A New Phone Scanner That Detects Spyware Has Already Found 7 Pegasus Infections

The mobile device security firm iVerify has been offering a tool since May that makes spyware scanning accessible to anyone—and it’s already turning up victims...

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...

She Was a Russian Socialite and Influencer. Cops Say She’s a Crypto Laundering Kingpin

Western authorities say they’ve identified a network that found a new way to clean drug gangs’ dirty cash. WIRED gained exclusive access to the investigation...

With Threats to Encryption Looming, Signal’s Meredith Whittaker Says ‘We’re Not Changing’

At WIRED’s The Big Interview event, the president of the Signal Foundation talked about secure communications as critical infrastructure and the need for a new funding paradigm for tech...

FTC Says Data Brokers Unlawfully Tracked Protesters and US Military Personnel

The FTC is targeting data brokers that monitored people’s movements during protests and around US military installations. But signs suggest the Trump administration will be far more lenient...

He Got Banned From X. Now He Wants to Help You Escape, Too

When programmer Micah Lee was kicked off X for a post that offended Elon Musk, he didn't look back. His new tool for saving and deleting your X posts can give you that same sweet release...

Top US Consumer Watchdog Has a Plan to Fight Predatory Data Brokers

A new proposal by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau would use a 54-year-old privacy law to impose new oversight of the data broker industry. But first, the agency must survive Elon Musk...

Are You Being Tracked by an AirTag? Here’s How to Check

If you’re worried that one of Apple’s trackers is following you without consent, try these tips...

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...

The Pressure Is on for Big Tech to Regulate the Broken Digital Advertising Industry

Brands have been at the mercy of the algorithm when it comes to where their ads appear online, but they’re about to get more control...

The US Army's Vision of Soldiers in Exoskeletons Lives On

Following decades of failed attempts and dashed dreams, the US Army is once again trying out powered exoskeletons to help soldiers haul munitions and equipment in the field...

Emergency Vehicle Lights Can Screw Up a Car's Automated Driving System

Newly published research finds that the flashing lights on police cruisers and ambulances can cause “digital epileptic seizures” in image-based automated driving systems, potentially risking wrecks...

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...

Andrew Tate’s ‘Educational Platform’ Was Hacked

Plus: The worst telecom hack in US history rolls on, iPhones are harder to break into, and more of the week’s top security news...

The US Is Calling Out Foreign Influence Campaigns Faster Than Ever

The 2024 elections were a high-water mark for naming and shaming threat actors from foreign governments. There’s still work to be done, though, on how to attribute disinformation campaigns most effectively...

Russian Spies Jumped From One Network to Another Via Wi-Fi in an Unprecedented Hack

In a first, Russia's APT28 hacking group appears to have remotely breached the Wi-Fi of an espionage target by hijacking a laptop in another building across the street...

Meta Finally Breaks Its Silence on Pig Butchering

The company gave details for the first time on its approach to combating organized criminal networks behind the devastating scams...

China’s Surveillance State Is Selling Citizen Data as a Side Hustle

Chinese black market operators are openly recruiting government agency insiders, paying them for access to surveillance data and then reselling it online—no questions asked...

Inside the Booming ‘AI Pimping’ Industry

AI-generated influencers based on stolen images of real-life adult content creators are flooding social media...

Anyone Can Buy Data Tracking US Soldiers and Spies to Nuclear Vaults and Brothels in Germany

More than 3 billion phone coordinates collected by a US data broker expose the detailed movements of US military and intelligence workers in Germany—and the Pentagon is powerless to stop it...

Immigration Police Can Already Sidestep US Sanctuary City Laws Using Data-Sharing Fusion Centers

Built to combat terrorism, fusion centers give US Immigration and Customs Enforcement a way to gain access to data that’s meant to be protected under city laws limiting local police cooperation with ICE...

Bitfinex Hacker Gets 5 Years for $10 Billion Bitcoin Heist

Plus: An “AI granny” is wasting scammers’ time, a lawsuit goes after spyware-maker NSO Group’s executives, and North Korea–linked hackers take a crack at macOS malware...

More Spyware, Fewer Rules: What Trump’s Return Means for US Cybersecurity

Experts expect Donald Trump’s next administration to relax cybersecurity rules on businesses, abandon concerns around human rights, and take an aggressive stance against the cyber armies of US adversaries...

Teen Behind Hundreds of Swatting Attacks Pleads Guilty to Federal Charges

Alan Filion, believed to have operated under the handle “Torswats,” admitted to making more than 375 fake threats against schools, places of worship, and government buildings around the United States...

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...

ICE Started Ramping Up Its Surveillance Arsenal Immediately After Donald Trump Won

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement put out a fresh call for contracts for surveillance technologies before an anticipated surge in the number of people it monitors ahead of deportation hearings...

