Firewalls Don't Stop Dragons

HamStudy.org: Exam details Find local ham radio test sessions, register for a test session, and get your ham radio license!

They’re back! HAM Exams are returning to cackalackycon on May 16!
Make sure to register in advance with the exam proctors to participate:
hamstudy.org/session...
Study up with the materials here: https://hamstudy.org/

Professionally Paranoid - Firewalls Don't Stop Dragons Podcast Today I speak with Yahoo CISO Sean Zadig – aka, the Chief Paranoid. Sean has had a long and varied career in cybersecurity, working...

Today, I'll speak w/ @yahoo.bsky.social's CISO & "Chief Paranoid" Sean Zadig about keeping kids safe online, social media and age gating. We'll discuss his law enforcement experience and how tech companies should handle requests for user data.

podcast.firewallsdontstopdragons.com/2026/02/16/p...

Podcast - Firewalls Don't Stop Dragons I have a weekly podcast called Firewalls Don't Stop Dragons. The show is a mix of cybersecurity news and interviews of prominent people in the industry. But like the book, the shows are targeted squar...

On Monday, I'll be speaking with @yahoo.bsky.social's Chief Paranoid (CISO) Sean Zadig. We'll discuss security and privacy for kids, as well as how tech companies share data with law enforcement.

Subscribe:
firewallsdontstopdragons.com/podcast/

Update Now: iOS 26.3 and macOS Tahoe 26.3 Fix Dozens of Security Vulnerabilities Apple today released iOS 26.3, iPadOS 26.3, and macOS Tahoe 26.3, all of which largely focus on bug fixes and security improvements. Apple says that the updates address dozens of vulnerabilities, incl...

Update your Apple devices, folks.

www.macrumors.com/2026/02/11/i...

Open Letter to Tech Companies: Protect Your Users From Lawless DHS EFF is calling on technology companies like Meta and Google to stand up for their users by resisting DHS lawless administrative subpoenas for user data.

Google promises to give users advanced notice before turning their data over to the government. It has not always kept that promise. We are calling for change. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...

The truth about covering tech at Bezos’s Washington Post And why ‘We the users’ matters more than ever

@geoffreyfowler.bsky.social has done amazing work... I can't wait to see what he does next!

geoffreyfowler.substack.com/p/washington...

Instead of repealing Section 230, we should limit its protections to services that only show users what they asked to see. When algorithms remove things I asked to see and add things I never asked to see, they're no longer neutral conduits.

Agents of Misfortune - Firewalls Don't Stop Dragons Podcast The latest craze with artificial intelligence is agentic AI – exhibited most recently in the viral AI project called ClawdBot… or Moltbot… or OpenClaw....

Today we'll talk about the dangers of agentic AI. Also: Lockdown Mode blocks FBI; lawsuit claims Meta can read WhatsApp messages; AI toy exposes child info; AI app exposes tons of personal data; US wants visitor DNA; CA town ditches Flock; more!

podcast.firewallsdontstopdragons.com/2026/02/09/a...

New SAVE Act Bills Would Still Block Millions of Americans From Voting The “show your papers” requirement is an attack on the freedom to vote.

The SAVE Act would require American citizens to show documents like a passport or birth certificate to register to vote. Our research shows that more than 21 million Americans lack ready access to those documents. bit.ly/4rA2p4R

Why Hacklore Persists (and How We Replace It) On a regular basis you’ll see someone warning about the non-existent dangers of “juice jacking”, sometimes in the news, like this clip from…

Why does hacklore persist when we should know better? 🤔

Short answer: Hacklore survives because it fits the incentives of almost everyone involved.

Longer answer:
medium.com/@boblord/why...

Carey does it again! What a fun time. Take a listen! 📻 🔐

And sign up for the hacklore.org newsletter! 🤓

And OMG that looks like my old TVI-920 monitor! 🤯

Debunking Hacklore - Firewalls Don't Stop Dragons Podcast We’re all busy people with busy lives. We only have so much time and energy. So when security people dole out to-do lists, we...

Cyber threats have evolved over time. If the risk of a particular threat decreases, then our list of top to-do items should reflect the changing landscape. Today @boblord.bsky.social argues that some old advice should be retired as #Hacklore.

podcast.firewallsdontstopdragons.com/2026/02/02/d...

Data Diet: Introduction - Firewalls Don't Stop Dragons Many of us are carrying around some serious digital baggage. In this blog series, I'm going to help you trim the fat - a data diet, if you will. And in the process, improve both your privacy and your ...

As I'm going through my annual podcast listener survey responses, I've had several people tell me they really appreciated my series on deleting old accounts and data. There's a lot of good info here, so I thought I'd share it again.

firewallsdontstopdragons.com/data-diet-in...

Podcast - Firewalls Don't Stop Dragons I have a weekly podcast called Firewalls Don't Stop Dragons. The show is a mix of cybersecurity news and interviews of prominent people in the industry. But like the book, the shows are targeted squar...

2026 is gonna be big:

* 📖 January: 11th anniversary of my book
* 🎙️ March: 9th anniversary of my podcast
* 💯 September: 500th podcast episode!!

I'm going to find a killer way to celebrate #500... so let's kick off the official #FDSD500 countdown...

firewallsdontstopdragons.com/podcast/

This was a ton of fun. Hope you all tune in!

