Immigration and Customs Enforcement lifted a $180 million cap on a proposed immigrant-tracking program while guaranteeing multimillion-dollar payouts for private surveillance firms.
Plus: The SEC lets SolarWinds off the hook, Microsoft stops a historic DDoS attack, and FBI documents reveal the agency spied on an immigration activist Signal group in New York City.
In this episode of Uncanny Valley, we discuss our scoop about how the Department of Homeland Security illegally collected Chicago residents’ data for months, as well as the news of the week.
Schools in the US are installing vape-detection tech in bathrooms to thwart student nicotine and cannabis use. A new investigation reveals the impact of using spying to solve a problem.
By plugging tens of billions of phone numbers into WhatsApp’s contact discovery tool, researchers found “the most extensive exposure of phone numbers” ever—along with profile photos and more.
In a bulletin to law enforcement agencies, the FBI said criminal impersonators are exploiting ICE’s image and urged nationwide coordination to distinguish real operations from fakes.
The total number of US Customs and Border Protection device searches jumped by 17 percent over the 2024 fiscal year, but more invasive forensic searches remain relatively rare.
A database containing information on people who applied for jobs with Democrats in the US House of Representatives was left accessible on the open web.
Plus: The Jaguar Land Rover hack sets an expensive new record, OpenAI’s new Atlas browser raises security fears, Starlink cuts off scam compounds, and more.
The Universe Browser is believed to have been downloaded millions of times. But researchers say it behaves like malware and has links to Asia’s booming cybercrime and illegal gambling networks.
Plus: A secret FBI anti-ransomware task force gets exposed, the mystery of the CIA’s Kryptos sculpture is finally solved, North Koreans busted hiding malware in the Ethereum blockchain, and more.
An estimated 100 million people live with facial differences. As face recognition tech becomes widespread, some say they’re getting blocked from accessing essential systems and services.
With just $800 in basic equipment, researchers found a stunning variety of data—including thousands of T-Mobile users’ calls and texts and even US military communications—sent by satellites unencrypted.
Plus: US government cybersecurity staffers get reassigned to do immigration work, a hack exposes sensitive age-verification data of Discord users, and more.
With the mercenary spyware industry booming, Apple VP Ivan Krstić tells WIRED that the company is also offering bonuses that could bring the max total reward for iPhone exploits to $5 million.
Plus: China sentences scam bosses to death, Europe is ramping up its plans to build a “drone wall” to protect against Russian airspace violations, and more.
A team of researchers found that, by not encrypting the data broadcast by Tile tags, users could be vulnerable to having their location information exposed to malicious actors.
Plus: A ransomeware gang steals data on 8,000 preschoolers, Microsoft blocks Israel’s military from using its cloud for surveillance, call-recording app Neon hits pause over security holes, and more.
Newly released data shows Customs and Border Protection funneled the DNA of nearly 2,000 US citizens—some as young as 14—into an FBI crime database, raising alarms about oversight and legality.
Plus: An investigation reveals how US tech companies reportedly helped build China’s sweeping surveillance state, and two more alleged members of the Scattered Spider hacking group were arrested.
Obtaining and using a true burner phone is hard—but not impossible. Here are the steps you need to take to protect your mobile communications based on the risks you face.
Alongside new iPhones, Apple released a new security architecture on Tuesday: Memory Integrity Enforcement aims to eliminate the most frequently exploited class of iOS bugs.
A new report warns that the number of US investors in powerful commercial spyware rose sharply in 2024 and names new countries linked to the dangerous technology.
After 25 years at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Cindy Cohn is stepping down as executive director. In a WIRED interview, she reflects on encryption, AI, and why she’s not ready to quit the battle.
From data-removal services to threat monitoring, the Public Service Alliance says its new marketplace will help public servants defend themselves in an era of data brokers and political violence.
Geedge Networks, a company with ties to the founder of China’s mass censorship infrastructure, is selling its censorship and surveillance systems to at least four other countries in Asia and Africa.
Plus: An AI chatbot system is linked to a widespread hack, details emerge of a US plan to plant a spy device in North Korea, your job’s security training isn’t working, and more.
A new specimen of “infostealer” malware offers a disturbing feature: It monitors a target's browser for NSFW content, then takes simultaneous screenshots and webcam photos of the victim.
Plus: China’s Salt Typhoon hackers target 600 companies in 80 countries, Tulsi Gabbard purges CIA agents, hackers knock out Iranian ship communications, and more.
Less than 30 minutes after the Social Security Administration’s chief data officer resigned following a whistleblower complaint, recipients could no longer access the resignation email.
Customs and Border Protection agents searched nearly 15,000 devices from April through June of this year, a nearly 17 percent spike over the previous three-month high in 2022.
Nearly a million records, which appear to be linked to a medical-cannabis-card company in Ohio, included Social Security numbers, government IDs, health conditions, and more.
Plus: ICE agents accidentally add a random person to a sensitive group chat, Norwegian intelligence blames the Kremlin for hacking a dam, and new facial recognition vans roam the UK.
The breach of the US Courts records system came to light more than a month after the attack was discovered. Details about what was exposed—and who’s responsible—remain unclear.
After reporters found dozens of firms hiding privacy tools from search results, US senator Maggie Hassan insists the companies explain their practices—and pledge to improve access to privacy controls.
Plus: Instagram sparks a privacy backlash over its new map feature, hackers steal data from Google's customer support system, and the true scope of the Columbia University hack comes into focus.
A security researcher discovered that flawed API configurations are plaguing corporate livestreaming platforms, potentially exposing internal company meetings—and he's releasing a tool to find them.
A pair of hackers found that a vape detector often found in high school bathrooms contained microphones—and security weaknesses that could allow someone to turn it into a secret listening device.
Plus: A former top US cyber official loses her new job due to political backlash, Congress is rushing through a bill to censor lawmakers’ personal information online, and more.
A law requiring UK internet users to verify their age to access adult content has led to a huge surge in VPN downloads—and has experts worried about the future of free expression online.
Starting today, UK adults will have to prove their age to access porn online. Experts warn that a global wave of age-check laws threatens to chill speech and ultimately harm children and adults alike.
Security flaws in Airportr, a door-to-door luggage checking service used by 10 airlines, let hackers access user data and even gain privileges that would have let them redirect or steal luggage.
On this episode of Uncanny Valley, we dive into the differences between what the US government said about a Jeffrey Epstein video it released and the story told by its metadata.
The US government has added the DNA of approximately 133,000 migrant children and teens to a criminal database, which critics say could mean police treat them like suspects “indefinitely.”
A trove of 1.1 million records left accessible on the open web shows how much sensitive information can be created—and made vulnerable—during the adoption process.
Plus: An “explosion” of AI-generated child abuse images is taking over the web, a Russian professional basketball player is arrested on ransomware charges, and more.
DHS is urging law enforcement to treat even skateboarding and livestreaming as signs of violent intent during a protest, turning everyday behavior into a pretext for police action.
Basic security flaws left the personal info of tens of millions of McDonald’s job-seekers vulnerable on the “McHire” site built by AI software firm Paradox.ai.
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