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Outlaw Chemist, Deadlock Ransom, and Conflict Gold
Illicit Edge - Edition for August 11, 2026
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Greetings! It’s August 11, and we’re tracking today’s top stories: The Outlaw Chemist Teaching People How to Make Drugs From Scratch, DeadLock Ransomware, Why Conflict Gold Sanctions Fail, Trump Ally Takes Office in Colombia With Vow to Fight Cocaine Armies, and much more…
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🎯 FEATURED STORY
The Outlaw Chemist Teaching People How to Make Drugs From Scratch. Willy Myco has made over 120 videos showing people his exact process for making everything from LSD to DMT vapes. Not everyone’s a fan of his methods. Wired
🔥 TOP STORIES
DeadLock ransomware: Breaking down a Rust-based encryptor with decentralized recovery infrastructure Microsoft Security
Why Conflict Gold Sanctions Fail War on the Rocks
Trump Ally Takes Office in Colombia With Vow to Fight Cocaine Armies WSJ
Alleged rebel leader killed in Colombia as president targets armed groups BBC
U.S. brokers secret deal on clandestine Syrian nuclear site Axios
Syria will take back control from Russia of 2 key Mediterranean bases under a new deal AP
‘Don’t go near the mountains’: Cartel violence spreads to Mazatlán as the war in Sinaloa fragments El País
Code Pink Founder Medea Benjamin's Radical ‘Charity’ Ordered To Cease Operations Free Beacon
A.I. Agents Are Taking Entire Online Courses for Cheating Students New York Times
Trump Shifts to Economic Pressure, Again, As Iran Won’t Meet His Demands WSJ
Lebanon indicts ex-central bank governor Salameh over new alleged financial crimes Al-Monitor
LexisNexis shuts down services after suspicious activity on servers BleepingComputer
A data breach at shipping giant Ceva Logistics is rippling across banks, retailers, Steam gamers, and beyond TechCrunch
IN THE NEWS
🚩 RUSSIA & CHINA
U.K. Discovers Component in Its Naval Drones Sent Signals to China WSJ
Austria breaks up sanctions evasion scheme supplying Russian arms industry Reuters
In China, ‘Moles’ Are Leaking Official Secrets for Profit WSJ
Chinese National Pleads Guilty to Trying to Obtain U.S. Military Equipment DOJ
China-linked hackers turning popular cybersecurity tool into ransomware launchpad Recorded Future
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🚀 SANCTIONS & TERROR
Canada Sanctions Streit Group Over Armored Vehicles Used by Russia’s National Guard United24
Man tried to join IS after 'watching YouTube' BBC
Bipartisan House members introduce Graham’s Russia sanctions bill The Hill
Former Iran detainee says sanctions created ‘huge franchise’ for regime power brokers Fox News
New Zealand sanctions Russian hackers, propaganda groups over Ukraine war Recorded Future
Trump amps up pressure on billionaire Sargeant to exit Venezuela Fortune
💸 CORRUPTION & FINANCIAL CRIME
Judge dismisses Adani case — but slams DOJ official’s ‘highly unusual’ conduct Politico
In Arizona, it may be easier to steal a home than a TV as deed fraud grows USA Today
777 Partners Files for Chapter 11 After Fraud Allegations Sink Soccer, Airline Bets WSJ
Douglasville man convicted of laundering $2.7 million stolen in romance, online scams CBS News
An East Bay city thought it was paying for a sports complex. It instead handed scammers $1M San Francisco Chronicle
🔐 CRYPTO & CYBER
The Hugging Face Hack Was Cheap Persistence at Work Recorded Future
Why the latest Bitcoin hack hurt more than most Fortune
FBI, South Korea warn of Gunra ransomware gang targeting critical infrastructure Recorded Future
Hackers Drain $8 Million From Crypto Exchange Across Two Blockchains Decrypt
New Passkey Attacks Can Recover Synced Private Keys or Bypass Phishing-Resistant MFA Hacker News
🚚 TRAFFICKING
Smuggling mastermind arrested in Serbia after 625 migrants moved to Europe Brussels Times
Algerian gang arrested for 'smuggling migrants across Mediterranean' in speedboats The National
Smuggling leader convicted in El Paso immigration death case Border Report
Homeland Security Task Force Secures Life Sentences for Two Leaders of Multimillion-Dollar Cocaine and Fentanyl-Trafficking Organization That Used Children as Couriers DOJ
"Common sense is seeing things as they are; and doing things as they ought to be." —Harriet Beecher Stowe
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