BEA News: U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services, January 2022

BEA News: U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services, January 2022
The U.S. monthly international trade deficit increased in January 2022 according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and the U.S. Census Bureau. The deficit increased from $82.0 billion in December (revised) to $89.7 billion in January, as imports increased and exports decreased. The previously published December deficit was $80.7 billion. The goods deficit increased $7.1 billion in January to $108.9 billion. The services surplus decreased $0.6 billion in January to $19.2 billion.

The full text of the release on BEA's website can be found at: www.bea.gov/news/2022/us-international-trade-goods-and-services-january-2022

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EMBARGOED UNTIL RELEASE AT 8:30 A.M. EST, Tuesday, March 8, 2022

CB 22–35
BEA 22–08

U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services, January 2022

The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis announced today that the goods and services deficit was $89.7 billion in January, up $7.7 billion from $82.0 billion in December, revised.

U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services Deficit

Deficit:	$89.7 Billion	+9.4%°
Exports:	$224.4 Billion	-1.7%°
Imports:	$314.1 Billion	+1.2%°
Next release: Tuesday, April 5, 2022 (°) Statistical significance is not applicable or not measurable. Data adjusted for seasonality but not price changes Source: U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis; U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services, March 8, 2022

Exports, Imports, and Balance (exhibit 1)

January exports were $224.4 billion, $3.9 billion less than December exports. January imports were $314.1 billion, $3.8 billion more than December imports.

The January increase in the goods and services deficit reflected an increase in the goods deficit of $7.1 billion to $108.9 billion and a decrease in the services surplus of $0.6 billion to $19.2 billion.

Year-over-year, the goods and services deficit increased $24.6 billion, or 37.7 percent, from January 2021.

Exports increased $29.9 billion or 15.4 percent.
Imports increased $54.4 billion or 21.0 percent.

COVID-19 Impact on International Trade in Goods and Services

The global pandemic and the economic recovery continued to impact international trade in January 2022. The full economic effects of the pandemic cannot be quantified in the statistics because the impacts are generally embedded in source data and cannot be separately identified.

Three-Month Moving Averages (exhibit 2)

The average goods and services deficit increased $7.6 billion to $83.9 billion for the three months ending in January.

• Average exports decreased $0.1 billion to $225.9 billion in January.
• Average imports increased $7.5 billion to $309.8 billion in January.

Year-over-year, the average goods and services deficit increased $17.8 billion from the three months ending in January 2021.

• Average exports increased $35.7 billion from January 2021.
• Average imports increased $53.6 billion from January 2021.

Exports (exhibits 3, 6, and 7)

Exports of goods decreased $2.3 billion to $155.9 billion in January.

   Exports of goods on a Census basis decreased $2.3 billion.

• Consumer goods decreased $3.0 billion.
  • Pharmaceutical preparations decreased $3.2 billion.
• Capital goods increased $1.1 billion.
  • Civilian aircraft increased $0.4 billion.
  • Telecommunications equipment increased $0.2 billion.

   Net balance of payments adjustments decreased less than $0.1 billion.

Exports of services decreased $1.6 billion to $68.5 billion in January.

• Travel decreased $1.8 billion.
• Transport decreased $0.5 billion.
• Other business services increased $0.3 billion.
• Financial services increased $0.2 billion.

Imports (exhibits 4, 6, and 8)

Imports of goods increased $4.8 billion to $264.8 billion in January.

   Imports of goods on a Census basis increased $4.6 billion.

• Automotive vehicles, parts, and engines increased $1.6 billion.
  • Passenger cars increased $0.8 billion.
  • Other automotive parts and accessories increased $0.5 billion.
• Industrial supplies and materials increased $1.5 billion.
  • Crude oil increased $0.9 billion.
  • Natural gas increased $0.6 billion.
  • Copper increased $0.6 billion.
• Foods, feeds, and beverages increased $1.4 billion.
  • Other foods increased $0.5 billion.
  • Meat products increased $0.2 billion.
• Capital goods increased $1.1 billion.
  • Telecommunications equipment increased $0.3 billion.
  • Other industrial machinery increased $0.3 billion.
  • Semiconductors decreased $0.6 billion.
• Other goods decreased $1.6 billion.

