Dhruv Mehrotra

wired.comThe School Shootings Were Fake. The Terror Was RealThe inside story of the teenager whose “swatting” calls sent armed police racing into hundreds of schools nationwide—and the private detective who tracked him down.

9 Jan 2025

For years, a teenager terrorized the US with a chilling weapon: his voice. His swatting calls sent armed police racing to hundreds of schools, fearing they were about to face a mass shooter This is the story of the private investigator who took him down www.wired.com/school-swatt...

Hi. How many political fundraising texts are you getting per day?

Dhruv Mehrotra reposted

buff.lyDisney Asked Character.AI to Go Bankrupt for a Get-Out-of-Lawsuits CardThe entertainment giant hopes to get trust and safety tech, among other IP, from a startup whose chatbots dozens of states allege encouraged minors to self-harm and kill their parents.

The entertainment giant hopes to get trust and safety tech, among other IP, from a startup whose chatbots dozens of states allege encouraged minors to self-harm and kill their parents.

Dhruv Mehrotra reposted

Harms Committed

@harmscommitted.com

"The Dominican man shot by an immigration agent in Marble Hill was arrested without a valid warrant and is being held in solitary confinement without proper medical care." #NewYork #USA #Deportation #EthnicCleansing #Solitary #Healthcare #Courts #Policing #Incarceration #Protest

thecityreporter.nycICE Had No Valid Warrant Ahead of Shooting, Attorneys Allege, as Belgal Is Held in SolitaryIn a new court filing, Belgal's attorneys say he's being denied adequate medical care with a bullet still lodged in his neck.

Dhruv Mehrotra reposted

wired.comFeds Got Warrants to Use Fake Cell Towers to Hunt Down Don Lemon’s ProducerInvestigators also sought permission to use an invasive surveillance tool called a cell-site simulators against journalist Georgia Fort and a Minnesota state Senate candidate.

US law enforcement agents obtained authorization to use a controversial cell phone surveillance device to find and arrest a college student who helped produce journalist Don Lemon’s coverage of an anti-ICE protest, court filings show.

New: Feds got warrants to use fake cell towers to hunt Don Lemon’s producer, a 21-year-old college student. They also sought to use the technology against a journalist and a state Senate candidate.

wired.comICE Agent at NYC Shooting Has History of Alleged Violence and Illegal ArrestsBrenden Cuni, an ICE supervisor, has been accused of excessive force and tackling a pregnant woman to the ground. Several of his arrests were later found to be unlawful in federal court.

This kind of thing is extremely frustrating and I’m seeing a lot of it everywhere. HuffPost is attributing something to WIRED that we did not report. We identified Cuni as the ICE agent in the yellow vest carrying a rifle at the scene. We did not report that he shot anyone.

Dhruv Mehrotra@dmehro.bsky.social

NEW: Footage from Thursdays shooting shows an ICE agent in a construction vest brandishing a rifle. His name is Brenden Cuni. Federal judges have found multiple arrests involving Cuni unlawful. He has been accused of repeatedly Tasing a handcuffed man and tackling a pregnant woman in Minneapolis.

Dhruv Mehrotra reposted

NOTE: For anyone reblogging or posting about this story, please note that *we did NOT report here that Brenden Cuni is the shooter.* We only reported that he was at the scene wearing the yellow vest and holding a rifle.

Andrew Couts@couts.bsky.social

NEW: ICE agent in a high-viz vest holding a rifle at the scene of shooting near the Bronx has a history of allegedly lying, using excessive force, and courts have found his arrests unlawful. @dmehro.bsky.social @awinston.bsky.social, @regret.bsky.social w/ the scoop: www.wired.com/story/ice-ag...

Dhruv Mehrotra reposted

An ICE agent on the scene of a shooting in upper Manhattan on Thursday has repeatedly been accused in federal court of unlawful arrests and using force during arrests in New York and Minneapolis, a WIRED investigation finds.

