farm

Two men thought it was a good idea to lend their houses to a North Korean laptop farm. It went wrong

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Teleworking has accustomed us to a very comfortable idea: if someone delivers work, attends meetings and responds to messages, perhaps it doesn’t matter too much where they do it from. The problem appears when that distance becomes an advantage to hide identities, move money and enter companies that believe they are hiring a legitimate professional. North Korea has been exploiting precisely that rift. And the case of two men convicted of hosting laptops in their homes shows the extent to which the plot could rely on domestic infrastructure. Two men condemned. Matthew Isaac Knoot, of Nashville, Tennessee, and Erick Ntekereze Prince, of New York, have been sentenced in the US to 18 months each in prison for their role in fraudulent schemes involving remote IT workers linked to North Korea. according to the Department of Justice. The house as a piece of the plot. The mechanism was more domestic than one might imagine. Companies shipped corporate laptops to American addresses because they believed the contracted workers were there. Once received, the computers were housed in those homes and configured with remote desktop applications installed without authorization. This allowed the fake workers to operate from abroad while, to the companies, the connection appeared to come from an address within the United States. What did each one do?. Prince, according to official information, facilitated at least three North Korean IT workers to obtain remote employment in US companies between June 2020 and August 2024, and used his company Taggcar Inc. to fraudulently supply “certified” workers, despite knowing that they were outside the US and using false or stolen identities. Knoot, for his part, operated a laptop farm from his Nashville residences between July 2022 and August 2023. Money, companies and damages. The Justice Department maintains that the two schemes together generated more than $1.2 million for North Korea and affected nearly 70 U.S. companies. In the Prince case, the companies paid more than $943,069 in salaries to IT workers linked to the file. In Knoot’s case, the payments exceeded $250,000. More than labor fraud. The US justice system presents the sentences as part of a specific line of action against facilitators located in the US. The note itself highlights that these are the seventh and eighth convictions of “laptop farmers” obtained in the last five months within their efforts to interrupt North Korea’s illicit generation of income. It is an important nuance: the focus is not only on those who connect from abroad, but also on the local network that makes the operation viable. Expansion into Europe. As we have seen in the pastthese cases are also present outside the United States. The Record discovered in April 2025 an investigation by Google Threat Intelligence Group according to which North Korean operatives had increased their activity in Europe following US police actions against laptop farms and financial networks. At the center were job searches linked to the United Kingdom, Germany and Portugal, in addition to the use of local facilitators to support the alibi of a work presence in the corresponding country. AI and fake identities. One of the most current layers of this story is not only in the laptops, but in the ease of building increasingly credible profiles. BISI points out that North Korean operations combine stolen identities, manipulated professional profiles and AI tools capable of writing localized CVs and cover letters. In the Old Continent, platforms such as Upwork and Freelancer are usually used, in addition to Telegram. The consequence is obvious: detecting the fake candidate can become much more difficult before the company even ships the equipment. What started with laptops housed in private homes ends up having something much bigger than a criminal conviction. The companies were not attacked from outside in the classic sense, but ended up opening the door to workers they believed to be legitimate. So everything seems to indicate that in these times it is no longer enough to protect servers, credentials or repositories, but rather to review the processes that we consider normal, such as the hiring of personnel. Images | Xataka with Grok In Xataka | The ‘vibe coding’ promised to democratize software. Your first gift is 5,000 apps with open sensitive data

