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Hackers

A shadowy hacker, in a hood, working on a laptop against the backdrop of an American flag, partially rendered in streams of binary code. | DPST/Newscom

Cybersecurity

Chinese Hackers Used U.S. Government-Mandated Wiretap Systems

A backdoor for anybody is a backdoor for everybody.

J.D. Tuccille | 10.11.2024 7:00 AM

J.D. Vance sits on stage | Ron Sachs - CNP / MEGA / Newscom/RSSIL/Newscom

J.D. Vance

More Vance Than Anyone Could Ever Need

Plus: Long live Eric Adams, Electoral College bias, and more...

Liz Wolfe | 9.27.2024 9:42 AM

Trump impersonator | Milo Hess/ZUMAPRESS/Newscom

Donald Trump

Hacker News

Plus: Guided missile submarine sent to the Middle East, European tourism controversies, and more...

Liz Wolfe | 8.12.2024 9:30 AM

Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch | Bob Daemmrich/Zuma Press/Newscom

Overcriminalization

'Too Much Law' Gives Prosecutors Enormous Power To Ruin People's Lives

In a new book, Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch describes the "human toll" of proliferating criminal penalties.

Jacob Sullum | 8.7.2024 12:01 AM

hacker | Illustration: Lex Villena; MCD

Book Reviews

The Man Who Hated Rules

Hacktivist-journalist Barrett Brown sets out to settle scores in his new memoir.

Mike Riggs | 7.9.2024 11:18 AM

Man typing code into a laptop screen | blurf | Dreamstime.com

Hackers

Brickbat: Model Misbehavior

Charles Oliver | 7.8.2024 4:00 AM

Graphic of surveillance images and shady characters | Illustration: Lex Villena; Vadym Ivanchenko

Surveillance

Federal Judge, ICE Agents Linked to Compromised Spyware Use

The surveillance company mSpy just suffered its third data breach in a decade, exposing government officials snooping for both official and unofficial reasons.

Matthew Petti | 7.2.2024 2:02 PM

An anarchist gluing a lock shut. | Illustration: Matthew Petti/GPT-4

Surveillance

Feds Worried About Anarchists Gluing the Locks to a Government Facility

A FOIA request reveals what the FBI and Homeland Security had to say about anarchist activities on May Day 2015.

Matthew Petti | 5.1.2024 8:00 AM

In this undated frame grab taken from video shared with The Associated Press by a self-identified hacker group called The Justice of Ali, a guard looks at surveillance screens taken over by the group, at Evin prison in Tehran, Iran. | Illustration: Lex Villena; Source image: EyePress/Newscom

Surveillance

China and Iran Have Their WikiLeaks Moment

Hackers have unmasked some of the tactics Beijing and Tehran use to silence their opponents.

Matthew Petti | 2.27.2024 3:00 PM

The journalist Tim Burke and his wife Lynn Hurtak address reporters on the front steps of the U.S. District Courthouse in Tampa, FL. | Jefferee Woo/ZUMA Press/Newscom

Free Press

Feds Target Journalist Tim Burke With Law Intended for Hackers

An escalation in the war between people who publish secrets and those who seek to keep them.

J.D. Tuccille | 2.26.2024 7:00 AM

A chest X-ray of a patient with a cardiac pacemaker. | Sopone Nawoot | Dreamstime.com

Technology

When Your Heart Becomes a Snitch

Modern medical devices are lifesavers. But they’re vulnerable to hackers and compromise our privacy.

J.D. Tuccille | 1.15.2024 7:00 AM

John Deere tractor parked in a field of grass | Photo 73615212 © Fiskness | Dreamstime.com

Copyright

How John Deere Hijacked Copyright Law To Keep You From Tinkering With Your Tractor

Hackers are helping tractor owners “jailbreak” their equipment in order to repair it.

Luke Hogg | 1.8.2024 3:00 PM

Logo for the video game Grand Theft Auto VI, with the logo for its developer Rockstar Games in the foreground. | Angga Budhiyanto/ZUMAPRESS/Newscom

Hackers

British Teen Gets Potential Life Sentence for Grand Theft Auto VI Hack

Rockstar Games told a U.K. court that it spent $5 million to recover from the hack. Is that worth the rest of a teenager's life?

Joe Lancaster | 12.27.2023 12:10 PM

Stella Assange on episode 3 of Just Asking Questions | Illustration: Lex Villena

WikiLeaks

Stella Assange: Why Isn't Julian Assange a Free Man?

Stella Assange discusses the imprisonment of her husband on the third episode of Just Asking Questions.

Zach Weissmueller and Liz Wolfe | 12.21.2023 12:45 PM

themanwhohackedtheworld | Turner

book

Review: The Man Who Hacked the World Captures the Chaos of John McAfee

Author Alex Cody Foster went deep with McAfee for months in an ill-fated attempt to ghostwrite his memoir.

