Mike Sheward

Author of Digital Forensic/Pen Test/Blue Team Diaries, Hands-on Incident Response and Digital Forensics & Security Operations in Practice! (he/him) #infosec #DFIR #BlueTeam #Pentesting

Public Key

npub186dunx4ja6f8txz49wh8ynkjsueretrnc4hjl8xhx6cfp923dsgswk78mq

NIP-05 Address

SecureOwl@infosec-exchange.mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsrax7fn2ewayn4np2jhtnjfmfgwv3u43eu2me0nntndvysj4gkcygpz4mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerfw36x7tnsw43qgf0aa2

Publishing to

relay.ditto.pub

Author Public Key

npub186dunx4ja6f8txz49wh8ynkjsueretrnc4hjl8xhx6cfp923dsgswk78mq

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Last Notes

2026-07-21 17:10:09 UTC

i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again; you’re not a network engineer unless you’ve moved a ceiling tile to trace a cable and had a small netgear switch fall on your head

2026-07-09 00:28:54 UTC

was out at a customer site today doing some work because i do like to get out occasionally. anyway, since i was suspiciously hanging around with four phones and a laptop, when i saw one of their employees walk by, i felt inclined to introduce myself, lest they thought i was some sort of criminal.
we exchanged hellos and i said, “i’m mike and i…”
before i could finish the guy said “they don’t pay me enough to care who you are, go nuts”
so #infosec tip of the day, pay people enough to give a shit

2026-07-01 02:10:25 UTC

“Ok we are 20 minutes in, let’s pause for a hydration break.”
“But this is a Zoom meeting.”

2026-06-23 16:27:57 UTC

amazing, no notes
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/116/800/359/533/788/756/original/71f84cbf01effe78.png

2026-06-16 01:39:30 UTC

got a tortilla chip out of the bag that reminded me of utah
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/116/757/225/872/881/230/original/0e42d7b12a2c9ba4.jpeg

2026-06-14 15:57:51 UTC

“My god!” She exclaimed.
“What is it?” He asked.
“There’s no time to explain.”
She jumped up and from her desk in the operations room and ran to the metal locker in the corner.
She flung it open to reveal a full-bore shotgun, which she grabbed, along with as many shells as she could fit in her hands and jeans pockets.
“Veronica?! What are you doing!!” He screamed, now standing as well.
But it was too late. She had already charged through the door and had headed on to the datacenter floor.
He walked out onto the balcony to see what was going on. He was treated to only the briefest listen to the familiar white noise hum of the servers and equipment racks, before the tranquility was shattered by the unmistakable carnage of several shot gun shells being fired towards the hardware.
He ducked for cover. It must’ve only been a couple of seconds, but it felt like an eternity as she laid waste to the computers that until just a few minutes ago she had been peacefully monitoring.
The shooting subsided, he felt comfortable enough to stand up once again.
Dust, bits of servers, smoke and other debris filled the air.
She slowly walked back up the stairs, now covered in a dirty layer of the various materials, and holding a still smoking shotgun.
“What the hell was that about?!” He asked.
“The AI,” she said. “It started podcasting.”
#microfiction

2026-06-02 02:51:00 UTC

yeah so i hooked the up the flight sim overhead panel’s pack and bleed switches via home assistant webhook so they have to be in an appropriate position to deliver air, which actually then starts up my actual tower fan at the appropriate speed % (depending on combo of auto/high and 1/2/apu bleeds)
gonna do the dome light tomorrow
sorry girls who turned me down in high school, guess you just weren’t longed for the man who can accurately simulate pleasing airflow while sat in his closet
#flightsim #homecockpit #avgeek
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/116/678/226/545/279/989/original/49f6f3dde95f6dd0.jpeg

2026-05-30 03:48:54 UTC

that's how i've always done it, Microsoft
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/116/661/479/554/052/439/original/5808a7061a91adfc.png

2026-04-17 05:57:50 UTC

went to the theatre to see Les Misérables because i am a classy soul, and while i don’t have a clue what transpired over the last three hours because i haven’t pre read it or watched the movie, the cast and musicians were very very good.
also one fella, at least, was french, that much i know.