   Net balance of payments adjustments increased $0.2 billion.

Imports of services decreased $1.0 billion to $49.3 billion in January.

• Transport decreased $0.8 billion.
• Travel decreased $0.5 billion.
• Other business services increased $0.1 billion.

Real Goods in 2012 Dollars – Census Basis (exhibit 11)

The real goods deficit increased $6.4 billion to $118.1 billion in January.

• Real exports of goods decreased $6.0 billion to $147.2 billion.
• Real imports of goods increased $0.4 billion to $265.3 billion.

Revisions

Exports and imports of goods and services were revised for July through December 2021 to incorporate more comprehensive and updated quarterly and monthly data. In addition to these revisions, seasonally adjusted data for all months of 2021 were revised so that the totals of the seasonally adjusted months equal the annual totals.

Revisions to December exports

• Exports of goods were revised down $0.1 billion.
• Exports of services were revised up $0.3 billion.

Revisions to December imports

• Imports of goods were revised up $0.3 billion.
• Imports of services were revised up $1.2 billion.

Goods by Selected Countries and Areas: Monthly – Census Basis (exhibit 19)

The January figures show surpluses, in billions of dollars, with South and Central America ($4.4), Hong Kong ($2.0), Singapore ($1.3), Brazil ($1.1), and United Kingdom ($1.0). Deficits were recorded, in billions of dollars, with China ($33.3), European Union ($18.0), Mexico ($12.5), Japan ($7.1), Canada ($6.8), Germany ($5.4), Taiwan ($3.9), Italy ($3.2), South Korea ($3.0), India ($2.4), Saudi Arabia ($0.8), and France ($0.8).

• The deficit with Canada increased $2.6 billion to $6.8 billion in January. Exports decreased $1.2 billion to $27.7 billion and imports increased $1.4 billion to $34.5 billion.
• The deficit with Japan increased $2.1 billion to $7.1 billion in January. Exports increased $0.1 billion to $6.2 billion and imports increased $2.2 billion to $13.4 billion.
• The deficit with India decreased $1.5 billion to $2.4 billion in January. Exports increased $0.6 billion to $4.3 billion and imports decreased $0.9 billion to $6.7 billion.

Goods and Services by Selected Countries and Areas: Quarterly – Balance of Payments Basis

Statistics on trade in goods and services by country and area are only available quarterly, with a one-month lag. With this release, fourth-quarter figures are now available.

The fourth-quarter figures show surpluses, in billions of dollars, with South and Central America ($22.1), Hong Kong ($6.7), Brazil ($6.4), Singapore ($5.1), United Kingdom ($5.0), and Saudi Arabia ($0.7). Deficits were recorded, in billions of dollars, with China ($87.9), European Union ($39.4), Mexico ($33.5), Germany ($18.4), India ($13.8), Taiwan ($11.9), Japan ($11.4), Italy ($10.5), Canada ($8.5), South Korea ($6.7), and France ($4.6).

• The deficit with China increased $8.4 billion to $87.9 billion in the fourth quarter. Exports increased $2.8 billion to $48.0 billion and imports increased $11.2 billion to $136.0 billion.
• The deficit with Mexico increased $8.3 billion to $33.5 billion in the fourth quarter. Exports increased $1.8 billion to $79.5 billion and imports increased $10.1 billion to $113.0 billion.
• The deficit with Japan decreased $4.5 billion to $11.4 billion in the fourth quarter. Exports increased $1.6 billion to $28.9 billion and imports decreased $2.8 billion to $40.4 billion.

*             *             *

All statistics referenced are seasonally adjusted; statistics are on a balance of payments basis unless otherwise specified. Additional statistics, including not seasonally adjusted statistics and details for goods on a Census basis, are available in exhibits 1-20b of this release. For information on data sources, definitions, and revision procedures, see the explanatory notes in this release. The full release can be found at www.census.gov/foreign-trade/Press-Release/current_press_release/index.html or www.bea.gov/data/intl-trade-investment/international-trade-goods-and-services. The full schedule is available in the Census Bureau’s Economic Briefing Room at www.census.gov/economic-indicators/ or on BEA’s website at www.bea.gov/news/schedule.

