Podcast
Podcast: Telegram is Working With the Cops
Telegram says it will now provide user data to the police; the walls are closing in on the Snowflake hacker; and why Nintendo's lawsuit against Palworld is bad (and Nintendo will probably win).
News
Ghost, Encrypted Phone for Criminals, Was an ‘Absolute Mess’
A security researcher managed to pull a list of Ghost users, resellers, and even customer support messages from an exposed server. It shows how as organized criminals move to making their own encrypted platforms, they might make vulnerable products.
News
Privacy Service Optery Faces Backlash After Plan to Send OpenAI User Data
Optery initially planned to send users' data to OpenAI by default, but walked back the decision over the weekend.
News
Telegram Changes Policy, Says It Will Provide User Data to Authorities
In an update to its privacy policy, Telegram says it will now share IP addresses and phone numbers to authorities in response to valid orders. The change is a dramatic switch for the social network app, which has become a hotbed for criminals.
Features
The Walls Are Closing in on the Snowflake Hacker
As security researchers circle around Judische, and authorities takedown his servers, how much longer will a hacker responsible for breaching Ticketmaster, AT&T, and many more companies remain free?
News
Criminals Keep Hacking Themselves, Letting Researchers Unmask Them
Infostealer malware is often hidden in pirated or cracked software, and hackers then post the harvested credentials and other data online. Criminals have been infected too.
News
LinkedIn Is Training AI on User Data Before Updating Its Terms of Service
Multiple LinkedIn users on Wednesday noticed a setting that showed LinkedIn was using user data to improve its generative AI. LinkedIn told 404 Media it will update its terms of service “shortly.”
Podcast
Podcast: Hezbollah's Exploding Pagers
Some expertise on batteries and how that relates to the exploding pagers in Lebanon; an AI-powered surveillance dystopia that is already here; and how Snapchat reserves the right to serve you ads with your own AI likeness.
News
Police Hack Into ‘Ghost’, An Encrypted Platform for Criminals
Operation Kraken is a sign that organized criminals are moving away from larger encrypted phone companies to a decentralized collection of smaller players and consumer access apps that the rest of us use.
FOIA
The Air Force Is Researching a ‘MAD.AI’ That Would Adapt Drones to New Environments
The Air Force has contracted with a company called Qylur, whose tool is designed to continuously improve the AI systems of autonomous devices such as drones and UAVs.
Behind The Blog
Behind the Blog: Risks, Attention, and Telegram
This is Behind the Blog, where we share our behind-the-scenes thoughts about how a few of our top stories of the week came together. This week, we discuss communicating risks, brain rot, and the arrest of Telegram's CEO.
Podcast
Podcast: Fraudsters Say 'We Know Where You Live'
The new wave of scary sextortion emails that include your address; the rise of right to repair for your body; and a years old Reddit mystery solved.