Matt Burgess

Security writer, WIRED. Privacy, data, surveillance, cyber. Keen runner.

Last Notes

2026-05-21 13:49:04 UTC

New from me: France is done with US big tech companies—arguably its moving away from American tech faster than other countries in Europe
The French government has built its own replacement for Google Docs/Microsoft Office. Cities, including Lyon, are moving to Linux and other tech. Open source is at the center of their efforts.
https://www.wired.com/story/the-eu-is-going-through-a-trump-fueled-breakup-with-big-tech/
#tech #digitalsovereignty #opensource #techn

2026-05-06 16:19:28 UTC

“No-one is asking for this..."
Just like millions of others, scammers on cybercrime forums are fed up with AI posts and the increased rollout of AI
https://www.wired.com/story/cybercriminals-are-complaining-about-ai-slop-flooding-their-forums/
#cybersecurity #cybercrime #aislop #ai

2026-05-01 07:54:45 UTC

Updated! We are now up to 20 entries in my European digital sovereignty tracker. New examples of orgs ditching US tech include media entities, the Dutch National Bank, and open source sewing software.
Thanks to everyone who has sent me examples, please do keep them coming if there are others I am missing!
There's a handful that I am still reviewing and I'm also considering in the next update including new categories (political declarations, funding, projects such as Euro-Office, etc)
https://drive.proton.me/urls/EG60KWHEDG#7P2AL5m6PPzT
#digitalsovereignty #europe #tech #opensource

2026-04-27 13:32:11 UTC

London...
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/116/476/915/303/486/331/original/b30b8862ecc8705a.jpeg

2026-04-16 12:48:56 UTC

Mastodon, I need your help! As more European countries and orgs look to ditch US technology and move to sovereign or open source alternatives, I'm trying to track these efforts.
So far, I've found more than half a dozen government agencies, cities, orgs, that are embracing digital sovereignty but want to hear about other examples that I've missed. Who else should I be adding to this?
Here's a list of what I have so far: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1yF0yznwPWuEqI2rJi54KFTIWu0yYYVkhVDRtmuy3D2w/edit?usp=sharing
#digitalsovereignty #opensource #europe #tech

2026-04-08 08:09:07 UTC

NEW:
Thousands of men are members of Telegram groups and channels that advertise and sell hacking and surveillance services that can be used to harass friends, wives and girlfriends, and former partners, new research has uncovered.
The findings, from a European nonprofit group, also say that the communities are involved in extensive trading, selling, and promotion of a huge variety of abusive content, including nonconsensual intimate images of women, so-called nudifying services, plus folders of images that sellers claim include child sexual abuse material and depictions of incest and rape.
https://www.wired.com/story/men-are-buying-hacking-tools-to-use-against-their-wives-and-friends/

2025-10-28 16:28:16 UTC

NEW: The number of phones being searched at the US border just hit another high
- 16,000 devices were searched in the last three months—a record high for a quarter
- 55,000 in the fiscal year 2025 (Oct-Sept)—a yearly record high
https://www.wired.com/story/cbp-searched-a-record-number-of-phones-at-the-us-border-over-the-past-year/

2025-08-06 20:04:58 UTC

NEW: In a likely first, security researchers have shown how generative AI agents can be hijacked to cause physical consequences.
They tricked Google's Gemini AI into turning off smart home lights, opening windows, and turning on a boiler.
They hid instructions to the AI in a *calendar invitation*
https://www.wired.com/story/google-gemini-calendar-invite-hijack-smart-home/

2025-03-18 14:22:28 UTC

“Wired is going to stop paywalling articles that are primarily based on public records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act”
https://freedom.press/issues/wired-is-dropping-paywalls-for-foia-based-reporting-others-should-follow/

2025-03-17 11:21:37 UTC

Mastodon friends, I've heard a few suggestions of companies moving from US cloud providers to those based in the EU, due to risks with the Trump administration/Cloud Act, etc.
Has anyone come across any businesses that have made the leap recently? Feel free to DM or message on Signal, mattburgess.20
#infosec #privacy #cloud #security

2023-09-20 07:25:31 UTC

One day after the Onljne Safety Bill effectively passes in the UK and the government is briefing against Meta’s rollout of end-to-end encryption. These are exactly the same talking points it’s been using for the last year, I’m not really sure what the govt is hoping to achieve by saying the same thing again and again (especially when it’s clear Meta won’t be changing its plans to roll out encryption )
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-66854622 #encryption #privacy #uk

2023-08-12 11:51:19 UTC

For the last three years, hackers have been logging into one honeypot setup by security researchers. When they do, the researchers have recorded their screens, every mouse click, keyboard tap, and also grabbed clipboard data.
This has resulted in more than 100 hours of data on the behaviour of cyber criminals. Here’s what can be learned from it
https://www.wired.com/story/hacker-honeypot-go-secure/ #cybersecurity #cybercrime #windows #infosec #blackhat

2023-08-10 12:32:26 UTC

New: In January, the source code of Russian tech giant Yandex was leaked. 45GB of code detailing the inner workings of its search engine, maps, taxi apps, and dozens of other services was made available.
Now a new analysis of the code for Yandex's highly powerful behavioural advertising system reveals how the company uses people's data. The research shines a light on Yandex's creepy data practices, including how much data it gathers and combines behind the scenes.
And as Yandex inches closer to becoming a Russian-owned company, there are mounting concerns how the Kremlin could weaponize this data
https://www.wired.com/story/yandex-leaks-crypta-ads/
#data #privacy #infosec #cybersecurity