Podcast - Firewalls Don't Stop Dragons I have a weekly podcast called Firewalls Don't Stop Dragons. The show is a mix of cybersecurity news and interviews of prominent people in the industry. But like the book, the shows are targeted squar...

Tune in Monday when I'll be debating the efficacy and wisdom of some oft-repeated security tips with cybersecurity guru @boblord.bsky.social - something he calls #Hacklore.

Subscribe here:
firewallsdontstopdragons.com/podcast/

Introducing Encrypt It Already Today, we’re launching Encrypt It Already, our push to get companies to offer stronger privacy protections to our data and communications by implementing end-to-end encryption. If that name sounds a

Today, we’re launching Encrypt It Already, a new website pushing tech companies to deliver stronger privacy protections to their users by enabling and expanding the use of end-to-end encryption across their products or services. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...

Data Privacy Checklist - Firewalls Don't Stop Dragons Your privacy is under attack. Unless and until we speak up and fight back, nothing will change. Here's what you can do: my Data Privacy Day checklist.

Happy #DataPrivacyWeek !!

Every year, I update my Data Privacy Checklist. It's chock full of ideas and helpful links.

firewallsdontstopdragons.com/data-privacy...

Promotional image of "Privacy's Defender: My Thirty-Year Fight Against Digital Surveillance" by Cindy Cohn.

In "Privacy's Defender," @eff.org Director Cindy Cohn chronicles her career protecting our right to digital privacy through 3 key legal battles, weaving her story with the history of Crypto Wars, FBI gag orders, and the post-9/11 surveillance state.

Out March 10th: mitpress.mit.edu/978026205124...

Welcome to post-Darwinism: AI fires silver bullet for creating new life In a breakthrough experiment, molecular biologists and tech entrepreneurs have teamed up to write the genetic code of a virus that destroys killer bacteria

Today I learned about the term Torment Nexus after sharing this article...

www.thetimes.com/uk/science/a...

Thank you to @firewalldragons.bsky.social for covering the AI age verification bill being considered in the Florida Legislature!

Please call your state legislators and tell them you oppose these age verification bills!

#Florida #Privacy #Cybersecurity #AgeVerification

Zero-Knowledge Proofs - Firewalls Don't Stop Dragons Podcast There exist many interesting technical tools which can greatly improve our privacy while still allowing us to use very personal data. In the next...

Today I'll explain how zero-knowledge proofs work. Also: Microsoft gives up BitLocker keys; FL mulls age verification; UK may ban VPNs; bad browser addons; ads-based data leakage; cops fail to redact Flock data; FTC limits GM car data; more!

podcast.firewallsdontstopdragons.com/2026/01/26/z...

How to Prepare for a Power Outage - Firewalls Don't Stop Dragons Hurricanes and winter storms often bring prolonged power outages. But you usually have a few days to prepare. This is how I prepare for loss of power.

I just updated an article I wrote some time back about preparing for a power outage. This is mostly for communications, but there are links to other helpful guides, as well.

firewallsdontstopdragons.com/how-to-prepa...

Honoring Auto Privacy Rights - Firewalls Don't Stop Dragons Podcast Having data privacy laws are great. But if those laws can’t be practically enforced or your rights easily asserted, they’re not very useful. Modern...

Data #privacy rights are great, if have them. But if exercising those rights is too difficult, do you really have them? Car privacy is bad - and Privacy4Cars' massive report shows that even those with privacy rights can't easily use them.

podcast.firewallsdontstopdragons.com/2026/01/19/h...

YouTube video by Proton How Employers Spy on You Completely Undetected

I honestly have no clue how common these tracking techniques are in the corporate world today... but you should at least know that these things are *possible*. There are some solid tips in here. Ironically, this is NSFW (language).

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

What I want to know is: what was the exact vetting process for this box and who is allowed to stock and service it.

Podcast - Firewalls Don't Stop Dragons I have a weekly podcast called Firewalls Don't Stop Dragons. The show is a mix of cybersecurity news and interviews of prominent people in the industry. But like the book, the shows are targeted squar...

On Monday, we'll dive back into vehicle #privacy with Merry Marwig and Andrea Amico from Privacy4Cars, including a massive study they recently released on honoring data rights.

Subscribe here:
firewallsdontstopdragons.com/podcast/

YouTube video by media.ccc.de 39C3 - AI Agent, AI Spy

This is an excellent overview of the risks of agentic AI, which we are adding to our operating systems without regard for safety.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ANE...

Putting Together the Presentation Puzzle: How to Answer a CFP, Sat, Jan 17, 2026, 3:00 PM | Meetup Find Meetup events so you can do more of what matters to you. Or create your own group and meet people near you who share your interests.

Only one month left to submit your fantastic presentation to our Call for Papers #CFP
It closes on Feb 15. If you're near Durham, you can join our friends at DCG919 for a helpful session this Saturday. www.meetup.com/defco...
sessionize.com/cacka...

Police Unmask Millions of Surveillance Targets Because of Flock Redaction Error Flock is going after a website called HaveIBeenFlocked.com that has collated public records files released by police.

New: Police have released info about millions of surveillance targets nationwide from thousands of different police departments because of a public records redaction error in Flock data. Reveals active police investigations, border patrol & ICE targets, lots more:

www.404media.co/police-unmas...