New online risks

The US is scrambling to contain the most damaging leak of US military secrets in a decade. [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( The video of armed agents arresting Jack Teixeira, clad in an olive-green T-shirt and red athletic shorts, tells you everything you need to know about the most damaging leak of US military secrets in a decade — the main suspect looks like a kid. In the past, the concern was about disaffected intelligence employees exposing global spying campaigns (Edward Snowden) or dumping thousands of pages of State Department cables to trusted sources (Chelsea Manning). The 21-year-old Teixeira’s story suggests a new threat: Pentagon employees barely out of their teens plumbing US networks and sharing what they find in restricted online chat groups that officials don’t even begin to know how to monitor. Key reading: - [US Left Red-Faced Over 21-Year-Old’s Alleged Tie to Secrets Leak]( - [All We Know About the Leak of Classified US Military Documents: Q&A]( - [US Arrests 21-Year-Old National Guardsman in Classified Documents Leak]( - [US Urges Social Media to Not Share Leaked Docs in Damage Control]( That’s the picture emerging of the alleged perpetrator of an embarrassing leak that revealed intel on everything from dire US assessments about Ukraine’s ability to defend itself to China’s hypersonic missile program, as well as communications between Moscow and Beijing. Reports indicate that Teixeira — if he did it at all — had access to sensitive military documents because of his role as a low-level IT staffer at a base in Cape Cod. And that he sent it all around to his gaming buddies in Discord chats to impress them. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has promised a review to make sure it never happens again. But stopping leaks like this won’t be nearly so easy. Did Austin even know what the popular messaging app Discord is? He certainly does now. For years, the Pentagon focused on agents exposing secrets to foreign powers via dead drops in city parks. Then it went after hackers breaching US networks or slipping terabytes of files to adversaries on USB drives. The latest incident suggests the US security apparatus is wholly unprepared for the next frontier: extremely online military personnel leaking the US’s most prized secrets just because they can. — [Nick Wadhams]( WATCH: The FBI carrying out the arrest yesterday. Source: WCVB/APTN Click [here]( for this week’s most compelling political images, and if you are enjoying this newsletter, sign up [here](. Coming Soon: Understand power in Washington through the lens of business, government and the economy. [Sign up now]( for the new Bloomberg Washington Edition newsletter delivered weekdays. And if you are enjoying this newsletter, sign up [here](. Global Headlines Economic divide | Global finance chiefs are drawing sharply different conclusions about the biggest risks to the economic outlook a year after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Gathering in Washington, officials from rich, democratic nations stressed the need for more resilience in supply chains to insulate from risks ranging from pandemics to war. But others warned against a [fragmentation]( of the global economy into competing blocs that hurts growth. - Sri Lanka and major creditors formally launched talks to restructure the nation’s debt without China — its biggest bilateral lender — a sign of growing [frustration]( with Beijing’s approach to debt woes in the developing world. - China said it wants multilateral lenders to participate in the debt restructuring of poorer nations as part of a [three-point plan]( put forward at talks with the World Bank and other creditors in Washington. Emerald isle | Joe Biden’s return to Ireland unleashed a [wellspring]( of reflection and man-of-the-people images, and while he stopped short of an announcement on his electoral intentions, the lessons hang over his upcoming decision over whether to run for president again at age 81. - Former President Donald Trump defended his real estate business during a seven-hour [deposition]( with New York Attorney General Letitia James. China’s recent economic indicators are providing [contradictory signals]( about the recovery, fueling debate over whether Beijing needs to step up its stimulus. Data showed a surprise jump in Chinese exports — after five months of declines. That was in contrast to signals from purchasing managers’ surveys last week that suggested a slowdown in manufacturing. Beijing blockade | Taiwan sees an economic [blockade]( by China as more likely than a direct military attack, deputy Foreign Minister Roy Chun Lee said in an interview. Taiwan is working with friendly nations on how to respond to such a scenario, he said, adding that Chinese military exercises are increasingly aimed at “winning the war without an actual fight.” - The US is pressing the need for allies to coordinate against economic [coercion]( and not just military threats, Ambassador to Tokyo Rahm Emanuel said in an interview ahead of a Group of Seven foreign ministers’ meeting in Japan. - Taiwan’s destabilization would be a “horror scenario,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in a [testy]( public exchange with her Chinese counterpart, Qin Gang, in Beijing today. Best of Bloomberg Opinion - [Someone Should Help Ukraine, But It’s Not the IMF: Mihir Sharma]( - [Egypt Can Sell Rockets But Can’t Feed Its People: Bobby Ghosh]( - [Democrats Can’t Simply Defy Abortion Ruling: Julianna Goldman]( Big moment | France’s Constitutional Council will rule on Emmanuel Macron’s plan to raise the retirement age today, a key moment for the overhaul that has sparked mass protests and left the president’s capacity to enact further changes hanging in the balance. Read [here]( about the possible outcomes of the ruling on both the constitutional validity of the law and an opposition-backed request to put it to a referendum. Explainers You Can Use - [Malaysia’s $14 Billion Row With Heirs of Sulu Sultan]( - [How Irish Unity Got a Boost From Brexit, Demographics]( - [World Has 28% Risk of New Covid-Like Pandemic Within 10 Years]( Atomic test | North Korea said it tested a new type of solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile that could deliver multiple nuclear warheads to the US mainland, with leader Kim Jong Un on hand to see the launch of his [latest weapon](. Pyongyang has displayed a bevy of rockets in recent months it says can deliver an atomic strike as it refuses to engage in disarmament-for-aid talks that have been stalled for years. - While children across North Korea spent the day in school, Kim’s [preteen daughter]( was with her dad watching the test. Kim and his daughter watching the test. Source: KCNA via KNS Tune in to Bloomberg TV’s Balance of Power at 5pm to 6pm ET weekdays with Washington correspondents [Annmarie Hordern]( and [Joe Mathieu](. You can watch and listen on Bloomberg channels and online [here](. News to Note - US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is preparing to unveil a plan next week that would [suspend]( the nation’s debt ceiling for a year in return for spending concessions, sources say. - Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for [strong action]( against “anti-India elements” by the UK government as he spoke to his counterpart Rishi Sunak by phone, India’s Press Information Bureau said. - Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and relatives [sold]( three Georgia properties to Republican mega-donor Harlan Crow, the same Texas real estate magnate who has provided him with lavish trips around the world, ProPublica reported. - Dozens of advocacy organizations and children’s safety experts are calling on Meta Platforms to halt its plans to allow minors into its new [virtual reality]( world. - The US called on Vietnam to [release]( blogger Nguyen Lan Thang who was sentenced to six years in prison yesterday for anti-state activities ahead of Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s weekend visit to Hanoi. Pop quiz (no cheating!) In which country has a flood of money from global sporting brands fueled a spike in cases of alleged domestic abuse, violence and property theft involving female athletes? Send your answers to balancepower@bloomberg.net. And finally ... Numbers of a type of seabird known as a red-throated loon declined [significantly]( in the vicinity of offshore wind farms in the North Sea, new research shows. The study found a near 30% reduction of birds observed after 14 wind farms were built, with populations disturbed even within a 10-kilometer zone. The findings underscore the difficulty in balancing the push for more clean energy with protecting biodiversity. A red-throated loon and chick. Photographer: Sven-Erik Arndt/Arterra/Universal Images Group/Getty Images Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. Want to sponsor this newsletter? [Get in touch here](. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Bloomberg Politics newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, [sign up here]( to get it in your inbox. [Unsubscribe]( [Bloomberg.com]( [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10022 [Ads Powered By Liveintent]( [Ad Choices](