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First Move with Julia Chatterley
Ukraine: Three Injured in Attacks on Odessa; China Slams Taiwan as he Makes U.S. Stopover; Joyner: We're Deploying new Technologies against Greening; Ecuador Struggling to Tackle Organized Crime; Shwed: Many Proactive Technologies are AI-Based; Georgia Prosecutors have Texts, Emails Showing Trump's Lawyers were behind Voting System Breach. Aired 9-10a ET
Aired August 14, 2023 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNNI ANCHOR: And a warm welcome to "First Move", really great to be back with you and a busy hour ahead coming up on the show
including Maui in mourning the death toll in the Hawaiian wildfire disaster could surpass 100 lives lost today.
So far, just 3 percent of the devastated area has even been searched for victims in what is already the deadliest U.S. fire tragedy in over a
century. The latest from there just ahead plus ruble route the Russian currency hitting a near 17 month low versus the U.S. dollar, losing some 40
percent of its value in fact so far this year.
This comes as the Ukraine war sanctions and weaker exports bite and Taiwan tear for U.S.-China relations taking a fresh blow after Taiwan's Vice
President makes a brief stopover in New York, China's saying it's against any official interaction between Taiwan and the United States.
Meanwhile, China's got bigger issues growing property sector woes triggering fresh losses on the major Asian markets. The HANG SENG falling
one and a half percent as you can see, plus, shares of property developer Country Garden falling and additional 18 percent in Hong Kong trade after
suspended trading in 11 onshore bonds.
State-backed developers Sino-Ocean also revealing that it's missed interest payments too. And reports a China's bank regulators have now set up a task
force to examine weakness at one of the nation's largest private wealth managers that have also missed payments too.
Now in the meantime, a better turn elsewhere on global markets. The major U.S. averages set to bounce after last week's losses. Well, we're a little
tilted to the downside at this moment, but its volatile, Europe providing a mixed picture there's XETRA DAX there over in Germany, the out performer.
Plenty more to come on markets and more lately in the program, but first, Ukraine is strongly condemning what it calls Russia's provocative actions
in the Black Sea. Moscow says one of its warships fired warning shots at a cargo ship on Sunday, soldiers then boarded the ship.
The Russians claiming it was headed to Ukraine. Hours later, Kyiv accused Moscow of launching a barrage of missiles and drones at Odessa. The port
city has been repeatedly targeted by Russian pauses throughout the war and Nick Paton Walsh is in Dnipro now for us.
Nick, it's not just about Odessa of course many of the ports that are crucial to grain exports have been targeted in recent weeks and months. But
now a cargo ship itself has been challenged too. What more do we know on this?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's an extraordinary brazen set of messages sent by the Russian Navy here the
Sukru Okan, a Palau registered flagged vessel was essentially boarded by Russian military backed up by a Ka-29 helicopter that hovered over the
vessel.
And then released a video of that particular instance and the seemingly showing some of the crew sitting in a line along part of that ship, as far
as we know the Sukru Okan which Russia said was Head of Izmail didn't actually end up going there. Instead, it went to the Romanian port of
Salina that essentially sits on the other side of the Danube River near the mouth of the Black Sea.
Why is all this happening? Well, Russia pulled out of a Grain Deal, which should have allowed ships passage to take grain on international markets.
And essentially it does appear that many ships decided to move regardless. And this is perhaps Russia's bid to show that it's still in control of
those waterways.
Whether they're able to do this for every single ship they have suspicions about I very much doubt we've seen how resource strained the Russian
military is on the front line to the idea of them sending out a Ka-29 helicopter for every ship they want to have a look at seems tough, but
certainly very keen to show this message of control in the Black Sea.
While at the same time too, it's important to point out that some of their more important marine vessels have been hit by Ukrainian drones, even as
far east as Novorossiisk. But at the same time, as we see Moscow losing control in other areas, it would like to suggest its dominance, responding
with brute force against civilian targets.
You mentioned a desert there certainly that again, the case remarkable images of a supermarket on fire three apparently wounded there, other
targets, hitting putting a dormitory in a desert and also again, Kharkiv more shelling there. I should just remind people again over the weekend.
[09:05:00]
The utterly The chilling death of a 23 day old baby girl called Sofia killed along with the rest of her family her 12 year old brother and mother
and father by shelling in Kherson in a village actually close towards the Black Sea itself, this consistent drumbeat of Russian targeting civilians,
even the very youngest persisting, Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Nick, thank you for that, Nick Paton Walsh there in Dnipro. Meanwhile, in Russia, signs that the economy is facing pressure from both
sanctions and dwindling exports the dollar hitting a 17 month high against the ruble. For context, the Russian currency has lost nearly 40 percent of
its value so far this year.
