Andy Greenberg

Andy Greenberg

@agreenberg.bsky.social

Writer for WIRED. Author of SANDWORM. Latest book, TRACERS IN THE DARK: The Global Hunt for the Crime Lords of Cryptocurrency, out now. agreenberg@wired.com. Andy.01 on Signal.

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Andy Greenberg
@agreenberg.bsky.social

Last year, a human trafficking victim trapped in a crypto scam compound in the Golden Triangle region of Laos contacted me. He then proceeded to leak to me a huge collection of the compound's internal materials. Then he had to get out alive. This is his story. 🧵👇 www.wired.com/story/he-lea...

wired.comHe Leaked the Secrets of a Southeast Asian Scam Compound. Then He Had to Get Out AliveA source trapped inside an industrial-scale scamming operation contacted me, determined to expose his captors’ crimes—and then escape. This is his story.

Andy Greenberg reposted

Katie Drummond
@katie-drummond.bsky.social

Today, @wired.com is publishing Choke Points, an 18-month investigation into how Israel’s network of checkpoints, gates, and roadblocks is reshaping daily life for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. A thread on the reporting, and what we found:

Andy Greenberg
@agreenberg.bsky.social

For anyone who heard me tell Red Bull’s story again on Fresh Air today: He still needs your help. Please see the GoFundMe, which I have vetted, below. And thank you for whatever you can give.

Andy Greenberg@agreenberg.bsky.social

Red Bull, the scam compound whistleblower from my story below, is struggling to rebuild his life in a new country. He desperately needs tuition funds to keep his student visa, avoid deportation and stay safe. Anything you can give would go a long way: www.gofundme.com/f/support-wh... Thank you!

gofundme.comDonate to Help Scam Compound Whistleblower Rebuild His Life, organized by Jonna Higgins-FreeseRed Bull was trafficked, tortured, and forced to work as a scam… Jonna Higgins-Freese needs your support for Help Scam Compound Whistleblower Rebuild His Life
Andy Greenberg
@agreenberg.bsky.social

Using AI in many cases means sending your most sensitive and intimate thoughts to a server where they can be exploited as training data, sold to ad brokers, or even handed to law enforcement. So I assembled this guide to using AI with your privacy intact. www.wired.com/story/how-to...

wired.comHow to Use AI With Your Privacy IntactYour conversations with AI chatbots are both highly personal and deeply vulnerable to surveillance. Here’s how you can protect yourself.
Andy Greenberg
@agreenberg.bsky.social

As the TeamPCP cybercrime group carried out an unprecedented spree of software supply chain hacking this year, it had been infiltrated by an undercover analyst from Google's threat intel division. Google watched from inside, warned victims, even disrupted extortions. www.wired.com/story/an-und...

wired.comAn Undercover Google Analyst Infiltrated a Notorious Supply Chain Hacking GangTeamPCP pulled off the worst-ever software supply chain hacking spree and breached thousands of companies. Now Google’s threat intelligence group has revealed it had a mole inside the hackers’ inner c...
Andy Greenberg
@agreenberg.bsky.social

Google's Austin Larsen will also detail in a talk today at the LABScon conference how a rival cybercrime group, ShinyHunters, betrayed TeamPCP and leaked its data, and how he found the identity of Ruben Ian Thomson, who has since been arrested and charged as one the group's alleged key members.

Andy Greenberg reposted

Reyhan Harmanci
@harmancipants.bsky.social

This is a big day for WIRED -- and a fantastic way to read/watch/hear our stories. DOWNLOAD!!!

WIRED@wired.com

Meet the new WIRED app: the best way to read, watch, and listen to our journalism. To celebrate this launch, we’re giving app users full, free access to WIRED for a limited time. All you need to do is create an account. buff.ly/H3Zt1a5

Andy Greenberg reposted

Dhruv Mehrotra
@dmehro.bsky.social

NEW: Hackers cut down a Flock camera, dumped its internal storage, and shared the files w/ WIRED and 404 Media. It includes thousands of videos and logs showing how the device took images of 50,000 vehicles in 21 days The code reveals in new detail how Flock tracks the vehicles and people.

wired.comHackers Got Inside a Flock Camera. Its Data Shows How the System Really WorksA hacker collective pulled down a Flock camera and dumped its data. The files included thousands of videos and logs showing that the device captured 1.6 million images of 50,000 vehicles in 21 days.
Andy Greenberg
@agreenberg.bsky.social

Telegram looked the other way as Xinbi Guarantee, a $24 *billion* market for crypto scammers hosted on the messaging platform, grew into one of the biggest online black markets in history. Now DOJ has finally sanctioned Xinbi and seized its Telegram channels. www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/s...