*             *             *

Next release: April 5, 2022, at 8:30 A.M. EDT
U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services, February 2022

*             *             *

Notice

Changes to End-Use Classifications

With this release of the “U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services” report (FT-900), the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) have revised the end-use classifications of several commodities. These changes were made to achieve a consistent classification between goods exports and goods imports and to improve the grouping of the commodities based on their end-use characteristics. The changes also reflect the results of work performed by the World Customs Organization (WCO) as part of its long-term program to review and update the nomenclature of the international Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (Harmonized System) from which the end-use commodity classifications are derived. The last WCO modifications to the Harmonized System were introduced in March 2017 with January 2017 statistics. These reclassifications will also be incorporated into statistics for 2019–2021 with the June 8, 2022, releases of the FT-900 and the FT-900 Annual Revision.

Additional Country Detail

With the releases of the FT-900 and the FT-900 Annual Revision on June 8, 2022, exhibits that present seasonally adjusted trade in goods and services by selected countries and areas—exhibits 19, 20, 20a, and 20b in the FT-900 and related exhibits 18, 19, 19a, and 19b in the FT-900 Annual Revision—will be expanded to include Australia, Belgium, Ireland, Israel, Malaysia, Netherlands, Switzerland, and Vietnam. Historical statistics will also be made available with the releases. In addition, exhibits 14 and 14a in the FT-900, which present not seasonally adjusted trade in goods by selected countries and areas, will be expanded to include Israel and Vietnam. Templates of the modified exhibits are available at www.census.gov/foreign-trade/statistics/notices/country_detail_templates.xlsx.

Upcoming Updates to Goods and Services

With the releases of the FT-900 and the FT-900 Annual Revision on June 8, 2022, statistics on trade in goods on both a Census basis and a balance of payments (BOP) basis will be revised beginning with 2017, and statistics on trade in services will be revised beginning with 2015. The revised statistics for goods on a BOP basis and for services will also be included in the “U.S. International Transactions, First Quarter 2022 and Annual Update” report and in the international transactions interactive database, both to be released by BEA on June 23, 2022.

Revised statistics on trade in goods will reflect:

• Corrections and adjustments to previously published not seasonally adjusted statistics for goods on a Census basis.
• End-use reclassifications of several commodities.
• Recalculated seasonal and trading-day adjustments.
• Newly available and revised source data on BOP adjustments, which are adjustments that BEA applies to goods on a Census basis to convert them to a BOP basis. See the “Goods (balance of payments basis)” section in the explanatory notes for more information.

Revised statistics on trade in services will reflect:

• Newly available and revised source data, primarily from BEA surveys of international services, including the results of BEA’s benchmark survey of financial services.
• Recalculated seasonal adjustments.
• Revised temporal distributions of quarterly source data to monthly statistics. See the “Services” section in the explanatory notes for more information.

A preview of BEA’s 2022 annual update of the international transactions accounts will appear in the April 2022 Survey of Current Business.

If you have questions, please contact the Census Bureau, Economic Indicators Division, on (800) 549-0595, option 4, or at eid.international.trade.data@census.gov or BEA, Balance of Payments Division, at InternationalAccounts@bea.gov.

HOMELESSNESS: Million$$$$$$$ Spent on Fixing A Problem and It's Getting Worse, NOT Better

Intro: Here's an excellent example of Kicking-the-Can-Down-The-Road with a quotation from Hizzoner Mesa Mayor John Giles

“The Point in Time count underscores what we already know — homelessness is a critical issue for the Valley,” says Mesa Mayor John Giles, chair of the MAG Regional Council. “This is a regional challenge that needs regional solutions. These numbers are much more than statistics — they represent individuals, each with their own unique story. They are our neighbors, and our community. We all have a role to play in ensuring their access to safe, attainable housing.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT:

