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Andy Greenberg

@agreenberg.bsky.social

47K followers 240 following 350 posts

Writer for WIRED. Author of SANDWORM. New book, TRACERS IN THE DARK: The Global Hunt for the Crime Lords of Cryptocurrency, out now. [email protected]. Andy.01 on Signal.

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Andy Greenberg @agreenberg.bsky.social · May 22

For 7 years, Akasha Song ran secret labs that produced tens of millions of doses of DMT—one of the world's most potent psychedelic substances—and made a fortune selling it on the dark web.

His story, in this 13,000-word piece, is one of the wildest I've ever told: www.wired.com/story/rise-f...

🧵👇

The Epic Rise and Fall of a Dark-Web Psychedelics Kingpin

Interdimensional travel, sex with aliens, communion with God. Anything is possible with just a sprinkle of DMT. Akasha Song’s secret labs made millions of doses—and dollars—until the feds showed up.

www.wired.com

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Andy Greenberg @agreenberg.bsky.social · 7d

A source shares some screenshots of the Lapsus ransomware gang celebrating the government shutdown as a disruption to the FBI investigations tracking them.

They also refer to Trump as "my king."

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Reposted by Andy Greenberg

David Gilbert @davidgilbert.bsky.social · 13d

NEW

WIRED led the way in reporting on Elon Musk's efforts to dismantle the US government. My colleagues and I spoke to 100s of employees at dozens of agencies to understand what happened.

This is the definitive story of DOGE as told by those who experienced it

www.wired.com/story/oral-h...

The Story of DOGE, as Told by Federal Workers

WIRED spoke with more than 200 federal workers in dozens of agencies to learn what happened as the Department of Government Efficiency tore through their offices.

www.wired.com

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Andy Greenberg @agreenberg.bsky.social · 14d

Careful Martijn some politics reporter at the NYT is probably typing this into the CMS right now

Andy Greenberg @agreenberg.bsky.social · 15d

(35 miles is like…Connecticut.)

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Andy Greenberg @agreenberg.bsky.social · 15d

The Secret Service isn't claiming it foiled any plot targeting the UN General Assembly. Just that a big collection of SIMs (probably used for fraud) could have *potentially* disrupted NYC cell service. The SIMs were in a *35 MILE* radius of the UN.

These headlines are all pretty egregiously wrong:

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Andy Greenberg @agreenberg.bsky.social · 15d

A giant SIM farm in the NY area with 100,000 SIMs was most likely used for spam/scams and even swatting US officials—which led the feds to find and dismantle it.

(Speculation it was going to be used to attack the the UN General Assembly seems like...a bit of a leap.)

www.wired.com/story/sim-fa...

‘SIM Farms’ Are a Spam Plague. A Giant One in New York Threatened US Infrastructure, Feds Say

The agency says it found a network of some 300 servers and 100,000 SIM cards—enough to knock out cell service in the NYC area. Experts say it mirrors facilities typically used for cybercrime.

www.wired.com

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Reposted by Andy Greenberg

Katie Drummond @katie-drummond.bsky.social · 16d

And read @stevenlevy.bsky.social on the Silicon Valley he thought he knew, and what has taken its place: A cohort of billionaires who, by bending a knee to Trump, are placing company fortunes over the wellbeing of society.

(The art on this one, too, is spectacular.)

www.wired.com/story/silico...

I Thought I Knew Silicon Valley. I Was Wrong

Tech got what it wanted by electing Trump. A year later, it looks more like a suicide pact.

www.wired.com

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Reposted by Andy Greenberg

Katie Drummond @katie-drummond.bsky.social · 16d

You can find the entire Politics package, including my editor's letter, here:

www.wired.com/politics-iss...

ALL HAIL THE TECHNOCRACY

Tech went all in on Trump this year. It's just the beginning.

www.wired.com

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Reposted by Andy Greenberg

Katie Drummond @katie-drummond.bsky.social · 16d

Here it is: The @wired.com Politics Issue is now live, with more stories rolling out all week. We're so proud of this one.

Behold this cover; truly a work of art.

And we're treating it that way: Starting today, you can find it on murals, billboards, and posters across in five U.S. cities.

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Andy Greenberg @agreenberg.bsky.social · 22d

The death of Robert Redford (RIP) means the window to rewatch Hackers in honor of the 30th anniversary has officially closed and it is now time to re-watch Sneakers. (Time to rewatch Sneakers will continue indefinitely.)

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Andy Greenberg @agreenberg.bsky.social · 22d

Big thanks to the @brennancenter.org for obtaining the document that revealed this via FOIA. As with all stories based FOIA, we've taken down our paywall for it.

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Andy Greenberg @agreenberg.bsky.social · 22d

A DHS data-sharing platform used for sharing restricted intel among government agencies, law enforcement and fusion centers was misconfigured to allow access to "everyone" including tens of thousands of unauthorized government staff, contractors and foreign nationals. www.wired.com/story/a-dhs-...

A DHS Data Hub Exposed Sensitive Intel to Thousands of Unauthorized Users

A misconfigured platform used by the Department of Homeland Security left national security information—including some related to the surveillance of Americans—accessible to thousands of people.

www.wired.com

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Andy Greenberg @agreenberg.bsky.social · 27d

For a new episode of Hacklab, our hands-on hacking video series, we tested safecracking methods that can open Securam ProLogic locks on 8 brands of high security safes used in stores and pharmacies nationwide.

