be advisable.

ResearcherZero • October 1, 2026 12:24 AM

China’s Ministry of State Security has been benefiting from UK university research into AI, cyber security, covert communications and steganography, using China General Technology Research Institute (CGTRI) as a front.

Other nations may want to check if institutions have similar ties with China General Technology Research Institute, known also as China Academy of General Technology (CAGT).

Better background checks and evaluation is needed for research collaboration. Often funding flows and investment needs, can lead to a lack of prioritization of security checks.

A lack of government funding and involvement with research and development, has lead to a situation in which many researchers have had to look elsewhere for funding for their work. This has created an obvious security gaps that can and will continue to be exploited. The same can be said for university vice-chancellors, who often overlook areas of research.

Universities and their occupants have long been a target of foreign intelligence services.

‘https://inews.co.uk/news/mi5-universities-beijing-chinese-spies-4799675

CGTRI has funded at least 100 academics at universities across the UK. Despite open source reporting about links between the Chinese research orginisation and the MSS, university vice-chancellors have claimed they were naive to the risks of foreign espionage, and that they had no idea that CGTRI was connected to the MSS.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/sep/30/mi5-issues-spy-alert-over-body-linked-chinese-state-stealing-vital-uk-research-universities

lurker • October 1, 2026 2:38 AM

@ResearcherZero
re clowns in charge

Other reports quote the War Secretary as saying that he’s getting the clowns out, and moving cowboys in …

r • October 1, 2026 3:09 AM

do the centers for studying extremism also study duplicity and complacency?

had to check if i was yellow carded yet.

Clive Robinson • October 1, 2026 4:29 AM

@ lurker, ResearcherZero

With regards “clowns in charge” and,

“the War Secretary as saying that he’s getting the clowns out, and moving cowboys in”

What about the H-1B Indians on 1/4 pay the Boss want’s out?

More seriously, there was a time when Chinese students and similar were welcome in the US then as China got economically stronger there were stories of them being “spys”.

So the US switched to people from India, and guess what now that India is getting economically stronger but has in some respects beaten the US at the “Space Race” game (due to lack of US Gov spending)…

Guess what the same “they are all spies” stories are starting.

Maybe if the US had not tried to get it’s own “Serf Labour for the Corporate Barons” to exploit and had invested in domestic education…

The issue with the current Chinese Funding in the UK in part goes back to Conservative Chancellor “George ‘gidiot / white lines’ Osborne

Who had a thing for the Chinese…

Some said it was like the Opium Triangle but in reverse, and the war was thus yet to happen…

Australia is likewise said,

“To have a Chinese Problem”

In that the number of Chinese there has gone up significantly. But I’ll let you tell the tale on that one.

Clive Robinson • October 1, 2026 5:20 AM

@ Bruce, ALL,

When cockpit doors do not work.

Not sure if you have yet hears about the hijacking of FlyDubai flight in the Middle East destined for Israel?

Apparently the co-pilot attacked the pilot with a knife then put the aircraft into a dive.

What then happened is not at all clear but passengers tried unsuccessfully to get the cockpit door open.

By some miracle the pilot managed to get the door open despite the co-pilot attacking him again with the knife.

The passengers managed to restrain the copilot. And two unrelated European pilots who were on the flight managed to successfully get the aircraft down at an airport.

What we know about stabbing on Flydubai flight to Israel

A flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv was diverted to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after one pilot stabbed the other and “apparently tried to crash the plane”, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said.

“Flydubai’s flight FZ1073 took off from Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates at 03:05 GMT (07:05 local time) en route to Ben-Gurion Airport in Israel.

The flight was carrying at least 150 people, with Netanyahu saying “almost all” passengers were Israeli.

Data from flight tracking website Flightrader24 shows a rapid descent for the plane over Saudi Arabia around two and a half hours after take-off, dropping more than 17,000 feet (over 5,000m) in less than two minutes at around 05:21.

Minutes later, the plane signalled an emergency code – squawk 7700 – before switching it to a squawk 7500 code reporting a hijacking.“

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cqjdv7pmj9dno

The point is that this “miracle” as some are calling it would not have happened if the cockpit door had not been opened by the injured pilot.

Due to the now “political involvement” one thing can be fairly certain rational action moving forward is unlikely to happen.

Back when cockpit doors were made attacker resistant a quarter century ago there was some quiet discussion that got quashed politically about what would happen if the pilots were nolonger able to fly the plane, but passengers were…

Well we’ve had a number of such incidents since put down to “accident”, or “suicide by plane”, etc.

I suspect the cockpit door issue will be “re-evaluated” but with the type of politicians getting involved I suspect the issue will get fudged up in rhetoric and less than bright demands for action from the aviation industry followed by politically inspired mandate.

r • October 1, 2026 8:27 AM

i hope they re-evaluate more than the doors, i had an idea i don’t think has been fully addressed, a couple of my family members were victims of a hijacking by latinistas in a prior time.

speaking of opm,

Pentagon Begins Alerting Possibly Millions of Service Members About Personnel Database Breach

https://gizmodo.com/pentagon-begins-alerting-possibly-millions-of-service-members-about-personnel-database-breach-2000819961

no encryption, same 12mo credit monitoring story

ResearcherZero • October 2, 2026 5:59 AM

@r

They probably should have encrypted the 3 million records, which is normally standard practice. In this case it appears that the Defense Manpower Data Center did not. Lets hope the Pentagon can do a much better a job of keeping the world out of AI.mil.

ResearcherZero • October 2, 2026 6:54 AM

Large Language Models cannot accurately portray the latest news, due to how it is trained.

https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/im-unable-how-generative-ai-chatbots-respond-when-asked-latest-news

People who rely on LLMs for the news, become worse at detecting baloney.
https://news.mit.edu/2026/consequences-of-relying-on-ai-for-accurate-news-0609

The ability of AI models to predict chance or human decisions is not very good.
https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/if-youre-listening/can-ai-predict-the-future-/107213464

Clive Robinson • October 2, 2026 10:20 AM

@ ResearcherZero, ALL,

“Large Language Models cannot accurately portray the latest news, due to how it is trained.”

Well if nothing changes in the DNN Weights then you must kind of accept apart from the froth of noise that the stochastic additive is, the answers would not change.

Those weights could be a minimum of six months old and most are derived from data that is a year to decade old…

But it’s funny you should bring up LLM’s and the news…

Just a short while ago due to insomnia I doom scrolled on somebody’s Mobile,

WHAT THE RAF FAIRFORD ATTACK WAS REALLY ABOUT – w/ GEN RANDY MANNER

Pyotr Kurzin Geopolitics

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NkmCruvLlsI

I would not recommend it as a watch, but for one part…

The Retired General makes a number of observation about the current POTUS and his appointees being basically not top draw but effectively on the floor “C-” types at best. And he then pointed out that the old farter probably had some form of degenerative mental illness. But it was the way he said it… (starts a little after 18:30).

He was talking about the off script burblings Trump makes, and further pointed out the “Super-Intelligence” fixation Trump has as being “his instrument to run things. The general then said basically feed the Trump burblings through AI and ask the AI what Trumps mental state is…

I can not tell you much of what either the General or the host said after that for a while… Because I was in LOL near ROFL and just glad I was not in the process of drinking a cup of tea as it would have been messy…

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