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Hello, dear readers! I’m Nicole Perlroth, cybersecurity reporter here at The Times. I’m afraid the week’s news isn’t all unicorns and rainbows.

This should come as a shock to no one, but President Trump’s confrontational diplomacy has energized state hackers in Iran and China. They are targeting companies and government agencies in the United States with renewed gusto, after a multiyear lull. The rebound in activity comes on top of the continuing threat from Russians, who have already started hacking European civil society groups before elections there in May.

Consider this a preview of 2020.

With the United States pulling out of the nuclear deal with Iran, Iranian hackers are hitting American banks, businesses and federal agencies with cyberattacks. They’ve significantly stepped up their game: harder to track down and more effective.