TechLetters ☕️ AI shifts may voting FAST? US cyber and Venezuela’s power? Agentic coding RCE. LLMs are being scanned. Hospitals hit down. China bans Western security tools. BND traffic analysis

AI is reshaping persuasion and content generation by scale. LLMs can flood recipients with plausible, evidence-flavored claims. Accuracy appears to matter less than information density. Experiments show short chats shift vote intent. https://www.kcl.ac.uk/weaponising-ai

Security

Another confirmation that U.S. cyberattack did cause a power cut in Venezuela’s. Furthermore, it switched the power off and on! Cyberattacks apparently also targeted air defence systems. All of that should really be technically possible. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/us/politics/cyberattack-venezuela-military.html

Misinformation, so propaganda & information operations again tops World Economic Forum Global Risk report (2026). While it may be rated variously , the point is that it's a kind of a litmus test of our times. And there's something in that. "Censorship" is also a risk! https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Global_Risks_Report_2026.pdf

A lot of people recently discover the power of AI Coding agents. Fair. But keep in mind that AI Coding assistant infrastructure and tools may be prone to security risks. Like this one in OpenCode allowing execution of any command on a computer, like downloading files. ANY WEBSITE the user visite could hack the computer :) https://cy.md/opencode-rce/

Russian-attributed cyberattacks aimed to cause a power blackout in Poland in end of December (announcement: groups directly linked to the Russian special services). https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-01-15/polish-premier-blames-russia-for-cyberattack-on-energy-facilties

Threat attackers map open LLMs. Cyberattacks on exposed APIs increases. If your LLM is public, assume you’re on the list. That's reconnaissance. What will this be used for? Credential stuffing, reaching internal services, and follow-on exploitation? https://www.greynoise.io/blog/threat-actors-actively-targeting-llms

Cyberattack on Belgian hospitals hitting care delivery, surgeries canceled, critical ICU patients transferred, ER running at reduced capacity, ambulances diverted. Disruption continues. https://fmtgezondheidszorg.nl/belgische-ziekenhuizen-az-monica-getroffen-dor-cyberaanval/

China ordered domestic firms to stop using cybersecurity software from about a dozen US and Israeli vendors (including VMware, Palo Alto, Fortinet, Check Point). Effects: faster switch to other, maybe Chinese alternatives, reduced Western sales in China, immediate share-price drops for affected firms, and costly, disruptive IT migrations for customers.

https://www.reuters.com/world/china/beijing-tells-chinese-firms-stop-using-us-israeli-cybersecurity-software-sources-2026-01-14/

Privacy

According to the leaked draft law, Germany's foreign intelligence service BND could soon be allowed to store up to 30% of all DE-CIX Frankfurt traffic (Europe's largest internet exchange point) for six months. OK, but let's do the math. DE-CIX Frankfurt handles 45 exabytes annually, meaning storing upto ~6.75 exabytes (6,750 petabytes). To do this would require a data center with ~338,000 20TB drives, 20-30 MW of power consumption, costing €430-690 million to build + €43-69 million yearly to operate, making it one of Europe's largest data facilities, comparable to a single large hyperscale data center site. https://www.heise.de/en/news/BND-should-be-allowed-to-hack-IT-giants-and-monitor-internet-nodes-more-closely-11136562.html

Facebook allegedly detected when teen girls deleted selfies, then served them beauty ads at that specific, potentially ‘vulnerable moment’. https://futurism.com/facebook-beauty-targeted-ads

Technology Policy

The U.S. NO FAKES Act would create a federal “digital replica” right for voice/likeness. It targets deepfakes and also tools/services designed or marketed for unauthorized replicas of specific people (their face, voice). The potential liability might chill hosting and use of open models while large firms can absorb the compliance risk. https://www.congress.gov/119/bills/s1367/BILLS-119s1367is.pdf

Uganda has ordered a nationwide internet shutdown ahead of the general election. Reasons: to mitigate the rapid spread of online misinformation, disinformation, electoral fraud, and related risks. Reports also describe a heightened army presence on the streets. Be careful what you wish for when it comes to fighting mis/disinformation.

Other

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