Andrew Couts

Spyware maker NSO Group confirms acquisition by US investors | TechCrunch NSO Group confirmed to TechCrunch that an unnamed group of American investors has taken “controlling ownership” of the surveillance tech maker.

SCOOP: Spyware maker NSO Group confirmed to us that the company has been acquired by a U.S. investment group.

NSO's spokesperson said the group "has invested tens of millions of dollars in the company and has acquired controlling ownership," but declined to say who is behind the investment.

It's so wild!!

The Shutdown Is Pushing Air Safety Workers to the Limit Federal employees say that flying is still safe despite the strain on air traffic controllers. But expect even more airport delays ahead.

NEW: Everything's... fine... @aarianmarshall.bsky.social reports: www.wired.com/story/shutdo...

exsqueeze me?

The Trump Administration Is Hiding How Many Pregnant People Are in ICE Detention The evidence indicates ICE is detaining pregnant women at alarming rates, in rapidly deteriorating conditions.

ICE isn't supposed to detain pregnant women except in extenuating circumstances, but our reporting found that the Trump administration appears to be detaining pregnant women at alarming rates in deplorable conditions.

Read my latest for @theintercept.com

theintercept.com/2025/10/10/i...

Hidden Threat: North Korean IT Workers Exposed | KELA North Korean operatives infiltrate global companies through fake freelancer profiles, funding weapons programs while stealing data and accessing infrastructure.

Would love if you'd subscribe, of course! But absent that, here's the blog by the researchers this story is based on: www.kelacyber.com/blog/espiona...

Apple Announces $2 Million Bug Bounty Reward for the Most Dangerous Exploits With the mercenary spyware industry booming, Apple VP Ivan Krstić tells WIRED that the company is also offering bonuses that could bring the max total reward for iPhone exploits to $5 million.

NEW: Apple is offering up to $2 million for exploits that can be used to infect iPhones with spyware, and bonuses for exploits used to bypass Lockdown Mode that bring total possible awards for a bug bounty to $5 million. @lhn.bsky.social reports: www.wired.com/story/apple-...

North Korean Scammers Are Doing Architectural Design Now New research shows that North Koreans appear to be trying to trick US companies into hiring them to develop architectural designs using fake profiles, résumés, and Social Security numbers.

NEW: North Korean scam workers now appear to have moved from freelance IT work to designing buildings for customers in the US. @mattburgess1.bsky.social has the scoop: www.wired.com/story/north-...

Apple Took Down ICE-Tracking Apps. Their Developers Aren't Giving Up “We are going to do everything in our power to fight this,” says ICEBlock developer Joshua Aaron after Apple removed his app from the App Store.

NEW: The developers whose ICE-related apps were removed from the Apple App Store say they're preparing to fight back. @thiccreese.bsky.social and @lhn.bsky.social report: www.wired.com/story/apple-...

He Wrote a Book About Antifa. Death Threats Are Driving Him Out of the US Rutgers historian Mark Bray is trying to flee to Spain after after an online campaign from far-right influencers was followed by death threats. He was turned back at the airport on his first attempt.

How Mark Bray, author of the book on antifa, was targeted with death threats:

— Trump signs EO designating antifa as terrorists
— DHS memo warns about "antifa-aligned" individuals
— Far-right trolls target Bray on X
— TPUSA treasurer launches petition against Bray

www.wired.com/story/mark-b...

Weber State Censors, Then Cancels, Censorship Conference University officials said that several planned presentations violated a Utah state law banning diversity, equity and inclusion at public universities.

Weber State administrators told student they couldn't present their research on the state's anti-DEI law at an on-campus conference on censorship(!) unless they removed all mentions of DEI from their slides

www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...

Screenshot depicting posts on X, one showing the suspect accused of starting the Palisades Fire, a white man. The X news tab reports on the suspect's arrest, but shows a photo of a black man instead.

Jonathan Rinderknecht, a white man, was charged with starting the Palisades Fire. But on X, the company's news summary tab shows a photo of a black man.

