The Pentagon Tried to Hide That It Bought Americans’ Data Without a Warrant

US spy agencies purchased Americans’ phone location data and internet metadata without a warrant but only admitted it after a US senator blocked the appointment of a new NSA director...

Big-Name Targets Push Midnight Blizzard Hacking Spree Back Into the Limelight

Newly disclosed breaches of Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard Enterprise highlight the persistent threat posed by Midnight Blizzard, a notorious Russian cyber-espionage group...

Cops Used DNA to Predict a Suspect’s Face—and Tried to Run Facial Recognition on It

Police around the US say they're justified to run DNA-generated 3D models of faces through facial recognition tools to help crack cold cases. Everyone but the cops thinks that’s a bad idea...

The Most Dangerous People on the Internet in 2023

From Sam Altman and Elon Musk to ransomware gangs and state-backed hackers, these are the individuals and groups that spent this year disrupting the world we know it...

Inside America's School Internet Censorship Machine

A WIRED investigation into internet censorship in US schools found widespread use of filters to censor health, identity, and other crucial information. Students say it makes the web entirely unusable...

Internet Blackouts in Gaza Are a New Weapon in the Israel-Hamas War

Israel has said it’s prepared to disrupt internet service in Gaza, signaling a new age of warfare. In the past two weeks, the Palestinian territory has already suffered three communications shutdowns...

Satellite Images Show the Devastating Cost of Sudan’s Aerial War

As civil conflict continues in and above the streets of Khartoum, satellite images from the Conflict Observatory at Yale University have captured the catastrophic damage...

The Shocking Data on Kia and Hyundai Thefts in the US

Plus: MGM hackers hit more than just casinos, Microsoft researchers accidentally leak terabytes of data, and China goes on the PR offensive over cyberespionage...

You Need to Update Google Chrome or Whatever Browser You Use

Plus: Spyware-packing ads, TikTok GDPR violations, Elon Musk investigations, and more...

The US Congress Has Trust Issues. Generative AI Is Making It Worse

Senators are meeting with Silicon Valley's elite to learn how to deal with AI. But can Congress tackle the rapidly emerging tech before working on itself?...

Twitter Scammers Stole $1,000 From My Friend—So I Hunted Them Down

After scammers duped a friend with a hacked Twitter account and a “deal” on a MacBook, I enlisted the help of a fellow threat researcher to trace the criminals’ offline identities...

How Threads' Privacy Policy Compares to Twitter's (and Its Rivals')

Want to try out Meta’s new social media app? Here’s more context on what personal data is collected by Threads and similar social media apps...

How to Use Google Authenticator

The two-factor authentication tool got some serious upgrades that can help you bolster security for your online accounts...

How to Reclaim Your Online Privacy

We talk to the Signal Foundation’s Meredith Whittaker about how the surveillance economy is newer than we all might realize—and what we can do to fight back...

The Team of Sleuths Quietly Hunting Cyberattack-for-Hire Services

For a decade, a group called Big Pipes has worked behind the scenes with the FBI to target the worst cybercriminal “booter” services plaguing the internet...

Apple, Google, and Microsoft Just Fixed Zero-Day Security Flaws

Firefox gets a needed tune-up, SolarWinds squashes two high-severity bugs, Oracle patches 433 vulnerabilities, and more updates you should make now...

Google’s Authenticator App Now Lets You Sync 2FA Codes Across Devices

You can now sync sign-in codes across devices—but they aren’t end-to-end encrypted...

Criminals Are Using Tiny Devices to Hack and Steal Cars

Apple thwarts NSO’s spyware, the rise of a GPT-4 black market, Russia targets Starlink internet connections, and more...

Chinese Cops Ran Troll Farm and Secret NY Police Station, US Says

Three criminal cases detail China's alleged attempts to extend its security forces' influence online—and around the globe...

Apple’s Macs Have Long Escaped Ransomware. That May Be Changing

The discovery of malicious encryptors for Apple computers could herald new risks for macOS users if the malware continues to evolve...

Massive 3CX Supply-Chain Hack Targeted Cryptocurrency Firms

North Korean hackers appear to have used the corrupted VoIP software to go after just a handful of crypto firms with “surgical precision.”...

The Uniquely American Future of US Authoritarianism

The GOP-fueled far right differs from similar movements around the globe, thanks to the country’s politics, electoral system, and changing demographics...

How You Can Tell the AI Images of Trump’s Arrest Are Deepfakes

Doctored images of the former US president went viral on Twitter. These are the telltale signs that they aren’t what they seem...

