Thomas Brewster
@thomasbrewster.bsky.social
Forbes senior writer, covering privacy, surveillance and cybercrime. Editor of The Wiretap newsletter, featuring all of the above.
Pinned
Microsoft Gave FBI BitLocker Encryption Keys, Exposing Privacy Flaw
The tech giant said providing encryption keys was a standard response to a court order. But companies like Apple and Meta set up their systems so such a privacy violation isn’t possible.
www.forbes.com
🚨 SCOOP 🚨 Microsoft gives encryption keys to the FBI to unlock data on seized computers.
Comes from a fraud case in Guam.
But Microsoft tells me it gets around 20 requests for BitLocker keys a year.
How many keys has it given to feds over the years?
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
Comes from a fraud case in Guam.
But Microsoft tells me it gets around 20 requests for BitLocker keys a year.
How many keys has it given to feds over the years?
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
Reposted by Thomas Brewster
SCOOP: Palantir Defends Work With ICE to Staff Following Killing of Alex Pretti
WIRED obtained Slack conversations + an updated internal Palantir wiki defending the company's work for ICE to outraged workers.
More here:
www.wired.com/story/palant...
WIRED obtained Slack conversations + an updated internal Palantir wiki defending the company's work for ICE to outraged workers.
More here:
www.wired.com/story/palant...
Palantir Defends Work With ICE to Staff Following Killing of Alex Pretti
“In my opinion ICE are the bad guys. I am not proud that the company I enjoy so much working for is part of this,” one worker wrote on Slack.
www.wired.com
January 26, 2026 at 10:11 PM
SCOOP: Palantir Defends Work With ICE to Staff Following Killing of Alex Pretti
WIRED obtained Slack conversations + an updated internal Palantir wiki defending the company's work for ICE to outraged workers.
More here:
www.wired.com/story/palant...
WIRED obtained Slack conversations + an updated internal Palantir wiki defending the company's work for ICE to outraged workers.
More here:
www.wired.com/story/palant...
Gosh this brings back memories of breaking this NSO story after helping the activist find out if his phone was infected.
Was crazy sitting in a cafe with him and wondering if we were being listened to right then and there.
The long tail of impact journalism.
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
Was crazy sitting in a cafe with him and wondering if we were being listened to right then and there.
The long tail of impact journalism.
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
January 26, 2026 at 6:56 PM
Gosh this brings back memories of breaking this NSO story after helping the activist find out if his phone was infected.
Was crazy sitting in a cafe with him and wondering if we were being listened to right then and there.
The long tail of impact journalism.
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
Was crazy sitting in a cafe with him and wondering if we were being listened to right then and there.
The long tail of impact journalism.
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
Reposted by Thomas Brewster
Something of note I found in researching this:
ICE's Homeland Security Investigations unit has tried and failed to break into BitLocker devices. It simply doesn't have the capability, per an HSI forensic specialist's letter to a court in 2025.
But we now know it can ask Microsoft for help.
ICE's Homeland Security Investigations unit has tried and failed to break into BitLocker devices. It simply doesn't have the capability, per an HSI forensic specialist's letter to a court in 2025.
But we now know it can ask Microsoft for help.
🚨 SCOOP 🚨 Microsoft gives encryption keys to the FBI to unlock data on seized computers.
Comes from a fraud case in Guam.
But Microsoft tells me it gets around 20 requests for BitLocker keys a year.
How many keys has it given to feds over the years?
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
Comes from a fraud case in Guam.
But Microsoft tells me it gets around 20 requests for BitLocker keys a year.
How many keys has it given to feds over the years?
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
Microsoft Gave FBI BitLocker Encryption Keys, Exposing Privacy Flaw
The tech giant said providing encryption keys was a standard response to a court order. But companies like Apple and Meta set up their systems so such a privacy violation isn’t possible.
www.forbes.com
January 23, 2026 at 4:00 PM
Something of note I found in researching this:
ICE's Homeland Security Investigations unit has tried and failed to break into BitLocker devices. It simply doesn't have the capability, per an HSI forensic specialist's letter to a court in 2025.
