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Surveillance Report: Weekly News For Digital Freedom

by Techlore

Weekly news for digital freedom. Surveillance Report covers privacy, security, surveillance technology, and digital rights news to keep you safer online from the latest threats.Hosted by Henry Fisher, founder of Techlore, a leading digital rights media organization for over 10 years. Each episode cuts through the noise with carefully selected stories, context, historical perspective, and analysis - empowering you to defend your rights with actionable steps.Topics include: data breaches, government and corporate surveillance, Big Tech privacy policies, encryption standards, digital rights legislation, privacy tool updates and vulnerabilities, and accountability journalism.Whether you're new to digital privacy or a seasoned expert tracking the ecosystem, Surveillance Report is the weekly news brief that keeps you informed. New episodes every Wednesday. Learn more about Techlore at techlore.tech.

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Episodes

  1. Congress Comes For VPNs, Plus FBI & Pentagon Hacks, and Chat Control Defended

    Congress now has two site-blocking bills, and one of them would force VPNs and encrypted DNS providers to block websites for Americans. Plus: ShinyHunters hacked the FBI and someone stole 3 million Pentagon personnel records, Chat Control 2.0 stalled in the EU (for now), and Meta's Muse AI agent…

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  2. No Hack Needed: How Revolut Leaked Your Passport, Plus New Age Verification & Rogue AI Agents

    A hacker emailed Revolut pretending to be a government agency, and Revolut handed over customers' passports, IDs, and financial details. Plus: the global age-verification wave forcing even more ID collection (EU, California, Microsoft), OpenAI's rogue AI agents and why I've hit a breaking point...

  3. 153 Million Driver's Licenses For Sale, Plus Chrome Kills uBlock Origin & Texas Kicks Out Flock

    An ID-verification company, IDScan.net, appears to have leaked scans of 153 million driver's licenses, then sold on a dark-web market called Nexus. This week I break down why this breach is the perfect example of everything wrong with ID uploads, plus Chrome officially pulling uBlock Origin and...

  4. Apple Fixed A Leak Without Telling Anyone, Plus More VPN News and Flock's Creepy Police AI

    Four positive VPN stories in one week: Mullvad's new multihop modes, Obscura shipping on Windows, Apple quietly patching the iCloud Private Relay leak, and Firefox's free VPN rolling out to Android. Then it gets darker: Flock built an AI tool that turns license plates into names, addresses, and...

  5. Apple's Private Relay Is Leaking Your IP, Plus Fake VPN Extensions & France's Big Win

    Three cracks opened up in Apple's privacy story this week: iCloud Private Relay leaking real IP addresses through DNS prefetching, WebTransport, and passkeys; Hide My Email exposing real addresses in bounce logs; and an unprecedented wave of spyware notifications going out to targeted users. Also...

  6. Signal's Biggest Update In Years, Plus Rival App Stores Arrive In The Play Store

    Signal just shipped its largest set of updates in years: A second phone can finally be a linked device, automatic key verification is rolling out alongside safety numbers, and there are commits hinting at registration without a phone number. I also cover Google hosting rival app stores in the…

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  7. OpenAI's Hacking Story Got Worse, Plus Iran In US Water Systems & A Felony For Wiping A Phone

    OpenAI's rogue AI agent turned out to have hacked more than Hugging Face, and the more details come out, the less impressive it seems. Then Anthropic came forward with its own disclosure: three companies accessed during testing, two of which had no idea. Plus Iran-linked hackers burrowing into...

  8. France Banned Social Media For Under-15s, Plus A Hidden Device In Millions Of US Cars

    France has become the first country in Europe to ban social media for children under 15. Meanwhile there's real good news elsewhere: the UK's incoming PM dropped digital ID entirely, and California's Senate killed its browser-level age mandate and exempted open source operating systems. 🔎...