Morale of the story: Backdoors leave people vulnerable.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=upVz...

We Digitally Cracked A High Security Safe | Hacklab | WIRED

YouTube video by WIRED

www.youtube.com

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Andy Greenberg @agreenberg.bsky.social · Sep 3

Researchers found multiple hacking campaigns using a sample of malware that monitors the victim's browser for web addresses that look like porn, takes simultaneous browser screenshots and photos of the victim with the webcam, then sends to the hacker for sextortion. www.wired.com/story/steale...

Automated Sextortion Spyware Takes Webcam Pics of Victims Watching Porn

A new specimen of “infostealer” malware offers a disturbing feature: It monitors a target's browser for NSFW content, then takes simultaneous screenshots and webcam photos of the victim.

www.wired.com

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Reposted by Andy Greenberg

Lesley Carhart @hacks4pancakes.com · Aug 11

Jen Easterly was a non-partisan military vet securing some of the nations' most critical infrastructure and enabling critical cybersecurity programs. It's not a shock she's facing this after the same disgusting treatment of Chris Krebs, but it's absurd and unacceptable.

Army Secretary Orders West Point to Pull Appointment of Former Biden Official

The military academy’s appointment of Jen Easterly, who had been director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency, was canceled after complaints from the far-right agitator Laura Loomer.

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Andy Greenberg

Andy Greenberg @agreenberg.bsky.social · Aug 8

The Halo 3C is a smoke/vape detector that Motorola sells for use in school bathrooms. It also has microphones inside.

A teen hacker found them at his school, and with another security researcher has now shown they could be hacked for audio surveillance.

www.wired.com/story/school...

It Looks Like a School Bathroom Smoke Detector. A Teen Hacker Showed It Could Be an Audio Bug

A pair of hackers found that a vape detector often found in high school bathrooms contained microphones—and security weaknesses that could allow someone to turn it into a secret listening device.

www.wired.com

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Reposted by Andy Greenberg

Andy Greenberg @agreenberg.bsky.social · Aug 8

Researchers at Defcon just showed they can crack the Securam ProLogic locks used on high-security safes to protect guns, cash, and narcotics in pharmacies.

When they told Securam last year, it sent them legal threats—and didn't fix the flaws.

www.wired.com/story/secura...

Hackers Went Looking for a Backdoor in High-Security Safes—and Now Can Open Them in Seconds

Security researchers found two techniques to crack at least eight brands of electronic safes—used to secure everything from guns to narcotics—that are sold with Securam Prologic locks.

www.wired.com

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Reposted by Andy Greenberg

Drop Site @dropsitenews.com · Aug 10

🚨BREAKING: ISRAEL ASSASSINATES AL JAZEERA CORRESPONDENT ANAS AL-SHARIF

Israel also killed Al Jazeera correspondent Mohammed Quraqa and wounded Al-Kawthar correspondent Mohammed Subh in a strike on Al Jazeera’s tent at the Al-Shifa Medical Complex.

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Andy Greenberg @agreenberg.bsky.social · Aug 8

Securam says it will fix the vulnerabilities in a new lock model coming later this year. It has no plans to offer an update to all the locks on safes currently in use. If you want a secure safe, you'll have to buy and install a new lock.

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Andy Greenberg @agreenberg.bsky.social · Aug 8

Senator Ron Wyden actually warned about Securam's backdoor in a letter to the NCSC last year. “Experts have warned for years that backdoors will be exploited by our adversaries, yet...the government has left the American public vulnerable,” he now told me in a statement.

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Andy Greenberg @agreenberg.bsky.social · Aug 8

Securam ProLogic locks are used across the US on safes sold by Fort Knox, High Noble, FireKing, Tracker, ProSteel, Rhino Metals, Sun Welding, Corporate Safe Specialists, and pharmacy safe companies Cennox and NarcSafe specifically to hold drugs in pharmacies.

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Andy Greenberg @agreenberg.bsky.social · Aug 8

One of their safecracking techniques exploits a manufacturer backdoor to instantly obtain the combination. The other uses a custom tool to extract the combination from a hidden port inside the lock's battery compartment, shown here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYCe...

Securam ProLogic L02 - CodeSnatch Demo

YouTube video by James Rowley

www.youtube.com

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Andy Greenberg @agreenberg.bsky.social · Aug 8

Hackers Went Looking for a Backdoor in High-Security Safes—and Now Can Open Them in Seconds

Security researchers found two techniques to crack at least eight brands of electronic safes—used to secure everything from guns to narcotics—that are sold with Securam Prologic locks.

www.wired.com

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Andy Greenberg @agreenberg.bsky.social · Aug 8

This story was reported in partnership with 404 Media, and is my first time co-bylining with the legendary @josephcox.bsky.social. Hopefully not the last!

www.404media.co/it-looks-lik...

It Looks Like a School Vape Detector. A Teen Hacker Showed It Could Become an Audio Bug

The Halo 3C is a vape detector installed in schools and public housing. A young hacker found it contains microphones and that it can be turned into an audio bug, raising privacy concerns.

www.404media.co

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Andy Greenberg @agreenberg.bsky.social · Aug 8

Motorola has also marketed the Halo 3C for use in public housing—inside people’s homes.

“That kind of took it up a notch as far as how egregious this entire product line is,” Nyx says. “Most people have an expectation that their home isn’t bugged, right?”

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