Scammers Are Creating Fake News Videos to Blackmail Victims

“Yahoo Boy” scammers are impersonating CNN and other news organizations to create videos that pressure victims into making blackmail payments...

US Privacy Snags a Win as Judge Limits Warrantless FBI Searches

Plus: A hacker finds an issue with Cloudflare’s systems that could reveal app users’ rough locations, and the Trump administration puts a wrench in a key cybersecurity investigation...

Subaru Security Flaws Exposed Its System for Tracking Millions of Cars

Now-fixed web bugs allowed hackers to remotely unlock and start any of millions of Subarus. More disturbingly, they could also access at least a year of cars’ location histories—and Subaru employees still can...

Under Trump, US Cyberdefense Loses Its Head

Chinese hacks, rampant ransomware, and Donald Trump’s budget cuts all threaten US security. In an exit interview with WIRED, former CISA head Jen Easterly argues for her agency’s survival...

Trump Frees Silk Road Creator Ross Ulbricht After 11 Years in Prison

Donald Trump pardoned the creator of the world’s first dark-web drug market, who is now a libertarian cause célèbre in some parts of the crypto community...

How to Get Around the US TikTok Ban

TikTok is now unavailable in the United States—and getting around the ban isn’t as simple as using a VPN. Here’s what you need to know...

US Names One of the Hackers Allegedly Behind Massive Salt Typhoon Breaches

Plus: New details emerge about China’s cyber espionage against the US, the FBI remotely uninstalls malware on 4,200 US devices, and victims of the PowerSchool edtech breach reveal what hackers stole...

The FCC’s Jessica Rosenworcel Isn’t Leaving Without a Fight

As the US faces “the worst telecommunications hack in our nation’s history,” by China’s Salt Typhoon hackers, the outgoing FCC chair is determined to bolster network security if it’s the last thing she does...

Hackers Likely Stole FBI Call Logs From AT&T That Could Compromise Informants

A breach of AT&T that exposed “nearly all” of the company’s customers may have included records related to confidential FBI sources, potentially explaining the bureau’s new embrace of end-to-end encryption...

Biden's Cyber Ambassador Urges Trump Not to Cede Ground to Russia and China in Global Tech Fight

Nathaniel Fick, the ambassador for cyberspace and digital policy, has led US tech diplomacy amid a rising tide of pressure from authoritarian regimes. Will the Trump administration undo that work?...

GitHub’s Deepfake Porn Crackdown Still Isn’t Working

Over a dozen programs used by creators of nonconsensual explicit images have evaded detection on the developer platform, WIRED has found...

A New Jam-Packed Biden Executive Order Tackles Cybersecurity, AI, and More

US president Joe Biden just issued a 40-page executive order that aims to bolster federal cybersecurity protections, directs government use of AI—and takes a swipe at Microsoft’s dominance...

5 Best VPN Services (2024): For Routers, PC, iPhone, Android, and More

It won’t solve all of your privacy problems, but a virtual private network can make you a less tempting target for hackers...

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...

Inside the Black Box of Predictive Travel Surveillance

Behind the scenes, companies and governments are feeding a trove of data about international travelers into opaque AI tools that aim to predict who’s safe—and who’s a threat...

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...

Rumble Among 15 Targets of Texas Attorney General’s Child Privacy Probe

Texas has become a leading enforcer of internet rules. Its latest probe includes some platforms that privacy experts describe as unusual suspects...

How the US TikTok Ban Would Actually Work

The fate of TikTok now rests in the hands of the US Supreme Court. If a law banning the social video app this month is upheld, it won’t disappear from your phone—but it will get messy fast...

The School Shootings Were Fake. The Terror Was Real

The inside story of the teenager whose “swatting” calls sent armed police racing into hundreds of schools nationwide—and the private detective who tracked him down...

License Plate Readers Are Leaking Real-Time Video Feeds and Vehicle Data

Misconfigured license-plate-recognition systems reveal the livestreams of individual cameras and the wealth of data they collect about every vehicle that passes by them...

Apple May Owe You $20 in a Siri Privacy Lawsuit Settlement

Plus: The FBI discovers a historic trove of homemade explosives, new details emerge in China’s hack of the US Treasury Department, and more...

Californians Say X Blocked Them From Viewing Amber Alert About Missing 14-Year-Old

Many people reported they hit a screen preventing them from seeing the alert unless they signed in...