  9. EU Passes Chat Control Anyway, Plus Microsoft's Secure Boot Mess & the Flock Resistance

    This week's a double-week catch-up: the EU just greenlit Chat Control even after Parliament voted against it, Microsoft had a brutal stretch between a decade-old Secure Boot flaw and a Windows Defender zero-day, Texas's app-store age verification law cleared its Supreme Court hurdle while the…

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  10. Apple Quietly Downgrades Hide My Email, Plus Chrome Kills uBlock Origin & Google's IP Tracking

    Apple is moving Hide My Email aliases to a new private.icloud.com subdomain, which makes it trivial for any app or website to spot a private email and block the signup. 🔎 EasyOptOuts is the easy, affordable, and effective way to automatically remove your data from people search sites:...

  11. Meta Hid Face-Recognition Code on 50M Phones, The UK's Device-Scanning Ultimatum & A Burner Phone Ban

    Meta quietly embedded unreleased facial-recognition code, internally called "nametag" onto more than 50 million phones through its Meta AI app, then deleted it the day after Wired exposed it. This week I also get into Microsoft repos weaponized a second time to push credential-stealing malware to...

  12. Dashlane Confirms Hackers Stole Password Vaults, Pentagon Location Tracking, and Hackers Trick Meta's AI

    Dashlane has confirmed hackers stole around 20 encrypted password vaults, and the company is being unusually quiet about how it happened. Plus the Pentagon admits US troops were tracked using commercial location data, Europe accelerates its move away from US tech, and hackers hijacked celebrity...

  13. A Rare Age Verification Win, AI Cameras On School Buses, And A License Plate Tracking Ban

    A rare and genuine win against age verification with California following Colorado in exempting Linux and other open source operating systems from its Digital Age Assurance Act, directly because of community pressure. Plus AI cameras on tens of thousands of school buses being quietly repurposed…

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  14. A Brutal Week for Microsoft Security, Signal Threatens to Leave Canada, And Bitwarden Quietly Shifts

    A brutal week for Microsoft with seven vulnerability stories, an actively exploited Exchange zero-day, the MiniPlasma exploit (rooted in a six-year-old Project Zero report Microsoft sat on), and Pwn2Own Berlin zero-days. Plus the Shai-Hulud npm supply chain attack hitting 600+ packages, Signal...

  15. Linux's Rough Run, ICE's 20M Palantir Database & Android Good/Bad News

    Linux gets hit with a third major vulnerability in as many weeks, a Palantir-built database of 20 million people, and Android delivers both bad news (a new VPN leak Google has refused to patch) and good news (intrusion logging for high-risk users). Plus encrypted RCS finally arrives in iOS 26.5,...

  16. CopyFail Explained, Utah's New VPN Law, and Microsoft Edge Keeping Passwords in Plaintext

    This week's Surveillance Report covers the most severe Linux threat in years sending researchers and admins scrambling, Apple patching the bug police were using to extract deleted Signal messages from iPhones, Utah's new law regulating VPNs taking effect, and Microsoft Edge inexplicably storing...

  17. VPNs Could Make You an NSA Target, North Korea's Supply Chain Hijack & the EU Kills Chat Control

    The government told you to use a VPN, but are you actually making yourself a target for NSA surveillance in the process? This week's highlight story digs into a letter from six US lawmakers pressing intelligence officials to answer whether Americans using commercial VPNs risk losing their legal...

  18. Two iOS Exploits, Google's Android Lockdown & Instagram Drops Encryption

    This week's Surveillance Report covers two sophisticated zero-click iOS exploit frameworks: Coruna and DarkSword hit hundreds of millions of iPhones in the span of a single week. Google finally revealed their controversial Android sideloading "advanced flow," and it involves a 24-hour wait,...

  19. Password Manager Vaults Aren't Private, Google Threatens Open Android, & Apple's Global Age Verification

    Password managers CAN see your vault (new research reveals attack vectors), Google threatens the open Android ecosystem, Apple rolls out age verification globally, 147 million installs of Android mental health apps with security flaws, Samsung's innovative privacy display, and a massive week of...