Dhruv Mehrotra reposted

Dhruv Mehrotra reposted

wired.comElon Musk’s America PAC Is Spending Big on the Midterms. We’re Tracking It DailyTo follow Elon Musk’s America PAC money, WIRED created a live-updating tracker that highlights the trillionaire’s overall influence on November’s elections.

NEW: We made a continuously updating tracker to help everyone make sense of Elon Musk’s America PAC spending on the midterms. Tool built by @dell.bsky.social, @dmehro.bsky.social, & @regret.bsky.social; reporting by @hugolowell.bsky.social www.wired.com/story/elon-m...

Dhruv Mehrotra reposted

maddy varner

@regret.bsky.social

Replying to @chrixtina.bsky.social

Would love to chat if you or other folks you know were affected by this—the filing made it seem like this was not isolated to Maine. I’m in signal at mvarner.01.

wired.comICE Has Been Dumping Protester Photos Into a Palantir DatabaseDHS agents not only tracked and intimidated people observing ICE activity in Maine, but stored information about them in a Palantir-built database, newly unsealed court filings say.

NEW: DHS agents tracked people observing ICE arrests, photographed them, ran their plates, pulled personal information, and added them to a Palantir database, according to newly unsealed court filings. w/ @regret.bsky.social

Dhruv Mehrotra reposted

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick

@reichlinmelnick.bsky.social

20 Sept

ICE officers reportedly shot and wounded a man today in Austin. Details still coming in. www.statesman.com/news/local/a...

statesman.comICE agent shoots and wounds person in North Austin, officials sayAn ICE agent shot and wounded a person Sunday in North Austin, according to three state and local officials.

Congressman Greg Casar@repcasar.bsky.social

The horror has come to our city: ICE has shot a person in Austin this morning. As the facts emerge, I am demanding a full, independent investigation, immediate release of the body camera footage, and accountability for any ICE officer who broke the law.

wired.comFlock Offers Employees Buyouts as Customers FleeAs dozens of cities end contracts for its controversial license plate readers, Flock is rolling out a voluntary severance program, WIRED has learned.

19 Sept

NEW: Cities are canceling Flock contracts, cameras are being vandalized, and cops keep getting caught using the system to track people they shouldn’t. Now Flock is asking employees to consider quitting amid a growing PR crisis. w/ @peard33.bsky.social www.wired.com/story/flock-...

Dhruv Mehrotra reposted

Katie Drummond

@katie-drummond.bsky.social

@mattburgess1.bsky.social

Our security coverage is the best in the world, full-stop (and has been for many years before I showed up!). Now Lily and Matt, two of our brilliant security reporters, have a weekly newsletter…exclusive to @wired.com subscribers. Sign up if you’re a subscriber, and subscribe if you don’t already!

WIRED@wired.com

Kernel Panic by @lhn.bsky.social and @mattburgess1.bsky.social ! Your guide to the changing worlds of digital security and privacy. Exclusive news, expert analysis and what’s coming next. Delivered every Saturday. Find out more 👇 www.wired.com/newsletter/e...

Dhruv Mehrotra reposted

Matt Burgess (WIRED)

Something new from me and @lhn.bsky.social! Starting tomorrow we're launching Kernel Panic, a security and privacy newsletter from @wired.com Sign-up here (if that's your thing): www.wired.com/newsletter/e...

Dhruv Mehrotra reposted

Lily Hay Newman

@lhn.bsky.social

Whether you're an aspiring or longtime fan, you can now pipe WIRED Security directly into your inbox! @mattburgess1.bsky.social and I are launching the weekly newsletter Kernel Panic to give subscribers special access to our journalism and wacky ideas 👀 IT WILL BE FUN www.wired.com/newsletter/e...

Dhruv Mehrotra reposted

We’re launching a new @wired.com Security newsletter! First edition sends tomorrow morning. Get it while it’s hot (it will always be hot tho tbh)!