a 1 GW wind farm floating off the coast of Tokyo

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The waters off the Izu island chain in the Pacific Ocean could soon be home to a colossus of modern engineering. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has put an unprecedented plan on the table: to build the largest floating offshore wind farm in the world. The goal of this megaproject is to achieve a generation capacity of at least 1 gigawatt (GW), a colossal figure that is equivalent to the power of a conventional nuclear reactor. An ambition that goes beyond. According to data from the International Energy Agency cited by the magazine NatureJapan is heavily dependent on the import of expensive fossil fuels. Turning on a 1 GW wind farm would cut about $300 million annually from the country’s fuel import bill at a stroke. Furthermore, the international context does not give up. A rigorous analysis of the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) explains that the Third Gulf War They have once again exposed energy vulnerability of Japan, strongly tied to liquefied natural gas (LNG). Although the central government has responded by restarting old coal plants and nuclear reactors, the IEEFA warns that this strategy is suffocating national renewable energies. The Izu project would represent a clean alternative capable of offering energy security without being at the mercy of geopolitics. Added to this is an existential factor for the capital: protection against natural disasters. As highlighted Japan Newsthis floating wind farm would function as a vital emergency electricity source if a major earthquake struck directly beneath Tokyo, paralyzing the main islands’ grid. The leap from scale: from Norway to the Pacific. To understand the magnitude of what Japan is attempting, it is necessary to look towards the North Sea. Currently, the world’s largest operational floating wind farm is located in Norway and produces less than 100 megawatts. It is the world reference in this technology, but Tokyo’s vision is literally ten times greater. While the Norwegian project demonstrated that the technology was viable, Japan wants to demonstrate that it can be massive, scaling a niche solution to a national-level infrastructure. The engineering behind the giant. Instead of drilling into the ocean floor—which requires heavy excavation that severely damages the local ecosystem—the design will opt for floating platforms. These turbines will rest on the water surface, secured by a complex system of moorings and anchors to the seabed. The captured energy will travel about 100 miles north to power outlets in Tokyo through a hidden artery: high-voltage underwater transmission cables. But Japan is not the docile European North Sea. Its waters face devastating typhoons, strong earthquakes and dizzying coastal depth. To tame these elements, Nature details that Japanese researchers They are using the Fugaku supercomputer—one of the fastest in the world—to simulate the behavior of the wind and optimize the layout of the park. Additionally, they are developing laser remote measurement LiDAR technology to read offshore weather with surgical precision. The State as an explorer. Curiously, the biggest driver of the project is not a private corporation, but the government itself. Given the fear of companies to assume the very high initial costs, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government has decided to act as an explorer. According to SCMPauthorities have tripled their budget for 2026 and will spend about 9 billion yen (about $56 million) on mapping the topography of the seafloor and studying wind patterns. The idea is to deliver this already processed information to contractors to seduce them and encourage them to participate in the tenders. Shadows and skepticism. Despite institutional enthusiasm, the path to 2035 is riddled with pitfalls and the private sector views the plan with undisguised caution. As the Japanese media recalls, corporate distrust has recent precedents: in 2025, the giant Mitsubishi Corp. abandoned important offshore wind projects in Akita and Chiba, citing the extreme complexity of the seabed, the escalation in material costs and the weakness of the yen. The calendar also raises doubts. Experts consulted by Interesting Engineering They call the 2035 goal “unrealistic”, recalling that these types of offshore megaprojects usually take more than a decade to come together and that, today, the Izu region is classified simply as a “preparation zone”, the earliest bureaucratic stage. The gigawatt trap. But are we talking about 1 real GW? Analysts cited by SCMP They warn that, although the installed capacity is 1 GW (similar to a nuclear reactor), the real performance of wind energy is around 40%, well below the 80-90% constant production offered by atomic energy. Finally, there is a systemic problem in the Japanese electricity grid itself. The IEEFA report denounces that the prioritization of nuclear energy baseload regulation by the central government has created a system so rigid that operators are often forced to disconnect and waste (curtailment) renewable energy produced in peak sun or wind. This waste undermines the profitability of any future park and scares away investors. Between utopia and the avant-garde. Izu’s “floating monster” encapsulates the great dilemma of contemporary Japan. On the one hand, it represents the zenith of the technological ambition of a nation willing to tame typhoons, preserve marine ecology and shield the energy survival of one of the largest megalopolises on the planet in the face of global crises and seismic cataclysms. On the other hand, it faces the cold reality of financial balance sheets, bureaucratic bottlenecks and a private sector scalded by inflation. If Tokyo can untangle this tangle, attract construction giants and fire up the turbines by 2035, the project will not only light up the Japanese capital; will become the definitive beacon for global deepwater wind energy. Otherwise, the Izu colossus runs the risk of remaining stuck forever as an expensive utopia on paper. Image | freepik Xataka | Spain does not wait for France: it is studying a huge submarine cable with distant Ireland to stop being an energy island