Clare Sebastian joins us now on this. Clare, I think the surprise here really is that the weakness that we're seeing hasn't happened before. The
question is, how much more do we see? And what did the Central Bank do to try and perhaps step in and mitigate this?
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Julia, I think that is the question now. 18 months into this war, obviously, the currency did fall
quite significantly in the first couple of weeks. But they've rebounded as the Central Bank bought in all these emergency measures.
And of course, as we saw huge revenues coming from oil and gas as those prices came up. Obviously now some of that trend is in reverse, oil and gas
prices have fallen. Some of this year, Russian revenues from oil and gas are down some 40 percent in the first part of the year, first half of the
year.
And that is contributing to a situation where really the trade balance has been turned upside down to some degree. The current account surplus is down
some 85 percent in the first half of the year. And this is what the Central Bank is really attributing to the fall.
And the currency imports have surged as demand has returned and exports have come down. Of course, with oil and gas being the biggest contributor,
it could still continue. The Central Bank is saying today that they may step in and raise rates again at their next meeting.
They just did so by a full percentage point in July for the first time in more than a year. Or remember, they've been bringing rates down. Really
since sort of the late spring of last year after they had to raise them as an emergency measure at the beginning of the war, they may have to now keep
raising them.
So that's one thing. But I think this is all as well, something to bear in mind. I was just talking to an economist who reminded me that for the
Russian people, this exchange rate is very psychological. Russia is a country which has sort of money change shops, pretty much on every corner.
They will walk past and see these triple digit numbers and say the government is out today, trying to reassure the people and advise the
Kremlin saying the Central bank has all the tools it needs to fix this, Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, the problem is when they start to raise interest rates and has to do so perhaps even more aggressively than they're really going to
feel it's a sort of double whammy. Clare, good to have you thank you, Clare Sebastian there. Now the desperate search for life continues on Maui.
At least 96 people have been killed by the Hawaii wildfires, making it the deadliest U.S. fight in more than 100 years. And there are still fears that
those numbers could rise even further. Here's what one woman who's lived on Maui for over 30 years, told Mike Valeria.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUSAN SLOBODNJAK, MAUI RESIDENT FOR 31 YEARS: When I drove through on Friday, I had no clue what I was going through. I got so everything's gone.
I lost friends in there, you know, they were going back to get their animals, you know when she died.
So I mean, you know, it's really sad because people come over here, you know, I heard there was a snorkeling boat looking at behind a town. Give
them respect, you know, it's so bad. This isn't you know, people died here. You know, people, I mean, it's not just a vacation. It's not just a place
for vacation. We live here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: And Mike joins us now from Maui. Mike, I'm sure you've had many conversations like that. It's truly heartbreaking to listen to. I said
earlier on the show that just 3 percent of the impacted area has even been searched for victims of these fires. Just talk us through those efforts
first and foremost.
MIKE VALERIO, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Julia, I think you're right. And perhaps that is the understatement of the morning right there to
just try to grasp the crescendo of emotions that we are hearing right now. We have not reached the peak of that even though the fire danger is
diminishing.
So in terms of what comes next, I think that people are searching for a sense of accountability. And then looming large is the search for human
remains the search for the missing and it is so delicate 3 percent of the burn zone has been searched. And that's because it's incredibly
complicated, insensitive to search inside the concrete, inside the wooden structures that have collapsed.
And it's completely it is of the utmost delicate operations to perform, because Julia, we're here for several days. And we listen to these news
conferences were experienced Veterans of search and rescue when there are so many dangers from lava, volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunamis.
[09:10:00]
They talk about this situation and they say that when they find bones when temperatures reached 500 degrees Celsius and the middle of this inferno the
bones of somebody's father
They say that when they find bones, when temperatures reached 500 degrees Celsius and the middle of this inferno, the bones of somebody's father,
mother, disintegrate to the touch. And that is why they need to take days or perhaps weeks to search through the epicenter of this disaster area
because it's the responsibility the solemn duty that they hold, and that is not lost on any of them.
CHATTERLEY: Heartbreaking duty, Mike, thank you for that report back from Maui. A powerful winds and drought conditions combined to make the
wildfires in Hawaii. So dangerous in some places, fire was spreading at a rate of 1.5 kilometers every minute. Derek Van Dam joins us on this.
Derek, you certainly can't outrun that you're even in danger trying to drive away from that in a car. Is there any hope that some of these
conditions, at least the strong winds are going to get a reprieve?