WIRED@wired.com

Dhruv Mehrotra reposted

ddosecrets.orgFlock ALPR camera - Distributed Denial of SecretsFilesystem images of the partitions on an in-use Flock ALPR camera, including custom Android APK files installed on the device, as well as its recorded media. The data reveals how the devices track bo...

Dhruv Mehrotra reposted

Micah Lee

@micahflee.com

16 Sept

I've got a lot of work to do today but I'm getting absolutely nerdsniped by the new Flock dataset. You can download it here. It's all of the Android partitions extracted from a Flock device ddosecrets.org/article/floc...

404 Media@404media.co

NEW: Hackers ripped down a Flock camera above a roadway, made a near-complete copy of the data stored inside it, and shared the files with 404 Media and @wired.com, revealing in new detail how exactly Flock Safety’s cameras track the movements of both vehicles and people.

404media.coHackers Stole Flock’s Camera Software, Revealing How the Company Tracks Cars and PeopleWhile people around the U.S. are tearing down Flock cameras, one group of hackers went a step further: extracting the camera's software too.

Dhruv Mehrotra reposted

Picture of some idiot detected by Flocks idiot detection model

404 Media@404media.co

While people around the U.S. are tearing down Flock cameras, one group of hackers went a step further: extracting the camera's software too. @evystadium.bsky.social has more. Full investigation by @josephcox.bsky.social and @wired.com’s @dmehro.bsky.social here: www.404media.co/hackers-stol...

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.

16 Sept

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.

@katie-drummond.bsky.social

16 Sept

***The movement*** of vehicles and people. Stupid typo

The hackers shared the material with @ddosecrets.org which has published it. ddosecrets.org/article/floc...

Dhruv Mehrotra reposted

ProPublica

@propublica.org

14 Sept

Look at this photo we found from Donald Trump Jr.’s lavish Bahamas wedding. Can you spot the Russian oligarch close to Putin who bankrolled the event? 🧵

Dhruv Mehrotra reposted

Katie Drummond

11 Sept

An entire class action lawsuit for a feature that Meta claims "doesn't exist"...interesting!

Dhruv Mehrotra@dmehro.bsky.social

NEW: Meta is facing a proposed class action alleging it used Facebook and Insta photos to build its NameTag face-recognition system and train AI models without consent. WIRED found code for NameTag hidden inside Meta’s AI app downloaded by tens of millions. Meta said the feature “doesn’t exist.”

wired.comMeta Sued Over Training Data for Its AI and Face-Recognition SystemsThe proposed class action alleges Meta illegally harvested people’s Facebook and Instagram photos to train its AI image-generation models and to build its unreleased “NameTag” face recognition feature...

11 Sept

Dhruv Mehrotra reposted

NACDL

@nacdl.org

10 Sept

1/ 🚨 New from @wired.com: Clearview AI is quietly testing "InquiryIQ" — an experimental AI tool that takes one face-match hit and fans out across the web to auto-build a dossier on you: employers, aliases, associates, addresses, arrest history. 🧵

wired.comClearview AI Is Testing an AI Tool That Would Let Cops Unearth Your Life OnlineInquiryIQ, a previously unreported prototype, tested a model from xAI, maker of Grok, to surface associates, social accounts, and other information about people identified through Clearview.

10 Sept

NEW: Clearview AI built an AI tool designed to turn a face search into an automated investigation of a person’s life online — and tested it with a model from xAI, maker of Grok. The prototype could hunt for associates, social accounts, employers, addresses, and more. www.wired.com/story/clearv...

10 Sept

Clearview’s new CEO Amos Kyler says police never used InquiryIQ, and that the xAI model was tested only internally—not offered to cops. He says the tool was built to surface leads, not make identifications, with humans making the final calls. Experts are skeptical.

