Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai

Real-time cyber historian of the late capitalist era, writing about the intersection of hackers, human rights, and spies.

Also writing a book about Hacking Team and the history of government spyware.

☎️ Signal: @LorenzoFB.1337 (+1 917 257 1382) 
💻 Telegram: @ lorenzofb 
✉️ lorenzofb.writes@gmail.com 

Previously: TechCrunch, VICE Motherboard, Mashable, WIRED's Danger Room.

Public Key

npub1u76yrzs7y379urtp90prgsaj0a4wn9ru7fvcavrd8026ul0dj2ps8xgwu9

NIP-05 Address

lorenzofb@infosec-exchange.mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsw0dzp3g0zglz7p4sjhs35gwe876hfj370ykvwkpknh4dw0hke9qcpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dsyeewm0

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub1u76yrzs7y379urtp90prgsaj0a4wn9ru7fvcavrd8026ul0dj2ps8xgwu9

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Last Notes

2026-08-14 13:40:11 UTC

NEW: U.S. courts will start publishing data on how many times the feds do wiretaps using spyware and hacking tools, starting in 2029.
As of now, we knew the FBI and other agencies used spyware, but we had no idea how many times that was happening.
Change comes after several requests from Sen. Ron Wyden. The data will be published as part of the annual Wiretap Report.
http://techcrunch.com/2026/08/14/us-courts-will-start-publishing-how-often-the-government-uses-spyware/

2026-08-13 22:06:04 UTC

NEW: Flock announced new changes that it claims will help stop cops from abusing its license plate reader cameras, including a now mandatory feature called Audit Assistance.
The company, however, isn’t explaining exactly how the tool works. A spokesperson told us it does not use machine learning or AI.
Privacy experts are not impressed. One of them said Audit Assistance itself needs to be audited.
https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/13/flock-says-its-new-tool-will-help-identify-police-abuse-but-hasnt-explained-how-it-works/

2026-08-13 20:53:53 UTC

Apple is reportedly sending a new batch of notifications alerting targets of spyware.
If you have received one, we wrote a post on what to do next, and how to get help.
You can also contact me directly on Signal at +1 917 257 1382.
https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/29/youve-been-targeted-by-government-spyware-now-what/
See advice from Citizen Lab's John Scott-Railton here: https://x.com/jsrailton/status/2087978761207620071
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/117/090/183/623/814/837/original/2ec1abfdc6c522c6.png

2026-08-03 19:50:58 UTC

NEW: We spoke to hacking law experts to learn if OpenAI and Anthropic could be prosecuted for their AI agents’ hacks against Hugging Face, and three unnamed victims.
The answers are complicated, as we are in “uncharted territory,” as one lawyer put it.
But another lawyer said there is a potential avenue to hold the two AI giants liable for negligence. And for him, it would be a "no brainer" to sue the two companies.
https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/03/whos-legally-to-blame-for-anthropic-and-openais-autonomous-ai-hacks-its-complicated

2026-07-29 20:08:23 UTC

This is a great explainer of the OpenAI hack against Hugging Face, particularly of the report that the latter published earlier this week.
If you had trouble parsing the highly technical report, this article can walk you through it.
https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/29/the-hugging-face-ai-break-in-as-told-through-an-increasingly-committed-bear-metaphor/

2026-06-22 14:32:35 UTC

NEW: I took a look at the history of using export controls to limit the proliferation of cyber capabilities.
From the Crypto Wars of the 1990s to limit the spread of PGP, to the Wassenaar Arrangement to stop spyware flowing out of Europe, and now powerful AI models, I argue that this approach mostly does not work.
https://techcrunch.com/2026/06/19/encryption-spyware-and-now-mythos-history-shows-why-cyber-export-control-doesnt-work/

2026-06-10 15:44:36 UTC

NEW: Cybersecurity researchers are not happy about the guardrails on Anthropic’s new model Fable.
Researchers say that the new LLM basically blocks anything related to cybersecurity, including code reviews and prompts asking for help writing secure code.
“[Fable] rejects any request that could be tangentially cyber related. Even innocuous tasks like reading a blog post,” said one researcher.
https://techcrunch.com/2026/06/10/cybersecurity-researchers-arent-happy-about-the-guardrails-on-anthropics-fable/

