Protecting Your Phone—and Your Privacy—at the US Border

In this episode of Uncanny Valley, our hosts explain how to prepare for travel to and from the United States—and how to stay safe...

TraderTraitor: The Kings of the Crypto Heist

Allegedly responsible for the theft of $1.5 billion in cryptocurrency from a single exchange, North Korea’s TraderTraitor is one of the most sophisticated cybercrime groups in the world...

Top Trump Officials’ Passwords and Personal Phone Numbers Discovered Online

Plus: Alleged Snowflake hacker will be extradited to US, internet restrictions create an information vacuum in Myanmar, and London gets its first permanent face recognition cameras...

SignalGate Isn’t About Signal

The Trump cabinet’s shocking leak of its plans to bomb Yemen raises myriad confidentiality and legal issues. The security of the encrypted messaging app Signal is not one of them...

Inside the Telegram Groups Doxing Women for Their Facebook Posts

A WIRED investigation goes inside the Telegram groups targeting women who joined “Are We Dating the Same Guy?” groups on Facebook with doxing, harassment, and sharing of nonconsensual intimate images...

Elon Musk’s DOGE Is Being Sued Under the Privacy Act: What to Know

At least eight ongoing lawsuits related to the so-called Department of Government Efficiency’s alleged access to sensitive data hinge on the Watergate-inspired Privacy Act of 1974. But it’s not airtight...

The Official DOGE Website Launch Was a Security Mess

Plus: Researchers find RedNote lacks basic security measures, surveillance ramps up around the US-Mexico border, and the UK ordering Apple to create an encryption backdoor comes under fire...

DOGE Teen Owns ‘Tesla.Sexy LLC’ and Worked at Startup That Has Hired Convicted Hackers

Experts question whether Edward Coristine, a DOGE staffer who has gone by “Big Balls” online, would pass the background check typically required for access to sensitive US government systems...

Secret Phone Surveillance Tech Was Likely Deployed at 2024 DNC

Data WIRED collected during the 2024 Democratic National Convention strongly suggests the use of a cell-site simulator, a controversial spy device that intercepts sensitive data from every phone in its range...

Candy Crush, Tinder, MyFitnessPal: See the Thousands of Apps Hijacked to Spy on Your Location

A hack of location data company Gravy Analytics has revealed which apps are—knowingly or not—being used to collect your information behind the scenes...

US Treasury Department Admits It Got Hacked by China

Treasury says hackers accessed “certain unclassified documents” in a “major” breach, but experts believe the attack’s impacts could prove to be more significant as new details emerge...

Intel Officials Warned Police That US Cities Aren’t Ready for Hostile Drones

In a previously unreported August memo, the Department of Homeland Security urged state and local police to conduct exercises to test their ability to respond to weaponized drones...

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...

As the Mastermind of Far-Right ‘Active Clubs’ Goes to Prison, His Violent Movement Goes Global

The white supremacist Robert Rundo faces years in prison. But the “Active Club” network he helped create has proliferated in countries around the world, from Eastern Europe to South America...

The ‘Ghost Gun’ Linked to Luigi Mangione Shows Just How Far 3D-Printed Weapons Have Come

The design of the gun police say they found on the alleged UnitedHealthcare CEO’s killer—the FMDA or “Free Men Don’t Ask”—was released by a libertarian group...

The Real Story of “The Order”

The new film about an FBI agent chasing a white supremacist terror cell is based on a true story—and one that connects the headlines of 40 years ago to those of today...

Senators Warn the Pentagon: Get a Handle on China’s Telecom Hacking

In a letter to the Department of Defense, senators Ron Wyden and Eric Schmitt are calling for an investigation into fallout from the Salt Typhoon espionage campaign...

Malicious Ads in Search Results Are Driving New Generations of Scams

The scourge of “malvertising” is nothing new, but the tactic is still so effective that it's contributing to the rise of investment scams and the spread of new strains of malware...

Russia’s Ballistic Missile Attack on Ukraine Is an Alarming First

This is the first time Russia has used its so-called Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile in combat. The launch also serves as a warning to the West...

These Guys Hacked AirPods to Give Their Grandmas Hearing Aids

Three technologists in India used a homemade Faraday cage and a microwave oven to get around Apple’s location blocks...

Pig Butchering Scams Are Going High Tech

Scammers in Southeast Asia are increasingly turning to AI, deepfakes, and dangerous malware in a way that makes their pig butchering operations even more convincing...

The Pig Butchering Invasion Has Begun

Scamming operations that once originated in Southeast Asia are now proliferating around the world, likely raking in billions of dollars in the process...