  20. 3 Mac Attacks Explained, Discord Age Verification Goes Global & Hidden Hotel Cameras

    No operating system is safe, and this week, Mac users got hit from three directions at once. We cover the attacks, Discord's messy age verification expansion, hidden hotel cameras in China, and everything else threatening your digital rights. 🧡 SUPPORT TECHLORE Become a Techlorian and keep this...

  21. FBI Can't Crack iPhone Lockdown Mode, Age Verification Hits 3 Countries, And Chat Control 1.0 Extended

    The FBI couldn't crack a journalist's iPhone because of one security feature, and we'll break down exactly how Lockdown Mode stopped them. Meanwhile, Austria, Spain, and Greece all announced age verification mandates in the same week, Chat Control 1.0 just got an extension, and Microsoft is…

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  22. Microsoft Gave FBI Your Encryption Keys

    This week's Surveillance Report covers Microsoft handing BitLocker encryption keys to the FBI, meaning your "encrypted" Windows data isn't as secure as you thought. This two-week Surveillance Report covers age verification laws spreading across three continents, 840,000 malicious browser…

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  23. Microsoft Copilot's Security Failures Are Putting Everyone at Risk

    This week's Surveillance Report covers Microsoft Copilot's ongoing security failures putting users at risk, the FTC banning GM from selling driver location data, California banning data brokers from reselling health information, Iran's internet shutdown reaching record lengths, the EFF's guide to...

  24. Microsoft Just Removed Another Way to Activate Windows Offline

    This week's Surveillance Report covers Microsoft removing offline Windows activation, California's new tool to delete your data from brokers, cryptocurrency theft traced to the 2022 LastPass breach, France's social media ban for under-15s, and more! This week's Surveillance Report covers: -...

  25. Your ChatGPT Answers Are About to Get Sponsored

    This week's Surveillance Report covers OpenAI's plan to prioritize sponsored content in ChatGPT answers, what to do if you're targeted by government spyware, Meta's secret playbook for avoiding scammer accountability, and more! This week's Surveillance Report covers: - OpenAI prioritizing new...

  26. Federal Court Just Dealt a Major Blow to Age Verification Laws

    A federal court just blocked Texas's age verification law—here's why that matters for the entire US. Plus: AI police cameras exposed to the internet, massive data breaches, and why we're all returning to monke for the holidays. This week's Surveillance Report covers: - Federal judge blocks Texas...

  27. The Law That Protects Your Online Speech Is Under Attack

    This week's Surveillance Report covers the internet's free speech protections under attack as a US Senator moves to repeal Section 230. Plus: ransomware attacks escalate with React2Shell exploitation, India orders government access to encrypted messaging, AI "superintelligence" fear is being used...

  28. Your Age Is Now Required: Australia's Social Media Ban Explained

    This week's Surveillance Report covers the dangerous reality that social media bans ARE age verification, India's push for even more invasive phone surveillance, a massive vulnerability actively exploited against major companies, the EU's new proposal to gut GDPR protections, Petco's escalating...

  29. How India's Unremovable App Mandate Failed Within Days

    This week's Surveillance Report covers India’s attempt to mandate a potentially invasive app on everyone’s phone, Chat Control updates in the EU with concerns still evolving, half of US states now being age verified, more AI Slop, butt to cloud encryption, and more! Correction: One of you caught…

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  30. Microsoft's Rare Confession: Windows AI Could Leak Your Data

    This week's Surveillance Report covers Microsoft's AI Disaster getting worse on multiple levels as well as Google's AI, Malware is stealing E2EE messages from people all around the world, and updates to Chat Control & other EU regulations, and more! Support Techlore: https://techlore.tech/support...