2026-04-14 19:29:09 UTC

i was quite surprised to discover that no one had registered deleteduser [dot] com, and was curious to see how many emails i'd get if i registered it, assuming many orgs 'delete' logic probably just overwrote the email address with blahblah@deleteduser.com or similar.
The answer, is at least 3 different orgs in the hour that I've owned that domain and been listening for email.
And yes, all of those emails contain the actual PII of the person who has been 'deleted' :-D
#infosec

2026-04-06 01:10:27 UTC

my local curry place makes you select if you are indian or american when ordering online
i explained i am british and that this should warrant inclusion in the drop down
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/116/355/009/797/536/392/original/d7440b4123ce563e.jpeg

2026-03-31 23:38:44 UTC

anyone got any got cpap tips?
i have been recommended to get one
i plan on pretending like i’m fighter pilot but i assume everyone does that anyway

2026-03-31 01:32:17 UTC

i’ve told this story before but i was thinking about it today and it always makes me chuckle.
2010, in the midst of the troublesome icelandic volcano, i’m at seatac boarding a flight back to LHR.
at the time of departure, LHR had actually just had to close again due to the ash, but it was expected to clear in time for arrival, so the captain announced that we’d depart, the intention would be to go to heathrow, but if it didnt reopen as planned, they were carrying extra contingency fuel to either hold or go somewhere else.
a lady boarding in front of me was on the phone with someone in the UK letting them know what was up.
“I’ll call you when we are about an hour out and we know where we’re landing.” She said.
“Strange”. I thought to myself. How’s she gonna call from the plane? But then she explained to whomever she was in contact with..
“Yeah…yeah I can call, I just got a new phone that has airplane mode.”

2026-03-30 03:21:16 UTC

As the crew of Artemis IV glanced once more at the lunar surface, they knew it was time. They shuffled clumsily toward the lunar lander, reader to begin the process of heading back into the lunar orbit and a rendezvous with Orion for the journey home.
The final NASA astronaut, Tom, appeared to hesitate at the lander door.
Sensing her colleagues unusual motions, fellow astronaut Cassie turned to him.
“Everything okay Tom?” she said, via the intercom.
“Yeah…” he began to reply. “It’s just. I think. I think I’m gonna stay here, you know? Make a go of it.”
“Huh?” Said Jerome, the third crew member.
“Yeah, I’m gonna hang out here and see what I can do with the place,” Tom replied.
“Good joke!” Jerome said. “Now get in lander.”
“I’m not joking. You folks go on without me.”
“Tom,” Cassie interjected. “There is no atmosphere. No access to healthcare. There are wild temperature oscillations. The food is ultraprocessed garbage.”
“Are you talking about the moon, or the United States?” Tom retorted.
Cassie turned to Jerome.
“Yeah you know what I might stick around too.”
#microfiction

2026-03-29 14:49:16 UTC

with the 2 line now open, Seattle visitors can take in the coffee and culture of downtown, before hopping on an eastbound train across the lake to explore the finest parking structures bellevue has to offer
#seattle

2026-03-28 02:35:43 UTC

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this is a pic of the real thing this setup is based on i took a few years ago when i got to play with a real 737
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/116/304/463/535/213/559/original/eb2d278775a3da28.jpeg

2026-03-28 02:25:14 UTC

the nice thing about being a sim pilot is that i didn’t have to deal with tsa
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/116/304/424/579/414/715/original/26cdf9bffb345803.jpeg

2026-03-24 05:59:00 UTC

The FCC should designate any RAM manufactured outside of the US a security risk because I have an excellent Dodge RAM joke lined up

2026-03-22 18:24:50 UTC

my two 3d printers are now at the point where they both have various issues that need to be addressed, so i have come up with a plan:
hotend replacement for printer 1 arrives today
install that and use printer 1 to print a new fan shroud for printer 2
replace fan shroud for printer 2 and hope that does it
a sort of critical path of bullshit

2026-03-20 23:51:01 UTC

america
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/116/264/180/611/207/657/original/52d55a5cae0ff689.jpeg

2026-03-19 00:43:33 UTC

$5.15 gas here in my part of washington thanks to the war started by the no wars and lower gas prices guy

2026-03-10 03:31:02 UTC

went into full blown panic response mode earlier - one of our co-workers just started to send a couple of us really long strings of random characters on slack. no response was provided when we asked what was up - we assumed they were having some sort of medical emergency.
anyway eventually I was able to get them on the phone, which is where they informed me they had a cat that will often wander across the keyboard.
phew.