But we now know it can ask Microsoft for help.
ICE's Homeland Security Investigations unit has tried and failed to break into BitLocker devices. It simply doesn't have the capability, per an HSI forensic specialist's letter to a court in 2025.
But we now know it can ask Microsoft for help.
Reposted by Thomas Brewster
Microsoft Gave FBI Keys To Unlock Encrypted Data, Exposing Major Privacy Flaw
Microsoft Gave FBI BitLocker Encryption Keys, Exposing Privacy Flaw
The tech giant said providing encryption keys was a standard response to a court order. But companies like Apple and Meta set up their systems so such a privacy violation isn’t possible.
www.forbes.com
January 23, 2026 at 11:47 AM
Microsoft Gave FBI Keys To Unlock Encrypted Data, Exposing Major Privacy Flaw
Something of note I found in researching this:
ICE's Homeland Security Investigations unit has tried and failed to break into BitLocker devices. It simply doesn't have the capability, per an HSI forensic specialist's letter to a court in 2025.
But we now know it can ask Microsoft for help.
ICE's Homeland Security Investigations unit has tried and failed to break into BitLocker devices. It simply doesn't have the capability, per an HSI forensic specialist's letter to a court in 2025.
But we now know it can ask Microsoft for help.
🚨 SCOOP 🚨 Microsoft gives encryption keys to the FBI to unlock data on seized computers.
Comes from a fraud case in Guam.
But Microsoft tells me it gets around 20 requests for BitLocker keys a year.
How many keys has it given to feds over the years?
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
Comes from a fraud case in Guam.
But Microsoft tells me it gets around 20 requests for BitLocker keys a year.
How many keys has it given to feds over the years?
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
Microsoft Gave FBI BitLocker Encryption Keys, Exposing Privacy Flaw
The tech giant said providing encryption keys was a standard response to a court order. But companies like Apple and Meta set up their systems so such a privacy violation isn’t possible.
www.forbes.com
January 23, 2026 at 4:00 PM
Something of note I found in researching this:
ICE's Homeland Security Investigations unit has tried and failed to break into BitLocker devices. It simply doesn't have the capability, per an HSI forensic specialist's letter to a court in 2025.
But we now know it can ask Microsoft for help.
ICE's Homeland Security Investigations unit has tried and failed to break into BitLocker devices. It simply doesn't have the capability, per an HSI forensic specialist's letter to a court in 2025.
But we now know it can ask Microsoft for help.
Reposted by Thomas Brewster
Microsoft is handing over Bitlocker keys to law enforcement. www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
Microsoft Gave FBI BitLocker Encryption Keys, Exposing Privacy Flaw
The tech giant said providing encryption keys was a standard response to a court order. But companies like Apple and Meta set up their systems so such a privacy violation isn’t possible.
www.forbes.com
January 23, 2026 at 1:59 PM
Microsoft is handing over Bitlocker keys to law enforcement. www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
Reposted by Thomas Brewster
New: "Microsoft Gave FBI Keys To Unlock Encrypted Data, Exposing Major Privacy Flaw"
@thomasbrewster.bsky.social for @forbes.com
@thomasbrewster.bsky.social for @forbes.com
Microsoft Gave FBI BitLocker Encryption Keys, Exposing Privacy Flaw
The tech giant said providing encryption keys was a standard response to a court order. But companies like Apple and Meta set up their systems so such a privacy violation isn’t possible.
www.forbes.com
January 23, 2026 at 1:34 PM
New: "Microsoft Gave FBI Keys To Unlock Encrypted Data, Exposing Major Privacy Flaw"
@thomasbrewster.bsky.social for @forbes.com
@thomasbrewster.bsky.social for @forbes.com
🚨 SCOOP 🚨 Microsoft gives encryption keys to the FBI to unlock data on seized computers.
