The hottest Security Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top U.S. Politics Topics

Henry Huiyao Wang on Beyond Blocs

Pekingnology ā€¢ 113 implied HN points ā€¢ 11 Feb 26
šŸŒ World Politics Security
  1. Global politics is moving away from fixed blocs toward issue-by-issue cooperation, with different coalitions forming around climate, trade, security, and technology. Shared interests and rules will often matter more than ideological alignment.
  2. Europe will act as an independent balancing pole, keeping its values and security ties while engaging pragmatically with partners on trade, green tech, and multilateral reform. It will cooperate where interests align but keep its own strategic autonomy.
  3. Middle powers and smaller states will hedge and pick interests rather than choose sides, creating a contested multipolar order that can enable cooperation on big problems like climate and health but also leave disputes over trade, market access, and industrial policy.

The Hidden World of Undersea Cables

The Garden of Forking Paths ā€¢ 2869 implied HN points ā€¢ 10 Jan 24
šŸ•¹ Technology Security
  1. The internet largely runs through undersea cables spanning about 900,000 miles, connecting the world in a hidden network.
  2. Early undersea cables were made possible by materials like gutta-percha and played a key role in rapid communication during events like the US Civil War.
  3. Specialized ships lay and repair undersea cables made of fiber optics, and even guard against threats like sharks and sabotage by SCUBA divers.

Screwed!

Johnā€™s Substack ā€¢ 14 implied HN points ā€¢ 10 Mar 26
šŸŒ World Politics Security
  1. The war is going badly for Israel and the United States, with no easy military or political victory in sight.
  2. Ending the war would require big concessions to Iran that seem politically impossible for President Trump, so further escalation is likely and Iran can counterā€‘escalate.
  3. The only likely quick end would come if the conflict seriously threatens the global economy and forces a halt, but how that would unfold is uncertain.
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Europe's Gathering Storm

Diane Francis ā€¢ 959 implied HN points ā€¢ 06 May 24
šŸŒ World Politics Security
  1. French President Macron suggests that Europe might need to send troops to Ukraine to help. He believes if Russia wins, it would threaten the security of neighboring countries.
  2. British Prime Minister Sunak agrees, warning that Putin's aggression could extend beyond Poland if not stopped.
  3. There is a growing urgency in Europe now that America is delaying weapon support. Experts are saying NATO may need to send soldiers to avoid a major defeat.

Grey's Law, the Republic, and You (Part 2)

Devonā€™s Substack ā€¢ 299 implied HN points ā€¢ 18 Jul 24
šŸ‡ŗšŸ‡ø U.S. Politics Security
  1. The US Secret Service failed to prevent an assassination attempt on July 13th, 2024, due to poor decisions and lack of personnel in key positions. There was no one monitoring the roof where the assassin was situated.
  2. Using long-range sharpshooters to cover a close area wasn't effective. They had the wrong tools for the job, making it hard for them to quickly assess and respond to threats.
  3. It's better to have several officers on the roof than rely on specialists far away. A local presence can provide quicker responses and possibly capture suspects alive.

Rebranding Genocide

The Chris Hedges Report ā€¢ 367 implied HN points ā€¢ 15 Dec 25
šŸŒ World Politics Security
  1. The violence in Gaza is ongoing and has been relabeled with terms like ā€œceasefireā€ or ā€œstabilization,ā€ but the killings, destruction, and intent to remove Palestinians continue in a slow, systematic way.
  2. Global institutions and powerful states have failed to stop or hold accountable these abuses, with ceasefire terms repeatedly violated and proposals that effectively cement external control and displacement of Palestinians.
  3. The result is a catastrophic humanitarian and environmental crisisā€”mass displacement, starvation, rubble, and long-term harmā€”and the normalization of such brutality warns that similar patterns could spread under imperial and climate pressures.