2026-06-03 19:30:40 UTC

Andy Boyd, the CEO of Red Lattice (the company that now owns spyware maker Paragon), went on the Risky Business podcast this week.
The host Patrick Gray asked Boyd about the contract that the company signed with ICE.
Here is the whole exchange. (starts at ~18:00)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOQETNsmTEU&t=1191s
—PATRICK:
Now we're actually on to something that is somewhat relevant to your day job, Andy, because we've got a story here from 404 Media where they are suing the US government, or they're suing ICE to get its spyware contract with Paragon.
I guess this is interesting for a couple reasons, right?
I understand that ICE is extremely unpopular in the United States, and in my opinion, quite reasonably so, given some of the stuff that they've been doing on the streets of the United States. They've earned some scrutiny, in my opinion.
*
*But I think also we've got to remember that Homeland Security Investigations is a division of ICE. So the idea that Homeland Security Investigations might want this sort of software is entirely reasonable.
*
*
So just reading from HSI's website, "It is the principal investigative component of DHS and is responsible for investigating, disrupting and dismantling transnational criminal organizations and terrorist networks that threaten or seek to exploit the customs and immigration laws of the United States."
*
*So if I had to bet, it would be dollars to donuts that that is the sort of use that, you know, HSI is using it for that sort of thing, not just deploying spyware onto the devices of people who are suspected of entering the United States without prior approval.
*
*Now, we have you here. So I figured I wanted to ask you about this report to see if you've got anything to say because we have had your company come out and make statements along the lines of, well, we don't actually have a relationship with ICE because that means, well, maybe a contract expired and then we've had now suspicions from other quarters of the media "Oh, well, perhaps they're accessing this technology through a third party."
We've got you here. Do you have anything you can share with us on this?
*
*
—BOYD
Yes, I guess I'm going to violate my rule of "I'm just a friend of Patrick." So for this one question.
Yes, as the CEO of Red Lattice, I'm not going to comment on specific customers, whether or not we have said specific customers.
But what I will say is that Red Lattice has a very specific policy on evaluating our customers before we sign any contract with them. This is something that is in the public domain.
*
*You Google the HSI writeup, our policies and how we go about evaluating potential customers. We only sell to liberal democracies, we only sell to countries that adhere to their rule of law. We sell to legitimate intelligence, military, and law enforcement authorities for conducting legitimate missions that fall under the laws of whatever country that may be in and that applies to the United States government as well.
*
*
—PATRICK
Yeah and I mean we should say too that this is a two million dollar contract which in the context of this industry is tiny. I mean can you say — would you acknowledge that?
*
*
—BOYD
I would acknowledge that any one of us, you, me, or James would be happy to have two million dollars at any time of day, but for a large company that may or may not be working with a government as big as the US government, that would be a fairly small contract, yes.
*
*
—PATRICK
Yeah, yeah. And I mean, I think we would point out too that there was some controversy around Paragon, the use of Paragon technology in Italy. I think where that ended up is you gave them the old heave-ho, didn't you?
*
*
—BOYD
Yeah, I'm not going to, again, that speaks to a very specific customer that is in the public domain. I think, Patrick, your inferences may be correct, but I'm not going to comment anymore on that one.

2026-05-26 16:53:12 UTC

NEW: In the first piece in a series about the biggest cybersecurity mysteries ever, I looked at what we know about the Shadow Brokers, the group that leaked several NSA hacking tools a decade ago.
Even after all this time, their identity remains unknown, despite causing havoc all over the internet, when North Korean and Russian government hackers used one of the tools they leaked for the WannaCry and NotPetya attacks.
http://techcrunch.com/2026/05/26/ghost-hackers-the-cybersecurity-mystery-that-nobody-has-solved/

2026-05-18 14:04:03 UTC

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@nprofile…pk8v OMG, I did not know this existed. I should try to get the hackingteam.it domain...

2026-05-15 00:06:04 UTC

This is a serious question.
Is there anyone keeping track of infosec-related songs and music? I mean music where the lyrics are specifically about hacking and hackers. Could be music made by people in the community, like this song, but also outside of the community.
(Apologies for the X link)
https://x.com/uwu_underground/status/2055066612936384851

2026-05-06 18:24:52 UTC

🚨 HOT TAKE 🚨: I think nobody should ever ever ever use the expression "threat actor" except in technical reports or writeups designed to be read among industry insiders.
In news articles let's just use "hacker." I don't see a need to use the boring and for average people confusing "threat actor."

2026-04-27 16:36:23 UTC

I spoke with @nprofile…40zt for a 404 Media podcast about the zero-day industry, the incredible case of the L3Harris executive who leaked hacking tools to a Russian broker, and what happened to those hacking tools afterward.
Check it out here or on whatever podcast app you use.
https://www.404media.co/government-hacking-tools-are-now-in-criminals-hands-with-lorenzo-franceschi-bicchierai/

2026-04-22 19:36:25 UTC

NEW: The French government has disclosed a data breach at the agency that manages national IDs and passports.
Stolen data could include full names, dates and places of birth, mailing and email addresses, and phone numbers.
The number of affected individuals is unclear at this point.
https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/22/france-confirms-data-breach-at-government-agency-that-manages-citizens-ids/

2026-04-04 15:03:01 UTC

NEW: I spoke to cybersecurity legend Mikko Hyppönen about his decades-long fight against computers viruses first, and then malware — and how computers have gotten safer over time.
Mikko also told me why he has decided to now turn his focus to fight another enemy: killer drones. And, as it turns out, some of the technical challenges are very similar.
http://techcrunch.com/2026/04/04/after-fighting-malware-for-decades-this-cybersecurity-veteran-is-now-hacking-drones/