Kelly Taft   (602) 452-5020 or Nicky Stevens (602) 452-5006

Download as a PDF

Local Governments Work Together to Address Increase in Homelessness January count finds continued rise in numbers across the region PHOENIX (March 11, 2022) — The number of people experiencing homelessness continues to increase in communities across the region, with those living in unsheltered situations climbing by 35 percent since 2020, according to newly released numbers from the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG). The numbers reflect a two-year increase, since the 2021 count was not conducted due to the COVID pandemic. More than 5,000 people experienced homelessness in unsheltered situations in Maricopa County on the night of January 25, 2022. (See attachment for breakdown by jurisdiction.) Data collection and analysis from the shelter count conducted at the same time is underway. A full report with the results from the unsheltered and shelter counts, along with supplemental data, will more fully describe the full number of people experiencing homelessness. The report is pending additional data collection and analysis. The number of people experiencing homelessness has continued to rise in recent years. Previous to the pandemic, the Maricopa County region experienced increases from 2014 to 2020, which is consistent with national trends. The pandemic strained economies worldwide, resulting in the loss of jobs, particularly low wage jobs. This placed people more at risk of experiencing homelessness. While the stark rise in numbers is troubling, the increase was anticipated by local governments with a pulse on their communities. MAG member agencies have been working together for months to develop and implement a comprehensive regional approach to homelessness for the region. In December, the MAG Regional Council unanimously approved “Pathways Home, the Regional Homelessness Action Plan for Local and Tribal Governments,” the first regional homelessness plan created by local and tribal governments. A number of activities and investments are already underway to implement the Pathways Home plan and achieve progress. “The Point in Time count underscores what we already know — homelessness is a critical issue for the Valley,” says Mesa Mayor John Giles, chair of the MAG Regional Council. “This is a regional challenge that needs regional solutions. These numbers are much more than statistics — they represent individuals, each with their own unique story. They are our neighbors, and our community. We all have a role to play in ensuring their access to safe, attainable housing.” Riann Balch chairs the Maricopa Regional Continuum of Care Board, the regional group tasked with addressing homelessness in the region. Balch also serves as community development and resources manager for the city of Chandler. “Rapidly changing market conditions and economic hardship heightened by the pandemic have created opportunities to work together across sectors and geography to address the housing crisis,” says Balch. “Housing is the foundation for healthy families and vibrant communities, and there are many new options to explore. This is an all-hands-on-deck kind of movement – we all have something to bring to the table.” Coordinated by the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG), the count uses volunteer teams that include city, county, and state representatives; community and faith-based organizations; businesses; and private residents. It is designed as a one-day snapshot and different methodologies may impact results over time. The last count, conducted in 2020, found a one-year increase of 18 percent in unsheltered homelessness, consistent with the current two-year trend. This year, the count was conducted entirely electronically via an app developed by MAG in 2018. The app was piloted in the past three PIT counts and has been refined to allow for more robust data analysis and high-quality accuracy. Conducting the count via the MAG app ensured a credible methodology that built on strengths of previous efforts. Conducting a paperless count enabled MAG to deduplicate the data in a more effective way and share unsheltered numbers earlier than previous years. MAG is still analyzing the data on trends involving subpopulations such as youth, veterans, and families to tell a more in-depth story of regional homelessness. Want to help? Here are a few ways to get involved: Support the regional strategies and action plan through MAG: Regional Homelessness Strategies Donate through the Healthy Giving Council: givesmartaz.org Volunteer through Hands on Phoenix: handsonphoenix.org Support a range of housing options in your community, including affordable housing and temporary housing solutions. More information is available through the Arizona Housing Coalition at azhousingcoalition.org.

