The Wire - December 5, 2024

//The Wire//2300Z December 5, 2024//
//ROUTINE//
//BLUF: CALIFORNIA EXPERIENCES TSUNAMI SCARE DUE TO SUBSTANTIAL EARTHQUAKE OFF THE COAST. CHINESE CYBER INCIDENTS HIGHLIGHT TELECOM VULNERABILITIES. SYRIAN REBELS CAPTURE HAMA.//
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-International Events-
Syria: On the southern front, rebel forces have taken the city of Hama, and have begun the southern push toward Homs. On the eastern front HTS has made a rapid advance to the Upper Euphrates River Valley, reaching Lake Assad overnight.
AC: HTS and other rebel forces have been able to take significant ground, while the Syrian Army has largely ceded most of their terrain to the rebel advance. In most areas, HTS has encountered little resistance from the Syrian Army. Russian forces have offered up varying levels of resistance to HTS operations, with some reports claiming significant Russian retaliatory bombings (such as in Aleppo), but other reports indicating Russian forces largely withdrawing without a shot being fired. At the moment, the Russian naval base of Tartus is very much in danger of being cut-off from Damascus by land.
France: Following a vote of no-confidence yesterday, Prime Minister Michel Barnier has been ousted from his position. As of this morning, PM Barnier became the shortest-serving PM in French history by resigning his post which he was appointed to only in September. AC: To highlight Barnier’s unpopularity, both the far-left and far-right factions in government united to oust him for their disapproval of his handling of the budget, making his removal the only successful no-confidence vote in France since 1962.
-HomeFront-
California: This afternoon a Tsunami Warning was issued for the coast of northern California due to a 7.3 magnitude earthquake that struck the region. In response to the tsunami threat, the mass evacuation of millions of people was ordered, with limited success. After some time, the Warning was canceled, with no tsunami being reported due to the earthquake. AC: Considering the sheer number of people that live directly within the high-tsunami-risk areas in California, the chances of a mass evacuation being successful in the little time allotted were always minimal. However the attempt was made, and mass traffic gridlock was reported before the Tsunami Warning was cancelled.
Washington D.C. – During ongoing investigations into the incidents surrounding the inadequacies of the US Secret Service to protect Donald Trump, Director Ronald Rowe appeared to have a psychological episode during his testimony before Congress. While being questioned by Congressman Pat Fallon, a shouting match erupted between Congressman Fallon and Director Rowe, which began rather suddenly without much warning. As Congressman Fallon was asking Rowe about a photograph of Rowe which was taken at a 9/11 memorial (where Rowe was on-the-job in an official USSS capacity on protective detail), Rowe began rambling about his role in the actual 9/11 attack itself, which immediately devolved into a shouting match between himself and the Congressman.
AC: Shouting at an elected official who represents the people who sign one’s paycheck demonstrates a rather interesting perspective of job security. Regardless of political party, Director Rowe, was not shouting at a suit in Washington…he was shouting at the American taxpayer who demands accountability. Either way, this incident is yet another in a long list of indications of what the American political system has become, and also demonstrates the very serious problems within the agency. A Director who is mentally unwell or has anger issues to the point that he can’t even control himself while answering basic questions about his job (a job which involves the use of lethal force) is probably a more practical indicator of how serious the problems within the USSS are than any other Congressional testimony.
USA: This morning, various remarks from FBI and CISA officials have clarified a currently developing situation with regards to all cellular communications in the United States. A few weeks ago, a suspected-Chinese cyberattack compromised the spying tools used by federal agencies to surveil American citizens.
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Analyst Comments: The cybersecurity concerns that have come to light over the past few days/weeks have been extremely concerning. In short, China allegedly was able to use the various backdoor-access tools provided by telecom companies to allow federal agencies to conduct surveillance, essentially getting the keys to the castle to spy on the spies. At the moment, the exact scale of this breach/cyber incident are not known (or at least not available to the public). However, it does appear that Chinese hacking groups were/are able to use many of the tools and procedures that are ordinarily only at the disposal of the American government.
As one might expect, the gargantuan scale of how this situation may develop is staggering. Today, various unnamed FBI officials (as well as named CISA officials) have recommended to not utilized SMS text messaging at all, as every single text message sent in the United States has probably been breached by China. This morning, various unnamed officials (speaking with various mainstream media outlets) have urged all Americans to use encrypted messaging apps instead of traditional SMS text messages until the full scale of what just happened becomes known.
Analyst: S2A1
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