Security
Losing Face
The Breach of a Face Recognition Firm Reveals a Hidden Danger of Biometrics
Outabox, an Australian firm that scanned faces for bars and clubs, suffered a breach that shows the problems with giving companies your biometric data.
Jordan Pearson
A Vast New Data Set Could Supercharge the AI Hunt for Crypto Money Laundering
Blockchain analysis firm Elliptic, MIT, and IBM have released a new AI model—and the 200-million-transaction dataset it's trained on—that aims to spot the “shape” of bitcoin money laundering.
Andy Greenberg
The Dangerous Rise of GPS Attacks
Thousands of planes and ships are facing GPS jamming and spoofing. Experts warn these attacks could potentially impact critical infrastructure, communication networks, and more.
Matt Burgess
The White House Has a New Master Plan to Stop Worst-Case Scenarios
President Joe Biden has updated the directives to protect US critical infrastructure against major threats, from cyberattacks to terrorism to climate change.
Eric Geller
Cyberspies Hacked Cisco Firewalls to Access Government Networks
Sources suspect China is behind the targeted exploitation of two zero-day vulnerabilities in Cisco’s security appliances.
Andy Greenberg
Russian Hackers Stole Microsoft Source Code—and the Attack Isn’t Over
Plus: An ex-Google engineer gets arrested for allegedly stealing trade secrets, hackers breach the top US cybersecurity agency, and X’s new feature exposes sensitive user data.
Dhruv Mehrotra and Andrew Couts
The Secrets Factory
Registered Agents Inc. has for years allowed businesses to register under a cloak of anonymity. A WIRED investigation reveals that its secretive founder has taken the practice to an extreme.
William Turton and Dhruv Mehrotra
The UK’s GPS Tagging of Migrants Has Been Ruled Illegal
The UK’s privacy regulator says the government did not take into account the intrusiveness of ankle tags that continuously monitor a person’s location.
Morgan Meaker
Biden Bans Rival Nations From Buying Sensitive US Data—Good Luck
The White House issued an executive order on Wednesday that aims to prevent the sale of Americans' data to “countries of concern,” including China and Russia. Its effectiveness may vary.
Dell Cameron
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
The Best VPNs to Protect Yourself Online
It won’t solve all of your privacy problems, but a virtual private network can make you a less tempting target for hackers.
Scott Gilbertson
How to Protect Yourself (and Your Loved Ones) From AI Scam Calls
AI tools are getting better at cloning people’s voices, and scammers are using these new capabilities to commit fraud. Avoid getting swindled by following these expert tips.
Reece Rogers
It's Time to Switch to a Privacy-Focused Browser You Can Trust
Ad trackers are out of control. Use a browser that reins them in.
David Nield
School Employee Allegedly Framed a Principal With Racist Deepfake Rant
Plus: Google holds off on killing cookies, Samourai Wallet founders get arrested, and GM stops driver surveillance program.
Matt Burgess
Russia Vetoed a UN Resolution to Ban Space Nukes
A ban on weapons of mass destruction in orbit has stood since 1967. Russia apparently has other ideas.
Stephen Clark, Ars Technica
ShotSpotter Keeps Listening for Gunfire After Contracts Expire
Internal emails suggest that the company continued to provide gunshot data to police in cities where its contracts had been canceled.
Max Blaisdell and Jim Daley
Change Healthcare Finally Admits It Paid Ransomware Hackers—and Still Faces a Patient Data Leak
The company belatedly conceded both that it had paid the cybercriminals extorting it and that patient data nonetheless ended up on the dark web.
Andy Greenberg
Latest
Security Roundup
AI-Controlled Fighter Jets Are Dogfighting With Human Pilots Now
Dell Cameron and Andrew Couts
Gone Wild
Hackers Linked to Russia’s Military Claim Credit for Sabotaging US Water Utilities
Andy Greenberg
Double Down
Change Healthcare Faces Another Ransomware Threat—and It Looks Credible
Andy Greenberg and Matt Burgess