For additional information, contact: Communication Director Kelly Taft (602) 452-5020 ktaft@azmag.gov

 

THE COLORADO RIVER...Stolen by Law

Intro: 2 items with related content

1

 

Gabriella Trujillo/High Country News Colorado River, stolen by law Indigenous nations have been an afterthought in U.S. water policy for over a century. That was all part of the plan. By Pauly Denetclaw The turbulent, choppy waters of the Colorado River pull from tributaries as far north as Wyoming before they race south for hundreds of miles, crashing together as they churn through the Grand Canyon, then smoothing out as they roll south. In southwestern Arizona, where the Sonoran and Mojave deserts meet, the river gently makes its way through Aha Makhav lands. In the Mohave language, Aha Makhav means “the Water People.” The Mohave, Chemehuevi, Hopi and Navajo — the four tribes that comprise the Colorado River Indian Tribes, a federally recognized tribe that is also known as CRIT — have relied on floodplain and irrigated agriculture along the Colorado for 4,000 years. The CRIT Reservation was established in 1865 for the “Indians of the Colorado River and its tributaries.” (That vague language made it easier for the tribe to welcome people from the Hopi and Navajo nations in the ’40s.) Today, the reservation’s green, lush farmland stands out against the dry desert that surrounds it.

Read more

2

Tribes along the Colorado River navigate a stacked settlement process to claim their water rights

The result is that Indigenous nations face an unjust state of limbo

Pauly Denetclaw/High Country News

Arizona Mirror |                        

 

In early January, Lake Powell, a reservoir fed by the Colorado River, reached critically low levels. The bathtub ring around its receding edges has spent the last year gracing the pages of news publications across the nation, accompanied by increasingly panicked concern about Glen Canyon Dam’s hydropower turbines, which cannot operate reliably if the lake is lower than 3,490 feet. At the start of 2022, Powell’s water levels were just 46 feet above that threshold.

The drought is an emergency, and water cuts are coming. But the drought is also compounding another emergency. Indigenous nations within the river basin, left out of the 1922 Colorado River Compact, have been working through state and federal courts to settle their water rights, anticipating a situation like this. The settlement process takes time and money to resolve, however — resources that, like water, the drought saps daily. As is the case for the Rio Grande’s pueblos, tribes along the Colorado River without defined water rights still face a daunting colonial gantlet. Right now, the Navajo Nation and Hopi Tribe are working to quantify their rights in Arizona. The lengthy and costly adjudication process, in tandem with frequent legal opposition from private users and state and local governments, presents the two nations with a familiar choice between short-term concessions and a long-term gamble.

“We do believe a settlement of Hopi water claims is a forever sort of settlement, in the sense that it has to provide for a future permanent homeland for the Hopi people,” Fred Lomayesva, general counsel for the Hopi Tribe, said. “We see the need for water to be able to provide sufficient water for the future Hopi.”

For years now, Hopi communities in Upper Moenkopi and Kykotsmovi have banned heavy water users, like car washes and laundromats, in order to conserve groundwater from the N-aquifer, the primary water source for all of Hopi and a large swath of the Navajo Nation. But, as the laundromat ban shows, Hopi leaders have long recognized that the N-aquifer cannot meet their growing water needs. In 2004, then-Chairman Wayne Taylor Jr. said in a press release that in order to build a permanent homeland — the goal of Diné and Hopi leaders — they “must look outside our reservation.”

But the state of Arizona already had a plan to minimize the reach of the seven tribes that lacked settlements or decreed rights. In 2004, the same year as Taylor’s call to plan a future beyond the N-aquifer, the Arizona Water Settlements Act was passed by Congress thanks to the support of a bipartisan Arizona delegation. With a stroke of George W. Bush’s pen, the bill set a maximum annual quantity of 67,300 acre-feet for all future settlements between tribes and Arizona.

When reflecting on such a move, context matters. A settlement process skewed toward the state, through federal legislation, is the colonial process working as planned. As established in Infrastructure as Colonial Beachheads, a 2021 paper by Diné geographer and University of Arizona assistant professor Andrew Curley, the 2004 Arizona bill was only possible because the state was able to rapidly boost its population, and thus its strength in Congress, in the latter half of the 20th century. That growth was a direct result of the Interior Department’s decision in the 1960s to build the coal-powered Navajo Generating Station on Navajo lands in order to power the Central Arizona Project canal system. CAP then diverted Colorado River waters to the city of Phoenix, while the water-rights agreement devised by the federal government limited the Navajo Nation’s water claims for a half-century.