Imagine you are offered $26 million to convert your farm into a data center. And then imagine that you reject them

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The market price of agricultural land in Mason County, Kentucky, USA, is around $6,000 per acre. Last year, an unnamed company — the suspect is one of the AI ​​majors — offered Ida Huddleston and her family about 10 times that amount for half of their 1,200 acres. They tempted her with 26 million dollars to build a data center there but Huddleston, 82, rejected the offer without thinking. Farmers of yesteryear. Delsia Bare, daughter of the owner, counted on a local television station as for them “26 million means nothing. Although the phrase is blunt, it is likely that more than indifference to money it reflects a different scale of values. The land matters. Bare explained how his family has farmed that land for generations, paid taxes on it, and kept it productive even during the Great Depression. “We even grew wheat during the Depression and kept bread production lines running in the US when people didn’t have access to other foods.” For the family, the sale would be a break with those values. Obsession with data centers. The Huddlestons’ story is not an isolated case, and Bare herself claimed to be one of dozens of homeowners in the area who had received similar offers from the same anonymous buyer. We all know that large AI companies have been seeking for months to expand the presence of data centers throughout the US, and several of them have announced astronomical investments to achieve that future computing capacity. cheap land. Rural areas are perfect because they are far from urban centers but still have access to resources such as water for their cooling systems and electrical networks with sufficient capacity. In Kentucky the price of agricultural land is relatively low compared to other areas, and that availability of water and energy is a very attractive combination for companies that want to create new data centers. From stupid farmers, nothing. Huddleston, 82, explained that turning down the offer is surprising: “They call us stupid farmers, but we’re not. We know when our food is disappearing, when our land is disappearing.” The owner is clear that the conversion of agricultural land into the basis for digital infrastructure will have consequences on water, food production and the economy of rural communities itself that for decades have been very outside of these technological cycles. Lies. Those who wanted to buy his land claimed that the project would bring jobs and economic growth to the area, but Huddleston has a very different opinion. “I say they are liars, and the truth is not in them. That’s what I say. It’s a scam.” Gone with the wind. His daughter compared this symbiosis with his land to that reflected in the mythical film ‘Gone with the wind‘ and what her protagonist in the film, Scarlett O’Hara, experienced: “She was very attached to that land. Her spirit would never die. The same thing happens to me. As long as I am on this land, as long as it feeds me, as long as it takes care of me, there is nothing that can destroy me if I have this land.” But. Despite the Huddlestons’ refusal, the project has moved forward. Other neighbors in the area have agreed to sell, and the AI ​​company has adapted its plans to use those plots. It is therefore likely that the Huddleston family farm will end up being very close to that future data center if it is finally built, but one thing is certain: for now they are holding out. Image | Xataka with Freepik In Xataka | OpenAI has signed countless billion-dollar agreements with other companies. We are discovering that they are made of paper

A wind farm in Tudela is going to lose most of its wind turbines. And despite this it will produce much more energy