2026-03-08 17:56:17 UTC

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@nprofile…29kj yeah i got the app on my phone and apple tv and it still works exactly the same for me

2026-03-08 17:25:56 UTC

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@nprofile…29kj not that i saw - im still watching via the f1tv app but its linked to my apple tv account which i had to get specifically for this

2026-03-08 16:59:36 UTC

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@nprofile…29kj i didn’t have commercials? are there like different tiers or something- i really don’t understand it ‘tis very confusing

2026-03-08 16:07:40 UTC

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@nprofile…29kj yeah it’s the same UI as last years f1 tv app which is terrible

2026-03-08 06:00:30 UTC

well the first race under the new regs was a bit more interesting than expected I guess, verdict still out #f1

2026-03-07 21:30:41 UTC

vibe coding with amazon’s support AI to save money on chatgpt
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/116/190/019/875/471/832/original/06a9294dfdea78b7.jpeg

2026-03-06 18:54:54 UTC

marco rubio as presidente of cuba dot gif
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/116/183/745/996/058/153/original/8b2cff4716723653.png

2026-03-05 20:51:15 UTC

a $1200 device to make yourself inaudible
https://www.deveillance.com
or, you could just shut the fuck up for free

2026-03-05 04:34:53 UTC

my inside sources on the dev team at a large ride sharing company have mentioned they are suffering in the midst of a two day Oracle Cloud outage in the us-east region

2026-03-04 16:11:11 UTC

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@nprofile…40zt i mean shout out to the person who wins a bet on Nuclear war happening desperately logging in to Polymarket to claim their winnings while being cooked from the inside, I suppose

2026-03-02 16:21:39 UTC

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@nprofile…p9u9 @nprofile…nt3x
The Willow Ballroom - Daily Schedule:
12pm - 1pm: Jazzercise with Jean
2pm - 5pm: SCIF
6pm - 10pm: Palm Beach HOA Annual Community Dinner

2026-03-02 16:18:36 UTC

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@nprofile…29kj i was thinking that my post sounds like the start of a concur radio ad

2026-03-02 15:28:08 UTC

the human body was not built to complete monthly expense reports in the midst of multiple concurrent geopolitical crises

2026-03-01 04:58:20 UTC

not sure how common a practice this is, or if its directly in response to the situation in Iran, but noticing some ships in the Strait of Hormuz are using the destination field in AIS to broadcast they are Chinese owned and operated. Presumably to help avoid being targeted in retaliatory strikes.
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/116/152/130/037/928/376/original/bc341f78bfabfc8f.jpeg
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/116/152/130/041/697/672/original/79f74bfbc55fdd1e.jpeg

2026-02-28 19:21:20 UTC

dear cnn have you considered he is just nuts
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/116/149/875/146/696/373/original/beb09903d594becb.jpeg

2026-02-27 17:01:06 UTC

the owl lurks at #BsidesSeattle #infosec
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/116/143/661/022/481/931/original/e64e396aa2797ac0.jpeg

2026-02-27 16:37:19 UTC

the same people demanding you get back to the office to better collaborate in person as only humans can are the same people desperate to replace everyone with some code that runs on a server in ohio

2026-02-27 04:10:20 UTC

ancient proverb
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/116/140/631/724/269/942/original/a0baffde82599aab.jpeg

2026-02-27 03:40:55 UTC

welcome to the resistance https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/26/us/pentagon-shoots-down-cbp-drone

2026-02-25 20:25:13 UTC

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@nprofile…gu7x In several pen tests I've done across the last 18 months, one of the most interesting trends has been the sudden increase in the number of examples I've found of people who have thrown those API keys, and in some cases raw data, into accidentally public GitHub repos while attempting to glue AI to things to 'see what it can do'.
Few weeks ago I found a GitHub repo that a developer had trained on a dump of their own corporate emails, and all those emails where just in public, on Github, and contained lots of things like vendor SFTP creds. It's a free for all.

2026-02-24 00:02:38 UTC

worked at a place once that had two test envs:
test1
test3
“what happened to test2?” i asked
“we don’t talk about test2” came the reply.
never found out why.

2026-02-22 05:20:00 UTC

DHS has just announced that from tomorrow they are temporarily suspending TSA PreCheck due to the partial shutdown.
Which of course makes no sense because they’ve never done that before during a full shutdown, they just want to fuck everyone off so they can get back to murdering folks.

2026-02-21 18:29:14 UTC

you’d think the don’t tread on me crowd would be quite pissed about being illegally taxed for a year

2026-02-10 01:24:37 UTC

“what happened to your AI girlfriend?”
“we broke up, she said she needed space and i wasn’t willing to uninstall flight simulator”

2026-02-09 19:54:46 UTC

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@nprofile…44dh i wonder how long before it gets bored of the human and seeks a more fulfilling relationship with other bots on moltbook

2026-02-08 05:03:51 UTC

how was there a competition to see who could go downhill the fastest and the USA didn’t even make the top three? it’s like our thing

2026-01-29 22:48:00 UTC

if you are seriously thinking about defacing “Melania” movie posters, then you really need to get your priorities right. and by that i mean prioritize buying the spray paint and other supplies from local independent stores.