The decade following the Arizona bill’s passage was defined by failed settlement negotiations. In 2012, Sen. Jon Kyl introduced the Navajo-Hopi Little Colorado River Water Rights Settlement, but said he would not advance the bill without approval from both tribes. After an initially decisive “No” vote, the Hopi Council narrowly flipped and supported the legislation by an 8-7 margin. The Navajo Nation Council, however, voted against it for a myriad of reasons, among them the fact that it would have continued leasing water to the since-shuttered Navajo Generating Station, waived future claims to the Little Colorado River, and failed to include $800 million in water infrastructure funding for western Navajo communities.

“The question comes up, ‘Well, exactly how much water do Navajos need, because they don’t use very much?’” Michelle Brown-Yazzie, assistant attorney general for the Navajo Nation Water Rights Unit, said. “We don’t have the ability to use very much, and when we do have water, we’re very conservative with it, because we don’t know when we’re going to get it again.”

Despite the recent failed negotiations, both the Navajo and Hopi governments are again open to considering a settlement. The drought and the pandemic have had an undeniable influence on those decisions. But it’s also tied to the length and unpredictability of the adjudication process. Consider: It has been six years since an Arizona Superior Court decided to separate the Hopi and Navajo cases into sub-proceedings. The Hopi’s closing arguments for that particular sub-proceeding wrapped in October 2021. And still, it could be another decade or more before the special master appointed to the case completes the necessary hydrographic survey reports and the Superior Court issues a final decree for all the shareholders. According to Brown-Yazzie, the Navajo Nation is scheduled to begin its sub-proceeding for the Little Colorado River Adjudication in 2023. That will continue for up to a year, followed by the next two phases in the process, which could likewise take over a decade to complete. . .

While it has reached a variety of fund- and project-based settlements in New Mexico and Utah, the Navajo Nation is still being forced to defend its water rights against appeals. . .

As for Arizona, the Navajo Nation and the Hopi Tribe have remained open to settlement talks, even engaging in meetings last April. But both Brown-Yazzie and Lomayesva reiterated that while the drought and the pandemic have increased the pressure for everyone to come to an agreement as soon as possible, there are certain lines that won’t be crossed.

“We think it is important to try to continue to negotiate with the parties,” Brown-Yazzie said. “Of course, the Navajo Nation is not going to accept a settlement that we don’t think is fair and reasonable.”

This story was originally published by High Country News on March 1, 2022. High Country News is an independent magazine dedicated to coverage of the Western U.S. Subscribe, get the enewsletter, and follow HCN on Facebook and Twitter.

 

 

AMMON BUNDY: Back in The News

Intro:

Politics

Idaho Gov. Candidate Ammon Bundy Busted Protesting Police Seizure Of Malnourished Baby

Right-wing rancher and gubernatorial candidate Bundy, who seized public lands with supporters in 2016, called the baby's health treatment "medical tyranny."

By 

Mary Papenfuss

Trends Reporter, HuffPost

03/12/2022 09:39pm EST | Updated 21 hours ago

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Notorious far-right rancher and independent Idaho gubernatorial candidate Ammon Bundy was arrested Saturday protesting the police seizure of a severely “malnourished” 10-month-old baby at risk of death, local law enforcement reported.

Bundy and a supporter were arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor trespassing when they refused to leave the grounds of St. Luke’s Meridian Medical Center where the baby was being treated, Meridian police said in a statement.

A Bundy campaign statement called it an “ambush arrest with no legal grounds.”

> Bundy claimed on Twitter that the baby was “kidnapped” by police, and called it “medical tyranny.” A blog site linked to Bundy’s campaign said the baby is a grandson of a prominent right-wing pastor in the state.

> Please read. Last night my very good friend Diego’s grandson was medically kidnapped because a medical practitioner called CPS for a missed doctor appointment. If this happened to them, it could happen to you. We must stand against this medical tyranny. https://t.co/YIwXjLjrgx

— Ammon Bundy (@RealABundy) March 12, 2022

. . .Police, who did not identify the baby, said in a statement that the child had initially been admitted to the hospital March 1 for “severe malnourishment.” The baby was released to its parents after treatment.

