a phrase that has been coming to mind a lot lately: reality always bats last

There's a lot of valid pushback on AI/Mythos hype but I notice there are a lot of non-vulnerability researchers talking to vuln researchers about vuln research which is interesting. There are levels to expertise, the people I talk to directly in this field say we're in a genuinely important moment

Unrelated to the fact that I have an upcoming huge bill to pay for house repairs, I have an exciting new business I'd like to announce www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

ProPublica's new story on Trump's attempt to subvert the midterm elections opens with a 2020 anecdote about then-AG William Barr asking CISA's experts about Trump's election-hacking claims. www.propublica.org/article/trum...

Just had this from Planet Labs, the US government have asked satellite imagery providers for "voluntarily" restrictions on access to satellite imagery. Given a lot of them provide satellite imagery to the USG we can probably guess the outcome of not acquiescing to that request.

What a rollercoaster, man

New: ICE Tells US lawmakers it's using spyware from Israeli company Paragon in fight against fentanyl www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

New: The White House is signaling that reopening the Strait of Hormuz is not a must-have to end the Iran War, potentially setting the stage for Iran to continue to flex its strategic position over one of the world's busiest oil shipping channels for the foreseeable future

Dhruv rules, follow him @dmehro.bsky.social

New: FBI confirms pro-Iranian hackers targeted director Kash Patel's email, says "the information in question is historical in nature and involves no government information.” www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

The “main goal” of the Iran War may have changed, reports Washington Post: “Israeli officials said securing the [Strait of Hormuz] for energy shipments could become the war’s main goal now that regime change and ending Iran’s ability to obtain a nuclear weapon seem out of reach.”

new followers: I work for an independent, never-paywalled nonprofit newsroom covering all the NYC local news we can manage if you can, donate: donorbox.org/nycdonate/ if you can't, subscribe to a newsletter! www.thecity.nyc/the-city-new... everything helps, including sharing our stories 💌

Adding headline writing to the list of things I admire about Propublica

Joe Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, resigns over Iran war. x.com/joekent16jan...

Breaking News: Investors in a deal to create a U.S.-controlled TikTok are set to pay a $10 billion transaction fee to the Trump administration.

The girls' school likely destroyed by an American missile had colorful murals *visible from space* as far back as 2018. By @pearswick.press & Ryan McNeil: www.reuters.com/investigatio...

Huge price tag to all this. "Pentagon officials told lawmakers in a closed-door briefing on Capitol Hill that the estimated the cost of the war had exceeded $11.3 billion in the first six days, according to three people familiar with the briefing" www.nytimes.com/live/2026/03...

Wild story: "The hacker expressed disgust at the presence of child abuse images on the device and left a message threatening to turn its owner over to the FBI...[B]ureau officials defused the situation by convincing the hacker that they actually were the FBI..." www.reuters.com/world/us/for...

On Feb-4, @Starlink disabled terminals in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine that weren't on Ukrainian Ministry of Defense's approved list. We saw a 75% drop in Starlink traffic to Ukraine as a result. 🤯 www.politico.com/news/2026/02...

Scoop: DHS ousted multiple privacy officers at CBP after they questioned orders to purposely mislabel records about government surveillance to prevent their release under FOIA.

SCOOP: The iPhone mass hacking toolkit used by Russian spies was developed at U.S. military contractor L3Harris, former employees said. The Coruna toolkit was used against Ukrainians and by Chinese cybercriminals, according to Google. But the toolkit was initially developed for Western governments.

Breaking: The White House has released President Trump's long-awaited national cyber strategy: www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/u...

Exclusive: US investigation points to likely US responsibility in Iran school strike, sources say www.reuters.com/world/middle...

U.S. forces likely bombed an Iranian elementary school on Feb. 28 during an operation targeting a nearby military base, a New York Times analysis suggests. It is the deadliest known episode of civilian casualties since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran — and no side has yet taken responsibility.

Nearly all traffic cameras in Tehran had been hacked for years, with footage encrypted and transmitted to servers in Tel Aviv and southern Israel. www.iranintl.com/en/202603027...

As US and Israeli bombs fell on Iran this weekend, bettors on Polymarket — where $529 million was traded on contracts tied to the timing of the strikes — were cashing in

Internet connectivity down in Iran as airstrikes hit the country. Traffic volume dropped at 07:06 UTC and then again at 11:47 UTC with minimal connectivity remaining. The country had a partial restoration since Jan-27 following a complete shutdown in Jan-8.

