A Starter Guide to Protecting Your Data From Hackers and Corporations

Hackers. AI data scrapes. Government surveillance. Thinking about where to start when it comes to protecting your online privacy can be overwhelming. Here’s a simple guide for you—and anyone who claims they have nothing to hide...

The US Is Building a One-Stop Shop for Buying Your Data

Plus: A mysterious hacking group’s secret client is exposed, Signal takes a swipe at Microsoft Recall, Russian hackers target security cameras to spy on aid to Ukraine, and more...

Feds Charge 16 Russians Allegedly Tied to Botnets Used in Ransomware, Cyberattacks, and Spying

A new US indictment against a group of Russian nationals offers a clear example of how, authorities say, a single malware operation can enable both criminal and state-sponsored hacking...

Why 3D-Printing an Untraceable Ghost Gun Is Easier Than Ever

On today’s episode of ‘Uncanny Valley,’ we discuss how WIRED was able to legally 3D-print the same gun allegedly used by Luigi Mangione, and where US law stands on the technology...

Mysterious Database of 184 Million Records Exposes Vast Array of Login Credentials

The trove has now been taken down but included users’ logins for platforms including Apple, Google, and Meta, plus services from multiple governments...

Authorities Carry Out Elaborate Global Takedown of Infostealer Heavily Used by Cybercriminals

US, European, and Japanese authorities, along with tech companies including Microsoft and Cloudflare, say they’ve disrupted Lumma, an infostealer popular with criminal gangs...

3 Teens Almost Got Away With Murder. Then Police Found Their Google Searches

An arson attack in Colorado had detectives stumped. The way they solved the case could put everyone at risk...

What to Expect When You’re Convicted

When a formerly incarcerated “troubleshooter for the mafia” looked for a second career he chose the thing he knew best. He became a prison consultant for white-collar criminals...

Trump Signs Controversial Law Targeting Nonconsensual Sexual Content

The Take It Down Act requires platforms to remove instances of “intimate visual depiction” within two days. Free speech advocates warn it could be weaponized to fuel censorship...

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...

Who Even Is a Criminal Now?

WIRED loves a rogue. Except rogues ruined the internet. Is there any salvaging the rebellious spirit without destroying everything?...

For Tech Whistleblowers, There’s Safety in Numbers

Amber Scorah and Psst are building a “digital safe” to help people shine a light on the bad things their bosses are doing, without getting found out...

We Made Luigi Mangione’s 3D-Printed Gun—and Fired It

In the wake of Luigi Mangione’s alleged killing of a health care CEO with a partially 3D-printed pistol, we built and tested the exact same model of weapon ourselves. And it was entirely legal...

How to Win Followers and Scamfluence People

Format Boy makes a living teaching Yahoo Boys, notorious West African scammers, how to use AI and deepfake technology to ensnare their next victims...

How the Signal Knockoff App TeleMessage Got Hacked in 20 Minutes

The company behind the Signal clone used by at least one Trump administration official was breached earlier this month. The hacker says they got in thanks to a basic misconfiguration...

Coinbase Will Reimburse Customers Up to $400 Million After Data Breach

Plus: 12 more people are indicted over a $263 million crypto heist, and a former FBI director is accused of threatening Donald Trump thanks to an Instagram post of seashells...

The Internet’s Biggest-Ever Black Market Just Shut Down Amid a Telegram Purge

Following a WIRED inquiry, Telegram banned thousands of accounts used for crypto-scam money laundering, including those of Haowang Guarantee, a black market that enabled over $27 billion in transactions...

CFPB Quietly Kills Rule to Shield Americans From Data Brokers

Russell Vought, acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, has canceled plans to more tightly regulate the sale of Americans’ sensitive personal data...

North Korean IT Workers Are Being Exposed on a Massive Scale

Security researchers are publishing 1,000 email addresses they claim are linked to North Korean IT worker scams that infiltrated Western companies—along with photos of men allegedly involved in the schemes...

Google’s Advanced Protection for Vulnerable Users Comes to Android

A new extra-secure mode for Android 16 will let at-risk users lock their devices down...

Google Is Using On-Device AI to Spot Scam Texts and Investment Fraud

Android’s “Scam Detection” protection in Google Messages will now be able to flag even more types of digital fraud...

An $8.4 Billion Chinese Hub for Crypto Crime Is Incorporated in Colorado

Before a crackdown by Telegram, Xinbi Guarantee grew into one of the internet’s biggest markets for Chinese-speaking crypto scammers and money laundering. And all registered to a US address...

Deepfakes, Scams, and the Age of Paranoia

As AI-driven fraud becomes increasingly common, more people feel the need to verify every interaction they have online...

ICE’s Deportation Airline Hack Reveals Man ‘Disappeared’ to El Salvador

Plus: A DOGE operative’s laptop reportedly gets infected with malware, Grok AI is used to “undress” women on X, a school software company’s ransomware nightmare returns, and more...

US Customs and Border Protection Plans to Photograph Everyone Exiting the US by Car

A CBP spokesperson tells WIRED that the agency plans to expand its program for real-time face recognition at the border, potentially aiding Trump administration efforts to track people who self-deport...