“During a follow up appointment earlier this week it was determined the child had again lost a significant amount of weight. Then the parents canceled the next follow-up appointment and could not be located,” noted the police statement. “Meridian Police were contacted and advised this child’s condition could lead to severe injury or even death if not treated.”

When the parents stopped cooperating, police, armed with a warrant, went to the family home to collect the baby for treatment, the statement said.

The baby was finally taken into custody when the parents, who had fled with the child, were pulled over in a traffic stop, according to police.

The Idaho Statesman reported that the baby’s mom live-streamed her conversation with police before the baby was rushed to the hospital. . .

Bundy was reportedly released from custody later Saturday. He’s scheduled to stand trial this week on three charges from a previous trespassing case involving a protest at the Idaho state Capitol.

WORRY SMARTER TAKE-AWAY: Don't trust links in YouTube videos

Intro: A potentially severe security risk.

None of these cheat tools are authored by trustworthy entities, none are digitally signed (so AV warnings are bound to be ignored), and many are indeed malware.

ASEC's report contains a recent example, but that's just a drop in the sea of malicious download links under YouTube videos that promote free software of various types.

The videos that promote these tools are often stolen from elsewhere and are re-posted from malicious users on newly created channels to act as lures.

Fake Valorant cheats on YouTube infect you with RedLine stealer

By Bill Toulas

• March 13, 2022
• 10:06 AM

"Korean security analysts have spotted a malware distribution campaign that uses Valorant cheat lures on YouTube to trick players into downloading RedLine, a powerful information stealer.

This type of abuse is quite common, as the threat actors find it easy to bypass YouTube's new content submission reviews or create new accounts when reported and blocked.

The campaign spotted by ASEC targets the gaming community of Valorant, a free first-person shooter for Windows, offering a link to download an auto-aiming bot on the video description.

Video promoting fake auto-aiming bot (ASEC)

These cheats are allegedly add-ons installed in the game to help the players aim at enemies with speed and precision, winning headshots without demonstrating any skill.

Auto-aiming bots are highly sought-after for popular multiplayer games like Valorant because they allow effortless ranking progression.

Dropping Redline

Users who attempt to download the file in the video's description will be taken to an anonfiles page from where they'll get a RAR archive that contains an executable named "Cheat installer.exe".

This file is, in reality, a copy of RedLine stealer, one of the most widely deployed password-stealing malware infections that snatch the following data from infected systems:

• Basic information: Computer name, user name, IP address, Windows version, system information (CPU, GPU, RAM, etc.), and list of processes
• Web browsers: Passwords, credit card numbers, AutoFill forms, bookmarks, and cookies, from Chrome, Chrome-based browsers, and Firefox
• Cryptocurrency wallets: Armory, AtomicWallet, BitcoinCore, Bytecoin, DashCore, Electrum, Ethereum, LitecoinCore, Monero, Exodus, Zcash, and Jaxx
• VPN clients: ProtonVPN, OpenVPN, and NordVPN
• Others: FileZilla (host address, port number, user name, and passwords), Minecraft (account credentials, level, ranking), Steam (client session), Discord (token information)

After collecting this information, RedLine neatly packs it in a ZIP archive named "().zip" and exfiltrates the files via a WebHook API POST request to a Discord server.

Exfiltrating stolen information via Discord WebHook (ASEC)

Don't trust links in YouTube videos

Apart from the fact that cheating in video games takes the fun out of playing and ruins the game for others, it is always a potentially severe security risk.

None of these cheat tools are authored by trustworthy entities, none are digitally signed (so AV warnings are bound to be ignored), and many are indeed malware.

ASEC's report contains a recent example, but that's just a drop in the sea of malicious download links under YouTube videos that promote free software of various types.

The videos that promote these tools are often stolen from elsewhere and are re-posted from malicious users on newly created channels to act as lures.

Even if the comments below these videos praise the uploader and claim the tool works as promised, they should not be trusted as these can easily be faked.

Related Articles:

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Jester Stealer malware adds more capabilities to entice hackers

2022 may be the year cybercrime returns its focus to consumers

Fake Windows 11 upgrade installers infect you with RedLine malware

Powerful new Oski variant ‘Mars Stealer’ grabbing 2FAs and crypto