Comes from a fraud case in Guam.
But Microsoft tells me it gets around 20 requests for BitLocker keys a year.
How many keys has it given to feds over the years?
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
Comes from a fraud case in Guam.
But Microsoft tells me it gets around 20 requests for BitLocker keys a year.
How many keys has it given to feds over the years?
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
Microsoft Gave FBI BitLocker Encryption Keys, Exposing Privacy Flaw
The tech giant said providing encryption keys was a standard response to a court order. But companies like Apple and Meta set up their systems so such a privacy violation isn’t possible.
www.forbes.com
January 23, 2026 at 11:31 AM
🚨 SCOOP 🚨 Microsoft gives encryption keys to the FBI to unlock data on seized computers.
Comes from a fraud case in Guam.
But Microsoft tells me it gets around 20 requests for BitLocker keys a year.
How many keys has it given to feds over the years?
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
Comes from a fraud case in Guam.
But Microsoft tells me it gets around 20 requests for BitLocker keys a year.
How many keys has it given to feds over the years?
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
Reposted by Thomas Brewster
If I create a company through vibe coding alone, would there be any need for someone to pay for my product if they can just ask Claude/ChatGPT/whatever to make it for them at much lower cost?
Basically: is it really feasible there will be major one-man, AI-generated unicorns?
Basically: is it really feasible there will be major one-man, AI-generated unicorns?
January 20, 2026 at 6:37 PM
If I create a company through vibe coding alone, would there be any need for someone to pay for my product if they can just ask Claude/ChatGPT/whatever to make it for them at much lower cost?
Basically: is it really feasible there will be major one-man, AI-generated unicorns?
Basically: is it really feasible there will be major one-man, AI-generated unicorns?
Reposted by Thomas Brewster
"This hacking campaign also exposed victims' data" is a song that never gets old. Excellent work by Zack Whittaker, uncovering a new (maybe Iranian, maybe targeted) phishing campaign. techcrunch.com/2026/01/16/h...
How a hacking campaign targeted high-profile Gmail and WhatsApp users across the Middle East | TechCrunch
The phishing campaign targeted users on WhatsApp, including an Iranian-British activist, and stole the credentials of a Lebanese cabinet minister and at least one journalist.
techcrunch.com
January 16, 2026 at 5:53 PM
"This hacking campaign also exposed victims' data" is a song that never gets old. Excellent work by Zack Whittaker, uncovering a new (maybe Iranian, maybe targeted) phishing campaign. techcrunch.com/2026/01/16/h...
Reposted by Thomas Brewster
🚨 NEW (ish) 🚨 Facial recognition, AI behavioral analysis, drones,, bathroom listening devices, Flock Safety car surveillance—schools across America are rolling out all manner of AI snooping tools.
It's just not clear just how effective any of these tools are.
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
It's just not clear just how effective any of these tools are.
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
www.forbes.com
December 22, 2025 at 4:20 PM
🚨 NEW (ish) 🚨 Facial recognition, AI behavioral analysis, drones,, bathroom listening devices, Flock Safety car surveillance—schools across America are rolling out all manner of AI snooping tools.
It's just not clear just how effective any of these tools are.
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
It's just not clear just how effective any of these tools are.
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
🚨 NEW 🚨 During three months in summer last year, over 30,000 Apple devices, worth some $35 million, were shipped to a warehouse in a small industrial park.
DHS says it's part of a sprawling Chinese fraud involving gift cards obtained in sextortion and romance scams.
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
DHS says it's part of a sprawling Chinese fraud involving gift cards obtained in sextortion and romance scams.
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
Warehouse With $35 Million Of Apple Devices Linked To Chinese Fraud Ring
DHS has been investigating a sprawling fraud operation where Chinese criminals have been buying iPhones and iPads with funds from scams, including sextortion and romance swindles.
www.forbes.com
January 15, 2026 at 3:06 PM
🚨 NEW 🚨 During three months in summer last year, over 30,000 Apple devices, worth some $35 million, were shipped to a warehouse in a small industrial park.