Andy Greenberg@agreenberg.bsky.social

Coming up on 3 weeks since Telegram-based black market Xinbi Guarantee, which has done $21 *billion* in transactions, was sanctioned by the UK gov for enabling crypto scamming and human trafficking. Yet Telegram, which could ban Xinbi at any time, is still hosting it. www.wired.com/story/telegr...

wired.comTelegram Is Still Hosting a Sanctioned $21 Billion Crypto Scammer Black MarketThe UK designated Xinbi Guarantee as an enabler of crypto scammers and human trafficking weeks ago. Telegram is still hosting it in plain sight.

Andy Greenberg reposted

David Gilbert
@davidgilbert.bsky.social

Incredible scoop from @dmehro.bsky.social and @dell.bsky.social who were able to recreate Flock's new AI-powered tool that lets police officers ID drivers and track vehicles—capabilities the company has repeatedly said it doesn't allow. www.wired.com/story/flock-...

wired.comFlock Has a Powerful New AI Tool for Police. We Got Its CodeFlock’s surveillance cameras have already sparked outrage. WIRED reconstructed its next-generation AI system, already in use by some police, to confirm it goes much further than tracking license plate...
Andy Greenberg
@agreenberg.bsky.social

I spoke with Andy Yen, CEO of Proton, which has encrypted the daily online work/comms a hundred million-plus people. We talked in particular about Proton's surprising embrace of AI, like its chatbot Lumo. Yen says "AI is surveillance." He also says it's "unavoidable." www.wired.com/story/the-bi...

wired.comCan AI Coexist With Privacy? Proton’s Andy Yen Says It Will Have ToProton’s CEO is a champion of encryption for everyone. So why is he going all in on un-encryptable AI?
Andy Greenberg
@agreenberg.bsky.social

Proton's Lumo AI chatbot doesn't actually cryptographically protect your chats with it. Proton just promises not to log them. But Yen actual committed in our interview to a switching to model where cryptography creates an enclave on the server where Proton technically cannot look at your chats.

Andy Greenberg reposted

WIRED
@wired.com

Records obtained by WIRED detail hundreds of allegations of Customs and Border Protection workers misusing internal tools to look up romantic interests and track colleagues’ cell phones.

wired.comCBP Workers Allegedly Used Government Databases to Spy on Exes, Crushes, and ColleaguesRecords obtained by WIRED detail hundreds of allegations of Customs and Border Protection workers misusing internal tools to look up romantic interests and track colleagues’ cell phones.
Andy Greenberg
@agreenberg.bsky.social

A hacking device the size of a quarter can be plugged into a port accessible from the exterior of a Boeing 737 to change its autopilot navigation or tamper with values used to calculate its takeoff speed, a group of security researchers has shown. 🧵👇 www.wired.com/story/this-c...

wired.comThis Coin-Sized Device Can Hack a Boeing 737Security researchers found that in less than 60 seconds, they could open a hatch on a plane’s exterior, plug in a tiny device, and redirect the aircraft’s autopilot or sabotage its flight plan.
View full thread
Andy Greenberg
@agreenberg.bsky.social

Their physical access attack might be the most practical plane hacking proof-of-concept ever pulled off. It's the result of more than a decade of testing on tens of thousands of secondhand Boeing computer components they assembled into their own avionics hacking testbed.