Hackers Threaten to Leak Planned Parenthood Data

Plus: Kaspersky’s US business sold, Nigerian sextortion scammers jailed, and Europe’s controversial encryption plans return...

‘Sinkclose’ Flaw in Hundreds of Millions of AMD Chips Allows Deep, Virtually Unfixable Infections

Researchers warn that a bug in AMD’s chips would allow attackers to root into some of the most privileged portions of a computer—and that it has persisted in the company’s processors for decades...

Can GPT-4o Be Trusted With Your Private Data?

OpenAI’s newest model is “a data hoover on steroids,” says one expert—but there are still ways to use it while minimizing risk...

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 World’s Most Popular 3D-Printed Gun Was Designed by an Aspiring Terrorist

Growing numbers of insurgents and extremists use the FGC-9. Forensic analysis of online platforms reveals the dark world of the man who created it—a self-described incel who supported the German far right...

The Mystery of the $400 Million FTX Heist May Have Been Solved

An indictment against three Americans suggests that at least some of the culprits behind the theft of an FTX crypto fortune may be in custody...

Child Abusers Are Getting Better at Using Crypto to Cover Their Tracks

Crypto tracing firm Chainalysis found that sellers of child sexual abuse materials are successfully using “mixers” and “privacy coins” like Monero to launder their profits and evade law enforcement...

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...

Elijah Wood and Mike Tyson Cameo Videos Were Used in a Russian Disinformation Campaign

Videos featuring Elijah Wood, Mike Tyson, and Priscilla Presley have been edited to push anti-Ukraine disinformation, according to Microsoft researchers...

How Your Real Flight Reservation Can Be Used to Scam You

Scammers use a booking technicality, traveler confusion, and promises of dirt-cheap tickets to offer hot deals that are anything but...

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...

US Border Protection Is Finally Able to Check E-Passport Data

After 16 years, the agency has implemented the software to cryptographically verify digital passport data—and it’s already caught a dozen alleged fraudsters...

The High Cost of Living Your Life Online

Constantly posting content on social media can erode your privacy—and sense of self...

This Chatbot Aims to Steer People Away From Child Abuse Material

Pornhub is trialing a new automated tool that pushes CSAM-searchers to seek help for their online behavior. Will it work?...

The Feds Gear Up for a Privacy Crackdown

Plus: Cisco gets hit by ransomware, Twilio gets phished, a new way to fight email spammers, and much more...

Chinese Police Exposed 1B People's Data in Unprecedented Leak

Plus: A duplicitous bug bounty scheme, the iPhone's new “lockdown mode,” and more of the week's top security news...

Shanghai’s Censors Can’t Hide Stories of the Dead

Many people reportedly died after struggling to access medical care during a brutal lockdown. The families want to make sure these deaths are counted...

The Hidden Race to Protect the US Bioeconomy From Hacker Threats

A biotech threat intelligence group is gaining supporters as urgency mounts around an overlooked vulnerable sector...

Elon Musk Is Right About Twitter

It really is the closest thing we have to an online public square—and that's terrible for democracy. Let his takeover bid be a wakeup call...

War Is Calling Crypto’s ‘Neutrality’ Into Question

War in Ukraine and Western sanctions against Russia have made cryptocurrency a hot potato for international politics...

How Ukraine's Internet Can Fend Off Russian Attacks

The besieged country's complex internet infrastructure has evolved to promote resiliency...

An ‘Unhinged’ Putin Threatens Dangerous Escalation in Ukraine

With no off-ramp in sight, Russia’s leader has put the country’s nuclear forces on alert...

‘Zero-Click’ Zoom Vulnerabilities Could Have Exposed Calls

The flaws are now fixed, but they speak to the growing concerns around interactionless attacks...

Google Warns That NSO Hacking Is On Par With Elite Spy Groups

ForcedEntry is “one of the most technically sophisticated exploits” Project Zero security researchers have ever seen...

Iranian Hackers Are Going After US Critical Infrastructure

A hacking group is targeting a broad range of organizations, taking advantage of vulnerabilities that have been patched but not yet updated...

Google and Apple Reveal How Covid-19 Alert Apps Might Look

As contact tracing plans firm up, the tech giants are sharing new details for their framework—and a potential app interface...

OpenAI Is About to Release Its First AI Model With ‘Critical’ Cyber Abilities

The company will give select partners early access to its Astra AI model—so they have time to shore up their defenses...

A Georgia Cop Used Flock to Track 2 Other Cops: His Ex and Her Friend

After an affair with a fellow police officer ended, a Georgia cop used Flock to track her movements—and those of a man whose vehicle often showed up near hers, internal investigation records show...