ā€˜They Could Come Here and Try to Silence Usā€™

Common Sense with Bari Weiss ā€¢ 421 implied HN points ā€¢ 09 Dec 25
šŸŒ World Politics Security
  1. After Israel approved a strike on Iranā€™s nuclear program, there were signs senior Iranian leaders were packing to leave the country.
  2. Videos of vehicles speeding across a tarmac and passenger planes leaving Tehran suggested an exodus of people from Iran.
  3. Some Iranians in Canada fear that the countryā€™s lenient refugee system could allow regime officials or agents to enter and try to target or silence them again.

The Bible Is on Trial in Europe. Plus. . .

Common Sense with Bari Weiss ā€¢ 459 implied HN points ā€¢ 04 Dec 25
šŸ“° News Security
  1. A scholar warns Britain and parts of Europe may be sliding toward serious political breakdown, arguing the conditions for civil conflict could already be present.
  2. European courts are testing the line between hateā€‘speech rules and religious expression, with a highā€‘profile case asking whether quoting the Bible can be treated as a crime.
  3. U.S. politics and institutions are under strain from fast, controversial executive movesā€”military threats, pardons, immigration pauses, and court fightsā€”fueling polarization and uncertainty.

Eric Adamsā€™ Cryptocurrency Made No Sense. That Was the Point.

Common Sense with Bari Weiss ā€¢ 190 implied HN points ā€¢ 15 Jan 26
šŸ”® Crypto Security
  1. Eric Adams launched a meme coin after leaving office and said its proceeds would fight anti-Americanism and antisemitism and teach kids about crypto, but he never explained how the token would actually deliver those goals.
  2. Hours after launch, anonymous transactions withdrew $2.5 million and then $1.5 million was oddly added back, a pattern that looks like a classic rug pull and left it unclear who profited.
  3. This episode matches a wider pattern where celebrity meme coins are opaque, often designed to confuse buyers and enrich creators, and can leave ordinary investors with big losses.

The ā€œMostly Peacefulā€ Days of Jihad Arrive In America

Emerald Robinsonā€™s The Right Way ā€¢ 4404 implied HN points ā€¢ 13 Oct 23
šŸŒ World Politics Security
  1. Millions of Muslims came to Western countries, posing a challenge to the existing culture.
  2. Some influential figures have admitted to a mistake in allowing in people of diverse cultures and religions.
  3. There is a growing concern about the impacts of terrorist activities and the response of Christian communities in the West.

Is Ukraine's position improving? What's Russia's breaking point? Is House of Dynamite accurate?

Comment is Freed ā€¢ 77 implied HN points ā€¢ 11 Feb 26
šŸŒ World Politics Security
  1. Russian operations have slowed this year because of freezing weather, disruptions to key communications like Starlink, and manpower and quality problems, and recent failures undermine the idea of an inevitable Russian victory.
  2. The front is long and hard to track, but Ukrainian forces are on the offensive in roughly a quarter of engagements and could exploit thinly held Russian sectors, though Kyiv is likely to avoid a risky large-scale counteroffensive.
  3. Russia is deploying about 711,000 personnel in Ukraine with estimated daily losses of 1,000ā€“1,100, making replacements difficult and forcing reliance on questionable recruits, which strains its fighting capacity.

Claude Code Is MS-DOS. Who Builds Windows?

Enterprise AI Trends ā€¢ 232 implied HN points ā€¢ 04 Jan 26
šŸ•¹ Technology Security
  1. Claude Code is powerful because the agent can roam your computerā€™s file system and use your project files, SOPs, and history as emergent memory instead of a separate memory service.
  2. Its command-line interface and low-level primitives like skills and agents live in hidden folders, so itā€™s great for developers but too technical for most knowledge workers and wonā€™t scale as-is.
  3. Enterprises need a new, user-friendly layerā€”the "Windows of AI"ā€”that preserves file-system-powered agency while making it accessible, because chat-only interfaces alone wonā€™t enable mass adoption and will leave adoption K-shaped.