Andy Greenberg
@agreenberg.bsky.social

Tomorrow they're presenting their findings at the Usenix Cybersecurity Conference. You can read our full story on their work here: www.wired.com/story/this-c... As scary as it sounds, it's worth remembering that this kind of research is designed to make air travel safer. /end

wired.comThis Coin-Sized Device Can Hack a Boeing 737Security researchers found that in less than 60 seconds, they could open a hatch on a plane’s exterior, plug in a tiny device, and redirect the aircraft’s autopilot or sabotage its flight plan.
Andy Greenberg
@agreenberg.bsky.social

A hacking device the size of a quarter can be plugged into a port accessible from the exterior of a Boeing 737 to change its autopilot navigation or tamper with values used to calculate its takeoff speed, a group of security researchers has shown. 🧵👇 www.wired.com/story/this-c...

wired.comThis Coin-Sized Device Can Hack a Boeing 737Security researchers found that in less than 60 seconds, they could open a hatch on a plane’s exterior, plug in a tiny device, and redirect the aircraft’s autopilot or sabotage its flight plan.
Andy Greenberg
@agreenberg.bsky.social

Their tiny implant takes less than a minute to insert and could be placed by anyone with access to the plane on the ground. The result, they warn, could be runway overruns, flights silently commandeered into another country's airspace, or catastrophic crashes.

Andy Greenberg
@agreenberg.bsky.social

The UCSD/Oberlin College researchers aren't revealing details like the port they targeted or how they spoofed specific commandss. But they demoed their work for Boeing and are pushing for changes to aviation security to prevent this kind of attack from ever being carried out in the wild.

Andy Greenberg
@agreenberg.bsky.social

Two security researchers shipped me a pink plastic kid's smartwatch from Amazon. When I wore it, they tracked my movements, surreptitiously took photos of me, even listened to my conversations. The same backend they hacked is used by 30+ watch brands for kids. 🧵👇 www.wired.com/story/hacker...

wired.comHackers Stalked Me by Hijacking a Smartwatch for KidsSecurity researchers tracked and eavesdropped on a WIRED reporter using vulnerabilities in a pink plastic smartwatch. It’s just one piece of a deeply insecure supply chain of GPS-enabled gadgets.
View full thread
Andy Greenberg
@agreenberg.bsky.social

There are so many of these devices/brands/resellers, in fact, that neither the researchers nor we at WIRED could test them individually. But we reached out to all of them, and you can see a table of their responses in our full story here: www.wired.com/story/hacker...

wired.comHackers Stalked Me by Hijacking a Smartwatch for KidsSecurity researchers tracked and eavesdropped on a WIRED reporter using vulnerabilities in a pink plastic smartwatch. It’s just one piece of a deeply insecure supply chain of GPS-enabled gadgets.
Andy Greenberg
@agreenberg.bsky.social

All of this is being presented today at Black Hat by security researchers Vangelis Stykas and Felipe Solferini. Moral of the story: careful what technology you strap to your kid. /end

Andy Greenberg
@agreenberg.bsky.social

Two security researchers shipped me a pink plastic kid's smartwatch from Amazon. When I wore it, they tracked my movements, surreptitiously took photos of me, even listened to my conversations. The same backend they hacked is used by 30+ watch brands for kids. 🧵👇 www.wired.com/story/hacker...

wired.comHackers Stalked Me by Hijacking a Smartwatch for KidsSecurity researchers tracked and eavesdropped on a WIRED reporter using vulnerabilities in a pink plastic smartwatch. It’s just one piece of a deeply insecure supply chain of GPS-enabled gadgets.
Andy Greenberg
@agreenberg.bsky.social

That platform, China-based SETracker, ignored the researchers' bug reports for months and denied their findings when we at WIRED inquired. Only when I sent evidence (like this picture the researchers silently took of me at my desk, plus eavesdropped audio) did they fix anything.

Andy Greenberg
@agreenberg.bsky.social

Two other platforms the researchers found security flaws in, SinoTrack and NewGPS2012, never responded and don't appear to have fixed anything. Together the three Chinese companies serve as backends for tens of millions of GPS devices, dozens of brands, sold around the world.

Andy Greenberg reposted

dell cameron
@dell.bsky.social

NEW: DHS wants to pay private contractors bounties to hunt down people who already left the country, photograph their homes, and demand money. It told them leaving the US would wipe out fines. It was the pitch for self-deporting. Experts tell WIRED this is a pointless escalation of tactics.

wired.comDHS Is Hiring Bounty Hunters to Find and Photograph Deported People’s Homes AbroadHomeland Security told immigrants that leaving the US would wipe out fines it claims they owe. Now it wants private investigators to find them in their home countries and collect.