DHS says it's part of a sprawling Chinese fraud involving gift cards obtained in sextortion and romance scams.
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
DHS says it's part of a sprawling Chinese fraud involving gift cards obtained in sextortion and romance scams.
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
Reposted by Thomas Brewster
UK police have blamed Microsoft Copilot for an intelligence mistake. Microsoft's Copilot AI assistant made up a non-existent football match and British police included the mistake in an intelligence report. Yikes. Details on the Copilot mistake here👇 www.theverge.com/news/861668/...
UK police blame Microsoft Copilot for intelligence mistake
Copilot invented a football match that never happened
www.theverge.com
January 14, 2026 at 1:01 PM
UK police have blamed Microsoft Copilot for an intelligence mistake. Microsoft's Copilot AI assistant made up a non-existent football match and British police included the mistake in an intelligence report. Yikes. Details on the Copilot mistake here👇 www.theverge.com/news/861668/...
"A woman was targeted by a pig butcher who tricked her into draining her retirement savings of $1.3 million. She later passed away from cancer, leaving her husband to have to sell assets to deal with the fallout."
Crypto thieves stole as much as $17bn in 2025.
www.forbes.com/sites/the-wi...
Crypto thieves stole as much as $17bn in 2025.
www.forbes.com/sites/the-wi...
Powered By AI, Crypto Fraud Is Now A $14 Billion Criminal Industry
AI is helping crypto scammers create content and personas to lure targets, experts warn, amid a glut of pig butchering cases.
www.forbes.com
January 13, 2026 at 8:27 PM
"A woman was targeted by a pig butcher who tricked her into draining her retirement savings of $1.3 million. She later passed away from cancer, leaving her husband to have to sell assets to deal with the fallout."
Crypto thieves stole as much as $17bn in 2025.
www.forbes.com/sites/the-wi...
Crypto thieves stole as much as $17bn in 2025.
www.forbes.com/sites/the-wi...
Reposted by Thomas Brewster
🚨 In Nov., Trump's Labor Dept. lowered the minimum wage for foreign farmworkers.
A month later, Trump's winery filed to hire 36 foreign, temporary workers.
The rate? Almost $2/hour less than in 2025.
1/
me, for @forbes.com
A month later, Trump's winery filed to hire 36 foreign, temporary workers.
The rate? Almost $2/hour less than in 2025.
1/
me, for @forbes.com
Trump Vineyard Seeks To Hire Foreign Workers At Lower Wages
Records show the Trump Organization has requested over 2,000 foreign workers since 2008. Its latest request seeks a $13.90 hourly wage—the lowest the winery has offered since 2021.
www.forbes.com
January 12, 2026 at 6:59 PM
🚨 In Nov., Trump's Labor Dept. lowered the minimum wage for foreign farmworkers.
A month later, Trump's winery filed to hire 36 foreign, temporary workers.
The rate? Almost $2/hour less than in 2025.
1/
me, for @forbes.com
A month later, Trump's winery filed to hire 36 foreign, temporary workers.
The rate? Almost $2/hour less than in 2025.
1/
me, for @forbes.com
Reposted by Thomas Brewster
UK communications regulator has announced it's opening an official investigation into X over non-consensual imagery. This follows it getting in touch with X last week.
It's investigating on a host of grounds: from whether X has done proper risk assessments to failing to take down illegal content
It's investigating on a host of grounds: from whether X has done proper risk assessments to failing to take down illegal content
Ofcom launches investigation into X over Grok sexualised imagery
Ofcom has today opened a formal investigation into X under the UK’s Online Safety Act, to determine whether it has complied with its duties to protect people in the UK from content that is illegal in ...
www.ofcom.org.uk
January 12, 2026 at 11:08 AM
UK communications regulator has announced it's opening an official investigation into X over non-consensual imagery. This follows it getting in touch with X last week.