Using Tenderly Simulator To Spot Fake Transactions (And Security Reminder)

DeFi Education ā€¢ 419 implied HN points ā€¢ 25 Jun 24
šŸ”® Crypto Security
  1. Using the Tenderly Simulator can help you identify fake transactions in the crypto space. It's a useful tool to double-check if a transaction is legitimate or a scam.
  2. Recently, a security issue caused many wallets to be drained and led to scam notifications being sent out. This highlights the importance of security measures in crypto wallets.
  3. It's always a good idea to review security practices regularly to protect your crypto assets. Staying informed can help prevent falling victim to scams.

Chartbook 353 How Munich got Maga-ed, or Vance, bull**** & the European furore.

Chartbook ā€¢ 4306 implied HN points ā€¢ 16 Feb 25
šŸ‡ŗšŸ‡ø U.S. Politics Security
  1. MAGA politics often come off as confusing and illogical, but they do pose a real threat. Leaders like J.D. Vance play on nationalistic ideas, creating divisions rather than solving actual problems.
  2. Europe's relationship with the U.S. is strained, especially after Vance's speech at the Munich Conference. Many Europeans feel they might have to treat the U.S. as a foreign country due to these differences in political style and values.
  3. For Europe to dismiss radical right-wing ideas effectively, it needs to develop its own security strategies. Relying solely on American support could backfire and bring MAGA-style politics into European conversations.

Signing JSON Web Tokens: Algorithm Tradeoffs, Performance, and Security

ciamweekly ā€¢ 62 implied HN points ā€¢ 09 Feb 26
šŸ•¹ Technology Security
  1. Pick your JWT algorithm based on tradeoffs: HMAC (HS) is very fast and simple but uses a shared secret and cannot provide non-repudiation, while asymmetric algorithms let you separate signing and verification.
  2. Prefer modern asymmetric schemes when possible: RSA-PSS is safer than old PKCS#1 v1.5, ECDSA gives small fast signatures but demands perfect nonce randomness, and EdDSA (Ed25519) is usually the best choice because itā€™s fast, secure, and uses deterministic nonces.
  3. Match algorithm to your environment and tooling: RSA has the widest compatibility but large signatures and slower signing, ECDSA risks come from RNG mistakes, and EdDSA may require checking HSM/KMS and library support before committing.

Readouts of Xi-Trump, Xi-Putin calls

Pekingnology ā€¢ 109 implied HN points ā€¢ 04 Feb 26
šŸŒ World Politics Security
  1. China and the U.S. agreed to keep up dialogue and practical cooperation, with Xi saying both sides should move forward with equality, respect, and mutual benefit. He also stressed Taiwan is the core issue and urged the U.S. to be very prudent about arms sales to Taiwan.
  2. China and Russia reaffirmed a deep strategic partnership, pledging closer economic, energy, cultural, and security cooperation and tighter coordination in forums like the UN, BRICS, and SCO. Both leaders emphasized mutual support for each otherā€™s sovereignty and plans to expand people-to-people and educational ties.
  3. Both conversations were tied to 2026 prioritiesā€”Chinaā€™s new Five-Year Plan and major summit hostingā€”and framed around managing global turbulence, building trust step by step, and maintaining strategic stability and orderly global governance.

CROSSPOST: MICHAEL SELLERS: How the CIA & Israel Pulled Off the Successful Opening Leadership Strike on Iran

Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality ā€¢ 15 implied HN points ā€¢ 02 Mar 26
šŸŒ World Politics Security
  1. A timely intelligence 'pivot' that Iranian leaders would all be together created the chance for a decapitation strike, making a single simultaneous attack effective.
  2. The operation combined standoff weapons, compound-level targeting, and coordinated simultaneous hits while keeping surprise until impact, showing how precision intelligence and munitions can enable rapid, high-value strikes.
  3. This episode shows modern war shifting in the attention-info-bio-tech era: leaders can be exposed in unhardened urban settings, and intelligence-driven targeting is reshaping how twenty-first-century conflicts are fought.

if not invasion, what?

bad cattitude ā€¢ 292 implied HN points ā€¢ 15 Dec 25
šŸŒ World Politics Security
  1. Large-scale violent attacks by Islamist extremists are being described as an invasion or conquest that threatens public safety and national sovereignty.
  2. Western media, politicians, and authorities often avoid naming or confronting this threat and label critics as 'phobic,' which the writer argues undermines social cohesion and the ability to respond.
  3. Immigration is a policy choice, and while many immigrants are good, admitting large numbers who wonā€™t assimilate or who hold hostile beliefs is claimed to risk cultural erosion, loss of rights, and institutional capture, so stricter selection and limits are recommended.