The Real Problem With Banning Masks at Protests

Privacy advocates worry banning masks at protests will encourage harassment, while cops’ high-tech tools render the rules unnecessary...

The AI Machine Gun of the Future Is Already Here

The Pentagon is pursuing every available option to keep US troops safe from the rising tide of adversary drones, including a robotic twist on its standard-issue small arms...

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...

764 Terror Network Member Richard Densmore Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison

The 47-year-old Michigan man, who pleaded guilty to sexually exploiting a child, was highly active in the online criminal network called 764, which the FBI now considers a “tier one” terrorism threat...

Russia Is Going All Out on Election Day Interference

Along with other foreign influence operations—including from Iran—Kremlin-backed campaigns to stoke division and fear have gone into overdrive...

Man Arrested for Snowflake Hacking Spree Faces US Extradition

Alexander “Connor” Moucka was arrested this week by Canadian authorities for allegedly carrying out a series of hacks that targeted Snowflake’s cloud customers. His next stop may be a US jail...

Flaw in Right-Wing ‘Election Integrity’ App Exposes Voter-Suppression Plan and User Data

A bug that WIRED discovered in True the Vote’s VoteAlert app revealed user information—and an election worker who wrote about carrying out an illegal voter-suppression scheme...

Inside the Massive Crime Industry That’s Hacking Billion-Dollar Companies

When you download a piece of pirated software, you might also be getting a piece of infostealer malware, and entering a highly complex hacking ecosystem that’s fueling some of the biggest breaches on the planet...

Florida Man Accused of Hacking Disney World Menus, Changing Font to Wingdings

Plus: Cops take down a notorious infostealer, Strava leaks world leaders’ locations, and a hacking scandal is causing chaos in Italy...

Zero-Click Flaw Exposes Potentially Millions of Popular Storage Devices to Attack

A vulnerability categorized as “critical” in a photo app installed by default on Synology network-attached storage devices could give attackers the ability to steal data and worse...

Inside Sophos' 5-Year War With the Chinese Hackers Hijacking Its Devices

Sophos went so far as to plant surveillance “implants” on its own devices to catch the hackers at work—and in doing so, revealed a glimpse into China's R&D pipeline of intrusion techniques...

The Untold Story of Trump's Failed Attempt to Overthrow Venezuela's President

A successful CIA hack of Venezuela's military payroll system, insider fights for spy agency resources, and messy opposition politics: A WIRED investigation reveals a secret Trump-era attempt to oust autocratic ruler Nicolás Maduro...

‘We’re a Fortress Now’: The Militarization of US Elections Is Here

From bulletproof glass, drones, and snipers to boulders blocking election offices, the US democratic system is bracing for violent attacks in 2024...

Cybercriminals Pose a Greater Threat of Disruptive US Election Hacks Than Russia or China

A report distributed by the US Department of Homeland Security warned that financially motivated cybercriminals are more likely to attack US election infrastructure than state-backed hackers...

Chinese Hackers Target Trump Campaign via Verizon Breach

Plus: Apple offers $1 million to hack its AI cloud infrastructure, Iranian hackers successfully peddle stolen Trump campaign docs, Russia hacks the nation of Georgia, and a “cyberattack” that wasn’t...

Meet ZachXBT, the Masked Vigilante Tracking Down Billions in Crypto Scams and Thefts

He just untangled a $243 million bitcoin theft, what may be the biggest-ever crypto heist to target a single victim. And he has never shown his face...

Microsoft Warns Foreign Disinformation Is Hitting the US Election From All Directions

Russia, Iran, and China are targeting the US election with an evolving array of influence operations in the last days of campaign season...

Nigeria Drops Charges Against Tigran Gambaryan, Jailed Binance Exec and Former IRS Agent

After eight months, one of the US’s most prominent crypto-crime investigators may finally be coming home...

Exposed United Nations Database Left Sensitive Information Accessible Online

The 115,000-plus files related to UN Women included detailed financial disclosures from organizations around the world—and personal details and testimonials from vulnerable individuals...

The Shitposting Cartoon Dogs Sending Trucks, Drones, and Weapons to Ukraine’s Front Lines

The North Atlantic Fella Organization, which started as a way to fight Kremlin propaganda, has raised millions of dollars to send vital equipment directly to soldiers fighting Russia...

ICE's $2 Million Contract With a Spyware Vendor Is Under White House Review

Immigration and Customs Enforcement's contract with Paragon Solutions faces scrutiny over whether it complies with the Biden administration's executive order on spyware, WIRED has learned...

A Trump Win Could Unleash Dangerous AI

Donald Trump's opposition to “woke” safety standards for artificial intelligence would likely mean the dismantling of regulations that protect Americans from misinformation, discrimination, and worse...

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...

Google Chrome’s uBlock Origin Purge Has Begun

Plus: The alleged SEC X account hacker gets charged, Kroger wriggles out of a face recognition scandal, and Microsoft deals with missing customer security logs...