Chinese Smugglers Try To Smuggle 256 CPUs By Wrapping Them Around Their Bodies

As you well know, the ongoing chip shortage and COVID-19 pandemic has been causing a crisis in the PC world and that shortage is reflected in how smugglers in China have been getting – and we’re using this word sparingly – creative in their attempts to smuggle PC components. Case in point, a truck driver and his co-driver crossing the Hong Kong – Macau Bridge attempted to smuggle a bunch of CPUs across the border by wrapping them around their bodies.

According to multiple reports, the driver and his cohort were detained by Hong Kong customs officials after it was discovered that the suspects had used cling-film to wrap 256 Intel CPUs on to their bodies. Specifically, the CPUs are 10th generation Core i7-10700 and Core i9-10900K CPUs, with a total worth of US$123000 (~RM515431).

The punchline here is that this wasn’t a one-off incident; more than a week later, another smuggling attempt was foiled, with customs officials finding 52 Intel CPUs hidden inside both the driver and passenger seats. Then, earlier this week, the Hong Kong customs seemingly hit the motherlode when it seized 2200 CPUs and 1000 RAM modules, all hidden within a container truck. Along with hundreds of smartphones and cosmetic items, with a total market value in excess of US$4 million (~RM16.8 million).

Alas, the more recent smuggling attempts, however, did not involve the driver and passenger cling wrapping CPUs to their bodies or stuffing them up personal orifices. The latter most likely to hurt if one were to attempt it with sharp-edged items like a CPU.

Philippines accuses China of blocking its ships around South China Sea

The Philippine government has protested the Chinese coast guard's harassment of Philippine coast guard ships patrolling a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Monday.

It was the latest of dozens of recent protests by Manila's foreign affairs department, along with increasingly acerbic remarks by the country's top diplomat and defence chief about Chinese actions in the disputed waters. The high-profile feud has escalated despite President Rodrigo Duterte's friendly stance toward China.

Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. used an obscene phrase in a tweet demanding China get out of Philippine-claimed areas. “What are you doing to our friendship?” Locsin asked. “You're like an ugly oaf forcing your attentions on a handsome guy who wants to be a friend,.”

Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana rejected China's demand that the Philippines end its patrols in the disputed region. “While we acknowledge that China's military capability is more advanced than ours, this does not prevent us from defending our national interests and our dignity as a people with all that we have,” Lorenzana said in a video message late Sunday,

In the latest incident, the Department of Foreign Affairs said it “has protested the shadowing, blocking, dangerous manoeuvr and radio challenges by the Chinese coast guard of Philippine coast guard vessels conducting legitimate maritime patrols and training exercises” from April 24 to 25 near Scarborough Shoal off the northwestern Philippines.

Both countries claim the rich fishing area, which China effectively seized in 2012 by surrounding it with its coast guard and surveillance ships after a tense standoff with Philippine vessels.

The department said it also protested “the incessant, illegal, prolonged and increasing presence of Chinese fishing vessels and maritime militia vessels in Philippine maritime zones” in the disputed waters. It said hundreds of Chinese vessels have been spotted by Philippine law enforcement agencies from January to March this year in areas around Scarborough Shoal and Philippine-occupied Thitu Island, which Filipinos call Pagasa.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry has asked the Philippines to respect what it calls Chinese sovereignty in the disputed waters and “stop actions complicating the situation and escalating disputes.” China claims virtually all of the South China Sea. On Sunday, its People's Liberation Army said a Chinese aircraft carrier group recently conducted annual exercises in the busy sea lanes.

The escalating feud between Manila and Beijing started after more than 200 Chinese vessels suspected by Philippine authorities to be operated by militias were spotted in early March at Whitsun Reef. The Philippine government demanded the vessels leave, then deployed coast guard vessels to the area. China said it owns the reef and the Chinese vessels were sheltering from rough seas.

Around 60,000 Victims Reportedly Affected By China’s Hacking Of Microsoft Email Servers

The mass hacking of Microsoft Exchange email servers that the software giant has blamed on China is much worse than first thought. One former US official who’s familiar with the ongoing investigation told Bloomberg that at least 60,000 victims were affected across the globe.

The scale of the cyber attacks has the Biden administration scrambling, with top officials urging organisations to patch immediately while also determining if they were compromised. Latest victims reportedly include the European Banking Authority, senior citizen homes, and even an ice-cream company, Bloomberg said.

Microsoft initially described the attacks as “limited and targeted”. But according to the BBC, Brian Krebs, an industry expert, said that the attacks had “dramatically stepped up” since Microsoft’s announcement of the breach last week.

Now the question is how the new US president will respond. The New York Times (NYT) said that the Biden administration had already planned to hit Russia with cyber attacks and economic sanctions in retaliation for earlier hacking incidents. But confronting Russia and China, both nuclear powers, at the same time might prove to be a tad risky – suffice to say.

According to the NYT, the hackers exploited US law that prevents its intelligence agencies from probing systems based in the country. Since the hackers operated from leased virtual private servers (VPS) in the US, the government was caught unaware until a private company – Microsoft, in this latest case – sounded the alarm.