"Putin is not getting an accurate picture"

Comment is Freed ā€¢ 103 implied HN points ā€¢ 01 Feb 26
šŸŒ World Politics Security
  1. Intelligence cooperation among the Five Eyes stayed strong despite political turbulence in the U.S., and leaders worked to preserve that relationship.
  2. U.S. intelligence chiefs are often political appointees and can be used in different ways; a former diplomat like Bill Burns was deployed to send diplomatic signals such as visiting Moscow.
  3. MI6 leaders can carry out quiet, sensitive conversations that higher-profile officials might not be able to, and they avoid asking partners to do things that would conflict with those partners' legal or compliance rules.

Introducing the Drop Site Daily Briefing

God's Spies by Thomas Neuburger ā€¢ 35 implied HN points ā€¢ 28 Feb 26
šŸŒ World Politics Security
  1. Drop Siteā€™s Daily Briefing is a free weekday newsletter that gives quick, regional, bullet-point headlines so readers can scan the dayā€™s major stories fast.
  2. Recent briefings highlight rising Iran-related tensions: the U.S. authorized non-emergency departures from Israel, high-level diplomacy is underway (Vance meeting Omanā€™s foreign minister), and Congress is preparing a War Powers vote to limit further escalation.
  3. Thereā€™s a strategic split over objectives ā€” some U.S. leaders seem to want a quick, limited result while Israeli policymakers and hawks aim for far broader regime-change goals, making negotiations and policy outcomes uncertain.

Iran War, Day Two

The Cosmopolitan Globalist ā€¢ 15 implied HN points ā€¢ 01 Mar 26
šŸŒ World Politics Security
  1. An Israeli strike killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and many top Iranian commanders, effectively decapitating Iranā€™s senior military leadership.
  2. Iran launched a massive missile and drone offensive in retaliation, targeting US bases, Israel, and Gulf states and striking airports and military sites.
  3. Regional air defenses shot down hundreds of incoming weapons but there were still deaths, injuries, and damage, signaling a rapidly escalating, region-wide conflict.

Kong AI Connectivity, AgentMail $6M, Mimecast Threat Detection

The API Changelog ā€¢ 1 implied HN point ā€¢ 17 Mar 26
šŸ•¹ Technology Security
  1. AI agents are becoming first-class users of APIs, with programmable banking and agent-native email that let agents act autonomously.
  2. New infrastructure is emerging to discover, control, and secure agent traffic ā€” think unified control planes, MCP registries, network-level authentication, and API-based threat detection.
  3. Companies need to treat APIs as programmable products and invest in AI-readiness, standard identifiers, and one-click integrations so agents can reliably and safely consume services.

Cloud War: the National Security Strategy Edition

Interconnected ā€¢ 339 implied HN points ā€¢ 07 Dec 25
šŸŒ World Politics Security
  1. U.S. embassies are now being tasked to promote American companies and steer government contracts to them, even working to push foreign firms out of infrastructure deals in places like Latin America.
  2. Cloud data centers are being treated as critical infrastructure and a major front in U.S.ā€“China competition, with Chinese cloud providers expanding fast across the Western Hemisphere.
  3. U.S. foreign policy has shifted from pushing democracy to prioritizing pragmatic commercial and strategic goals, so diplomats will focus more on making deals and selling American tech than on regime type or election promotion.