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The useful life of wind turbines is between 20 and 25 depending on the location and can reach up to 30 with some investments. The old blades are then removed and They are recycled in the most diverse ways and the wind turbines (some) are replaced by others. Or almost not, because the iconic Montes de Cierzo wind farm in Tudela is practically going to stay bald. Paradoxically, it will produce almost double. The skyline of Montes de Cierzo is going to change a lot. One of the autonomous communities that previously and most intensively opted for wind energy was Navarra, reaching become the Silicon Valley of wind turbines. Its deployment began in 1994 in the Sierra del Perdón, covering its territory from north to south that decade. What does that mean? Taking into account its useful life, in recent years there has been a renewal of its machinery. Latest, that of the Montes de Cierzo in Tudela. On the Statkraft roadmap is removing these veteran wind turbines from the Navarre park this year, removing 41 wind turbines to replace them with four latest generation models. Before, in the first phase of this renovation project, had already retired 44 machines to replace them with 10. In short, the park is going from 85 wind turbines to 14, with what that means in terms of visual impact. For this purpose, the company will allocate 40 million euros and has already been selected to receive aid of up to 24% from the IDAE. Less mills, more energy. Of course, the wind turbines will have a nominal power of around 6.5 MW (standardized by common companies such as Siemens Gamesa either Nordex). Thus, when the park is operational, there will be 84% fewer wind turbines disturbing the horizon of the Ebro Valley, but that will not mean that Monte del Cierzo takes a step back in energy supply, quite the contrary. We are facing a full-fledged repowering: the installed power will go from 60 MW to 90 MW, growing by 50%. Annually, the production estimated by the Norwegian company will go from 145 GWh/year to around 300 GWh/year, almost double. This change of wind turbines will be accompanied by storage systems. Repowering with hybridization. Having fewer mills and producing more is the standard for updates, but this project hides a technical singularity: the incorporation of a lithium ion battery system with 14.26 MW of power and 28.51 MWh of capacity. In fact, it is one of five projects by a Norwegian company to combine sun or wind and storage. only in the Spanish state. With a loading and unloading capacity of two hours, the park will be able to carry out peak shaving and energy shiftingor what is the same, smooth out production peaks and be able to move energy at times where it is needed or the price is higher. In addition to better peak management and improving efficiency, the company explains that this system will allow you to reinforce the security of supply. Why is it important. Because although there are fewer machines, power increases by 50% and production doubles. Furthermore, with this system the wind farm will function as if it were a bank: if there is excess energy, it will be stored for when the wind stops or there is high demand. In this way, it minimizes one of the endemic evils of renewable energy such as wind or solar, which depend on external and unrelated factors such as the climate. On the other hand, cleaning the horizon by almost decimating the number of wind turbines is also important from an environmental point of view. Finally, Statkraft has explained that will prioritize companies in the area in the construction of the project, which will directly generate employment in 2026. In Xataka | The solar miracle that went wrong: Spain produces more electricity than it can manage In Xataka | We have a problem with heat in buildings. A Navarrese investigation knows how to cool them without air conditioning Cover | Statkraft

If when you think of a farm you visualize a red building with white corners, it’s the Swedes’ fault.

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5040-Y80R. That is the approximate designation according to the Natural Color System chart for color ‘red falu‘. It is a registered trademark and It goes beyond being a simple color: implies that a very specific pigment comes into play in its production that gives it that reddish tone and has transcended to the point of being part of the identity of an entire country thanks to its properties. That country is Sweden, and it all started as a waste product from a copper mine. By-product. Dalarna is a region located in the heart of Sweden, and it is home to the Falun Great Copper Mountain. The Vikings They were already exploiting this mine in 850, but the history of color dates back to the 16th century. It was then that they discovered that one of the mining byproducts could be turned into a useful pigment. Leaf From the production of copper they obtained what they called Falu rödfärgor “red mulch,” and was basically a unique mixture of over 20 different minerals. The reddish color was thanks to iron oxide, silica, zinc and copper itself. They started to mix it up with water, but also with other elements such as oils, tar or rye flour, and they discovered that they could obtain a paint with very interesting properties. better than paint. This red mulch mixed with the appropriate ingredients not only gave color to the wood, primary raw material in Sweden for both ships and infrastructure, but also acted especially well as a material protector. It was like an insulating layer, a shield that protected against the elementsprolonging its useful life, making repairs less frequent and, in addition, it was cheaper than importing wood treatments from other countries. The industry soon exploded. HE esteem that, by mid-1760, production was about 25 tons, but by 1930, that annual production exceeded 2,000 tons. Status. Now, it wasn’t cheap. Everyone wanted to paint their house that copper red color, but it turns out that it was a luxury reserved for the highest classes. When the pigment was discovered, and perhaps motivated only by its color, King John III ordered paint the ceilings of his palace with ‘falu red’, imitating the copper of the ceilings of other European palaces. Since then, those with the most power who could get hold of the pigment began to paint their houses. However, as production began to scale and gain traction, the product became cheaper and more people were able to access it, painting, if not all of their houses, the façade that faced the roads (which was what everyone passing by could see). Swedish edges of the 19th century contributed to popularize the image of the red houses of Sweden, immortalizing the idea of ​​rural life in red houses with white corners. One of Carl Larsson’s works The color of a nation. The color 5040-Y80R became the symbol of Sweden to the point that migrants who sought better luck in North America after the dissolution of the norwegian swedish union In 1905 they began to build their farms using this color. The image that many of us have of the red farm was created there. And it became so important to Swedish popular culture that there is a saying that symbolizes that simple life and harmonious in contact with the earth: den röda stugan och potatislandet (the red house and the potato garden). Today, the ‘Falu rödfärg’ is not as vital as it was years ago if we talk about production. The same has descended a lot because there is greater competition and synthetic products for paint the facadesbut it is still an example of “banal nationalism”, a symbol that exists without the need for flags and anthems, since its mere presence evokes belonging. Images| Xauxa Håkan Svensson, FrDr, HCa, Wigulf~commonswiki In Xataka | The world’s technology industry practically depends on a single road: the one that leads to the Spruce Prine mine