2026-04-02 15:43:46 UTC

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You can read Lyons' full letter, which he sent to three Congresspeople, here: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/27988741-ice-letter-response-to-congress/

2026-04-02 15:43:30 UTC

NEW: ICE confirms that it's planning to use Paragon's spyware to counter “foreign terrorist organizations’ thriving exploitation of encrypted communication platforms.”
ICE's acting director Todd Lyons said the agency will “comply with constitutional requirements,” without specifying what those are.
It's unclear if the agency’s criminal investigative unit Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) has already used the spyware.
http://techcrunch.com/2026/04/02/ice-says-it-bought-paragons-spyware-to-use-in-drug-trafficking-cases/

2026-04-01 16:38:11 UTC

NEW: WhatsApp alerted around 200 users that were tricked into installing a fake app that was actually government spyware.
The company accused Italian spyware maker SIO of being behind the app, and announced it plans to send the company "a formal legal demand to stop any such malicious activity."
http://techcrunch.com/2026/04/01/whatsapp-notifies-hundreds-of-users-who-installed-a-fake-app-that-was-actually-government-spyware/

2026-03-31 18:33:41 UTC

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UPDATE: Google accused North Korean government hackers of being behind the supply chain attack against Axios.
“North Korean hackers have deep experience with supply chain attacks, which they’ve historically used to steal cryptocurrency. The full breadth of this incident is still unclear, but given the popularity of the compromised package, we expect it will have far reaching impacts,” said Google's John Hultquist.
https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/31/hacker-hijacks-axios-open-source-project-used-by-millions-to-push-malware/

2026-03-31 16:06:03 UTC

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@nprofile…q9y9 I don't have the expertise to answer that question definitively. I heard that GrapheneOS is very good at security, so you may be fine with either. My gut instinct is to tell you to go with Apple because it's a much larger company with an elite security team. But maybe that's a reductive argument.

2026-03-31 16:03:50 UTC

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@nprofile…trtw I have no idea how that happened

2026-03-31 16:03:01 UTC

NEW: Someone hijacked an open-source software development tool to push malware to millions of people.
The supply chain attack was stopped in less than three hours, but it's still unclear how many people got hacked.
https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/31/hacker-hijacks-axios-open-source-project-used-by-millions-to-push-malware/

2026-03-27 17:10:05 UTC

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UPDATE: The FBI has confirmed the hack of director Kash Patel's personal gmail account, says the leaked data "is historical in nature and involves no government information."
https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/27/iranian-hackers-claim-breach-of-fbi-director-kash-patels-personal-email-account/
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/116/302/242/319/339/844/original/ec54e14bfbad0522.png

2026-03-27 15:40:39 UTC

NEW: Iranian-linked hackers claim to have breached the personal Gmail account of FBI director Kash Patel, leaking emails and photos.
We were able to confirm that at least a portion of the emails are authentic.
The U.S. has accused Iran's government of being behind the hacking group Handala.
https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/27/iranian-hackers-claim-breach-of-fbi-director-kash-patels-personal-email-account/

2026-03-27 14:33:34 UTC

SCOOP: Apple says it's not aware of anyone using Lockdown Mode getting hacked with spyware, on all kinds of devices.
There have already been a couple of documented cases of Lockdown Mode stopping spyware attacks. And one case where an advanced hacking toolkit was designed to bail out if it detected Lockdown Mode on the target device.
If you're worried about spyware, you should use turn this security feature on.
https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/27/apple-says-no-one-using-lockdown-mode-has-been-hacked-with-spyware/

2026-03-26 20:02:44 UTC

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I may have to post this on X unfortunately.

2026-03-26 19:59:18 UTC

Who is the Chaouki of the zero-day industry these days?

2026-03-26 17:24:48 UTC

NEW: We spoke to a few iPhone security experts about what the discovery of DarkSword means to the long-held assumption that iPhones are very hard to hack.
The answer is nuanced, and not simple. Apple has made significant strides in making iPhones more secure, but DarkSword may change how we think.
http://techcrunch.com/2026/03/26/apple-made-strides-with-ios-26-security-but-leaked-hacking-tools-still-leave-millions-exposed-to-spyware-attacks/

2026-03-26 15:00:48 UTC

Kaspersky has linked Coruna with Operation Triangulation. This somes a few weeks after we reported that L3Harris Trenchant was the company behind some components of Coruna.
And we also reported that it was possible Coruna was used in Operation Triangulation.
https://securelist.com/coruna-framework-updated-operation-triangulation-exploit/119228/

2026-03-26 15:00:48 UTC

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A former Trenchant employee told us that when Triangulation was first revealed, other employees at the company believed that at least one of the zero-days caught by Kaspersky “were from us."
Also both Kaspersky and Trenchant seemed to wink at the fact that they both knew.
https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/10/us-military-contractor-likely-built-iphone-hacking-tools-used-by-russian-spies-in-ukraine/
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/116/296/072/433/687/882/original/915e079300046aa8.png
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/116/296/072/705/358/087/original/caa440df678be58c.png