JUST IN: A federal judge has granted the New York Times’ demand for a list of Elon Musk’s security clearances. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Read this Globe piece for the great local reporting, stay for a banger kicker

Vibe Coding Is the New Open Source—in the Worst Way Possible As developers increasingly lean on AI-generated code to build out their software—as they have with open source in the past—they risk introducing critical security failures along the way.

NEW: Security researchers warn that the rise of vibe coding can lead to dangerous insecurities in the software supply chain. @lhn.bsky.social reports www.wired.com/story/vibe-c...

2015: Don’t read the comments

2025: The comments are now in charge

A WILD ONE: A man broke his leg during an arrest by ICE at a car wash south of L.A.

ICE has held him under 24/7 guard at a hospital, registering him under a pseudonym, for *37 days* without telling him why.

A judge has ordered his immediate release.

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

There is no single solution to scammers. But taking a breath, scrutinizing the facts and context, and erring toward not sending anyone money goes a long way.

MAGA’s “Voter Fraud” Watchdog Votes in a Swing State. He Doesn’t Live There. A long paper trail shows that Jack Posobiec casts a ballot in one state and lives in another.

SCOOP — Pennsylvania prosecutors were alerted to possible voting irregularities by one of MAGA's leading voices against voter fraud. A long paper trail shows Jack Posobiec has been living in Maryland but voting using his parents' PA address for years.

From @jsweetli.bsky.social, @slate.com + me:

Inside the Contentious World of Luigi Mangione Supporters As Luigi Mangione is being tried legally and in the court of public opinion, tensions are growing between his supporters pushing health care reform and those who believe he is innocent.

New deep dive into the world of feuding Luigi Mangione supporters. Some are using alleged crime to push health care reform; others find that offensive, as they believe he's completely innocent. And most of them hate the media's fixation on the "thirsters": www.wired.com/story/inside...

ICE Wants to Build Out a 24/7 Social Media Surveillance Team Documents show ICE plans to hire dozens of contractors to scan X, Facebook, TikTok, and other platforms to target people for deportation.

NEW: ICE is planning to hire a team of nearly 30 people to surveil social media 24/7, build dossiers on people, and flag them for arrest and deportation. @dell.bsky.social has the scoop: www.wired.com/story/ice-so...

lol fair. i mean NEW folk music. my bad for not being explicit

thank you!!

wrote about some of this more broadly in a story w/ @couts.bsky.social last week

Hello! Just a reminder that if you work for or contract with the federal government and have information you'd like to share securely with a @wired.com reporter, you can use a non-work device to contact me on Signal at timmarchman.01 and I can connect you to someone who covers your area.

i’m terrified to report: folk music is good again.

Me and other wired people in front of our politics issue cover mural

The @wired.com crew paid a visit to our mural in Brooklyn.

ICE agents assault amNewYork reporter at Federal Plaza immigration court; another journalist seriously injured after shove | amNewYork ICE agents assaulted amNewYork's own Dean Moses, and allegedly attacked another journalist, on Tuesday morning as they were documenting the ongoing arrests of

"ICE agents assaulted amNewYork’s own Dean Moses, and allegedly attacked another journalist, on Tuesday morning as they were documenting the ongoing arrests of individuals attending immigration court proceedings at 26 Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan." -- www.amny.com/immigration/...

President Irump here makes clear that, in his view, the First Amendment's protection of freedom of speech applies to American citizens alone, and to an unconstitutionally narrow view of citizenship at that. This case -- perhaps the most important ever to fall within the jurisdiction of this district court -- squarely presents the issue whether non-citizens lawfully present here in United States actually have the same free speech rights as the rest of us. The Court answers this Constitutional question unequivocally "yes, they do." "No law" means "no law." The First Amendment does not draw President Trump's invidious distinction and it is not to be found in our history ....

BREAKING: Judge William Young finds that Noem, Rubio, DHS, and State "deliberately" sought to restrict non-citizens' First Amendment rights.

"'No law' means 'no law.' The First Amendment does not draw President Trump’s invidious distinction ...."

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Rules of engagement is what protects our forces, and American civilians, as well