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, Julia that exceeds even some of the fastest highway speeds here in the United States. So that's really saying
something in -- , you cannot outrun something like that. But the reason for the strong winds is really and the wildfire is a compounding list of
factors, right?
You mentioned this rapid onset of drought conditions that really materialized within the past couple of months. But it's also a factor of
what was a passing hurricane that stoked the winds across the Hawaiian Islands, particularly into Maui, this pressure gradient with a high to the
north and the hurricane, which is a low pressure system.
We see winds move from high to low or air moves. And just because of that gradient, there, we saw the strong winds gusting in excess of 100
kilometers per hour in some instances. Now get this 80 percent of the state of Hawaii under abnormally dry conditions.
But when we focus in on Maui County, particularly the westward side, we call that the leeward side of the island, the severity of the drought has
increased the severe index, I should say, increased over 10 percent from this time last week. So a vast marked difference in the drought conditions
to continue to build there.
Now this is very interesting, if you go back since 2006, there have been no real rainy seasons with above average precipitation and there's been 10
seasons with below average precipitation. So this is also one of those compounding factors that we add on top of that.
So Lahaina really sits in a very precarious position because the majority of the trade winds out of this area come from the northeast, so it comes up
and over the mountain ranges. So it brings the rainfall to the Windward sides but the leeward side unfortunately, the exact opposite process takes
place certainly dries out the air.
We see the winds pick up and the temperatures can increase as well. So when we get these large wildfires that perhaps start on the upper sides of the
mountain slopes in the upcountry, we call that in the Maui County region, we get the strong gusty winds coming up and over the mountain ranges we get
spot fires that take those little embers.
They can travel so quickly start additional fires down the slopes, down the terrain. And that is why we saw this fire spread so quickly. Now the
forecast trade winds through this week are expected to pick up to moderate strength through the next couple of days as yet another tropical system
passes well south of Hawaii. But nonetheless, we're going to be monitoring this very closely to see how this impacts things, Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Derek Van Dam, there thank you. Taiwan will never back down to China's threats. That was the message from Taiwan's Vice President as he
made a stop in New York on route to Paraguay. Beijing, calling the front runner in Taiwan's presidential races "a troublemaker" through and through,
as Paula Hancock's reports.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Taiwan's Vice President transiting through the United States to travel to Paraguay has angered Beijing as it
was expected to do. William Lai arrived in New York on Saturday he is leaving for Paraguay on August the 15th. Now Beijing has said that there
should be no direct interaction between the U.S. and Taiwan.
It does consider Taiwan to be part of its territory, despite never having had control over the self-governing Island. Now, we did hear from Lai on
Sunday, he was meeting with Taiwanese American community officials. And he did say that Taiwan would not back down in the face of this increased
threat from China.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAM LAI, TAIWANESE VICE PRESIDENT: No matter how great the threat of totalitarianism is to Taiwan. We will never be afraid or back down. We will
always uphold the values of democracy and freedom.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANCOCKS: A U.S. Senior Administration official says that these kinds of visits are unofficial and they are in keeping with the One China policy
also saying that they are fairly, routine.
[09:15:00]
Lai himself in fact has already had transit visits to the United States at the beginning of last year but all of these visits do anger Beijing. Now we
have a statement from MOFA from the Foreign Ministry, saying that, "Lai Ching-te clings stubbornly to the separatist position for Taiwan
independence. He is a troublemaker through and through".
Beijing, saying that there should not be this direct interaction between the U.S. and Taiwan. But there have been many transit visits in the past.
In fact, just earlier this year, President Tsai Ing-wen to the United States, she was on her way to Guatemala and Belize, and she did meet with
the high ranking U.S. officials, including Kevin McCarthy, the House Speaker. Paula Hancocks CNN, Seoul.
CHATTERLEY: OK, coming up, the orange growing blues Florida's citrus own is squeezed by bad weather and disease, and orange juice futures are soaring,
our focus on food price inflation just ahead. Plus, phishing fever ransomware attacks on the rise yet again. We'll speak to the CEO of
cybersecurity firm checkpoint on how best to reel in the Hacktivist that's coming up, stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to "First Move", food inflation in both the United States and Europe has eased over the past few months. But serious
challenges to global food supplies remained driven in part by the war in Ukraine, and the impact of climate change and extreme weather in the United
States.
In particular, you can add to that a devastated greening disease that's done serious damage to orange crops. Production is set to 40 at its lowest
in decades, which will surely put upward pressure on prices. The problem is so severe that some orange groves have decided to give up on the citrus
business altogether.