Great story from Bloomberg. I also cannot imagine a better formula for the mass-creation of incels than saddling teenagers with crypto gambling debts. www.bloomberg.com/features/202...

New w @janetimm.bsky.social: In the feds' first call with states since gutting CISA's election programs, they promised no ICE at polling places, but weirdly refused to reaffirm states run elections, per people on the call.

🇩🇪Germany’s Federal Court of Justice has rejected 🇲🇦Morocco’s lawsuit against Die Zeit over its reporting on the Pegasus #spyware, reinforcing press freedom protections. www.zeit.de/politik/ausl...

The FBI secretly controlled a staffer at a dark web drug market that did $100 million in sales. The informant allegedly approved the sale of drugs even after warnings they were tainted with fentanyl—including from a vendor whose pills led to a confirmed fatal overdose. www.wired.com/story/an-fbi...

I've been working on this for ages in various countries: the story of the intelligence buildup to Putin's 2022 invasion. How did the US and Britain find out so much, and why were Europe and Ukraine sceptical. It's a long one: www.theguardian.com/world/ng-int...

Judge Rebukes U.S. Over Application to Search Reporter’s Home A prosecutor apologized for failing to alert the magistrate to a 1980 law that restricts searches for reporting materials. w/ Erik Wemple www.nytimes.com/2026/02/20/u...

Huge story by Georgia. Flagged by an automated review system, debated by "about a dozen staffers," and OpenAI did nothing.

CRESCENTHARVEST: Iranian protestors and dissidents targeted in cyberespionage campaign Acronis' Threat Research Unit www.acronis.com/en/tru/posts...

Terrific reporting on the chaos atop DHS. www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

⚠️In a letter sent today to 🇺🇸Treasury Sec Scott Bessent & State Sec Marco Rubio, the 5 Dem senators said that on 10 Dec a bipartisan group of Senate committee staff requested a meeting to inquire about the govt's work to address Intellexa’s alleged sanctions evasion. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Scoop: A report published last week outlined what Palo Alto researchers believed was a China-linked hacking campaign. But after an intervention from execs, the report's language was changed to refer more vaguely to "a state-aligned group that operates out of Asia." www.reuters.com/world/china/...

Yup, the Tianfu Cup silently returned this year. www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...

NEW: Documents obtained by @wired.com show that ICE has or plans to open more than 150 facilities around the US, in nearly every state, many near major metro areas. @leahfeiger.bsky.social has the scoop: www.wired.com/story/ice-ex...

Ring is a wildly dangerous company. Always has been. But it has sort of flown under the radar the last couple years as it tried to soften its image. Make no mistake that this is an extremely dangerous surveillance dragnet: www.404media.co/with-ring-am...

Great new reporting by @catebrown.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

"Mobile Fortify’s primary function is to expand the number of photos and biometric data that DHS collects by shifting its collection from ports of entry to routine ICE encounters far from US borders."

Most of the Washington Post’s tech reporters were laid off today, including me. I have loved my time at the paper, which is where I wanted to work from age 15. I take some consolation in not being among the survivors who will have to work harder with less for fewer readers. On to better things.

My story on Elon Musk cutting safeguards at xAI is on the front page of today's @washingtonpost.com. I’m also among 100’s of reporters laid off. I absolutely loved my job my brilliant coworkers & the thrill of reporting @ the center of forces upending the world: AI & Silicon Valley’s political power

Exclusive: The U.S. military last year digitally disrupted Iranian air missile defense systems as part of a coordinated operation to destroy the country’s nuclear program, another sign of America’s growing comfort with employing cyber weapons in warfare. therecord.media/iran-nuclear...

The FBI can’t get into a Washington Post reporter’s phone, in part because it was set to Lockdown Mode. www.404media.co/fbi-couldnt-...

Exclusive: DOJ is requiring all 93 US attorneys to designate prosecutors for "emergency jump teams" supporting surge districts dealing with assaults & obstruction of federal officers, per internal memo. Comes as more Minn. prosecutors resign. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

The Post describes how DHS is now using 'administrative subpoenas' as a form of domestic surveillance, apparently to intimidate those engaged in lawful activity & speech. www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...