Security

Signing On

Internet Starts to Return in Iran After 3-Month Blackout

Some internet connectivity is returning in Iran after nearly 90 days offline, web monitoring groups say. But it isn’t clear if the reconnection is permanent.

Matt Burgess and Lily Hay Newman

Moving Targets

US Law Enforcement Warns of ‘Anti-Tech Extremism’ as AI Hatred Grows

Daniel Boguslaw

Quick Work

The AI Era Is Creating a Bug-Hunting Arms Race

Lily Hay Newman

Cyberattacks and Hacks

The FBI Wants ‘Near Real-Time’ Access to US License Plate Readers

Plus: Google publishes a live exploit for an unpatched flaw, the feds arrest two men accused of creating thousands of nonconsensual deepfake nudes, and more.

Matt Burgess, Dell Cameron, and Andrew Couts

A Hacker Group Is Poisoning Open Source Code at an Unprecedented Scale

GitHub is just the latest victim of TeamPCP, a gang that has carried out a spree of software supply chain attacks that has impacted hundreds of organizations.

Andy Greenberg and Lily Hay Newman

Cybercriminal Twins Caught After They Forgot to Turn Off Microsoft Teams Recording

Plus: Instructure’s Canvas ransomware debacle comes to a close, an alleged dark net market kingpin gets arrested, OpenAI workers fall victim to a supply chain attack, and more.

Andy Greenberg, Maddy Varner, Dell Cameron, and Andrew Couts

Your iPhone Gets Stolen. Then the Hacking Begins

A bustling underground ecosystem is providing criminals with the tools to unlock iPhones—and wage phishing attacks against their contacts to access bank accounts and more.

Matt Burgess

Privacy

‘Creepy’ Listening Tool for Targeted Ads Didn’t Actually Work, FTC Says

Three firms will pay nearly $1 million for selling “Active Listening” technology that they claimed tapped people’s phones for advertising. The FTC alleges the “tech” was just pricey email lists.

Maddy Varner

A Bipartisan Amendment Would End Police License Plate Tracking Nationwide

One line tucked into a federal highway bill would strip funds from cities and states unless they kill their automated plate tracking programs—effectively banning the tech for all but toll collection.

Dell Cameron

A New York Cop Got Injured at a Boxing Match. Now Madison Square Garden Is Banning His Lawyer

Attorney John Scola is representing a police officer who is suing over injuries allegedly sustained while working security at an MSG property in 2025.

Noah Shachtman

Data Brokers’ and AI Firms’ Opt-Out Forms Are Built to Fail, Report Finds

A new study finds AI companies, defense firms, and dating apps are among 38 data collectors allegedly using manipulative design to confuse users while collecting their data.

Dell Cameron

Security Advice

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

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

How to Protest Safely in the Age of Surveillance

Law enforcement has more tools than ever to track your movements and access your communications. Here’s how to protect your privacy if you plan to protest.

Andy Greenberg and Lily Hay Newman

Security News

The EU Is Going Through a Trump-Fueled Breakup With Big Tech

France is already moving on from Zoom and Microsoft Teams in favor of homegrown alternatives. Other countries are quickly following suit.

Matt Burgess and Vittoria Elliott

You Can Get Some of Your Nudes Removed From the Internet Under a New Law

Starting May 19, tech platforms in the US will have to comply with the Take It Down Act. Here’s how more than a dozen major platforms are handling takedown demands for your nonconsensual nudes.

Maddy Varner

An ICE Firearms Trainer Was Involved in At Least 4 Deadly Shootings

David Norman, a former Phoenix police officer who’s described himself as “a fucking savage,” now runs a company that provided training to Homeland Security’s Special Response Teams.

Ali Winston

DHS Plans Experiment Running ‘Reconnaissance’ Drones Along the US-Canada Border

Autonomous drones and ground vehicles will stream “battlefield intelligence” over 5G along the US-Canada border in a bilateral DHS experiment this fall.

Dell Cameron and Maddy Varner