Now Matt Joyner is the CEO of Florida Citrus Mutual and he joins us now. His group represents some 2000 Florida citrus growers. Matt, good to have
you with us, you guys have been through some incredibly tough times. Just on the weather front in the past year, I think two hurricanes and then a
late season freeze was sort of the beginning of the season. Where are we today?
MATT JOYNER, CEO OF FLORIDA CITRUS MUTUAL: Julia, that's right. This past season was one for the record books. We're seen a decrease in production
that put us at a low we've not been at in over 100 years.
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Two major hurricanes hit are most productive citrus growing regions and as you point out a late season freeze which impacted our trees and our bloom
and so where the prior season we had been over 40 million boxes of citrus, we ended at about 16 million boxes of oranges this past season so a decline
of over 60 percent from the prior year just as a result of these natural disasters.
CHATTERLEY: Natural disasters are one thing and extreme weather is tough to mitigate. But the other challenge that you're also dealing with at the same
time is what I mentioned greening disease. Can you help us understand what actually this is and how devastating an impact it has?
JOYNER: Sure, absolutely. So citrus greening is a bacterial disease that impacts the health of the trees. It's been in Florida and commercial
production since about 2005. It is a disease that is incurable and has been in Citrus regions around the world for hundreds of years.
But Florida has only been dealing with this for about two decades. And it ultimately impacts the health of the tree, the trees productivity. So as
the years have gone on, we've continued to see a decrease in our production as a result of this devastating disease.
CHATTERLEY: And even if you replant the trees, how long before the newly re planted trees may also catch the disease?
JOYNER: So typically, the -- that feeds on the new flush of trees that pass spreads grading throughout commercial production can infect a tree within
six to eight months of being planted. So we're effectively 100 percent in fact that here because even when we put new trees in within a year, they're
typically infected with training.
CHATTERLEY: What about genetically modified seeds, to enable them to be more resistant to this kind of disease? Is that being worked on? Are you
utilizing any of that because surely, this is the critical use now of technologies to try and improve crops like this when they're impacted by
disease such as greening?
JOYNER: So the industry has been expending a lot of their own resources, as well as state and federal help on finding cures to greening and breeding
certainly is one of those and we know that ultimately, a resistant tree is what's going to be the gold standard for our industry here to Florida, but
around the world, because everybody ultimately is dealing with this disease in the major production areas around the world.
And so yes, we are utilizing conventional breeding, we're looking at CRISPR technologies and other more high tech breeding solutions that may get us
there quick.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, but that's a longer term player, or at least a medium term play. And to your point, what's added to the global impact, I think, on
orange juice futures as they're traded is that this is not just about the United States, and then those that you represent, Brazil, Mexico, also key
exporters of oranges, and they're facing the same challenges, be it weather and also the challenges dead disease as well.
JOYNER: That's right, we're seeing obviously production is very constrained here in Florida, but we're seeing it globally as well. And certainly that's
putting up prices on the orange juice commodity markets.
CHATTERLEY: How much higher might these prices get, Matt?
JOYNER: You know, I don't know and obviously season to season, we're very hopeful. As we look at this upcoming season, there are some therapies that
will not cure grading, but that we know have are effective against it. And we've just been deploying those in the last 12 months.
So we're optimistic that our production is going to begin to level off and then start to go back up again. And certainly, around the world, as weather
events are maybe less impactful this coming season, perhaps we'll see supplies go up and some of the price increases mitigated.
CHATTERLEY: The longer term challenges and perhaps you can talk more in depth about this is perception. And certainly the view that drinking a
whole glass of orange juice is less healthy. There are too many fruit sugars than perhaps just eating the orange itself and that takes more time.
And also saves on the calories and the sugars because we have seen declining consumption of orange juice and if and if that picked up again,
at the early stages of the pandemic. Matt, how do you challenge that? And I wonder in an environment where prices are rising, that actually the demand
is sort of less inelastic than you would like it to be simply because people are already questioning whether they should be drinking it in the
first place.
JOYNER: Sure, that's an age old debate. But to your point, we saw a real increase in consumption as a result of the pandemic as people remember, the
health benefits of orange juice, particularly to the immune system is one of the most nutrient dense drinks that are out there juice drinks that are
out there.
And while it does contain sugar, it's natural sugar. There's no sugar added to the product that we produce. And so it's as good as eating an orange but
to your point, it's a little bit more efficient, sometimes you just pour a nice glass of orange juice.