Brian Doherty | 5.12.2023 6:30 AM

Confidential documents in folder guarded by a hand | Illustration: Lex Villena

Congress

If We Can't Abolish the No-Fly List, Can We at Least Keep It Safe?

Reviewing and improving the federal government’s data security and digital defenses should be a priority.

Bonnie Kristian | 1.24.2023 4:55 PM

IRS and the working class | Illustration: Lex Villena

Politics

In 2022, the IRS Went After the Very Poorest Taxpayers

Despite $80 billion in new funding, the agency is living up to its reputation of hassling low-income taxpayers over rich people.

Liz Wolfe | 1.6.2023 10:05 AM

Officer using phone | Seanlockephotography / Dreamstime.com

Brickbats

Brickbat: I See You

Charles Oliver | 10.19.2022 4:00 AM

encryptions_1161x653 | Wrightstudio / Dreamstime.com

Cybersecurity

The Same U.S. Government That Wants To Weaken Our Encryption Just Got Massively Hacked

Let's not weaken cybersecurity even more.

Scott Shackford | 12.14.2020 2:50 PM

CIAsite_1161x653 | Anton Garin / Dreamstime.com

Cybersecurity

The CIA Can't Protect Its Own Hacking Tools. Why Should We Trust Government Privacy and Security Proposals?

The very idea that our intelligence agencies could keep encryption bypasses secret is absurd.

Andrea O'Sullivan | 6.23.2020 8:30 AM

On sale now on Dark Web | Paul Hennessy/Polaris/Newscom

Facial Recognition

Customs and Border Protection Photo and License Plate Database Hacked

The agency is mum on how many people are impacted

Ronald Bailey | 6.10.2019 9:00 PM

Large image on homepages | Dan Grytsku/Dreamstime.com

Elections

Could an 11-Year-Old Really Hack an Election in 10 Minutes?

Two 11-year-olds hacked into a replica of Florida's election website. Should we be alarmed?

Joe Setyon | 8.13.2018 1:00 PM

Large image on homepages

Self-driving vehicles

Super Hacker George Hotz: I Can Make Your Car Drive Itself for Under $1,000

Comma.ai aims to bring plug-and-play autonomy to the masses.

Justin Monticello | 10.27.2017 4:15 PM

Large image on homepages

Reasontv

Cory Doctorow on Cyber Warfare, Lawbreaking, and His New Novel 'Walkaway'

The novelist, activist, and BoingBoing founder on cyber warfare, Uber-style reputation economics, and what he's likely to get arrested for someday.

Katherine Mangu-Ward and Todd Krainin | 5.25.2017 9:37 AM

Large image on homepages

WikiLeaks

Journalist Barrett Brown on Prison, Leakers, and Private Intelligence Agencies

Brown just got out of prison this past November after four years behind bars for his association with "hacktivists."

Zach Weissmueller | 3.22.2017 11:00 AM

Large image on homepages

Central Intelligence Agency

CIA: Protect Americans First Instead of Hacking Their Phones and TVs

'Fundamentally, security is more important than surveillance.'

Ronald Bailey | 3.10.2017 11:55 AM

Large image on homepages | Todd Frantom

Hackers

The Other Way the Debate About Russian Hacking is Like the Debate About WMDs

Don't be distracted into debating the wrong things.

Jesse Walker | 1.3.2017 2:45 PM

Large image on homepages

Hackers

John McCain Says Hacks That Embarrass Politicians Could 'Destroy Democracy'

One man's interference with the electoral process is another man's voter education.

Jacob Sullum | 12.19.2016 8:00 AM

Large image on homepages | Benoit Daoust/Dreamstime.com

Hillary Clinton

Did Russia Really Affect the Election Through 'Hacking'?

"Hacking" and "leaking" are two different things, and the distinction is significant.

Andrew Napolitano | 12.15.2016 12:01 AM

Large image on homepages | YouTube

Russia

Adam Schiff to Tucker Carlson: 'You're Carrying Water for the Kremlin'

The Russian Menace is making congressmen even dumber, it seems.

Matt Welch | 12.8.2016 12:57 PM

Large image on homepages

Voting

Hacking the Vote

Could Putin's army of internet trolls pick our next president?

Ronald Bailey | 9.2.2016 1:30 PM

Large image on homepages | VICTOR DE SCHWANBERG/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Science Photo Library/Newscom

NSA

NSA 'Cyber Weapons' Leak Shows How Agency Prizes Online Surveillance Over Online Security

The NSA opportunistically hoards and deploys powerful bugs that make everyone less secure online.

Andrea O'Sullivan | 8.30.2016 8:00 AM

UFO

Surreal Interview of the Month

Jesse Walker | 7.19.2005 11:12 AM

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