Ex-L3Harris Cyber Boss Pleads Guilty to Selling Trade Secrets to Russian Firm

Peter Williams, a former executive of Trenchant, L3Harris’ cyber division, has pleaded guilty to two counts of stealing trade secrets and selling them to an unnamed Russian software broker...

This Is the Nuclear-Powered Ship Deployed in Trump’s War on Drug Boats

The USS Gerald R. Ford is a $13 billion aircraft carrier sailing to the Caribbean with nuclear propulsion, an electromagnetic plane launcher, and 90 aircraft onboard...

DHS Wants a Fleet of AI-Powered Surveillance Trucks

US border patrol is asking companies to submit plans to turn standard 4x4 trucks into AI-powered watchtowers—combining radar, cameras, and autonomous tracking to extend surveillance on demand...

How Hacked Card Shufflers Allegedly Enabled a Mob-Fueled Poker Scam That Rocked the NBA

WIRED recently demonstrated how to cheat at poker by hacking the Deckmate 2 card shufflers used in casinos. The mob was allegedly using the same trick to fleece victims for millions...

This ‘Privacy Browser’ Has Dangerous Hidden Features

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...

No, ICE (Probably) Didn’t Buy Guided Missile Warheads

A federal contracting database lists an ICE payment for $61,218 with the payment code for “guided missile warheads and explosive components.” But it appears ICE simply entered the wrong code...

Feds Seize Record-Breaking $15 Billion in Bitcoin From Alleged Scam Empire

Officials in the US and UK have taken sweeping action against “one of the largest investment fraud operations in history,” confiscating a historic amount of funds in the process...

Cybercriminals Have a Weird New Way to Target You With Scam Texts

Scammers are now using “SMS blasters” to send out up to 100,000 texts per hour to phones that are tricked into thinking the devices are cell towers. Your wireless carrier is powerless to stop them...

How to Set Up and Use a Burner Phone

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...

Massive Leak Shows How a Chinese Company Is Exporting the Great Firewall to the World

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...

The Era of AI-Generated Ransomware Has Arrived

Cybercriminals are increasingly using generative AI tools to fuel their attacks, with new research finding instances of AI being used to develop ransomware...

Ex-NSA Chief Paul Nakasone Has a Warning for the Tech World

At the Defcon security conference in Las Vegas on Friday, Nakasone tried to thread the needle in a politically fraught moment while hinting at major changes for the tech community around the corner...

A Misconfiguration That Haunts Corporate Streaming Platforms Could Expose Sensitive Data

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...

Leak Reveals the Workaday Lives of North Korean IT Scammers

Spreadsheets, Slack messages, and files linked to an alleged group of North Korean IT workers expose their meticulous job-planning and targeting—and the constant surveillance they're under...

McDonald’s AI Hiring Bot Exposed Millions of Applicants' Data to Hackers Using the Password ‘123456’

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...

The Person in Charge of Testing Tech for US Spies Has Resigned

IARPA director Rick Muller is departing after just over a year at the R&D unit that invests in emerging technologies of potential interest to agencies like the NSA and the CIA, WIRED has learned...

The Promise and Peril of Digital Security in the Age of Dictatorship

LGBTIQ+ organizations in El Salvador are using technology to protect themselves and create a record of the country’s ongoing authoritarian escalations against their community. It’s not without risks...

Israel Says Iran Is Hacking Security Cameras for Spying

Plus: Ukrainian hackers reportedly knock out a key Russian internet provider, China’s Salt Typhoon hackers claim another victim, and the UK hits 23andMe with a hefty fine over its 2023 data breach...

A Swedish MMA Tournament Spotlights the Trump Administration's Handling of Far-Right Terrorism

A member of a California-based fight club seems to have attended an event hosted by groups with ties to an organization the US government labeled a terrorist group. Will the Trump administration care?...

A Silicon Valley VC Got Israel Starlink Access Within Days of October 7 Attack

During a webinar hosted by Israel’s Defense Ministry, Sequoia Capital partner Shaun Maguire discussed helping connect Israel with SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet far earlier than was known...

Using Starlink Wi-Fi in the White House Is a Slippery Slope for US Federal IT

The ad hoc addition to the otherwise tightly controlled White House information environment could create blind spots and security exposures while setting potentially dangerous precedent...

Top US Election Security Watchdog Forced to Stop Election Security Work

The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has frozen efforts to aid states in securing elections, according to an internal memo viewed by WIRED...

The ‘Largest Illicit Online Marketplace’ Ever Is Growing at an Alarming Rate, Report Says

Huione Guarantee, a gray market researchers believe is central to the online scam ecosystem, now includes a messaging app, stablecoin, and crypto exchange—while facilitating $24 billion in transactions...

Hackers Can Jailbreak Digital License Plates to Make Others Pay Their Tolls and Tickets

Digital license plates sold by Reviver, already legal to buy in some states and drive with nationwide, can be hacked by their owners to evade traffic regulations or even law enforcement surveillance...

Auto-Rebooting iPhones Are Causing Chaos for Cops

Plus: Hot Topic confirms a customer data breach, Germany arrests a US citizen for allegedly passing military secrets to Chinese intelligence, and more...

US Government Says Relying on Chinese Lithium Batteries Is Too Risky

A new document shows the Department of Homeland Security is concerned that Chinese investment in lithium batteries to power energy grids will make them a threat to US supply chain security...