The Rocambolesque Idea that is feeding a fish farm in a town in France

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The first men who traveled to the moon during the Apollo missions subsist based on lyophilized food and sweet or salty jelly -coated cubes. The thing has not gone to better over the years. But if the French succeed, astronauts from lunar missions can eat fresh fish. Lubinas raised on the moon. That is the goal of Lunar Hatcha rocambolesco scientific project that is already underway in a fish farm by Palavas-Le-Flots, south of France. The fish that raise in this small center are not any lubins, but the founding generation of the futures “Aquanautas” lunares. Its offspring will travel to space in the form of fertilized eggs in order to establish the first extraterrestrial fish farm. High quality protein. If we are going to establish a permanent base on the moon, what less than to give us the taste of dinner a fresh lubina. The brain behind this project is Cyrille Przybyla, a researcher at the French National Institute for Oceanic Research. “Fish is an excellent source of protein, because it is the animal body that we best digest and contains omega 3 and vitamins B important that astronauts will need to maintain their muscle mass,” Przybyla said to The Guardian. The question, which he poses, is not whether we need it, but “how we can produce these foods at so much distance.” Lunar Hatch. The experiment, financed by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the National Space Studies Center of France (CNES), will send the eggs to the space calculating the time it takes to hatch upon reaching its destination. Although an assigned space flight does not yet have, the idea is to perform the first tests at the International Space Station, assisted by European astronauts in orbit. After observing their development, the eggs would be frozen and returned to the earth for an exhaustive analysis. If the tests are successful, the next step would be to climb the system for a future implementation on the Moon. Not the first fish, yes the first fish. We have already seen fish in space. The first were small Mummichogs in an Apollo mission in 1973. More recently, Cebra fish have helped study muscle atrophy. But this is the first time that the objective is purely gastronomic: create a source of regular and renewable food for astronauts and crew of future lunar and Martian bases. The first space fish. This is not (alone) of nutrition. The true mill of Lunar Hatch is to create a completely closed and self -sufficient ecosystem, without waste, exempt from continuously replenishing food with load flights from Earth to end eating crickets. Everything is recycled within a fish farming system that should be autonomous for at least four or five months. Of course, many “Aquanautas” will be needed. Scientists have calculated that to provide two weekly fish to seven astronauts, about 200 lubins would be needed. Image | Lfremer In Xataka | We have been growing lettuce in space for years. Now we have discovered that they are more likely to get sick

Luxury floors are so expensive in Madrid that Millionaires already look at more “affordable” areas such as … the moral or farm