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CHATTERLEY: My trouble is once I pour one I don't stop, so I keep drinking it. So I'm definitely sold on the least the taste benefits of orange juice.
It is an age old debate, and we don't need to have it again. But are you saying actually that you think consumers will continue to pay higher
prices, even if that's what they're forced to do.
JOYNER: I do think that consumers will continue to buy that is the best- selling juice in the category on the market. And it will continue to be because it is something that consumers really relate to in terms of
breakfast drink. And so we would anticipate that it would even prices going up that consumers will still reach for that jug of orange juice when
they're in the supermarkets.
CHATTERLEY: And now you are seeing your farmers that you represent Matt, looking at other options, wondering whether actually the farmland itself is
of more value perhaps than their crop yield and what they can sell the produce for? It's a tough decision, wherever you are, I think in the world,
but certainly here in the United States. The question is worth asking, I think.
JOYNER: It is a hard decision, and particularly with a state like Florida, where people are moving here in record numbers every year. And so certainly
there are development pressures and other pressures on producers. But you know there's three States in the union that really grow citrus, well.
And Florida does what it does better, in my opinion than any other state. And so this land is hard to find other alternative crops that do as well as
citrus. And so I think that we'll continue to see our growers persevere. We've seen a little bit of contraction in the industry and that's to be
expected.
But we're also learning to produce more on less acreage in terms of higher density plantings and other things. And so I think that as we recover from
this greening disease and the impact of these storms this past season, we'll see that farmers are ready to reinvest and continue to produce the
orange juice that consumers have come to love.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, the fight goes on. Matt great to chat to you, thank you. Matt Joyner, there the CEO of Florida Citrus Mutual. OK, stay with CNN,
more to come, Ecuador in a state of emergency after the assassination of a presidential candidate. We've got an exclusive interview with his former
running mate, next.
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CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to "First Move". And a lot lies in store this week for us to explore a choppy August for stocks so far, we cannot ignore major
retailers set to report earnings galore and of course tell us what's in store. And in sport, the England lionesses are ready to roar. Of course, we
are good luck to England Women's World Cup team in their semifinal showdown with Australia on Wednesday.
In the meantime on Wall Street, far from a row to start the week after last week's losses that saw the NASDAQ drop almost 2 percent, tech now down in
fact, almost 5 percent so far this month. But of course context as usual is everything, the NASDAQ still up a whopping 30 percent year-to-date.
Now to Ecuador and their presidential debate started with silence on Sunday as candidates honored the murdered presidential candidate. Fernando
Villavicencio. A state of emergency was declared after his assassination last week, and six suspects in the killing have been arrested.
Now in an exclusive interview his former running mate spoke with Rafael Romo. And she told him it's a disturbing time for Ecuador's democracy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDREA GONZALEZ NADER, ECUADORIAN VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think any other Ecuadorian is at the risk of getting shot right now in the street.
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): She was supposed to be there as his running mate, Andrea Gonzalez. Now there should have been right next
to Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio. When he was shot last Wednesday, as he was leaving a rally in Quito, the Capitol.
NADER: Fernando was shot three times in the head.
ROMO (on camera): Has it sunk in that you could have died because you were supposed to be right next to Fernando that night when he was shot dead.
NADER: Yes, I was supposed to be there next to him getting inside the car that had no protection against bullets. We were no bulletproof vests
because we were trying to get the people this message that we had to be brave.
ROMO (voice over): In an exclusive CNN interview at a location we're not disclosing for her safety. Gonzalez said Villavicencio's murder is yet
another gruesome and shocking example of how fragile democracy is in Latin America as a region. But living in fear, she says is not an option.
NADER: I want to change this country. I want this country to be a place of peace, a productive country. We're known around the world for our
incredible chocolate, our bananas, our shrimps, our coffee, I love. I love Ecuador deeply. I believe Ecuador is a paradise and they've turned it into
hell.
ROMO (voice over): Villavicencio was a 59 year old lawmaker in the National Assembly, known for being outspoken about corruption and violence caused by
drug trafficking in the country.
In May, he told CNN -- that Ecuador had become a Narco state. His political platform was centered on leading a fight against what he called a political
mafia.
NADER: We knew it was there was a high risk of him getting attacked by the same mafia, the same organized crime and the same politicians that are
linked with this organized international crime.
ROMO (on camera): After the assassination, current Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso declared a state of emergency for 60 days on Saturday. 4000
members of the Ecuadorian police and military raided a notorious prison in Guayas province and transferred then alleged leader of a local drug gang to
another facility.
ROMO (voice over): Gonzales has organized crime is a regional problem that requires a regional solution.
