Derek B. Johnson

fwiw, since some folks are bothered by the phrasing, what I mean by “too AI skeptical” isn’t that people are too *opposed* to AI but that I’ll often see people boosting claims that are very obviously not true (e.g. that LLMs have zero use cases), which i think undermines the many valid critiques

We can either have billionaires, or we can have democracy. The billionaires know this too, so they have decided to eliminate democracy.

China accuses US of exploiting Microsoft zero-day in cyberattack The accusation, the latest from Beijing, says U.S. intelligence agencies attacked two Chinese military enterprises.

The accusation, the latest from Beijing, says U.S. intelligence agencies attacked two Chinese military enterprises. via @timstarks.bsky.social cyberscoop.com/china-accuse...

I run into this a lot when I cover elections. The ground-level truth of what is happening doesn't neatly conform to the American journalist tradition where writers treat almost every debate as unsettled. Good reasons for that, but some realities just turn out to be very one-sided. when you dig in.

"[T]o say that the president of the U.S. is making drastic policy changes in order to cure a problem that only exists in his imagination, that’s a very difficult … that sounds unbalanced. That sounds like you’re shilling for the Democrats, when it’s in fact just reporting the flat truth."

"How can we communicate with optimism about the future … when we're living in the here and now where American democracy is in peril? … And we're supposed to ignore it? Leave it to others to wrestle with …? No no no no no. …

"That is tonight's Last Word on my last day at the Washington Post."

To Whom It May Concern, I became aware of your recent article “Trump posts fake video of Obama in jail, declares ‘treason’ and ‘crime of the century’ in AI-driven blitz” which contains a completely fabricated quote from me. The article attributes the following to me regarding Donald Trump’s AI video depicting Obama’s arrest: “This deepfake is political disinformation at its worst,” said Nina Jankowicz, disinformation analyst and former executive director of the US Disinformation Governance Board. “It erodes public trust, damages reputations, and poses serious threats to democratic stability.” I did not say this. In fact, I have not issued any comment related to this Trump AI video to your outlet or the public. The manufactured quote is incorrect and irrelevant, and it negatively impacts my professional reputation. Please remove the false quotation and append a correction to the article, stating that a prior version of this article included a quote falsely attributed to Nina Jankowicz. Sincerely, Nina Jankowicz

Can't believe I had to issue a request like this, but apparently news outlets are printing completely fabricated quotes now

I find it odd that hundreds of millions of Americans have to live without the protection of baseline privacy laws like this - while politicians, judges and other public officials push for special carveouts.

From "Newsrooms Need to Get Tougher on All That Lying" by Richard Tofel. dicktofel.substack.com/p/newsrooms-...

Also, since when has "You know what, this reboot of a popular IP may not work" ever stopped this kind of shit from getting made in the past?

We're on our fourth Fantastic Four adaption, third X-Men incarnation. Sixth Batman and fourth Superman. Whose feelings are we trying to protect here?

At least 11 people were killed in Kyiv tonight by Russian drones and missiles. It could’ve been any Ukrainian you know — it could’ve been me.

Even in the third year of this war, it still hits me: I can go to sleep and never wake up.

As someone who tracked the Russia probe closely and then tracked the effort to discredit the Russia probe closely, its brain-breaking (though not surprising) to see the administration trot out the same old debunked, cherry-picked shit in an effort to retcon Trump’s 2016 campaign.

Research shows data breach costs have reached an all-time high IBM’s yearly report finds that a data breach now costs U.S. organizations more than $10 million for recovery.

IBM’s yearly report finds that a data breach now costs U.S. organizations more than $10 million for recovery. via @mattkapko.com cyberscoop.com/ibm-cost-dat...

Palo Alto Networks to acquire CyberArk for $25 billion Palo Alto Networks has agreed to acquire identity security firm CyberArk for approximately $25 billion, marking the cybersecurity giant's largest acquisition and its formal entry into the identity sec...

Guess we found out which one it was: Palo Alto Networks to acquire CyberArk for $25 billion cyberscoop.com/palo-alto-ne...

Scoop: CISA's contract with ICF has expired, reducing the JCDC's contractor workforce from 100+ to just 10. CISA can use emergency money & 2-week extensions to keep those 10 around, but only through Sept. Other contracts also caught up in huge backlog. www.cybersecuritydive.com/news/cisa-jo...

World's going to shit but at least we have video games 😩✊🏻

CISA says it will release telecom security report sought by Sen. Wyden to lift hold on Plankey nomination The Oregon Democrat has vowed to place a hold on the nomination to lead the agency until CISA releases the report.

CISA says it will release telecom security report sought by Sen. Wyden to lift hold on Plankey nomination. (h/t to @ddimolfetta.bsky.social whose story on this I saw first) cyberscoop.com/cisa-says-it...

YouTube video by CyberScoop Hundreds of registered data brokers ignore user requests around personal data

Researchers in California contacted data brokers in their state to exercise their rights under the California Privacy Protection Act. Many didn’t reply, while others threw up barriers. via @derekbjohnson.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzAj... | cyberscoop.com/data-brokers...

It's July 2025 and GOP members of Congress are writing to the FBI about Hillary Clinton's email server in 2016.

Hulk Hogan, lying inexplicably sideways in his open coffin, being visited by a chihuahua dog, who looks distraught. The people behind the coffin do too

I'm sorry, but this may be the funniest Facebook AI slop I have ever seen. Bury me sideways in my coffin, brother. Let my dog see

It's the defining political issue of our time.

Which makes it all the more sad thinking about just how many people last year either refused to accept that reality or framed these warnings as some sort of cringey, self-serving Resistance propaganda.

Weekly Cybersecurity With CISA one step closer to filling its top leadership position, election security groups worry that the agency won’t have the capacity to work with state and local officials to secure future electio...

Thanks for the CyberScoop love the last couple weeks, Weekly Cybersecurity (and, in general, always!) www.politico.com/newsletters/... + www.politico.com/newsletters/... Thanks for same from @zackwhittaker.com in his newsletter! us18.campaign-archive.com?u=e1ad6038c9...

Hundreds of registered data brokers ignore user requests around personal data Researchers in California contacted data brokers in their state to exercise their rights under the California Privacy Protection Act. Many didn’t reply, while others threw up barriers.

Researchers in California contacted data brokers in their state to exercise their rights under the California Privacy Protection Act. Many didn’t reply, while others threw up barriers. via @derekbjohnson.bsky.social cyberscoop.com/data-brokers...

on the one hand we should want people to change their mind so we can stop what's happening now. On the other hand there need to be costs for the ghoulish behavior that got us here, as these people absolutely will do this again given half a chance

there are six people still working at the Washington Post so the art department is clearly stretched a little thin

Microsoft Probing If Chinese Hackers Learned SharePoint Flaws Through Alert Microsoft Corp. is investigating whether a leak from its early alert system for cybersecurity companies allowed Chinese hackers to exploit flaws in its SharePoint service before they were patched, acc...

New: Microsoft is investigating whether a leak from its early alert system for cybersecurity companies (MAPP) allowed Chinese hackers to exploit flaws in SharePoint before they were patched www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Politico compiled a list of people who've left The Washington Post over the last eight months and it's three pages long. Think it's important to be transparent about how many people have left, and why h/t @benmullin.bsky.social

www.politico.com/f/?id=000001...

Yes. Kuzma has the skills of a very good role player but convinced himself he was more than that and it's ruined his value on the court.

Somewhat similar to Kuzma, but he did a much better job last year in terms of integrating his game into the team's overall offense. Still happy to see him and his clownish game somewhere else, but much more of a team player than Kuz.