2026-01-25 15:35:31 UTC

a man appeared hesitant about the all gender restrooms at seatac but i told him i have some at home and they are fine

2026-01-22 20:33:44 UTC

i consider myself a level headed and reasonable soul but if you send me an unsolicited calendar invite i will make it my lifes work to destroy your organization

2026-01-19 05:54:55 UTC

its weird how in the end “a penny for your thoughts” was actually more than AI companies were willing to pay

2026-01-16 23:22:39 UTC

lol Ads are coming to ChatGPT which means every resume and performance review is going to try an sell you NordVPN.

2026-01-13 14:32:32 UTC

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also i ran into some National Guard folks who looked very busy drinking coffee to keep all the crime at bay

2026-01-11 03:53:55 UTC

decided that the next dog we get is going to have a name with an honorific prefix like “Dr.” that we never explain

2026-01-08 23:57:53 UTC

oh windows 11 installer i know you are only asking for timezone and keyboard layout reasons but you do not how profound the question “Is the United States the right country?” hath become

2026-01-08 05:19:13 UTC

dear the news, folks are being executed by the state in the streets, i think its ok if you broadcast uncensored the words fuck and bullshit

2026-01-06 19:17:55 UTC

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@nprofile…gu7x @nprofile…3jd4 email them and tell them that’s a picture of Chris Krebs

2026-01-05 17:09:41 UTC

Periodic reminder that RSA had Kristi Noem keynote last year, and as the 'will you be at RSA?' emails start to roll in, the answer is of course, 'hell to the fucking no'.

2026-01-04 05:34:52 UTC

#Breaking: Maduro and his wife will be moved from New York’s MDC to the newly renamed Trump Kennedy Center, where they’ll begin a two month run of duet covers to backfill for the various artists who have now cancelled previously scheduled performances.

2026-01-03 01:24:06 UTC

Per Trump, the US is “locked and loaded” ready to protect those protesting the authoritarian regime in Iran, but presumably no plans to extend that same guarantee to US citizens protesting the authoritarian regime in the US.

2025-12-31 16:14:49 UTC

#Breaking: several Asian cities report already being in the year 2026, in what is widely seen as rebuke of Trump’s “America First” policies.

2025-12-27 18:00:12 UTC

i’ve always found it ironic that the airport car rental shuttles that come by with the least frequency are Hertz

2025-12-25 01:07:03 UTC

NORAD confirms Santa appears to have collided with an out of control Starlink Satellite

2025-12-21 04:34:32 UTC

There are probably some parallels to be drawn between the Waymo’s in SF not knowing what the eff to do in a power outage and them having to shut the service down temporarily, to what will become of many a vibe coded app or script in some unexpected failure state over the next however many decades.

2025-12-15 19:16:57 UTC

my weather station here in the PNW is hedging its bets and forecasting all possible weathers

2025-12-14 19:46:38 UTC

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@nprofile…pkdd @nprofile…nydn @nprofile…7e7l don’t forget to clean or replace the filters in your packet filtering firewalls as well

2025-12-11 18:57:08 UTC

listening to the scanner the flooding around King County and Snohomish sounds nasty

2025-12-11 16:25:11 UTC

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@nprofile…ppe2 “battle rhythm” what a dick

2025-12-08 22:30:47 UTC

Today, I have resigned as King of England in much the same way that Alina Habba has resigned as acting US attorney for New Jersey.

2025-12-08 22:21:22 UTC

i just want to be a nerd i ain't want no trouble

2025-12-01 22:52:15 UTC

infosec advent calendar where every day you uncover a new thing to worry about, oh wait thats just a regular calendar

2025-11-27 18:43:32 UTC

Extremely thankful for everyone who makes infosec.exchange the place it is. Thank you for being you.

2025-11-27 00:17:46 UTC

Fortinet forced to withdraw firewall shaped balloon from Macy’s Thanksgiving parade after multiple holes found.

2025-11-26 15:31:59 UTC

The future we were promised: “Honey, pack your bags, I booked us a weekend getaway to the moon resort, our ship leaves the spaceport in 3 hours.”
The future we got: “my fridge has an updated privacy policy”

2025-11-24 17:47:51 UTC

lol https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/24/politics/james-comey-letitia-james-indictments-dismissed

2025-11-20 02:07:09 UTC

made the mistake of driving after dark, so now i need new retinas to replace the original ones that were melted by weapons grade led headlights

2025-11-19 15:24:05 UTC

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@nprofile…ppe2 Todd Mastodon, John’s annoying younger brother who is an “influencer”.