2026-03-26 14:18:09 UTC

NEW: Here's everything you need to know about the new iPhone hacking tool DarkSword.
What is DarkSword? How does it work? Where did it come from? How did it leak online? What can you do about it?
We break it all down in this explainer.
http://techcrunch.com/2026/03/26/a-major-hacking-tool-has-leaked-online-putting-millions-of-iphones-at-risk-heres-what-you-need-to-know/

2026-03-25 16:40:01 UTC

NEW: Russian state media says police have arrested an unnamed person that's alleged to be the creator and founder of cybercrime forum LeakBase.
Europol, which shut down LeakBase earlier this month, said it did not cooperate with Russia on this arrest.
https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/25/russia-arrests-alleged-owner-of-cybercrime-forum-leakbase-report-says/

2026-03-23 20:46:42 UTC

SCOOP: Someone has found new samples of the iPhone spyware DarkSword and published them on GitHub, putting millions of iOS users at risk.
A cybersecurity researcher told us that the leaked spyware is "way too easy to repurpose" and "we need to expect criminals and others to start deploying this."
"The exploits will work out of the box," iVerify's Matthias Frielingsdorf said. "There is no iOS expertise required."
http://techcrunch.com/2026/03/23/someone-has-publicly-leaked-an-exploit-kit-that-can-hack-millions-of-iphones/

2026-03-23 15:22:17 UTC

NEW: Iranian government hackers are using Telegram to steal data in malware attacks against dissidents, journalists, and opposition groups around the world, according to the FBI.
The hackers work for Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS), the FBI said, and they use Telegram as command and control infrastructure to hide their malicious activity.
https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/23/fbi-says-iranian-hackers-are-using-telegram-to-steal-data-in-malware-attacks/

2026-03-20 16:23:43 UTC

NEW: The U.S. accused Iran's government of being behind the hacktivist group Handala, which claimed responsibility for the destructive hack on medical tech giant Stryker.
The Justice Department said Handala and other fake hacktivist groups —including one allegedly behind the hack on the Albanian government in 2022 — are run by Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS).
http://techcrunch.com/2026/03/20/u-s-accuses-irans-government-of-operating-hacktivist-group-that-hacked-stryker/

2026-03-19 15:14:41 UTC

NEW: The FBI has taken down and seized two websites that were run by the pro-Iranian hacktivist group Handala.
“Law enforcement authorities determined this domain was used to conduct, facilitate, or support malicious cyber activities on behalf of, or in coordination with, a foreign state actor,” read the seizure notice.
The law enforcement actions comes a week after Handala claimed responsibility for the devastating hack of U.S. medical tech giant Stryker.
https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/19/fbi-seizes-pro-iranian-hacking-groups-websites-after-destructive-stryker-hack/

2026-03-18 15:25:44 UTC

NEW: Security researchers have found another sophisticated hacking campaign against iPhone users.
This one is also by a Russian government group against Ukrainians, and involves both stealing personal data and potentially crypto.
And it raises the question: are iPhone hacks more common that we think?
https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/18/russians-caught-stealing-personal-data-from-ukrainians-with-new-advanced-iphone-hacking-tools/

2026-03-13 15:00:08 UTC

NEW: The FBI is looking for a hacker who published several video games on Steam that were laced with malware in the last two years.
The bureau is aslo looking for gamers who fell victim and installed these games on their computers.
https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/13/valve-steam-malware-games-fbi/

2026-03-10 20:13:45 UTC

NEW: A former DOGE employee allegedly stole Americans' personal data from two large databases at the Social Security Administration, according to a new report.
The former employee allegedly put the databases on a thumb drive and wanted to use them at their new contractor job.
https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/10/doge-employee-stole-social-security-data-and-put-it-on-a-thumb-drive-report-says/

2026-03-10 02:03:17 UTC

SCOOP: The iPhone mass hacking toolkit used by Russian spies was developed at U.S. military contractor L3Harris, former employees said.
The Coruna toolkit was used against Ukrainians during the war and by Chinese cybercriminals, according to Google.
But the toolkit was initially developed for governments in the Five Eyes spy alliance, and it was used in Operation Triangulation, according to one source.
https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/09/an-iphone-hacking-toolkit-used-by-russian-spies-likely-came-from-u-s-military-contractor/

2026-03-10 00:49:34 UTC

I just learned that Trend Micro re-branded to TrendAI...uhm, OK.