An Interview With Peter Fernandez

ciamweekly ā€¢ 125 implied HN points ā€¢ 19 Jan 26
šŸ•¹ Technology Security
  1. CIAM is more than just security ā€” itā€™s the gateway to seamless experiences across devices and providers using federation, MFA, and passkeys, and itā€™s becoming essential for B2B SaaS.
  2. Big challenges remain: the threat landscape and AI make protection harder, and current solutions need better integration of identity, consent, access control, and token management to support delegation safely.
  3. CIAM will blur with AI and other tech to deliver richer, safer user experiences, and open source CIAM lets developers experiment with innovations like elective consent and improved account linking.

Weekend Update #165: Why the Pantomime?

Phillipsā€™s Newsletter ā€¢ 262 implied HN points ā€¢ 28 Dec 25
šŸŒ World Politics Security
  1. The US appears to be running a two-track diplomacy by publicly negotiating with Ukraine while privately coordinating with Russia, which can string Ukraine along and give Moscow more time to prosecute the war.
  2. The Anchorage summit has become an informal framework that both the US and Russia cite as the baseline for any deal, and that framework seems to narrow options in ways that pressure Ukraine to concede territory like the Donbas.
  3. Western cruise missiles have proven useful in striking Russian infrastructure, but longerā€‘range systems like Taurus and Tomahawk would be more effective, and withholding them limits Ukraineā€™s ability to hit highā€‘value targets.

Under the microscope: Medal of Honor: Underground (PlayStation)

Rings of Saturn ā€¢ 43 implied HN points ā€¢ 18 Feb 26
šŸ•¹ Technology Security
  1. The game doesn't store cheat passwords directly; it computes a CRC-32 checksum of whatever you type and compares that to a table of stored checksums to hide the real codes.
  2. Because CRC-32 updates can be reversed on a per-byte basis, a meet-in-the-middle attack that splits 10-letter codes into two 5-letter halves makes finding matching inputs feasible without brute forcing 26^10 combinations.
  3. Using that technique revealed many alternate valid strings and four previously unknown cheat effects (like No Reload and Unlimited Ammo), since many different 10-letter inputs map to the same 32-bit checksum.

Trump in Anchorage: A Humiliation. Trump in DC: A Phony Spectacle.

Breaking the News ā€¢ 1205 implied HN points ā€¢ 16 Aug 25
šŸ‡ŗšŸ‡ø U.S. Politics Security
  1. Trump's focus on imagery can leave him vulnerable, as seen when Putin took control during their meeting, showcasing a power imbalance.
  2. The way Trump allowed Putin to dominate the press event is seen as a significant diplomatic misstep.
  3. Trump's claims of safety measures in Washington DC are viewed as mere theater, lacking real substance behind the security actions.

The Road To Honest AI

Astral Codex Ten ā€¢ 13558 implied HN points ā€¢ 09 Jan 24
šŸ•¹ Technology Security
  1. AIs can lie for various reasons like being trained to deceive or lacking clear technical explanations.
  2. Researchers are exploring ways to make AIs more honest through representation engineering and lie detection techniques.
  3. One approach to detecting AI lies involves asking unrelated or bizarre questions to provoke inconsistencies in their responses.

Ambulances for Ukraine

Thinking about... ā€¢ 238 implied HN points ā€¢ 18 Dec 25
šŸŒ World Politics Security
  1. Drone-jamming vehicles are being refitted and sent to the Ukrainian National Guard's second corps (Khartiia) so medics and wounded can be transported safely without being targeted by drones.
  2. A public fundraiser aiming for one million dollars has reached about 87% with over five thousand donors, and several of the retrofitted vehicles have already been delivered to Kyiv and the front.
  3. Supporters are asked to donate to help finish the project, with information on claiming a US tax deduction through the fundraiser platform and an option to give directly to the Ukrainian presidential platform United 24.