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Throughout a whole year a half -won (or won at least in 2022, last data of the INE) a salary of around 27,000 euros. It is a considerable sum. But soon it will not even pay an M2 in the Madrid residential luxury market. This is estimated by the consultant Colliers, who in A report Published this same week on the most exclusive properties of the capital, letting a striking idea: prices of the city real estate They are warming up In all segments, also the Prime. In fact, this price increase in the central almond of Madrid is forcing which part of the demand It moves to other parts of the city, such as the moral or farm. Probing luxury. In Your reportColliers is dedicated to putting the thermometer to the most exclusive segment of the Madrid real estate market, which is associated with labels such as Ultra High-end, High-end, premium either Branded reside. Basically these are homes that cost at least two million euros (much passes from the five) and in certain cases they are associated with a hotel brand that offers services, which gives them a plus of exclusivity. It may seem a very limited segment, but Colliers reveals that it has some weight in the most exclusive neighborhoods of the capital. In the report its technicians claim to have identified in the Barrio de Salamanca, Chamberí, El Viso and Centro 153 homes For sale that two requirements meet: they are new construction and go from two million euros. There are more 52 that belong to the most exclusive group, the Ultra high-endwith a price per m2 that reaches 27,400 euros. A figure: € 1,550. One of the first conclusions that the report leaves is that the residential luxury market has not remained oblivious to generalized increase of the house in Madrid. The other way around. Colliers estimates that throughout the last decade the price of M2 in the market High-end The capital has grown at a rate of € 1,550/year, which the consultant interprets as “constant and sustained growth.” In practice that means that the M2 in the most exclusive properties and floors is today much more expensive than in 2005. And you don’t have to look so far back. Surprises. When analyzing the luxury housing stock for sale in Madrid, the consultant has encountered two surprises: first, the number of promotions and homes has increased considerably with respect to 2023; Second, the maximum prices are today quite higher than those that were handled just two years ago. If in 2023 the maximum was in € 24,800/m2now it goes from 27,400. On the contrary, the minimum values ​​have softened around 12%. 27,400 for an M2. What is the result of this “constant and sustained” price increase? That right now the residential square meter in the most exclusive homes for sale in neighborhoods such as Salamanca, Chamberí or Viso Ronda, on average, 18,300, with some cases in which this value has shot above € 27,400/m2. This is just that, means that can vary depending on the characteristics of the property or the concrete area of ​​Madrid in which they are located, but still interesting. In the Salamanca neighborhood for example Colliers analyzed 112 properties in which the average square meter cost ranged between 12,000 and 18,600 euros, which translates into homes that cost by total between 2.75 and 8.6 million. In Chamberí the photo already changes and the consultant did not register properties in which the € 17,800/m2 was exceeded. Spraying records. They may seem high prices, but if Colliers technicians give in the nail it is likely that in a few years they will not seem so. Especially if we take into account that the market has maintained a trend over the last years that seems to direct it towards new record values. “If this evolution is maintained, we estimate that by 2030 the average price in the areas Prime of the luxury residential market could exceed the barrier of € 30,000/m2, which would represent a key milestone for this segment, “he collects The report. “Now we are seeing projects that will probably come out at the end of the year around 25,000 euros per m2,” Luis Valdés recognizesmanaging director of the Colliers luxury housing area to the newspaper Five dayswhich remembers that there is probably some property associated with Branded reside Restored for more than € 30,000/m2. If the consultant’s forecast is finally met in a matter of only a five years, it will no longer be the exception, but “the average price in the primary areas of the residential market High-end“ What is the reason? The study is not limited to talking about prices and draws medium -term forecasts. Part of its analysis is also dedicated to probe the market, which otherwise goes online with the whole of the Madrid real estate sector. In general, idealist calculates that the residential M2 in the capital He has shot In the last decade: € 2,700/m2 in February 2015 to the more than 5,200 charged now. In the specific market case Prime However, certain trends with a key weight. Foreigners. In Your report Colliers dedicates special attention to foreign capital, highlighting the capacity of Madrid “to attract investment, tourism and wealth.” “It has climbed positions until consolidating as the second most attractive European city for real estate investment, only surpassed by London,” The analysis stands out. “This fact shows the strength of the Madrid real estate market, driven by both international and individual investors looking for higher levels of profitability.” Among other factors, the consultant recalls the opening of new five -star hotelsthe rise of business schools, security and a climate that can be attractive to investors from other latitudes. According to the data handled by Colliers, in 2024 about half of the homes acquired in the community were concentrated in the capital and 7% corresponds to foreign investors, especially of Latam and the US, which places Madrid, in their opinion, among the “most profitable” markets … Read more

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