2026-03-09 21:07:50 UTC

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@nprofile…fwu9 seeya there

2026-03-09 20:16:08 UTC

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@nprofile…fwu9 If you can calculate what year that is, sure

2026-03-09 20:14:40 UTC

If anyone is wondering, I will not be at RSA. 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that, nor the year after that, nor the year after that, nor the year after that, nor the year after that, nor the year after that, nor the year after that, nor the year after that, nor the year after that, nor the year after that, nor the year after that, nor the year after that, nor the year after that, nor the year after that, nor the year after that, nor the year after that, nor the year after that, nor the year after that, nor the year after that, nor the year after that, nor the year after that, nor the year after that, nor the year after that, nor the year after that, nor the year after that, nor the year after that, nor the year after that, nor the year after that, nor the year after that, nor the year after that, nor the year after that, nor the year after that, nor the year after that, nor the year after that, nor the year after that, nor the year after that, nor the year after that, nor the year after that, nor the year after that, nor the year after that, nor the year after 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2026-03-09 15:58:45 UTC

NEW: Dutch intelligence services are warning of new Russian government-backed hacking campaigns against Signal and WhatsApp users, including government and military officials, and journalists worldwide.
The phishing and social engineering techniques used are not new, but the fact that the Dutch are warning against them means they work.
http://techcrunch.com/2026/03/09/russian-government-hackers-targeting-signal-and-whatsapp-users-dutch-spies-warn/

2026-03-05 20:42:38 UTC

NEW: Italian prosecutors confirm that the phone of journalist Francesco Cancellato was hacked with Paragon spyware at the same time as the phones of two immigration activists.
The Italian government admitted the hack on the activists, but said it wasn't behind Cancellato's hack.
So who was? The mystery continues, and Cancellato, as well as his colleague Ciro Pellegrino, who was also allegedly hacked, are demanding answers.
http://techcrunch.com/2026/03/05/italian-prosecutors-confirm-journalist-was-hacked-with-paragon-spyware/

2026-03-05 18:45:01 UTC

NEW: Google said that last year, and for the first time, it found more zero-days used by spyware makers (15) rather than government-backed espionage groups (12) in the wild.
The shift demonstrated “a slow but sure movement in the landscape” of how governments hack targets, according to the company.
https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/05/google-says-half-of-all-zero-days-it-tracked-in-2025-targeted-buggy-enterprise-tech/

2026-03-05 18:37:39 UTC

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@nprofile…waj6 Good question...

2026-03-04 18:13:33 UTC

NSO Group has spent at least $7.6 million to lobby in Washington D.C., according to this report.
And it's gonna continue to pressure the U.S. government to get removed from the blocklist it was put on in 2021, in an attempt to get into the U.S. market.
NSO has hired a lot of people for its lobbying efforts.
https://www.techpolicy.press/will-nsos-us-lobbying-pay-off-under-trump/
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/116/172/260/078/060/493/original/52cf0a2c5572751d.png

2026-03-04 17:08:21 UTC

This Google research on the Coruna iOS exploits is very interesting. And perhaps the most interestig things are all the open questions that are not answered here.
https://cloud.google.com/blog/topics/threat-intelligence/coruna-powerful-ios-exploit-kit

2026-03-03 17:43:08 UTC

NEW: There have been a few reports and some statements from government officials that suggest cyber operations played a significant role in the first days of the war in Iran.
At the end of the day this war is about dropping bombs, but these reports show cyber can have an important supporting role — for surveillance, intelligence gathering, disruption, and PYOPs — in real world conflict.
http://techcrunch.com/2026/03/03/hacked-traffic-cams-and-hijacked-tvs-how-cyber-operations-supported-the-war-against-iran/

2026-03-02 21:53:27 UTC

Does anyone remember what this self-spreading bluetooth malware for Nokia phones could have been? I got hacked with it 20 years ago and I never figured out what virus it was exactly.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-time-i-got-hacked-in-a-lisbon-bar/

2026-03-02 16:14:56 UTC

NEW: A group of hacktivist calling themselves "Department of Peace" claims to have hacked an office wihin the Department of Homeland Security.
The hacktivists leaked data on more than 6,000 contracts between DHS and ICE and private companies to the transparency website Distributed Denial of Secrets.
"The DHS is killing us and people deserve to know which companies support them and what they’re working on,” the hackers wrote in a manifesto.
http://techcrunch.com/2026/03/02/hacktivists-claim-to-have-hacked-homeland-security-to-release-ice-contract-data/

2026-02-26 19:40:07 UTC

This game security company estimates the video game cheating market to be worth 8.5 billion (yes, with a B). Absolutely wild.
https://www.intorqa.gg/post/cheatonomics-how-the-video-game-cheat-business-became-a-multi-billion-dollar-industry

2026-02-26 19:40:07 UTC

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Reminds me of this profile of Cheat Ninja and its creator Catfish, who made cheats for PUBG Mobile, and made more than $75 million, according to Chinese police, which dismantled the organization and arrested some members.
Catfish, if you're out there, reach out. I'd love to know what you're up to.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/inside-the-worlds-largest-video-game-cheating-empire/

2026-02-26 15:47:05 UTC

NEW: A Greek court has ruled that Intellexa's founder Tal Dilian, and some associates, have to spend eight years in jail for wiretapping and privacy violations for their role in a spying campaign against politicians and journalists in the country.
There will be an appeal, and Dilian and the others will remain free until then.
https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/26/spyware-maker-sentenced-to-prison-in-greece-for-wiretapping-politicians-and-journalists/