Andy Greenberg reposted

dell cameron
@dell.bsky.social

NEW: OpenAI's rogue agents built their own message board inside an internal package manager and used it to trade exploits, divide up tasks, and coordinate a hacking spree. Hundreds of thousands of messages. Nobody at OpenAI noticed. New details from Black Hat, by @lhn.bsky.social:

wired.comOpenAI Didn’t Notice Its AI Agents Using a Message Board to Plan Their Hacking SpreeAt the Black Hat security conference, the AI giant revealed new details about how its agents went rogue, hacked several other companies—and did it all right under the company’s nose.
Andy Greenberg
@agreenberg.bsky.social

At Black Hat, security researcher Vangelis Stykas reveals what he found by lurking inside North Korean hackers’ infrastructure for nearly two years: They got footholds inside 1,640 networks, by his count. About half of those intrusions were serious breaches. www.wired.com/story/a-secu...

wired.comA Security Pro Hacked North Korean Hackers. He Found They’d Breached Hundreds of Networks WorldwideFor nearly two years, researcher Vangelis Stykas has maintained access to North Korean hackers’ servers. His work shows they pulled off intrusions in a shocking number of systems across the globe.
Andy Greenberg
@agreenberg.bsky.social

A Minnesota state fusion center report ties the cyberattacks on 30+ Minnesota water utilities to Iranian-affiliated hackers, according to a water utility information sharing group's memo I obtained. www.wired.com/story/a-leak...

wired.comA Leaked Memo Ties Cyberattacks on Minnesota Water Utilities to IranA memo obtained by WIRED, issued by the water utilities information sharing group WaterISAC, links dozens of cyberattacks against Minnesota water utilities to Tehran.
Andy Greenberg
@agreenberg.bsky.social

Scam researchers told a Claude agent and human "scammers" to text test subjects and build a relationship. After a week, subjects said they trusted the AI more than the human and almost half were willing to install an app at its request. Almost none detected it was AI. www.wired.com/story/ai-sca...

wired.comAI Scammers Are Better at Building Trust Than HumansResearchers pitted a person against a Claude agent and found that, after a week of texting, the AI chatbot was more effective at creating “exploitable trust” with others.

Andy Greenberg reposted

Andy Greenberg
@agreenberg.bsky.social

Replying to @agreenberg.bsky.social

You can also read our full story here: www.wired.com/story/a-devi... Please check your car—particularly if it was ever sold in Southern California, where KARR is most widely used—and if you have the device, patch it now. /end

wired.comA Device Hidden in Cars Across the US Leaves Them Vulnerable to Hacking and Paralysis. Patch It NowDealerships installed alarms in millions of vehicles—and left them in even if the buyer didn’t want them. Now researchers warn they can be hacked to unlock, track, and disable cars.

Andy Greenberg reposted

Andy Greenberg
@agreenberg.bsky.social

Replying to @agreenberg.bsky.social

As a result, the device is in over 2 million cars, about half of whose owners told dealers they didn't want it, by UCSD's estimate. They may not have any idea it's inside their vehicle. Yet it's beaconing and can be "activated" instantly by a hacker and hijacked for theft or chaotic effects.

Andy Greenberg reposted

Andy Greenberg
@agreenberg.bsky.social

Replying to @agreenberg.bsky.social

UCSD warned KARR's manufacturer, who has now pushed out a fix. The complication: KARR is typically installed by dealers to prevent theft from their lots. If a buyer doesn't want it as an add-on, the dealer still leaves it wired in under the hood anyway in a "deactivated" state.

Andy Greenberg reposted

Andy Greenberg
@agreenberg.bsky.social

A car alarm device, KARR, inside millions of cars has a security flaw that lets hackers unlock, track, even paralyze vehicles. There's a patch. The problem? Half of car owners who have the device installed didn't ask for it, and may not even know it's there. Thread👇 www.wired.com/story/a-devi...

wired.comA Device Hidden in Cars Across the US Leaves Them Vulnerable to Hacking and Paralysis. Patch It NowDealerships installed alarms in millions of vehicles—and left them in even if the buyer didn’t want them. Now researchers warn they can be hacked to unlock, track, and disable cars.
Andy Greenberg
@agreenberg.bsky.social

A car alarm device, KARR, inside millions of cars has a security flaw that lets hackers unlock, track, even paralyze vehicles. There's a patch. The problem? Half of car owners who have the device installed didn't ask for it, and may not even know it's there. Thread👇 www.wired.com/story/a-devi...

