Wired Security

Russell Vought, acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, has canceled plans to more tightly regulate the sale of Americans’ sensitive personal data.

Security researchers are publishing 1,000 email addresses they claim are linked to North Korean IT worker scams that infiltrated Western companies—along with photos of men allegedly involved in the schemes.

A new extra-secure mode for Android 16 will let at-risk users lock their devices down.

Android’s “Scam Detection” protection in Google Messages will now be able to flag even more types of digital fraud.

Before a crackdown by Telegram, Xinbi Guarantee grew into one of the internet’s biggest markets for Chinese-speaking crypto scammers and money laundering. And all registered to a US address.

As AI-driven fraud becomes increasingly common, more people feel the need to verify every interaction they have online.

Plus: A DOGE operative’s laptop reportedly gets infected with malware, Grok AI is used to “undress” women on X, a school software company’s ransomware nightmare returns, and more.

A CBP spokesperson tells WIRED that the agency plans to expand its program for real-time face recognition at the border, potentially aiding Trump administration efforts to track people who self-deport.

CBP's acting commissioner has rescinded four Biden-era policies that aimed to protect vulnerable people in the agency's custody, including mothers, infants, and the elderly.

CBP says it has “disabled” its use of TeleMessage following reports that the app, which has not cleared the US government’s risk assessment program, was hacked.

In the wake of SignalGate, a knockoff version of Signal used by a high-ranking member of the Trump Administration was hacked. Today on Uncanny Valley, we discuss the platforms used for government communications.

A new analysis of TM Signal’s source code appears to show that the app sends users’ message logs in plaintext. At least one top Trump administration official used the app.

Now the US director of national intelligence, Gabbard failed to follow basic cybersecurity practices on several of her personal accounts, leaked records reviewed by WIRED reveal.

Customs and Border Protection has called for tech companies to pitch real-time face recognition technology that can capture everyone in a vehicle—not just those in the front seats.

The communications app TeleMessage, which was spotted on former US national security advisor Mike Waltz's phone, has suspended “all services” as it investigates reports of at least one breach.

The open source software easyjson is used by the US government and American companies. But its ties to Russia’s VK, whose CEO has been sanctioned, have researchers sounding the alarm.

Plus: France blames Russia for a series of cyberattacks, the US is taking steps to crack down on a gray market allegedly used by scammers, and Microsoft pushes the password one step closer to death.

A photo taken this week showed Mike Waltz using an app that looks like—but is not—Signal to communicate with top officials. "I don't even know where to start with this," says one expert.

People are using ChatGPT’s new image generator to take part in viral social media trends. But using it also puts your privacy at risk—unless you take a few simple steps to protect yourself.

For years, North Korea has been secretly placing young IT workers inside Western companies. With AI, their schemes are now more devious—and effective—than ever.