Top Stories
Curated DEFCON intelligence highlights and featured alerts with the highest impact
Top stories are editor-curated alerts covering the most significant developments. For the full alert feed, visit All Alerts.
Panama-Flagged Ocean Winner Sinks Off Odisha
INDIA - The Indian Coast Guard Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Sri Vijaya Puram received information at 6:18 a.m. UTC on August 22 that communication had been lost with the Panama-flagged bulk carrier MV Ocean Winner, IMO 9145530, and that the vessel sank in the Bay of Bengal.
Read the Full Story
Japan-U.S.-ROK Telephone Meeting Follows Missile Launches By North Korea
TOKYO - On August 20, following North Korea’s ballistic missile launch, Deputy Director-General Ariyoshi of Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs held a trilateral phone meeting with Baek Yong-jin, Director-General for Korean Peninsula Policy at South Korea’s Foreign Ministry, and David Wilezol, Deput
Read the Full Story
U.S. Agencies Issue Advisory on Active Threat Targeting Siemens S7 Series PLCs
WASHINGTON - The National Security Agency, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Energy, and Environmental Protection Agency released joint Cybersecurity Advisory AA26-231A on August 19, warning of an active cyber threat to Siemens S7 Series p
Read the Full StoryUAE Detects Iranian Ballistic Missiles After Erbil Drone Attack
DOHA - On August 18 the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Defense stated that its air defense systems detected two ballistic missiles launched from Iran toward the UAE.
Read the Full Story
Kurdistan Region: Two Hadid-110 Drones Strike PM Office, Origin Attributed to Iran
MIDDLE EAST - Two explosive-laden Hadid-110 drones that the Kurdistan Counter-Terrorism Directorate stated were launched from across the Iranian border struck the private office of Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and the residence of the Parastin Agency director in the Pirmam distric
Read the Full Story
USS John F. Kennedy Completes Sea Trials, CENTCOM Chief Ends Middle East Trip, Lincoln Rotation Confirmed
ARABIAN SEA - HII Newport News Shipbuilding completed acceptance sea trials of the future USS John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) on August 15, with the ship returning to the yard after testing key systems at sea.
Read the Full Story
Magnitude 7.7 Earthquake Strikes Flores Sea Near Ende, Indonesia
INDONESIA - A magnitude Mw (Magnitude) 7.7 earthquake struck the Flores Sea on August 15 at 5:58 a.m. local time (9:58 p.m. UTC on August 14) at a depth of 6.
Read the Full Story
Coast Guard Raises Port Conditions Across Hawaii for Tropical Storm Lala
HONOLULU - The U.S. Coast Guard Captain of the Port Honolulu scheduled progressive increases in port heavy weather conditions for commercial ports across Hawaii, Maui, Honolulu, and Kauai counties effective 8:00 a.m. HST on Aug.
Read the Full Story
NATO Baltic Air Policing Jet Shoots Down Foreign Drone Over Eastern Latvia
LATVIA - On the morning of August 14, a NATO fighter jet operating under the Baltic Air Policing mission from a base in Lithuania intercepted and destroyed a foreign unmanned aerial vehicle that entered Latvian airspace over Balvi Municipality.
Read the Full Story
Western North America Wildfires at Peak Resource Levels as British Columbia Declares State of Emergency
NORTH AMERICA - On August 8 the National Interagency Fire Center said 97 large fires remained under containment efforts across the United States, with 83 new fires and 9 new large fires recorded in the preceding 24 hours, while British Columbia authorities stated a provincial state of emergency afte
Read the Full Story
Federal Prosecutor Labels Leipzig Explosive Drone a Serious Attack as USEUCOM Advances SAG-U Reorganization
GERMANY - On August 6 the Office of the Federal Prosecutor assumed lead of the investigation into the explosive-laden drone recovered at Leipzig/Halle Airport on the night of August 4-5, classifying the incident as a serious attack on Germany’s transport and logistics infrastructure.
Read the Full Story
U.S. Mission to Yemen Attributes Houthi Attacks Killing Soldiers in Marib and Hadhramawt
YEMEN - The U.S. Mission to Yemen stated on August 6 that it expresses deepest condolences to the families of the Yemeni soldiers killed that day in Hadhramawt and Marib.
Read the Full Story
U.S. Embassy Havana Issues Security Alert on Cuba Nationwide Electrical Grid Collapse
HAVANA - As of 10:43 p.m. EST on August 2, Cuba experienced a total power failure due to a collapse of its electrical grid, according to a U.S. Embassy Havana security alert published August 3, as well as a statement by the Cuban Electric Union on the same day.
Read the Full Story
Iranian Foreign Ministry Reports Final-Stage Negotiations with Oman on Strait of Hormuz as JMIC Confirms Projectile Incidents
STRAIT OF HORMUZ - The Iranian Foreign Ministry stated that negotiations with Oman regarding the Strait of Hormuz are in their final stages. The Joint Maritime Information Center Update 079, covering March 1 to August 2, listed two confirmed maritime security incidents in the Strait of Hormuz on Aug
Read the Full Story
FBI and EPA Warn of Cyber Attacks on Internet-Facing Controllers in Water Systems
WASHINGTON - The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Environmental Protection Agency issued Public Service Announcement I-073026-PSA on July 30 stating that malicious cyber actors have conducted cyber attacks against Operational Technology devices, specifically Rockwell Automation/Allen-Bradley
Read the Full Story
Armed Russian Cruise Missile Crashes in Eastern Poland, NATO Activates Defenses
POLAND - An armed Russian Kh-101 cruise missile violated Polish airspace and crashed in a field near Tarnawa-Kolonia, approximately 31 miles (50 km) from Lublin, during a large-scale Russian missile and drone attack on Ukraine overnight into July 30.
Read the Full Story
IRGC Reasserts Hormuz Control After CENTCOM Strikes. Gulf States Condemn UAV Attacks
MIDDLE EAST - The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on July 30 again claimed full control of the Strait of Hormuz and said two oil tankers that tried an unauthorized route turned back after a fire broke out on one of them.
Read the Full Story
Trump Orders Hard US Response After Iran Missiles Targeting Forces in Jordan Intercepted
MIDDLE EAST - On July 29, U.S. President Donald Trump stated that five Iranian rockets traveling 8,500 miles per hour had been knocked down the previous night and that U.S. forces would hit Iran very hard in response.
Read the Full Story
U.S. and Saudi Forces Strike IRGC-Directed Sites in Eastern Iraq
MIDDLE EAST - On July 28, U.S. Central Command and the Saudi Arabian Armed Forces conducted precision strikes against Iran-aligned terrorists that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps directed to attack U.S. forces and Saudi energy infrastructure.
Read the Full Story
CENTCOM Intercepts IRGC Ballistic Missiles Targeting U.S. Forces in Middle East
MIDDLE EAST - On July 28 the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces launched multiple ballistic missiles from Iran in an attempted surprise attack on U.S. forces based in the Middle East, according to U.S. Central Command.
Read the Full Story