ROMO (on camera): How does Ecuador solve its security problem? Is it something that Ecuador can do by itself? Or does it need help from the
international community?
NADER: We need team work from international intelligence to find out how to stop this. Cocaine is done in Colombia and -- gets through Ecuador, through
our coasts where it goes back to Mexico and then it's delivered to United States and Europe.
ROMO (voice over): Ecuadorians go to the polls on August 20 for the first round of an election to choose a new president. But even something as
simple as voting is an act of courage in this country and many may decide to stay home. Rafael Romo, CNN, Quito Ecuador.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[09:35:00]
CHATTERLEY: More "First Move" after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to "First Move". How many phishing emails did you receive in the past week? Well, perhaps more important question, how many
did you actually spot attacks using methods such as ransomware was up nearly 40 percent last year. That's according to the cybersecurity firm
checkpoint and healthcare and the healthcare industry is in the crosshairs.
Attempts to hack hospitals and clinics in the United States alone rose a staggering 78 percent in 2022. The industry saw an average of more than
1400 attempted breaches per week per organization. And that's where Checkpoint says it can help the Israel based firm says it's guarding over
100,000 organizations around the world, including big names like Amazon, Microsoft and Google.
And joining us now is Checkpoint CEO Gil Shwed. Gil, fantastic to have you on the show, just starts by explaining what you're seeing and why you think
we're seeing far more of these attacks?
GIL SHWED, CEO, CHECKPOINT: So first, it's a pleasure being here and thank you for hosting me. And yes, we are seeing a constant increase. Checkpoint
is now 30 years in the cybersecurity business. We kind of invented it 30 years ago. And unfortunately there's an increase in the attack landscape
for all those years and the last two three years have been fairly critical.
I think first of all, is far more to attack on cyberspace. You know, all our assets today from our financial assets to our identities are online.
Every company is now online. You know, 15 years ago, some company says, said we're going to keep ourselves kind of disconnected today. Everything
is connected.
And second, the hackers are getting more and more sophisticated. We are now in the midst of what we call the fifth generation of attacks. These attacks
are far more sophisticated, they are bigger, they are kind of running in stealth mode.
So it's very hard to, we call them polymorphic, it's very hard to identify them because they look different each time. And we're in the kind of the
advanced of a Cryptocurrency has led to the fact that it's even easier to monetize them and to make money out of cybercrime.
[09:40:00]
CHATTERLEY: So there's a number of elements going on here, I think to your point are, well, it's becoming simpler to develop those attacks. And
writing the malware, I think to do it, overlay what you're already seeing with perhaps the use and utilization of generative AI tools? Are we
approaching a point where you can literally say to a Chat GPT like function, write me some malware to do X, Y, and Z without understanding
anything to do with coding and, and utilize it?
SHWED: So absolutely, that's a big change that we've seen this year, if before, you know ransomware, or not ransomware any, all the cyberattacks
tools have been on the internet. And you can utilize them; you don't have to write them, you can use them like any other software tool. But in
previous year, you needed to be in a high level of expertise.
Today generative AI make it very, very accessible from the ease of writing a targeted phishing email, actually, you talked about the phishing emails,
usually when you see a phishing email, it looks kind of unprofessional.
And you see that the person who wrote it is not the perfect English speaker to write the perfect email. With tools like generative AI, you can write a
targeted phishing email in seconds, just say write an email from the CEO of the bank to the customers, asking them to do something and you'll get a
perfect phishing attack in every language, not just in English.
And then you can use the same tools to write the code in the back end of that to capture customer details to write the server that actually does the
bad job. So yes, we've seen that it's relatively easy to do that even though I must say that the AI companies are doing their best to limit that
but you can easily trick them. And the level of sophistication you need to be in order to develop an attack today is much lower.
CHATTERLEY: But surely also, there are benefits in this technology on the defense side as well. Perhaps the problem unfortunately, is that they only
have to get it right. And catchy wants, then on the defense side, you have to get the repel them every single time.
SHWED: Absolutely, yes. I mean, we are using AI in our products for; we're developing that for a long time. And the generative AI can also work in our
front and by the way, which we've seen too, in, in companies like Checkpoint, that they if before, we had to develop a super intelligent
system to identify malicious content, and so on.
And it took months and years today with AI; we can develop these kinds of systems in a matter of days by training them on large sets of data, which
is one of the benefits that we have with data that we collected every day in billions of transactions. And, and on the same end, so just to give you
an example, in Checkpoint, we have over 70 kind of threat intelligence.