wired.comA Device Hidden in Cars Across the US Leaves Them Vulnerable to Hacking and Paralysis. Patch It NowDealerships installed alarms in millions of vehicles—and left them in even if the buyer didn’t want them. Now researchers warn they can be hacked to unlock, track, and disable cars.
View full thread
Andy Greenberg
@agreenberg.bsky.social

You can also read our full story here: www.wired.com/story/a-devi... Please check your car—particularly if it was ever sold in Southern California, where KARR is most widely used—and if you have the device, patch it now. /end

wired.comA Device Hidden in Cars Across the US Leaves Them Vulnerable to Hacking and Paralysis. Patch It NowDealerships installed alarms in millions of vehicles—and left them in even if the buyer didn’t want them. Now researchers warn they can be hacked to unlock, track, and disable cars.
Andy Greenberg
@agreenberg.bsky.social

A car alarm device, KARR, inside millions of cars has a security flaw that lets hackers unlock, track, even paralyze vehicles. There's a patch. The problem? Half of car owners who have the device installed didn't ask for it, and may not even know it's there. Thread👇 www.wired.com/story/a-devi...

wired.comA Device Hidden in Cars Across the US Leaves Them Vulnerable to Hacking and Paralysis. Patch It NowDealerships installed alarms in millions of vehicles—and left them in even if the buyer didn’t want them. Now researchers warn they can be hacked to unlock, track, and disable cars.
View full thread
Andy Greenberg
@agreenberg.bsky.social

UCSD warned KARR's manufacturer, who has now pushed out a fix. The complication: KARR is typically installed by dealers to prevent theft from their lots. If a buyer doesn't want it as an add-on, the dealer still leaves it wired in under the hood anyway in a "deactivated" state.

Andy Greenberg
@agreenberg.bsky.social

As a result, the device is in over 2 million cars, about half of whose owners told dealers they didn't want it, by UCSD's estimate. They may not have any idea it's inside their vehicle. Yet it's beaconing and can be "activated" instantly by a hacker and hijacked for theft or chaotic effects.

Andy Greenberg
@agreenberg.bsky.social

A car alarm device, KARR, inside millions of cars has a security flaw that lets hackers unlock, track, even paralyze vehicles. There's a patch. The problem? Half of car owners who have the device installed didn't ask for it, and may not even know it's there. Thread👇 www.wired.com/story/a-devi...

wired.comA Device Hidden in Cars Across the US Leaves Them Vulnerable to Hacking and Paralysis. Patch It NowDealerships installed alarms in millions of vehicles—and left them in even if the buyer didn’t want them. Now researchers warn they can be hacked to unlock, track, and disable cars.

Andy Greenberg reposted

Katie Drummond
@katie-drummond.bsky.social

Our two investigations into Madison Square Garden are now unpaywalled and free for anyone to read.

WIRED@wired.com

Yesterday, WIRED learned that Madison Square Garden was suing us for our accurate reporting. We stand by our work. That’s why we’re removing the paywall from two of the MSG stories they don’t want you to read, making them free for everyone.

Andy Greenberg reposted

Andy Greenberg
@agreenberg.bsky.social

San Francisco police accidentally livestreamed their drones’ video and data on the open web. The hours of footage—including several apparent arrests—should never have been made public, but now offer a glimpse of modern aerial urban surveillance. www.wired.com/story/sfpd-d... w/ @dmehro.bsky.social

wired.comA Leak of San Francisco Police Drone Footage Exposes the New Reality of Urban SurveillanceThe SFPD’s exposure of hours of videos from drone platform Skydio reveals how broadly it’s watching the city from above—and how the results can spill online.

Andy Greenberg reposted

Katie Drummond
@katie-drummond.bsky.social

NEW: The SFPD was leaking real-time footage from surveillance drones, including color and thermal imaging, location metadata, and drone pilots’ names and email addresses. "There’s a certain trust given to the police to use these things correctly."

wired.comA Leak of San Francisco Police Drone Footage Exposes the New Reality of Urban SurveillanceThe SFPD’s exposure of hours of videos from drone platform Skydio reveals how broadly it’s watching the city from above—and how the results can spill online.