The Disinformation Warning Coming From the Edge of Europe

Moldova is facing a tide of disinformation unprecedented in complexity and aggression, the head of a new center meant to combat it tells WIRED. And platforms like Facebook, TikTok, Telegram and YouTube could do more...

What the US Army’s 1959 ‘Soldier of Tomorrow’ Got Right About the Future of Warfare

Sixty-five years ago, the Army's leaders unveiled its “ultimate weapon” for the age of atomic warfare. Here’s how the service’s vision stands up to today's reality...

First Israel’s Exploding Pagers Maimed and Killed. Now Comes the Paranoia

The explosion of thousands of rigged pagers and walkie-talkies will likely make Hezbollah operatives fear any means of electronic communication. It’s having the same effect on the Lebanese population...

Stadiums Are Embracing Face Recognition. Privacy Advocates Say They Should Stick to Sports

Protesters took to Citi Field Wednesday to raise awareness of the facial recognition systems that have become common at major league sporting venues...

Apple Prototypes and Corporate Secrets Are for Sale Online—If You Know Where to Look

On the hunt for corporate devices being sold secondhand, a researcher found a trove of Apple corporate data, a Mac Mini from the Foxconn assembly line, an iPhone 14 prototype, and more...

This Machine Exposes Privacy Violations

A former Google engineer has built a search engine, webXray, that aims to find illicit online data collection and tracking—with the goal of becoming “the Henry Ford of tech lawsuits.”...

Alleged ‘Maniac Murder Cult’ Leader Indicted Over Plot to Kill Jews

US prosecutors have charged Michail Chkhikvishvili, also known as “Commander Butcher,” with a litany of crimes, including alleged attempts to poison Jewish children in NYC...

The US Wants to Integrate the Commercial Space Industry With Its Military to Prevent Cyber Attacks

As more and more infrastructure is deployed in space, the risk of cyber attacks increases. The US military wants to team up with the private sector to protect assets everyone relies on...

Surprise! The Latest ‘Comprehensive’ US Privacy Bill Is Doomed

Gutted of civil rights protections by Democrats to woo pro-business Republicans, the American Privacy Rights Act was pulled from a key congressional hearing—and appears unlikely to receive a full vote...

US Bans Kaspersky Software

Using a Trump-era authority, the US Commerce Department has banned the sale of Kaspersky’s antivirus tools to new customers in the US, citing alleged threats to national security...

Russia Attacked Ukraine's Power Grid at Least 66 Times to ‘Freeze It Into Submission’

Several of the strikes occurred far from the front lines of the conflict, indicating possible war crimes. Researchers say the attacks likely had devastating impacts on civilians...

The SEC’s Official X Account Was ‘Compromised’ and Used to Post Fake Bitcoin News

The US financial regulator says its official @SECGov account was “compromised,” resulting in an “unauthorized” post about the status of Bitcoin ETFs...

How the Most Popular Cars in the US Track Drivers

Vehicles from Toyota, Honda, Ford, and more can collect huge volumes of data. Here’s what the companies can access...

Unmasking the Paramilitary Agents Behind Trump’s Violent Immigration Crackdown

A WIRED analysis of DHS records identified dozens of specialized federal agents who used force against US civilians during the largest known deployment of its kind in US history...

How Trump’s Plot to Grab Iran's Nuclear Fuel Would Actually Work

Experts say that an American ground operation targeting nuclear sites in Iran would be incredibly complicated, put troops’ lives at great risk—and might still fail...

ICE Is Paying Salaries and More for This Town’s Entire Police Force

Under a Homeland Security program, police departments around the US are signing up to assist in immigration enforcement. The cops of Carroll, New Hampshire, are going all in—and they’re likely not alone...

US Takes Down Botnets Used in Record-Breaking Cyberattacks

The Aisuru, Kimwolf, JackSkid, and Mossad botnets had infected more than 3 million devices in total, many inside home networks, according to the US Justice Department...

Sears Exposed AI Chatbot Phone Calls and Text Chats to Anyone on the Web

Customer conversations with chatbots can include contact information and personal details that make it easier for scammers to launch phishing attacks and commit fraud...

How Each Gulf Country Is Intercepting Iranian Missiles and Drones

As missiles and drones cross the region’s skies, the Gulf’s layered air-defense networks—from THAAD to Patriot batteries—are being tested in real time...

War in Iran Spiked Oil Prices. Trump Will Decide How High They Go

The conflict in the Middle East is driving oil prices up in a midterm year when Americans are already focused on high energy bills...

The 5 Big ‘Known Unknowns’ of Donald Trump’s New War With Iran

The all-out air assault on the Islamic Republic might be the biggest gamble of the president’s career...

Data Broker Breaches Fueled Nearly $21 Billion in Identity-Theft Losses

A report copublished by WIRED sparked a probe into opt-out pages hidden by data brokers. Now congressional Democrats say breaches tied to the industry have cost people tens of billions of dollars...

Ring Kills Flock Safety Deal After Super Bowl Ad Uproar

Plus: Meta plans to add face recognition to its smart glasses, Jared Kushner named as part of whistleblower’s mysterious national security complaint, and more...

Iran’s Digital Surveillance Machine Is Almost Complete

After more than 15 years of draconian measures, culminating in an ongoing internet shutdown, the Iranian regime seems to be staggering toward its digital surveillance endgame...