  31. WhatsApp Leaked 3.5 BILLION Numbers

    Episode 245: This week's Surveillance Report covers WhatsApp's massive phone number enumeration flaw that exposed 3.5 billion users' data through poor rate limiting - potentially the largest data exposure in history. I also examine Google's new Android sideloading restrictions threatening open…

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  32. Nate Steps Down + What Happens to Surveillance Report

    After 4+ years, Nate from The New Oil is stepping down from co-hosting the pod, but Surveillance Report isn't going anywhere. Here's what's changing, what's staying the same, and how to continue listening to Surveillance Report! (Hint: Nothing changes here on the podcast!) Surveillance Report...

  33. AI Browsers Are Already Risky

    Episode 244: AI browsers are here and already pose huge risks, Windows 10 finally reaches end of life, Ring is partnering with Flock, many ICE stories, and more. Welcome to the Surveillance Report - featuring Techlore & The New Oil to keep you updated on the newest security & privacy news....

  34. Q&A: Why Don't People Care About Privacy?

    Q&A243: Why don't people care about privacy? Is it true Proton is accepting Monero? How can you get involved in the fight for privacy? And more! Join our next Q&A on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/collection/415684?view=expanded or XMR Chat: https://xmrchat.com/surveillancepod Welcome to the...

  35. The UK's Apple Backdoor Fight: Round 2!

    Episode 243: The UK has ordered Apple to insert a backdoor into their encryption for a second time, Microsoft has removed yet more workarounds to avoid creating an account in Windows 11, Amazon adds facial recognition technology to their Ring doorbell cameras, and more. Welcome to the…

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  36. Windows 10's Extra Year of Updates Has a Catch...

    Episode 242: Microsoft offers an extension for Windows 10 users to get security updates longer (but there's a catch), LinkedIn will start using your data to train AI (but you can opt out), OnePlus phones have a serious vulnerability, and more. Welcome to the Surveillance Report - featuring…

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  37. Proton Mail Account Suspensions Explained

    Episode 241: ProtonMail allegedly banned journalist accounts, Plex had a data breach, leadership changes at the EFF, and more. Welcome to the Surveillance Report - featuring Techlore & The New Oil to keep you updated on the newest security & privacy news. 🔎 EasyOptOuts is the easy, affordable…

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  38. Q&A: The Risks of Cloud-Based Password Managers

    Q&A240: Are there any good reasons not to use a cloud-based password manager? Which phone should you use for a day job? What routers do we recommend? These questions and more on this week's Q&A. Join our next Q&A on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/collection/415684?view=expanded or XMR Chat:...

  39. ChatGPT is Calling the Police on Users

    Episode 240: ChatGPT is sending your messages to the police, X/Twitter is rolling out some end to end encrypted messaging that we’ll discuss, lotsss of politics this week, and more! Welcome to the Surveillance Report - featuring Techlore & The New Oil to keep you updated on the newest security &...

  40. Android Is Becoming the New iOS

    Episode 239: Google is expanding their control over sideloading, Word documents will now save to the cloud by default, Bluesky is blocked in Mississippi, and more. Welcome to the Surveillance Report - featuring Techlore & The New Oil to keep you updated on the newest security & privacy news. 🔎...

  41. Q&A: Is Kagi Safe?

    Q&A238: Our thoughts on Kagi and their Orion browser, navigating healthcare apps, thoughts on legal compensation for data breaches, and more on this week's record-breaking Q&A. Join our next Q&A on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/collection/415684?view=expanded or XMR Chat:...

  42. Are Your Passwords Safe From This New Exploit?

    Episode 238: A new vulnerability affects nearly every major password manager on the market, a definitive resolution to the Apple/UK Backdoor saga, Mozilla finally refocuses on Firefox, and more. Welcome to the Surveillance Report - featuring Techlore & The New Oil to keep you updated on the…

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  43. Microsoft's Control Over Open Source Grows

    Episode 237: Microsoft will integrate GitHub more deeply as GitHub's CEO resigns, data brokers were caught hiding their opt-out pages, important updates from Debian, the Pinephone Pro, & Plex, and more. Welcome to the Surveillance Report - featuring Techlore & The New Oil to keep you updated on…

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  44. Q&A: Ways to Make Your Phone Private

    Q&A236: A collection of phone-related questions, Cloudflare concerns, is Firefox still worth using with the recent ToS changes, and more on this week's record-breaking Q&A. Join our next Q&A on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/collection/415684?view=expanded or XMR Chat:...