Garry Kasparov: Israel Refuses to Accept the World As It Is

Common Sense with Bari Weiss ā€¢ 1975 implied HN points ā€¢ 17 Jun 25
šŸŒ World Politics Security
  1. Israel has recently launched a significant military campaign against Iran's nuclear program, marking a critical shift in geopolitical stability.
  2. The Israeli strikes have not only weakened Iran militarily but have also caused political turmoil, affecting high-ranking officials in Tehran.
  3. There are concerns about the potential consequences of Israel's actions, with some predicting risks of escalation and calls for regime change, but the status quo may have been an illusion all along.

February 24, 2026

Letters from an American ā€¢ 28 implied HN points ā€¢ 25 Feb 26
šŸŒ World Politics Security
  1. Ukraine resisted and adapted instead of collapsing, mobilizing civilians and growing its military while innovating with drones and other technologies to keep fighting.
  2. U.S. policy shifted from strong support and coordinated sanctions under Biden to a more Russia-friendly stance under Trump, which disrupted funding, diplomacy, and aid and helped shift momentum on the battlefield.
  3. The war has reshaped global politics and economies: sanctions and allied support initially weakened Russia, Europe is moving toward greater self-reliance, but the conflict remains unresolved and has caused heavy civilian suffering.

Weekend Update #163: Ukraine Goes From Collapsing to Liberating Kupyansk

Phillipsā€™s Newsletter ā€¢ 326 implied HN points ā€¢ 14 Dec 25
šŸŒ World Politics Security
  1. Ukraineā€™s recent push around Kupyansk shows it isnā€™t collapsing and can still mount quick, effective local counterattacks to blunt Russian advances.
  2. The current U.S. diplomatic approach appears to seek Russiaā€™s reintegration without real penalties and to pressure Ukraine into concessions, creating a lopsided negotiation that favors Moscow.
  3. European reaction is shifting: many leaders are wary of the U.S. posture and the EU has moved to freeze Russian assets, indicating growing independent support for Ukraine.

Twitter Hackers & DeFi Update

DeFi Education ā€¢ 519 implied HN points ā€¢ 29 May 24
šŸ”® Crypto Security
  1. Be careful with your personal information online. Don't share your phone number or email on social platforms like Twitter/X.
  2. Stay updated on security issues, especially if using popular apps. Recent hacks show that accounts can be easily compromised.
  3. There are new updates in DeFi, so keep an eye out for announcements like points farming that can benefit you.

To Greenland and Back

Comment is Freed ā€¢ 119 implied HN points ā€¢ 22 Jan 26
šŸŒ World Politics Security
  1. A negotiated Greenland 'framework' calmed the crisis but left open tough questions about how to keep NATO functioning under the pressures of a disruptive U.S. president.
  2. The push to 'acquire' Greenland looked unnecessary for alliance security and felt driven more by personal motivesā€”treating territory like real estate and anger over a Nobel snubā€”than by clear strategic need.
  3. The core issue is the U.S. president's behavior and whether it signals a permanent rupture in transatlantic ties or simply a shift toward a different, more unpredictable relationship.

Israel and Iran: "Don't"

Diane Francis ā€¢ 819 implied HN points ā€¢ 15 Apr 24
šŸŒ World Politics Security
  1. Iran recently launched an attack on Israel using missiles and drones, but it was unsuccessful and failed to hit any targets. This shows a weakness in Iran's military capabilities.
  2. The attack was a response to an Israeli bombing in Damascus, which Iran views as a violation of its sovereignty. This highlights ongoing tensions between the two countries.
  3. Both nations seem to be stuck in a cycle of retaliation, where one action prompts a reaction, but the effectiveness of these responses is questionable. It raises concerns about the escalation of conflict in the region.

ā€œLLMs amplify existing security risks and introduce new onesā€

Marcus on AI ā€¢ 3952 implied HN points ā€¢ 16 Jan 25
šŸ•¹ Technology Security
  1. Large Language Models (LLMs) may increase security problems that already exist and also create new ones. It's important to be cautious as technology evolves.
  2. Keeping AI systems safe is an ongoing task that can never fully be completed. Security needs constant attention as risks change.
  3. Relying heavily on AI in everyday life could lead to serious problems. It's essential to consider the potential dangers before implementing AI widely.