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Security

The County Prosecutors Who Became ICE Informants
Whisper Campaign

The County Prosecutors Who Became ICE Informants

Illinois prosecutors shared defendants’ personal data with federal immigration agents without criminal warrants, public disclosure, or legislative oversight.
Aura Bogado
Your Expired Visa Card Could Be ‘Zombified’ to Make Contactless Payments
Security Roundup

Your Expired Visa Card Could Be ‘Zombified’ to Make Contactless Payments

Andy Greenberg and Lily Hay Newman
China Is Strapping ‘Digital Bombs’ to Civilian Infrastructure—Is the US Ready?
Uncanny Valley

China Is Strapping ‘Digital Bombs’ to Civilian Infrastructure—Is the US Ready?

Brian Barrett and Andy Greenberg

Cyberattacks and Hacks

OpenAI Overhauls Safety Protocols After Its AI Agents Went Rogue

OpenAI Overhauls Safety Protocols After Its AI Agents Went Rogue

The ChatGPT maker says its upcoming Astra model may have reached “critical” cyber capabilities, prompting it to halt a significant number of training runs while it tightens internal safeguards.
Maxwell Zeff
This Coin-Sized Device Can Hack a Boeing 737

This Coin-Sized Device Can Hack a Boeing 737

Security researchers found that in less than 60 seconds, they could open a hatch on a plane’s exterior, plug in a tiny device, and redirect the aircraft’s autopilot or sabotage its flight plan.
Andy Greenberg
A Zoom Screen-Sharing Bug Let Anyone Take Over Other Devices on a Call

A Zoom Screen-Sharing Bug Let Anyone Take Over Other Devices on a Call

Researchers say it took fewer than 20 prompts for a public AI tool to find a flaw (now fixed) allowing anyone on a Zoom call to hijack another participants’ device.
Lily Hay Newman
Hackers Stalked Me by Hijacking a Smartwatch for Kids

Hackers Stalked Me by Hijacking a Smartwatch for Kids

Security researchers tracked and eavesdropped on a WIRED reporter using vulnerabilities in a pink plastic smartwatch. It’s just one piece of a deeply insecure supply chain of GPS-enabled gadgets.
Andy Greenberg, Matt Burgess, and Yulia Almazova

Privacy

Reverse-Lookup Service Exposed Millions of Photos of People’s Faces

Reverse-Lookup Service Exposed Millions of Photos of People’s Faces

The people-search tool ClarityCheck says its reverse image search service is “private and secure”—but it left a database containing more than 9 million image files exposed.
Lily Hay Newman and Matt Burgess
Flock Has a Powerful New AI Tool for Police. We Got Its Code

Flock Has a Powerful New AI Tool for Police. We Got Its Code

Flock’s surveillance cameras have already sparked outrage. WIRED reconstructed its next-generation AI system, already in use by some police, to confirm it goes much further than tracking license plates.
Dhruv Mehrotra and Dell Cameron
Can AI Coexist With Privacy? Proton’s Andy Yen Says It Will Have To

Can AI Coexist With Privacy? Proton’s Andy Yen Says It Will Have To

Proton’s CEO is a champion of encryption for everyone. So why is he going all in on un-encryptable AI?
Andy Greenberg
New York City Lawmakers Push to ‘Ban the Scan’ at MSG

New York City Lawmakers Push to ‘Ban the Scan’ at MSG

At a press conference outside Madison Square Garden, politicians, musicians, and privacy advocates argued for tighter restrictions on how public venues deploy biometric surveillance.
Kate Taylor

Security Advice

The Password Managers You Should Use Instead of Your Browser

The Password Managers You Should Use Instead of Your Browser

Keep your logins locked down with our favorite password management apps for PC, Mac, Android, iPhone, and web browsers.
Scott Gilbertson
You Can Disable Gemini in Chrome if It’s Freaking You Out

You Can Disable Gemini in Chrome if It’s Freaking You Out

Chrome users were caught off guard by a 4-GB Google AI model baked into Chrome, sparking privacy concerns. The good news: You can easily uninstall it. The bad? You might not want to.
Lily Hay Newman

How the Internet Broke Everyone’s Bullshit Detectors

From AI-generated images to restricted satellite data, the systems used to verify what’s real online are struggling to keep up.
Gia Chaudry
How to Organize Safely in the Age of Surveillance

How to Organize Safely in the Age of Surveillance

From threat modeling to encrypted collaboration apps, we’ve collected experts’ tips and tools for safely and effectively building a group—even while being targeted and tracked by the powerful.
Andy Greenberg and Lily Hay Newman

Security News

Meta Ran Ads for an App That Promised to Nudify Female Politicians

Meta Ran Ads for an App That Promised to Nudify Female Politicians

One advertisement featured a pornographic video with a deepfake closely resembling a prominent US politician. Apple removed the app from the App Store after an inquiry from WIRED.
Vittoria Elliott and Matt Burgess
CBP Workers Allegedly Used Government Databases to Spy on Exes, Crushes, and Colleagues

CBP Workers Allegedly Used Government Databases to Spy on Exes, Crushes, and Colleagues

Records obtained by WIRED detail hundreds of allegations of Customs and Border Protection workers misusing internal tools to look up romantic interests and track colleagues’ cell phones.
Yulia Almazova
‘The Worst I’ve Ever Seen’: Cargo Thefts Have Turned Violent in Pursuit of AI Hardware

‘The Worst I’ve Ever Seen’: Cargo Thefts Have Turned Violent in Pursuit of AI Hardware

Experts allege that two recent incidents in California show the extreme lengths that criminal organizations are willing to go to to steal servers and other gear meant for data centers.
Paresh Dave and Aarian Marshall
Flock’s Plans for Rideshare Dashcams and Coaching Police, Revealed

Flock’s Plans for Rideshare Dashcams and Coaching Police, Revealed

Plus: A judge rules cell tower dumps unconstitutional, water utility hacks spread to a dozen states, a phishing email opens a missile-parts supplier’s inbox, and a ransomware boss gets 16 years.
Dell Cameron and Dhruv Mehrotra

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