  45. Apple Has 4 Months, Google Has Just 14 Days...

    Episode 236: Google and Apple are being forced to crack open their phones, the latest cascading data breach has arrived, uBlock Origin Lite arrives for iPhone, and more. Welcome to the Surveillance Report - featuring Techlore & The New Oil to keep you updated on the newest security & privacy…

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  46. Q&A: Privacy Advice for Your Next Phone Upgrade

    Q&A235: What phone should you get next? What's the best way to use custom domains and alias emails? Join our next Q&A on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/collection/415684?view=expanded or XMR Chat: https://xmrchat.com/surveillancepod Welcome to the Surveillance Report Q&A - featuring Techlore &...

  47. Thinking of Trying a Custom ROM? Think Again...

    Episode 235: Yet another blow to the Android custom ROM landscape, an nsfw data breach, age verification continues to tear across the net, and more. Welcome to the Surveillance Report - featuring Techlore & The New Oil to keep you updated on the newest security & privacy news. 🔎 EasyOptOuts is…

    more

  48. Q&A: How Do You Avoid Amazon?

    Q&A234: How can you avoid Amazon? Which music streaming service is the most privacy respecting? How do we balance our privacy lifestyle with other life goals? And more! Join our next Q&A on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/collection/415684?view=expanded or XMR Chat:...

  49. Dating Safety App Puts Thousands of Users at Risk

    Episode 234: Tea - an app meant to keep users safe - doxes thousands of users with carless design, a Microsoft cloud vulnerability is burning through hundreds of major organizations, Proton released their own AI chatbot, and more. Welcome to the Surveillance Report - featuring Techlore & The New...

  50. Q&A: Do You Really Need a VPN?

    Q&A233: Does this Patron really need a VPN? Have we ever found any security vulnerabilities? Can you use YouTube premium privately? Plus a grab-bag of questions from our classic patron, David Johnson. Join our next Q&A on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/collection/415684?view=expanded or XMR…

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ABOUT THIS SHOW

Weekly news for digital freedom. Surveillance Report covers privacy, security, surveillance technology, and digital rights news to keep you safer online from the latest threats.Hosted by Henry Fisher, founder of Techlore, a leading digital rights media organization for over 10 years. Each episode cuts through the noise with carefully selected stories, context, historical perspective, and analysis - empowering you to defend your rights with actionable steps.Topics include: data breaches, government and corporate surveillance, Big Tech privacy policies, encryption standards, digital rights legislation, privacy tool updates and vulnerabilities, and accountability journalism.Whether you're new to digital privacy or a seasoned expert tracking the ecosystem, Surveillance Report is the weekly news brief that keeps you informed. New episodes every Wednesday. Learn more about Techlore at techlore.tech.

HOSTED BY

Techlore

Produced by Techlore, Inc.

CATEGORIES

news technology

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does Surveillance Report: Weekly News For Digital Freedom have?

Surveillance Report: Weekly News For Digital Freedom currently has 362 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.

What is Surveillance Report: Weekly News For Digital Freedom about?

Weekly news for digital freedom. Surveillance Report covers privacy, security, surveillance technology, and digital rights news to keep you safer online from the latest threats.Hosted by Henry Fisher, founder of Techlore, a leading digital rights media organization for over 10 years. Each episode...

How often does Surveillance Report: Weekly News For Digital Freedom release new episodes?

Surveillance Report: Weekly News For Digital Freedom publishes regularly with 362 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.

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Who hosts Surveillance Report: Weekly News For Digital Freedom?

Surveillance Report: Weekly News For Digital Freedom is created and hosted by Techlore.
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