‘Stablecoins’ Enabled $40 Billion in Crypto Crime Since 2022

A new report from Chainalysis finds that stablecoins like Tether, tied to the value of the US dollar, were used in the vast majority of crypto-based scam transactions and sanctions evasion in 2023...

How a 27-Year-Old Codebreaker Busted the Myth of Bitcoin’s Anonymity

Once, drug dealers and money launderers saw cryptocurrency as perfectly untraceable. Then a grad student named Sarah Meiklejohn proved them all wrong—and set the stage for a decade-long crackdown...

A Flaw in Millions of Apple, AMD, and Qualcomm GPUs Could Expose AI Data

Patching every device affected by the LeftoverLocals vulnerability—which includes some iPhones, iPads, and Macs—may prove difficult...

The Sad Truth of the FTC's Location Data Privacy Settlement

The FTC forced a data broker to stop selling “sensitive location data.” But most companies can avoid such scrutiny by doing the bare minimum, exposing the lack of protections Americans truly have...

A Bloody Pig Mask Is Just Part of a Wild New Criminal Charge Against eBay

Plus: Chinese officials tracked people using AirDrop, Stuxnet mole’s identity revealed, AI chatbot hacking, and more...

How to Stop Your X Account From Getting Hacked Like the SEC's

The US Securities and Exchange Commission and security firm Mandiant both had their X accounts breached, possibly due to changes to X’s two-factor authentication settings. Here’s how to fix yours...

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...

US School Shooter Emergency Plans Exposed in a Highly Sensitive Database Leak

More than 4 million school records, including safety procedures, student medical files, and court documents, were also publicly accessible online...

Lawmakers Are Out for Blood After a Hack of the SEC’s X Account Causes Bitcoin Chaos

The US Securities and Exchange Commission is under pressure to explain itself after its X account was compromised, leading to wild swings in the bitcoin market...

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...

23andMe Blames Users for Recent Data Breach as It's Hit With Dozens of Lawsuits

Plus: Russia hacks surveillance cameras as new details emerge of its attack on a Ukrainian telecom, a Google contractor pays for videos of kids to train AI, and more...

How to Be More Anonymous Online

Being fully anonymous is next to impossible—but you can significantly limit what the internet knows about you by sticking to a few basic rules...

To Beat Russia, Ukraine Needs a Major Tech Breakthrough

Ukraine’s top general says his country must innovate on the level of inventing gunpowder to “break military parity” with Russia. If it’s successful, it could change the future of war...

What It’s Like to Use Apple’s Lockdown Mode

If you're at high risk of being targeted by mercenary spyware, or just don't mind losing iOS features for extra security, the company's restricted mode is surprisingly usable...

Google Fixes Nearly 100 Android Security Issues

Plus: Apple shuts down a Flipper Zero Attack, Microsoft patches more than 30 vulnerabilities, and more critical updates for the last month of 2023...

The Worst Hacks of 2023

It was a year of devastating cyberattacks around the globe, from ransomware attacks on casinos to state-sponsored breaches of critical infrastructure...

The Most Dangerous People on the Internet in 2023

From Sam Altman and Elon Musk to ransomware gangs and state-backed hackers, these are the individuals and groups that spent this year disrupting the world we know it...

This Clever New Idea Could Fix AirTag Stalking While Maximizing Privacy

Apple updated its location-tracking system in an attempt to cut down on AirTag abuse while still preserving privacy. Researchers think they’ve found a better balance...

Facebook Marketplace Is Being Ruined by Zelle Scammers

I tried to sell a futon on Facebook Marketplace and nearly all I got were scammers...

Congress Sure Made a Lot of Noise About Kids’ Privacy in 2023—and Not Much Else

Members of the US Congress touted improvements to children’s privacy protections as an urgent priority. So why didn’t they do anything about it?...

A Major Ransomware Takedown Suffers a Strange Setback

After an 18-month rampage, global law enforcement finally moved against the notorious Alphv/BlackCat ransomware group. Within hours, the operation faced obstacles...

Scammers Are Tricking Anti-Vaxxers Into Buying Bogus Medical Documents

On Telegram, scammers are impersonating doctors to sell fake Covid-19 vaccination certificates and other products, showing how criminals are taking advantage of conspiracy theories...

Cybersecurity Industry Baffled by FBI’s Lack of Action on Ransomware Gang

Plus: Hackers reveal flaws in crypto wallets holding $1 billion, a massive breach of Danish electric utilities, and more...

Google Just Denied Cops a Key Surveillance Tool

Plus: Apple tightens anti-theft protections, Chinese hackers penetrate US critical infrastructure, and the long-running rumor of eavesdropping phones crystallizes into more than an urban legend...

McDonald’s Ice Cream Machine Hackers Say They Found the ‘Smoking Gun’ That Killed Their Startup

Kytch, the company that tried to fix McDonald’s broken ice cream machines, has unearthed a 3-year-old email it says proves claims of an alleged plot to undermine their business...