Facebook and Instagram Ads Push Gun Silencers Disguised as Car Parts

A network of Facebook pages has been advertising “fuel filters” that are actually meant to be used as silencers, which are heavily regulated by US law. Even US military officials are concerned...

Hey, Maybe It's Time to Delete Some Old Chat Histories

Your messages going back years are likely still lurking online, potentially exposing sensitive information you forgot existed. But there's no time like the present to do some digital decluttering...

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...

The Most Dangerous People on the Internet in 2024

From Elon Musk and Donald Trump to state-sponsored hackers and crypto scammers, this was the year the online agents of chaos gained ground...

The Paper Passport Is Dying

Smartphones and face recognition are being combined to create new digital travel documents. The paper passport’s days are numbered—despite new privacy risks...

The Worst Hacks of 2024

From Chinese cyberspies breaching US telecoms to ruthless ransomware gangs disrupting health care for millions of people, 2024 saw some of the worst hacks, breaches, and data leaks ever...

You Need to Create a Secret Password With Your Family

AI voice cloning and deepfakes are supercharging scams. One method to protect your loved ones and yourself is to create secret code words to verify someone’s identity in real time...

The Invisible Russia-Ukraine Battlefield

In Russia’s war against Ukraine, electronic warfare, including signal-jamming, anti-drone weapons, and innovative protections for critical military systems, has become a key piece of the conflict...

Mystery Drone Sightings Lead to FAA Ban Despite No Detected Threats

Plus: Google’s U-turn on creepy “fingerprint” tracking, the LockBit ransomware gang’s teased comeback, and a potential US ban on the most popular routers in America...

This VPN Lets Anyone Use Your Internet Connection. What Could Go Wrong?

A free VPN app called Big Mama is selling access to people’s home internet networks. Kids are using it to cheat in a VR game while researchers warn of bigger security risks...

Congress Again Fails to Limit Scope of Spy Powers in New Defense Bill

The National Defense Authorization Act passed today, but lawmakers stripped language that would keep the Trump administration from wielding unprecedented authority to surveil Americans...

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...

Drug Dealers Have Moved on to Social Media

The marketing of illegal drugs on open platforms is “gaining prominence,” authorities note, while the number of drug transactions on the dark web has decreased in recent years...

Stop Calling Online Scams ‘Pig Butchering,’ Interpol Warns

Experts say the catchall term for online fraud furthers harm against victims and could dissuade people from reporting attempts to bilk them out of their money...

The Top Cybersecurity Agency in the US Is Bracing for Donald Trump

Staffers at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency tell WIRED they fear the new administration will cut programs that keep the US safe—and “persecution.”...

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...

The Simple Math Behind Public Key Cryptography

The security system that underlies the internet makes use of a curious fact: You can broadcast part of your encryption to make your information much more secure...

Microsoft’s AI Recall Tool Is Still Sucking Up Credit Card and Social Security Numbers

Plus: The US indicts North Koreans in fake IT worker scheme, file-sharing firm Cleo warns customers to patch a vulnerability amid live attacks, and more...

The New Jersey Drone Mystery May Not Actually Be That Mysterious

A flurry of drone sightings across New Jersey and New York has sparked national intrigue and US government responses. But experts are pouring cold water on America’s hottest new conspiracy theory...

Why the US Military Can't Just Shoot Down the Mystery Drones

Small, easily weaponizable drones have become a feature of battlefields from the Middle East to Ukraine. Now the threat looms over the US homeland—and the Pentagon's ability to respond is limited...

Worry About Misuse of AI, Not Superintelligence

AI risks arise not from AI acting on its own, but because of what people do with it...

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...

Poker Cheaters Allegedly Use Tiny Hidden Cameras to Spot Dealt Cards

Several recent schemes were uncovered involving poker players at casinos allegedly using miniature cameras, concealed in personal electronics, to spot cards. Should players everywhere be concerned?...

Police Arrest UnitedHealthcare CEO Shooting Suspect, App Developer Luigi Mangione

Luigi Mangione, a 26-year-old graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, was apprehended on Monday after visiting a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania...

US Officials Recommend Encryption Apps Amid Chinese Telecom Hacking

Plus: Russian spies keep hijacking other hackers’ infrastructure, Hydra dark web market admin gets life sentence in Russia, and more of the week’s top security news...

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...