We call it threat cloud technologies that are identified and stop attack, over 40 of these technologies are already AI based, not necessarily
generative AI, but over 40 are AI based. And that's very, very helpful also, on the defense side.
CHATTERLEY: Is it also part of the problem here that we've been through a pretty tumultuous time for the tech industry in general? And while there
have been benefits occurring to some of the clients that you have, and the larger tech companies, and particularly those that are playing in the AI
space.
For other companies, it's hard to raise money. They have to make tough decisions, as any company over how you spend money, and perhaps that's
limiting the budget amount that they would provide to addressing cybersecurity threats. Are you seeing that from clients because I know your
business that looked at your earnings has been pretty resilient, but tough choices are being made?
SHWED: So that's also a factor. I mean, overall, in during the COVID time between 2020 to 2022, we kind of saw a big increase in IT spending. But the
last kind of eight, nine months have been quite tough in the industry. And companies shifted their priorities and are holding back on investment.
For startup companies with developing technologies it's even much, much, tougher. Companies have used to raise unlimited amount of money to have
plenty of resources. And the last few months have been the last year not just few months; have been quite tough for companies to raise money.
I think the secret of that, by the way is not the solution is not just more money. The solution is actually to make cybersecurity more accessible,
simpler. We call it the three C's of cybersecurity, to make solutions that are comprehensive, addressing all the attack vectors consolidated. So you
can actually manage them, install them, work with them. And the most important is what we call collaborative.
[09:45:00]
So when all the different technologies work together, so you identify a phishing email on your mail server, you know how to stop that malware when
you download it from Google or when it arrives to your mobile phone or when it's sent to you in other way. And what I'm saying sounds very obvious. But
today, it's not obvious.
The big organizations today are using easily a dozen different security vendors, the big companies between 50 to 250 security vendors. And were
just too complicated and mainly doesn't generate the security value that you need. So we need to make the security solution work together. And
through that, I think we cannot just fight the economy, but fight the hackers and produce a better security.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, layered security in this case, if it's old and added to is leaky to your point. And actually, it's a great pitch for your business as
well, which I am which I've now let you do. I think many of our viewers will notice that you're also coming to us from Tel Aviv.
And a number of in particular, I think tech companies have stood out, raise their voice, CEOs like yourself, amid the concern and the protest over the
government's decision to enact judicial reform and beyond. You've also said that you're very concerned, as someone who fought to launch your business
in Israel. What hasn't perhaps will that change for you as a business leader if things continue?
SHWED: So first thing, yes, in the last few months, in the last more than six months, there has been constant demonstration here in Israel. And of
course, it's not a great thing for the economy. And again, I'm trying to stay away from getting into politics. So I'm not going to say any opinion
about what's going on in politics.
But demonstration in the street does have an effect on everybody's mood, and that has the effect on the economy. For a company like Checkpoint, it
hasn't affected our business much. But for small startups and big part of the Israeli industry is made of startups, it's becoming tougher and tougher
to raise money and to be in business.
So that has a toll on the economy. But on the same time, I just don't want to be too pessimistic. I think Israel is a very good country. We like our
country. I think there's plenty of top talent here in high tech. The people are super committed to their work to their mission in technology, whether
it's in cyber or in ASIC design or in gaming or in web systems.
We have amazing industry here and amazing people that work hard. So I definitely hope and I'm optimistic. And I think I've through my career,
I've seen many crises that will come out of that crisis and hopefully will come out even stronger.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, I like your optimism on this. And to your point, it doesn't change the quality of the talent that's based in Israel. Do you
think though, and you mentioned it for smaller tech companies, too.
There does come a time where you make a decision perhaps to headquarter, the company elsewhere, even if you're still utilizing the talent in in
Israel? Is that the risk to your point about the challenges of raising money in particular? And that's a poignant one.
SHWED: I think it's a challenge. It's a challenge mainly, by the way to Israel as a country less to the industry less to our customers, because
let's remember all the Israeli companies we operate in the global market, our target market is outside Israel. It's mainly the U.S., but it's all
over the world.
So even for a company that's large like Checkpoint, 98 percent of our business is outside Israel. And vendors -- the question, do you want to be
registered and listed as an Israeli company or as an American company? Regardless of the question, if you're using Israeli talent, as your
backbone of development.
Now, for the customer, it has less effect. For Israel, it has a big effect, because if the company is registered in Israel, it will pay taxes in
Israel, it will do more supporting functions in Israel. And not just the developers will be here, but also the lawyers, and the accountant and more
sales and marketing functions will be in Israel.