It's investigating on a host of grounds: from whether X has done proper risk assessments to failing to take down illegal content
It's investigating on a host of grounds: from whether X has done proper risk assessments to failing to take down illegal content
Didn’t post this before Christmas because I’ve been off, but know that ICE can get deleted social messages if it thinks you’re making violent threats against agents www.forbes.com/sites/the-wi...
ICE Finds Violent Threats Against Agents In Student’s Deleted Tweets, DOJ Says
Anyone posting then deleting threats against ICE can still be charged with a federal crime, case shows.
www.forbes.com
January 8, 2026 at 2:59 PM
Didn’t post this before Christmas because I’ve been off, but know that ICE can get deleted social messages if it thinks you’re making violent threats against agents www.forbes.com/sites/the-wi...
What struck me most in reporting this out was that while the teacher I spoke to had serious privacy concerns, a recently-departed student felt the opposite.
Younger generations don't seem as privacy conscious, from the conversations I've had over the years, now playing out in school surveillance.
Younger generations don't seem as privacy conscious, from the conversations I've had over the years, now playing out in school surveillance.
🚨 NEW (ish) 🚨 Facial recognition, AI behavioral analysis, drones,, bathroom listening devices, Flock Safety car surveillance—schools across America are rolling out all manner of AI snooping tools.
It's just not clear just how effective any of these tools are.
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
It's just not clear just how effective any of these tools are.
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
www.forbes.com
December 22, 2025 at 4:22 PM
What struck me most in reporting this out was that while the teacher I spoke to had serious privacy concerns, a recently-departed student felt the opposite.
Younger generations don't seem as privacy conscious, from the conversations I've had over the years, now playing out in school surveillance.
Younger generations don't seem as privacy conscious, from the conversations I've had over the years, now playing out in school surveillance.
Didn't get around to posting here as I've been off work and will be until mid-Jan.
🚨 NEW (ish) 🚨 Facial recognition, AI behavioral analysis, drones,, bathroom listening devices, Flock Safety car surveillance—schools across America are rolling out all manner of AI snooping tools.
It's just not clear just how effective any of these tools are.
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
It's just not clear just how effective any of these tools are.
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
www.forbes.com
December 22, 2025 at 4:21 PM
Didn't get around to posting here as I've been off work and will be until mid-Jan.
🚨 NEW (ish) 🚨 Facial recognition, AI behavioral analysis, drones,, bathroom listening devices, Flock Safety car surveillance—schools across America are rolling out all manner of AI snooping tools.
It's just not clear just how effective any of these tools are.
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
It's just not clear just how effective any of these tools are.
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
www.forbes.com
December 22, 2025 at 4:20 PM
🚨 NEW (ish) 🚨 Facial recognition, AI behavioral analysis, drones,, bathroom listening devices, Flock Safety car surveillance—schools across America are rolling out all manner of AI snooping tools.
It's just not clear just how effective any of these tools are.
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
It's just not clear just how effective any of these tools are.
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
Reposted by Thomas Brewster
What could go wrong? great reporting from
@thomasbrewster.bsky.social
AI Bathroom Monitors? Welcome To America’s New Surveillance High Schools www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
@thomasbrewster.bsky.social
AI Bathroom Monitors? Welcome To America’s New Surveillance High Schools www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
December 16, 2025 at 11:17 PM
What could go wrong? great reporting from
@thomasbrewster.bsky.social
AI Bathroom Monitors? Welcome To America’s New Surveillance High Schools www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
@thomasbrewster.bsky.social
AI Bathroom Monitors? Welcome To America’s New Surveillance High Schools www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
ICE just spent another $300,000 on social media surveillance tool Tangles, per contract records.
More here on that company:
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
More here on that company:
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
www.forbes.com
December 15, 2025 at 9:54 AM
ICE just spent another $300,000 on social media surveillance tool Tangles, per contract records.
More here on that company:
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
More here on that company:
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...