US Customs and Border Protection Quietly Revokes Protections for Pregnant Women and Infants

CBP’s acting commissioner has rescinded four Biden-era policies that aimed to protect vulnerable people in the agency’s custody, including mothers, infants, and the elderly...

Customs and Border Protection Confirms Its Use of Hacked Signal Clone TeleMessage

CBP says it has “disabled” its use of TeleMessage following reports that the app, which has not cleared the US government’s risk assessment program, was hacked...

The Trump Administration Sure Is Having Trouble Keeping Its Comms Private

In the wake of SignalGate, a knockoff version of Signal used by a high-ranking member of the Trump administration was hacked. Today on Uncanny Valley, we discuss the platforms used for government communications...

The Signal Clone Mike Waltz Was Caught Using Has Direct Access to User Chats

A new analysis of TM Signal’s source code appears to show that the app sends users’ message logs in plaintext. At least one top Trump administration official used the app...

Tulsi Gabbard Reused the Same Weak Password on Multiple Accounts for Years

Now the US director of national intelligence, Gabbard failed to follow basic cybersecurity practices on several of her personal accounts, leaked records reviewed by WIRED reveal...

US Border Agents Are Asking for Help Taking Photos of Everyone Entering the Country by Car

Customs and Border Protection has called for tech companies to pitch real-time face recognition technology that can capture everyone in a vehicle—not just those in the front seats...

Signal Clone Used by Mike Waltz Pauses Service After Reports It Got Hacked

The communications app TeleMessage, which was spotted on former US national security adviser Mike Waltz's phone, has suspended “all services” as it investigates reports of at least one breach...

Security Researchers Warn a Widely Used Open Source Tool Poses a 'Persistent' Risk to the US

The open source software easyjson is used by the US government and American companies. But its ties to Russia’s VK, whose CEO has been sanctioned, have researchers sounding the alarm...

Hacking Spree Hits UK Retail Giants

Plus: France blames Russia for a series of cyberattacks, the US is taking steps to crack down on a gray market allegedly used by scammers, and Microsoft pushes the password one step closer to death...

Mike Waltz Has Somehow Gotten Even Worse at Using Signal

A photo taken this week showed Mike Waltz using an app that looks like—but is not—Signal to communicate with top officials. "I don't even know where to start with this," says one expert...

Think Twice Before Creating That ChatGPT Action Figure

People are using ChatGPT’s new image generator to take part in viral social media trends. But using it also puts your privacy at risk—unless you take a few simple steps to protect yourself...

North Korea Stole Your Job

For years, North Korea has been secretly placing young IT workers inside Western companies. With AI, their schemes are now more devious—and effective—than ever...

AI Code Hallucinations Increase the Risk of ‘Package Confusion’ Attacks

A new study found that code generated by AI is more likely to contain made-up information that can be used to trick software into interacting with malicious code...

WhatsApp Is Walking a Tightrope Between AI Features and Privacy

WhatsApp's AI tools will use a new “Private Processing” system designed to allow cloud access without letting Meta or anyone else see end-to-end encrypted chats. But experts still see risks...

Millions of Apple Airplay-Enabled Devices Can Be Hacked via Wi-Fi

Researchers reveal a collection of bugs known as AirBorne that would allow any hacker on the same Wi-Fi network as a third-party AirPlay-enabled device to surreptitiously run their own code on it...

Car Subscription Features Raise Your Risk of Government Surveillance, Police Records Show

Records reviewed by WIRED show law enforcement agencies are eager to take advantage of the data trails generated by a flood of new internet-connected vehicle features...

Pete Hegseth’s Signal Scandal Spirals Out of Control

Plus: Cybercriminals stole a record-breaking fortune from US residents and businesses in 2024, and Google performs its final flip-flop in its yearslong quest to kill tracking cookies...

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...

Gmail’s New Encrypted Messages Feature Opens a Door for Scams

Google is rolling out an end-to-end encrypted email feature for business customers, but it could spawn phishing attacks, particularly in non-Gmail inboxes...

The Tech That Safeguards the Conclave’s Secrecy

Following the death of Pope Francis, the Vatican is preparing to organize a new conclave in less than 20 days. This is how they’ll tamp down on leaks...

Florida Man Enters the Encryption Wars

Plus: A US judge rules against police cell phone “tower dumps,” China names alleged NSA agents it says were involved in cyberattacks, and Customs and Border Protection reveals its social media spying tools...

ICE Is Paying Palantir $30 Million to Build ‘ImmigrationOS’ Surveillance Platform

In a document published Thursday, ICE explained the functions that it expects Palantir to include in a prototype of a new program to give the agency “near real-time” data about people self-deporting...

New Jersey Sues Discord for Allegedly Failing to Protect Children

The New Jersey attorney general claims Discord’s features to keep children under 13 safe from sexual predators and harmful content are inadequate...

This ‘College Protester’ Isn’t Real. It’s an AI-Powered Undercover Bot for Cops

Massive Blue is helping cops deploy AI-powered social media bots to talk to people they suspect are anything from violent sex criminals all the way to vaguely defined “protesters.”...

‘Stupid and Dangerous’: CISA Funding Chaos Threatens Essential Cybersecurity Program

The CVE Program is the primary way software vulnerabilities are tracked. Its long-term future remains in limbo even after a last-minute renewal of the US government contract that funds it...