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Earth Intelligence

22 Jan 2024 — 4 min read

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Microsoft’s Executive Email Breach
U.S. Weather Manipulation

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Microsoft’s Executive Email Breach:

Microsoft disclosed in a recent regulatory filing that Nobelium, a Russian intelligence group known for the 2020 SolarWinds breach, accessed email accounts of some of its top executives. Detected last week, this breach is not the first instance of Russian hackers infiltrating Microsoft's systems, highlighting the heightened risk of sensitive data leaks amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Following new U.S. regulations mandating cybersecurity incident disclosures, Microsoft reported the breach. Although the company doesn't believe the attack had a major material effect, it aimed to comply with these new rules. This approach reflects Microsoft's commitment to cybersecurity.
In response, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is collaborating with Microsoft to assess the incident's impact and protect other potential targets. Eric Goldstein, CISA's executive assistant director for cybersecurity, stated that there are currently no known impacts on Microsoft's customer environments or products. This collaboration is part of broader efforts to manage and mitigate cybersecurity threats effectively.

U.S. Weather Manipulation:

Southern California water officials are piloting a cloud seeding project to enhance the region's water supply. Josh Mosher, General Manager of the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority, explains that the technique involves dispersing silver iodide particles into the atmosphere to stimulate increased precipitation in clouds. This precipitation, primarily snow, eventually contributes to the water supply. The initiative is a collaboration of five water districts across the Inland Empire and Orange County.
Launched in November, this four-year pilot program aims to boost precipitation by 5% to 15%. The silver iodide particles are released from 15 ground-based seeding generators located near the mountains of the Santa Ana River watershed basin. The snow generated from these mountains melts and flows into rivers like the Santa Ana River, where it's captured. Mike Gardner from the Western Municipal Water District highlights the project's potential to reduce dependency on expensive and less reliable imported water.
Safety concerns, particularly related to large storms or atmospheric river events, are a key consideration in the project. Mosher assures that there are specific criteria to suspend cloud seeding during certain large storms to avoid flooding risks. Following the pilot program, the gathered data will inform water agencies' decisions on the future of cloud seeding, focusing on its benefits, cost-effectiveness, and overall feasibility. Globally, several countries have adopted cloud seeding with diverse techniques and objectives.
For instance, the United Arab Emirates uses cloud seeding to increase rainfall in its arid regions. China has a large-scale program aimed at inducing rain and snowfall in areas facing water shortages. In the United States, cloud seeding is mainly practiced in the western states to augment water supplies and support agriculture. These programs employ various methods, such as airplanes for dispersing seeding agents or ground-based generators, tailored to each program's specific goals and geographic conditions.

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