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How to Protect Yourself From Phone Searches at the US Border
Customs and Border Protection has broad authority to search travelers’ devices when they cross into the United States. Here’s what you can do to protect your digital life while at the US border.
Lily Hay Newman and Matt Burgess
ICE'd Out
ICE Is Paying Palantir $30 Million to Build ‘ImmigrationOS’ Surveillance Platform
Caroline Haskins
‘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.
Lily Hay Newman
Suspected 4chan Hack Could Expose Longtime, Anonymous Admins
Though the exact details of the situation have not been confirmed, community infighting seems to have spilled out in a breach of the notorious image board.
Matt Burgess and Lily Hay Newman
The Most Dangerous Hackers You’ve Never Heard Of
From crypto kingpins to sophisticated scammers, these are the lesser-known hacking groups that should be on your radar.
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.
Matt Burgess
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.
Justin Ling
Here’s What Happened to Those SignalGate Messages
A lawsuit over the Trump administration’s infamous Houthi Signal group chat has revealed what steps departments took to preserve the messages—and how little they actually saved.
Dell Cameron
Smishing Triad: The Scam Group Stealing the World’s Riches
Millions of scam text messages are sent every month. The Chinese cybercriminals behind many of them are expanding their operations—and quickly innovating.
Matt Burgess
Sex-Fantasy Chatbots Are Leaking a Constant Stream of Explicit Messages
Some misconfigured AI chatbots are pushing people’s chats to the open web—revealing sexual prompts and conversations that include descriptions of child sexual abuse.
Matt Burgess
The Best Password Managers to Secure Your Digital Life
Keep your logins locked down with our favorite password management apps for PC, Mac, Android, iPhone, and web browsers.
Scott Gilbertson
How to Enter the US With Your Digital Privacy Intact
Crossing into the United States has become increasingly dangerous for digital privacy. Here are a few steps you can take to minimize the risk of Customs and Border Protection accessing your data.
Andy Greenberg and Matt Burgess
How to Use Signal Encrypted Messaging
The best end-to-end encrypted messaging app has a host of security features. Here are the ones you should care about.
Brian Barrett and Andrew Couts
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.
Lily Hay Newman and Matt Burgess
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.”
Emanuel Maiberg and Jason Koebler
Gamaredon: The Turncoat Spies Relentlessly Hacking Ukraine
For the past decade, this group of FSB hackers—including “traitor” Ukrainian intelligence officers—has used a grinding barrage of intrusion campaigns to make life hell for their former countrymen and cybersecurity defenders.
Andy Greenberg
CyberAv3ngers: The Iranian Saboteurs Hacking Water and Gas Systems Worldwide
Despite their hacktivist front, CyberAv3ngers is a rare state-sponsored hacker group bent on putting industrial infrastructure at risk—and has already caused global disruption.
Andy Greenberg
Brass Typhoon: The Chinese Hacking Group Lurking in the Shadows
Though less well-known than groups like Volt Typhoon and Salt Typhoon, Brass Typhoon, or APT 41, is an infamous, longtime espionage actor that foreshadowed recent telecom hacks.
Lily Hay Newman
Latest
Under the Influence
Spyware Maker NSO Group Is Paving a Path Back Into Trump’s America
Vas Panagiotopoulos
Deciphering
Cybersecurity Professor Faced China-Funding Inquiry Before Disappearing, Sources Say
Zeyi Yang, Louise Matsakis, and Caroline Haskins
Vanishing Act
Cybersecurity Professor Mysteriously Disappears as FBI Raids His Homes
Dan Goodin, Ars Technica
Dark Secrets
An AI Image Generator’s Exposed Database Reveals What People Really Used It For
Matt Burgess
Security Roundup
Top Trump Officials’ Passwords and Personal Phone Numbers Discovered Online
Matt Burgess
Check Your Settings
Even More Venmo Accounts Tied to Trump Officials in Signal Group Chat Left Data Public
Dhruv Mehrotra and Tim Marchman
Logging On
Using Starlink Wi-Fi in the White House Is a Slippery Slope for US Federal IT
Lily Hay Newman
(B)add-On
Low-Cost Drone Add-Ons From China Let Anyone With a Credit Card Turn Toys Into Weapons of War
Lily Hay Newman
Security Roundup
End-to-End Encrypted Texts Between Android and iPhone Are Coming
Andy Greenberg and Dhruv Mehrotra