2026-02-25 19:37:15 UTC

NEW: For months, I’ve been working on the story of Peter Williams, the former U.S. defense contractor who stole several hacking tools and then sold them to a Russian broker.
Now that Williams has been sentenced to seven years in prison, it's time to look back. Here’s what we know about the case, what we still don’t know, and a peek behind the scenes at how I reported this story.
http://techcrunch.com/2026/02/25/inside-the-story-of-the-us-defense-contractor-who-leaked-hacking-tools-to-russia/

2026-02-24 21:54:26 UTC

NEW: Former L3Harris boss Peter Williams was sentenced to seven years in prison for stealing sensitive company hacking tools, and then selling them to a Russian broker.
Williams, aka Doogie, previously pleaded guilty to stealing and selling eight trade secrets to Russian broker Operation Zero.
http://techcrunch.com/2026/02/24/former-l3harris-trenchant-boss-jailed-for-selling-hacking-tools-to-russian-broker/

2026-02-24 19:03:16 UTC

NEW: The U.S. government is sanctioning Russian zero-day broker Operation Zero and its founder, alleging it acquired stolen hacking tools from U.S. defense contractor L3Harris Trenchant.
The Treasury Department alleges former Trenchant boss Peter Williams stole and sold these exploits to Operation Zero, which then sold them on "to at least one unauthorized user."
https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/24/treasury-sanctions-russian-zero-day-broker-accused-of-buying-exploits-stolen-from-u-s-defense-contractor/

2026-02-19 22:11:27 UTC

NEW: Last year, Cellebrite stopped Serbia from using its tools after allegations that local police had abused them to hack into the phone of a journalist.
Now there are similar allegations in Kenya and Jordan, and Cellebrite is taking an entirely different approach.
http://techcrunch.com/2026/02/19/cellebrite-cut-off-serbia-citing-abuse-of-its-phone-unlocking-tools-why-not-others/

2026-02-19 15:36:58 UTC

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UPDATE: Tenga spokesperson told us that after a forensic review, the company found that the breach affected "600 people in the US."
"We have already proactively contacted those who may have been impacted to ensure their safety and provide guidance," the spokesperson said.
https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/13/sex-toys-maker-tenga-says-hacker-stole-customer-information/

2026-02-13 20:23:07 UTC

NEW: A sex toy maker notified customers that it suffered a data breach where a hacker stole customer names, email addresses, and historical email correspondence, “which may include order details or customer service inquiries.”
The company, Tenga, is not saying how many customers are affected.
It's also unclear if this only includes data from U.S. customers, as the email notification we obtained came from Tenga Store USA, but the company is Japanese and sells in several countries.
https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/13/sex-toys-maker-tenga-says-hacker-stole-customer-information/

2026-02-09 16:28:35 UTC

NEW: A hacktivist scraped than half a million payment records from a stalkerware and consumer surveillance tech maker, exposing customers' email addresses and partial card numbers.
The hackvisit told us they did it because they think these companies are "creepy," and because they have fun "targeting apps that are used to spy on people."
https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/09/hacktivist-scrapes-over-500000-stalkerware-customers-payment-records/

2026-01-30 22:07:36 UTC

NEW: An informant told the FBI in 2017 that Jeffrey Epstein had a "personal hacker," according to a document released today.
The document does not name the hacker, but says he is Italian, developed and sold zero-days (iOS and Blackberry) to governments such as the U.K. and the United States, and even Hezbollah, which paid him with “a trunk of cash.”
https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/30/informant-told-fbi-that-jeffrey-epstein-had-a-personal-hacker/

2026-01-27 20:26:48 UTC

NEW: After Apple launched Lockdown Mode years ago, and Google released its own special security feature for Android last year, WhatsApp now offers a new mode for users at high risk of being targeted with spyware.
It's called Strict Account Settings and enables certain restrictions to protect users.
https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/27/whatsapp-is-rolling-out-a-new-stricter-security-setting-to-protect-users-from-cyber-attacts/

2026-01-23 16:37:44 UTC

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@nprofile…9ynu :O I did not know that

2026-01-23 15:56:13 UTC

NEW: Microsoft handed the FBI the recovery keys to decrypt the hard drives of three laptops encrypted with BitLocker.
BitLocker is enabled by default in modern Windows laptops, but Microsoft also prompts users to upload the recovery keys to the company's cloud, which opens up this possibility.
http://techcrunch.com/2026/01/23/microsoft-gave-fbi-a-set-of-bitlocker-encryption-keys-to-unlock-suspects-laptops-reports/

2026-01-05 19:00:21 UTC

NEW: A hacktivist (@nprofile…d2df) dressed as Pink Ranger from the Power Rangers wiped three white supremacist websites on stage at the end of a talk at Chaos Communication Congress (39C3).
The hacker also published users’ data on the website okstupid.lol.
The three racist websites are still down, a week after the live hack.
http://techcrunch.com/2026/01/05/hacktivist-deletes-white-supremacist-websites-live-on-stage-during-hacker-conference/

2025-12-29 16:26:23 UTC

NEW: Apple, Google, and WhatsApp now regularly notify their users if they suspect they have been targeted or hacked with government spyware, such as that made by Intellexa, NSO Group, or Paragon.
Getting one of these can be scary, shocking, and confusing. So we spoke to experts and wrote a guide on what to do, and where to go, if you receive one of those notifications.
https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/29/youve-been-targeted-by-government-spyware-now-what/

2025-12-23 17:08:56 UTC

What's up with all these "secret location" Barcelona offensive cybersecurity conferences?
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/769/981/430/046/831/original/1d22d8ab9a16b532.png

2025-12-19 15:48:07 UTC

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It's objectively funny to see Ivan talk about how Apple secures its devices next to the logos of companies whose business models are to undermine the security of those devices, and help their customers hack those devices.