Dhruv Mehrotra reposted

dell cameron

@dell.bsky.social

3 Sept

NEW: "...The code WIRED collected holds Flock’s user interface and shows both the network calls it makes and the answers it expects in return... Two notification systems are aimed at human beings." @dmehro.bsky.social's and my latest www.wired.com/story/flock-...

Dhruv Mehrotra reposted

wired.comThis Is Flock’s AI Search Tool for CopsWIRED rebuilt Flock’s latest search tool from code the company sends to a police officer’s browser. Its AI can keep watch across multiple cameras for anyone fitting a written description.

3 Sept

NEW: You’ve probably heard of police officers accused of abusing Flock searches to stalk exes and romantic interests. We got the code for Flock’s latest search tool, figured out how it works, and recreated it for all to see. @dell.bsky.social and @dmehro.bsky.social w/ the scoop:

Dhruv Mehrotra reposted

wired.comThe Cop Who Took On FlockAfter Noel Pichardo called out his city's embrace of Flock surveillance cameras, he was subjected to five internal affairs investigations in less than two years.

22 Aug

After Noel Pichardo called out his city's embrace of Flock surveillance cameras, he was subjected to five internal affairs investigations in less than two years.

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...

Among the 1,500 developer comments Flock forgot to strip from its code is a reference to a secret “Easter egg” they built for cops: press F + S and a flock of birds flies across the screen Here’s what the bird button looks like

Dhruv Mehrotra@dmehro.bsky.social

NEW: Flock has said for years its cameras don’t identify or track people. We obtained the code for its police AI and rebuilt parts of it. The tool can find witnesses, surface associates, search people by race or physical description, and flag vehicles by how they move. W/ @dell.bsky.social

Are you a cop delighted by the bird button or the Flock Safety employee who thought this was a good idea? We’d like to hear from you. Using a nonwork phone or computer, contact the reporters securely on Signal at dmehro.89 and dell.3030.

👇

dell cameron@dell.bsky.social

i'd be curious to know what questions people have after this story. or questions in general about how pds physically access flock. burden of knowledge.

Dhruv Mehrotra reposted

dell cameron

@dell.bsky.social

tiktok.comVehicle surveillance giant Flock Safety has told the public for years that its technology “cannot recognize, identify, or track individuals.” It has now built a system that does both, an artificial in...TikTok video by WIRED.COM

Dhruv Mehrotra reposted

Andrew Guthrie Ferguson

@profferguson.bsky.social

This is the most interesting and important article on Flock out there. Original and groundbreaking reporting. www.wired.com/story/flock-...

public.flourish.studioOS Investigate v2A Flourish data visualization by Dhruv

The first time anyone has ever called JavaScript police equipment

Dhruv Mehrotra@dmehro.bsky.social

For this story, we obtained hundreds of files from Flock’s login pages. Those files contained code for screens and functionality that ordinarily sit behind a police login. @dell.bsky.social and I used the code to rebuild parts of the system. We adapted/embedded it so readers can see how it works.

public.flourish.studioOS Investigate v2A Flourish data visualization by Dhruv

Dhruv Mehrotra@dmehro.bsky.social

public.flourish.studioPromptsA Flourish data visualization by Dhruv

Here are the prompts: public.flourish.studio/visualisatio...

Dhruv Mehrotra 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-...

Dhruv Mehrotra reposted

Drew Harwell

@drewharwell.com

washingtonpost.comWe found cops who misused Flock. Their police departments didn’t know.Police departments have powerful tools to track how officers use Flock’s license-plate cameras. But across the country, agencies often don’t perform oversight, leaving potential abuse to be uncovered ...

New: We found cops who misused Flock to spy on their wives. Their bosses at the police department had no idea. Three are being investigated and one was arrested after we asked about their searches. www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2... @douglasmac.bsky.social @aaronschaffer.com

Dhruv Mehrotra reposted

Flock’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 plates. www.wired.com/story/flock-...