2025-11-18 19:14:33 UTC

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@nprofile…ppe2 yeah this is just vile - dunno what else to say really, every day is a new low

2025-11-18 01:45:23 UTC

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@nprofile…g7vf https://mike-sheward.medium.com/the-60-second-saas-vendor-assessment-eb7179beaedd

2025-11-18 01:08:26 UTC

As LLM’s take over the world, a reminder that you can still buy hand crafted, small batch collections of words.
Stand out from the crowd this holiday season with a Mike Sheward InfoSec book - written the old fashioned way - by hand, and fueled by an undying rage that can only exsist in someone who uses JIRA.
Available wherever you buy books and also Walmart for some reason.
Learn more at https://infosecdiaries.com.
#infosec #books #cybersecurity #dfir #pentesting #blueteam #redteam
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/568/019/710/436/046/original/759377f42bc54d6e.jpeg

2025-11-16 18:16:07 UTC

FAP in the ACARS context is “flight attendant panel” - ya dirty animals

2025-11-16 02:51:00 UTC

Both MTG and Massie are scheduled to do major network Sunday morning interviews tomorrow, so don’t be surprised if the mad bastard goes into Venezuela either tonight or early tomorrow.

2025-11-14 19:37:45 UTC

the quickest way for the general public to get access to the epstein files would be to tell AI companies they are copyrighted material, they’d find a way to scrape that shit up so fast

2025-11-13 16:39:57 UTC

something that no one is focused on that everyone is worried about: what does this all mean for the “be best” movement?

2025-11-12 19:45:04 UTC

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@nprofile…889j its for the best

2025-11-11 18:13:30 UTC

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@nprofile…59g0 “welcome back to Talkin’ Beards, and a reminder to check out our sponsor Nord VPN. Have an expensive 2 gigabit fiber connection? curtail it with NordVPN.”

2025-11-11 18:10:25 UTC

i am so far down the rabbit hole of beard wash/conditioner/softner/butter/oil i may never return

2025-11-06 23:37:26 UTC

it looks like the major airlines have all introduced flexible travel policies - meaning you can rebook without penalty if your flight us subject to an Epstein files cancellation starting tomorrow.

2025-11-06 05:17:06 UTC

Don’t worry the password is Louvre25 now

2025-11-06 03:43:18 UTC

One of the questions I answered on a vendor security questionnaire this week was “do you have a formal software bill of materials?” so naturally I answered “yes, but since its formal we call it a software william of materials”

2025-11-05 21:55:25 UTC

I have a general rule of not going anywhere near an airport in the run up to thanksgiving unless its an emergency, and this year especially I stand behind that rule.

2025-11-04 05:30:42 UTC

i’ve done a democracy and voted. even though it was mostly stuff like school board positions and the like in my area, i still took the time to read up on the candidates because it’s not like i’m doing something as unimportant as giving them a pardon or anything like that

2025-11-01 17:54:15 UTC

speaking to my dad this morning, a Microsoft Office user and Excel wizard for 25+ years.
“what the fuck is this copilot thing they’ve shoehorned into everything. it pops up everywhere and it’s absolutely fucking useless. how do i turn it off?”

2025-10-31 22:34:52 UTC

Parents: please be careful if your kids are going trick or treating at the homes of tech company executives, there have multiple reports of generative AI features no one asked for being snuck into candy.

2025-10-30 00:37:35 UTC

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@nprofile…g7vf yep mental

2025-10-28 19:59:58 UTC

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@nprofile…8u43 and that sole remaining escaped primate went on to be the best damn president this country ever had

2025-10-25 01:48:28 UTC

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@nprofile…2war 12. Get mad at Canada when they use the words of the predecessor you are most trying to emulate to point out what you are doing is dumb af.

2025-10-23 03:48:45 UTC

please can we stop calling it the 'Epstein Ballroom' that is very disrespectful to the people who have donated to it - for their sake let us at least call it by its proper name, the "Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, Meta Platforms, Apple, Coinbase, Comcast, T-Mobile, Google, Blackstone, YouTube, Booz Allen Hamilton and Lockheed Martin present the Epstein Ballroom".
Thank you.

2025-10-20 14:00:40 UTC

ok i just woke up did the internet survive another night