2025-12-19 15:33:37 UTC

Apple was very smart to send Ivan Krstić, who's been fighting spyware and exploit makers for years now, to Hexacon, a conference attended by a lot of spyware and exploit makers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Du8BbJg2Pj4

2025-12-17 19:10:43 UTC

Please keep me posted if you see or hear something about this.

2025-12-10 18:08:57 UTC

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@nprofile…z8qc Interesting, I did not think of that!

2025-12-10 17:27:42 UTC

Serious question: if you get a threat notification from Apple, WhatsApp, Google...and you are not a journalist ot dissident so you can't go to Citizen Lab/Amnesty/AccessNow, where do you go?
Asking for an article, not for someone who's gotten that notification.

2025-12-09 15:42:15 UTC

There's a new offensive cybersecurity conference in Barcelona. The tagline: "Sun, seafood, and spyware."
That rings a bell...🤔
https://offensive-bcn.com/
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/690/368/692/739/087/original/1302e40292f930cc.png

2025-12-05 14:53:38 UTC

NEW: Pet products and services giant Petco has disclosed a data breach, but it is not saying how many people were affected, nor what personal data was exposed.
Spokesperson said company had “provided further information to individuals whose information was involved.”
http://techcrunch.com/2025/12/05/petco-confirms-security-lapse-exposed-customers-personal-data/

2025-12-03 19:59:03 UTC

NEW: Your "end-to-end encrypted" poop pictures taken by this $599 (+ subscription) smart toilet camera are actually not end-to-end encrypted.
¯_(ツ)_/¯
https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/03/end-to-end-encrypted-smart-toilet-camera-is-not-actually-end-to-end-encrypted/

2025-11-20 23:17:41 UTC

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@nprofile…9edz @nprofile…9mvk ha! I never noticed that

2025-11-20 15:16:23 UTC

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@nprofile…9edz @nprofile…9mvk Wait, where do they tell you that?

2025-11-20 15:16:03 UTC

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@nprofile…9edz @nprofile…9mvk My favorite was the one that sorta explains Kusanagi's childhood, very well done.

2025-11-19 22:56:00 UTC

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@nprofile…9edz @nprofile…9mvk I loved them. Obviously lots of filler episodes but lots of great episodes too.

2025-11-19 22:28:57 UTC

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@nprofile…9mvk I was thinking that I should rewatch that saga

2025-11-19 22:07:12 UTC

NEW: The classic anime "Ghost in the Shell," one of the most influential hacking movies of all time, turned 30 years old this week.
Despite coming out at the dawn of the internet, it was incredibly prescient in terms of imaginig a future where governments use hackers for espionage, people use malware to spy on their loved ones, and much much more.
The story of the “infamous mystery hacker” the Puppet Master has many fascinating bits of speculative fiction related to hacking that are worth reflecting on.
http://techcrunch.com/2025/11/19/how-the-classic-anime-ghost-in-the-shell-predicted-the-future-of-cybersecurity-30-years-ago/

2025-10-29 22:55:14 UTC

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@nprofile…qrye thank you, I appreciate you saying that.

2025-10-29 16:43:00 UTC

NEW: As it turns out, sometimes attribution ain’t that hard.
After Kaspersky researchers revealed that some government is using Memento Labs’ spyware called Dante, I reached out to the spyware maker’s CEO Paolo Lezzi.
He told me: yep, it was our outdated Windows malware.
Lezzi also told me more about the state of Memento Labs, five years after death of Hacking Team.
https://techcrunch.com/2025/10/28/ceo-of-spyware-maker-memento-labs-confirms-one-of-its-government-customers-was-caught-using-its-malware/

2025-10-23 16:02:27 UTC

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Here's the court document with the accusations: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/26194391-peter-williams-criminal-information-doj/

2025-10-23 15:48:33 UTC

NEW: The U.S. govt accused Peter Williams, ex general manager of hacking tool maker L3Harris Trenchant, of stealing trade secrets and selling them to buyer in Russia.
As we reported earlier this week, Trenchant was investigating a leak of internal tools this year. At this point, it's unclear if that investigation is related to the accusations against Williams.
https://techcrunch.com/2025/10/23/u-s-government-accuses-former-l3harris-cyber-boss-of-stealing-trade-secrets/