Senator Warner on the Restrict Act and a US TikTok Ban

WIRED spoke with the coauthor of the Restrict Act, a bipartisan bill to crack down on tech from six “hostile” countries...

‘Pig Butchering’ Scams Are Now a $3 Billion Threat

The FBI’s latest Internet Crime Report highlights the stunning rise of investment-themed crimes over the past 18 months...

What to Look for When Buying a Security Camera (2023): Tips and Risks

Eufy's recent scandal shows it's not so much about the data breach but about how a company responds. Here are a few ways to shop smart...

China’s Police State Targets Zero-Covid Protesters

Plus: ICE accidentally doxes asylum seekers, Google fails to uphold a post-Roe promise, and LastPass suffers the second breach this year...

Iran’s Protests Reveal What’s Lost If Twitter Crumbles

As authorities hit citizens with more violence, the social network is proving key to documenting abuses. If it breaks, a human rights lifeline may disappear...

The US Has a Bomb-Sniffing Dog Shortage

Finding high-quality detection canines is hard enough—and the pandemic only dug a deeper hole...

A Destabilizing Hack-and-Leak Operation Hits Moldova

Plus: Google’s location snooping ends in a $391 million settlement, Russian code sneaks into US government apps, and the World Cup apps set off alarms...

The Hunt for the FTX Thieves Has Begun

Mysterious crooks took hundreds of millions of dollars from FTX just as it collapsed. Crypto-tracing blockchain analysis may provide an answer...

The Secret Ballot Is US Democracy’s Last Line of Defense

Voter intimidation has cropped up in places across the nation, but the voting booth remains the one place where nobody can get to you...

How the World Will Know If Russia Is Preparing to Launch a Nuclear Attack

While tensions over a possible nuclear attack on Ukraine remain high, experts say surveillance will likely catch Russia if it plans to do the unthinkable...

How to Use Passkeys in Google Chrome and Android

Google wants to make your digital life—in its ecosystem, anyway—passwordless and more secure...

Elon Musk’s SpaceX Bails on Starlink Funding for Ukraine

Plus: Hackers hit the Mormon Church, Signal plans to ditch SMS for Android, and a Fat Bear election erupts in scandal...

Google’s Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro Pack New Android VPN and Tensor G2, Titan M2 Chips

The company says it hardened the security of its new flagship phones—and plans to release a built-in Android VPN...

VPN Providers Flee India as a New Data Law Takes Hold

Many companies have pulled physical servers from the country as a mandate to collect customer data goes into effect...

How Whistleblowers Navigate a Security Minefield

Exposing wrongdoing is risky on the best of days. Whistleblower Aid cofounder John Tye explains the extensive steps needed to keep people safe...

Hackers Target Los Angeles School District With Ransomware

Plus: Albania cuts ties with Iran, claims of a TikTok data breach that didn’t happen, and much more...

This Clever Anti-Censorship Tool Lets Russians Read Blocked News

Samizdat Online syndicates banned news sites by hosting them on uncensored domains—allowing people to access independent reporting...

You’re Not Stringer Bell, but You May Still Need a Burner Phone

Prepaid phones are looking good as privacy worries peak...

Inside the Shadow Evacuation of Kabul

In the last two weeks of the war, an ad hoc team armed with group chats, QR codes, and satellite maps launched a mad dash to save imperiled Afghan allies...

The Telegram-Powered News Outlet Waging Guerrilla War on Russia

Anti-Putin media network February Morning has become a central player in the underground fight against the Kremlin...

Their Photos Were Posted Online. Then They Were Bombed

An attack on Russian mercenaries shows how militaries are increasingly using open source data—with sometimes deadly consequences...

The US Emergency Alert System Has Dangerous Flaws

Plus: A crypto-heist extravaganza, a peek at an NSO spyware dashboard, and more...

The Unsolved Mystery Attack on Internet Cables in Paris

As new details about the scope of the sabotage emerge, the perpetrators—and the reason for their vandalism—remain unknown...

The January 6 Insurrection Hearings Are Just Heating Up

The US House committee has already uncovered a more organized and sinister plot than many imagined. But history suggests the worst may be yet to come...

Russian ‘Hacktivists’ Are Causing Trouble Far Beyond Ukraine

The pro-Russian group Killnet is targeting countries supporting Ukraine. It has declared "war" against 10 nations...

End-to-End Encryption's Central Role in Modern Self-Defense

With abortion set to be criminalized in more than half the US, encryption has never been more important for protection—and civil disobedience...

How to Move Your WhatsApp Chats Across Devices and Apps

It's never been easier to switch between iPhone and Android—and to get your messages out of the Meta ecosystem entirely...