So for the Israeli economy, it is important that we will be Israeli companies more and more Israelis, we've worked for many years to change
that perception and to make it for investors. And remember also where investments are coming mainly from overseas. So investors felt pretty well
in the last decade or a decade and a half to start companies in Israel.
And we hope it doesn't change because you know, for the investor, it's easier to say just list the company in Delaware like I'm used to and then
we'll have some longer term.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, those decisions can be made very quickly. And the fight to grow a company is a battle that you've had for far longer. There's an
important message in there. Gil, come back and talk to us soon, sir. Thank you. I appreciate your wisdom.
[09:50:00]
All right, still to come. Let's get ready to rumble or not. Mark Zuckerberg says Elon Musk "Isn't serious about fighting him". I mean really more from
both sides next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to "First Move". Former U.S. President Donald Trump is calling George's Fulton County District Attorney Fani as he faces
a potential fourth indictment. Prosecutors in the state expected to bring charges over alleged attempts to overturn the election results.
Trump saying "No, I didn't tamper with the election those who rigged and stole the election were the ones doing the tampering". Our Sara Murray
reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SARA MURRAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Security precautions are already underway at the courthouse in Atlanta, as Fulton County District
Attorney Fani Willis is expected to begin her grand jury presentation this week. Our former President Donald Trump and his allies alleged attempts to
overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've been working for two and a half years, we're ready to go.
MURRAY (voice over): It's the clearest sign she intends to seek charges this week. As the widespread investigation into election interference comes
to a head. Geoff Duncan, George's former Lieutenant Governor and CNN Contributor confirming he's been summoned to appear before the grand jury.
GEOFF DUNCAN, FORMER GEORGE'S LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR: I did just receive notification to appear on Tuesday morning. I'll certainly answer whatever
questions put in front of me.
MURRAY (voice over): Independent Journalist George Chidi posted on social media. He's also been called to testify Tuesday Chidi said he walked in on
a group of shadow electors gathered to sign an illegitimate certification for then President Trump in December 2020.
GEORGE CHIDI, INDEPENDENT JOURNALIST: They all bought fraud marks me out of the room, and then they posted somebody out front to make sure nobody else
went in.
MURRAY (voice over): In addition to putting forward fake electors and the infamous phone call from President Trump to Georgia Secretary of State.
DONALD TRUMP, 45TH U.S. PRESIDENT: I just want to find 11,780 votes.
MURRAY (voice over): The breach of voting systems and rural Republican Coffee County as part of the probe. Sources tell CNN investigators have
long suspected the breach was a top down effort by Trump's team rather than an organic effort by Trump backers. And sources say they have text messages
and emails that directly connect members of Trump's legal team to that breach.
MURRAY (on camera): Did you have any sense that this was sort of tied to other operatives in the Trump campaign that it was anything beyond sort of
lower level people in Coffee County?
BRAD RAFFENSPERGER, GEORGIA SECRETARY OF STATE: Not initially but their allegations. And then as you dig down deep more has revealed and then you
realize that that wasn't truthful.
MURRAY (voice over): Surveillance video previously obtained by CNN shows the local election official escorting a team of pro-Trump operatives into
examine the machines on January 7, 2021. The group included Scott Hall, an Atlanta bail bondsman in Fulton County Republican poll watcher.
[09:55:00]
SCOTT HALL, ATLANTA BAIL BONDSMAN & FULTON COUNTY REPUBLICAN POLL WATCHER: I'm the guy that chartered the jet to go down to Coffee County to have them
inspect all of those computers. They scanned all the equipment imaged all the hard drives and scanned every single ballot.
MURRAY (voice over): According to text messages obtained by CNN, former county elections official, Mr. Hampton authored a quote, "Written
invitation" six days prior to examine machines. That invitation shared with attorneys working with Trump and others hunting for election fraud on
behalf of Trump's then lawyer, Rudy Giuliani.
Just landed back in DC with the Mayor, huge things starting to come together an employee for the firm hired to access voting machines wrote in
one text in an apparent reference to former New York Mayor Giuliani. We were just granted access by written invitation to Coffee County systems.
Yay, another message reads.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHATTERLEY: Now a much typed battle of the billionaires might not happen after all posting on his platform threads. Mark Zuckerberg says Elon Musk
isn't serious "About a proposed cage fight". The Meta founder claims he offered a date, but Musk mentioned needing surgery.
Zuckerberg says simply if Elon ever gets serious, he knows how to reach me. He might be waiting a while for that phone call or tweet X thread whatever
it is. That's it for the show. "Connect the World" is up next, we'll see you tomorrow.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:00:00]
END