Microsoft’s Digital Crime Unit Goes Deep on How It Disrupts Cybercrime

Ten years in, Microsoft’s DCU has honed its strategy of using both unique legal tactics and the company’s technical reach to disrupt global cybercrime and state-backed actors...

Hacker Group Linked to Russian Military Claims Credit for Cyberattack on Kyivstar

A hacker group calling itself Solntsepek—previously linked to Russia’s notorious Sandworm hackers—says it carried out a disruptive breach of Kyivstar, a major Ukrainian mobile and internet provider...

Congress Clashes Over the Future of America’s Section 702 Spy Program

Competing bills moving through the House of Representatives both reauthorize Section 702 surveillance—but they pave very different paths forward for Americans’ privacy and civil liberties...

Ukraine Is Crowdfunding Its Reconstruction

With its war against Russia raging on, Ukraine has begun raising funds to rebuild homes and structures one by one using its own crowdfunding platform...

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...

End-to-End Encrypted Instagram and Messenger Chats: Why It Took Meta 7 Years

Mark Zuckerberg personally promised that the privacy feature would launch by default on Messenger and Instagram chat. WIRED goes behind the scenes of the company’s colossal effort to get it right...

The Binance Crackdown Will Be an 'Unprecedented' Bonanza for Crypto Surveillance

Binance’s settlement requires it to offer years of transaction data to US regulators and cops, exposing the company—and its customers—to a “24/7, 365-days-a-year financial colonoscopy.”...

Police Can Spy on Your iOS and Android Push Notifications

Governments can access records related to push notifications from mobile apps by requesting that data from Apple and Google, according to details in court records and a US senator...

The 23andMe Data Breach Keeps Spiraling

23andMe has provided more information about the scope and scale of its recent breach, but with these details come more unanswered questions...

A New Trick Uses AI to Jailbreak AI Models—Including GPT-4

Adversarial algorithms can systematically probe large language models like OpenAI’s GPT-4 for weaknesses that can make them misbehave...

US Lawmakers Want to Use a Powerful Spy Tool on Immigrants and Their Families

Legislation set to be introduced in Congress this week would extend Section 702 surveillance of people applying for green cards, asylum, and some visas—subjecting loved ones to similar intrusions...

Inside America's School Internet Censorship Machine

A WIRED investigation into internet censorship in US schools found widespread use of filters to censor health, identity, and other crucial information. Students say it makes the web entirely unusable...

How to Not Get Hacked by a QR Code

QR codes can be convenient—but they can also be exploited by malicious actors. Here’s how to protect yourself...

ChatGPT Spit Out Sensitive Data When Told to Repeat ‘Poem’ Forever

Plus: A major ransomware crackdown, the arrest of Ukraine’s cybersecurity chief, and a hack-for-hire entrepreneur charged with attempted murder...

When It Comes to January 6 Lawsuits, a Court Splits Donald Trump in Two

A federal court ruled on Friday that Trump, as president, may be able to avoid civil action for his role in the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. But candidate Trump is something different...

Anduril’s New Drone Killer Is Locked on to AI-Powered Warfare

Autonomous drones are rapidly changing combat. Anduril’s new one aims to gain an edge with jet power and AI...

Google Fixes a Seventh Zero-Day Flaw in Chrome—Update Now

Plus: Major security patches from Microsoft, Mozilla, Atlassian, Cisco, and more...

The CDC's Gun Violence Research Is in Danger

In a year pocked with fights over US government funding, Republicans are quietly trying to strip the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of its ability to research gun violence...

Okta Breach Impacted All Customer Support Users—Not 1 Percent

Okta upped its original estimate of customer support users affected by a recent breach from 1 percent to 100 percent, citing a “discrepancy.”...

OpenAI’s Custom Chatbots Are Leaking Their Secrets

Released earlier this month, OpenAI’s GPTs let anyone create custom chatbots. But some of the data they’re built on is easily exposed...

A Civil Rights Firestorm Erupts Around a Looming Surveillance Power Grab

Dozens of advocacy groups are pressuring the US Congress to abandon plans to ram through the renewal of a controversial surveillance program that they say poses an “alarming threat to civil rights.”...

Elon Musk Is Giving QAnon Believers Hope Just in Time for the 2024 Elections

Musk’s recent use of the term “QAnon” is his most explicit endorsement of the movement to date. Conspiracists have since spent days dissecting its meaning and cheering on his apparent support...

The Hundred-Year Battle for India’s Radio Airwaves

The Indian government has a monopoly on radio news, allowing it to dictate what hundreds of millions of people hear. With an election approaching, that gives prime minister Narendra Modi a huge advantage...

Telegram’s Bans on Extremist Channels Aren't Really Bans

A WIRED analysis of more than 100 restricted channels shows these communities remain active, and content shared within them often spreads to channels accessible to the public...

Section 702 Surveillance Reauthorization May Get Slipped Into ‘Must-Pass’ NDAA

Congressional leaders are discussing ways to reauthorize Section 702 surveillance, including by attaching it to the National Defense Authorization Act, Capitol Hill sources tell WIRED...