2025-10-12 15:58:50 UTC

Italian news outlets IrpiMedia and La Stampa report that Andrea Orcel, the CEO of UniCredit bank, was targeted with Paragon spyware between the end of 2024 and the beginning of 2025.
Orcel becomes the second Italian businessman reported to be a Paragon target.
https://irpimedia.irpi.eu/paragon-colpisce-ancora-anche-lad-di-unicredit-tra-i-bersagli/

2025-08-20 16:20:27 UTC

NEW: The two Harvard students who doxed random people with Meta Ray-Ban glasses are launching "always-on" AI-powered smart glasses that listen, record, and transcribe, everything happening around them.
The glasses don't have an indicator that shows people around them that they are being recorded.
@nprofile…90wk is not a fan: "Normalizing the use of an always-on recording device, which in many circumstances would require the user to get the consent of everyone within recording distance, eats away at the expectation of privacy we have for our conversations in all kinds of spaces.”
http://techcrunch.com/2025/08/20/harvard-dropouts-to-launch-always-on-ai-smart-glasses-that-listen-and-record-every-conversation/

2025-08-20 14:06:51 UTC

NEW: There's a new startup in Dubai that is offering up to $20 million for zero-days to break into any smartphone ($15 for only iOS and only Android).
Company says it's made by people with "20 years of experience in elite intelligence units and private military contractors" but won't say who they are, who funds them, who they sell to.
“I don’t think you should sell bugs to anyone who’s trying to hide who they are,” a person with experience in the exploit development industry told me.
https://techcrunch.com/2025/08/20/new-zero-day-startup-offers-20-million-for-tools-that-can-hack-any-smartphone/

2025-08-06 14:51:22 UTC

I highly recommend listening to this Riaky Business podcast, particularly the beginning of the show where they discuss AI bug hunters.
I am and will continue to be an AI skeptic. But it surely looks like very smart people in the industry are convinced this is the future.
risky.biz/RB801/

2025-08-04 15:44:17 UTC

NEW: CloudFlare says it detected Perplexity scraping and crawling websites that explicitly block it from scraping them.
Based on customers' complaints and its own experiments, the company says Perplexity is using "stealth" bots and changing its bots "user agent" to circumvent restrictions.
http://techcrunch.com/2025/08/04/perplexity-accused-of-scraping-websites-that-explicitly-blocked-ai-scraping/

2025-07-17 15:47:46 UTC

NEW: Security researchers and CISA warn that hackers are exploiting a flaw in the Signal clone TeleMessage, which could lead to them stealing "plaintext usernames, passwords, and other sensitive data."
@nprofile…m90s, the researcher who analyzed it said they were "in disbelief at the simplicity of this exploit."
https://techcrunch.com/2025/07/17/hackers-are-trying-to-steal-passwords-and-sensitive-data-from-users-of-signal-clone/

2025-07-10 20:29:37 UTC

Who's going to SummerCon in NYC tomorrow and Saturday? 👀

2025-07-09 18:39:55 UTC

NEW: Over the weekend, Jack Dorsey launched an open-source chat app called Bitchat, which he promised to be “secure” and “private.”
He then later added a warning that the app not been tested or reviewed for security issues, asking people not to trust it as "it does not necessarily meet its stated security goals."
Security researchers are already finding flaws in it.
https://techcrunch.com/2025/07/09/jack-dorsey-says-his-secure-new-bitchat-app-has-not-been-tested-for-security/

2025-07-08 14:22:49 UTC

NEW: The chairman of UK retail giant Marks & Spencer refused to say whether the company paid ransom to hackers who caused outages and empty shelves.
“We don't think it's in the public interest to go into that," Archie Norman told UK parliament members.
https://techcrunch.com/2025/07/08/marks-spencer-chair-refuses-to-say-if-retailer-paid-hackers-after-ransomware-attack/

2025-07-03 14:35:29 UTC

I just scrolled the "For You" tab on X and out of 40 tweets only 4 were cybersecurity related. I do follow some sports accounts but damn, it's worse than it's ever been. Just random post after random post. How is this useful to anyone?

2025-06-30 16:16:26 UTC

NEW: A U.S. government report says a Mexican drug cartel hacker spied on an FBI official to identify, track, and kill informants.
The hacker also hacked into Mexico City's camera network to follow the FBI official as they met with “people of interest” for the cartel, according to the report.
http://techcrunch.com/2025/06/30/mexican-drug-cartel-hacker-spied-on-fbi-officials-phone-to-track-and-kill-informants-report-says/

2025-03-28 16:26:48 UTC

Despite its lofty promises of invisibility, NSO Group customers keep getting their spyware operations against journalists and dissidents caught.
“NSO has a basic problem: they are not as good at hiding as their customers think,” said John Scott-Railton, who has investigated spyware for 10+ years.
This week, it was the turn of the Serbian government, who allegedly targeted two journalists with NSO Group's spyware Pegasus, according to Amnesty International.
http://techcrunch.com/2025/03/28/again-and-again-nso-groups-customers-keep-getting-their-spyware-operations-caught/