Crime

How a Forensic Scientist Uses Dirt to Solve Murders

Stuck to the bottom of your shoe is humble dirt that gives away where you’ve been and what you’ve been up to. It’s up to science to figure out it out. Nature has a fascinating profile of forensic geologist Lorna Dawson, who has used soil to solve decades-old cold cases. Okay, so CSI: Soil probably…

Tech News Sarah Zhang Apr 21

Fanboys Stab Each Other Over Android vs Apple

The ever-heated battle over mobile ecosystems left two wounded fanboys today: In Tulsa, Oklahoma, two roommates were hospitalized after a drunken fight about the relative benefits of Android and Apple phones. “When police arrived at the apartment complex, they learned that the roommates had been drinking and arguing over their mobile phones,” KTUL Tulsa reports.…

Tech News Kate Knibbs Apr 17

Online Extortionists Are Using Encryption as a Ransom Weapon

Most of the time we discuss encryption as a way to protect ourselves online , but an increasingly popular form of digital attack uses it as an extortion tool. Criminals are stealing personal files, encrypting them, and hold them hostage until their targets pay for the decryption key. A report from security firm Symantec details…

Privacy & Security Kate Knibbs Apr 14

Inside the fascinating world of a crime scene photographer

Forensic photography is such an important part of solving crimes and getting a behind-the-scenes peek at what goes on throughout the process is so fascinating. Like most photography, forensic photographers utilize light to capture what they need to see. They match different crimes to different light wavelengths to pull out the relevant details. I learned…

Sploid Casey Chan Apr 10

Game of Thrones Was Pirated 7 Million Times in the Last 3 Months

Citing a study from anti-piracy service Irdeto, Hollywood Reporter claims that episodes of Game of Thrones were illegally downloaded 7 million times in a three month period this year. Pirates love dragons, obviously. Those numbers are up from last year, when the show was downloaded 8 million times in twelve months, according to Torrent Freak.…

Tech News Annalee Newitz Apr 9

AT&T Let Scammers Steal Personal Data from at Least 280,000 Customers

Nearly 280,000 AT&T customers had their personal data stolen by scammers, including the last four digits of social security numbers and other identifying information. The huge breach happened when at least three AT&T employees at a Mexico-based call center sold customer data to scammers. The breach went down from November 2013 to April 2014, lasting…

Tech News Kate Knibbs Apr 8

Stolen Credit Card Data Spreads Around the World “Staggeringly” Fast

How do thieves share their stolen data online? Security firm BitGlass tried to answer the question by leaking a fake trove of profiles that included credit card info and social security numbers. BitGlass placed tracking watermark on the falsified data, so researchers could see each time someone clicked on it. After dropping the bait (a…

Tech News Kate Knibbs Apr 7

The FBI Has Its Own Secret Brand of Malware

It’s not only digital criminals who like to secretly infect people’s computers with invasive malware. In fact, the FBI likes malware so much, it created its own special brand. We don’t know much about it, but now that the US Department of Justice is pushing for policy changes that’llallow the FBI to install spyware on…

Privacy & Security Kate Knibbs Apr 2

Obama: If You Cyberattack the US, We’ll Sanction You

President Obama has a message for foreign hackers: You’re grounded. The president declared a national emergency and signed an executive order today allowing targeted sanctions on anyone who is deemed a cyberthreat to the United States. Obama wrote about the sanction plan on Medium: Our primary focus will be on cyber threats from overseas. In…

Privacy & Security Kate Knibbs Apr 1

The Bizarre Schemes of the Silk Road Investigator Who Broke Bad

Two former federal agents have been charged with fraud and money laundering while they were working on a task force devoted to bringing down infamous online drug bazaar Silk Road, and the charges paint a picture of a 15-year DEA veteran going rogue in such an over-the-top fashion that it’s hard to believe this isn’t…

Tech News Kate Knibbs Mar 30

Feds Want Reddit to Give Up Personal Info of Darknet Market Redditors

Federal agents want Reddit to turn over the personal data of five prominent Redditors active in the Darknet Markets subreddit. IP addresses, names, and other data about five Reddit users active in Darknet Market discussions have been requested. Earlier this month, the popular drug-and-weapon peddling darknet market Evolution vanished in an apparent scam by its…

Tech News Kate Knibbs Mar 30

It’s Very, Very Easy for Hackers to Steal Your IRS Account

The only thing that sucks worse than doing taxes is a hacker stealing your identity, doing your taxes for you, and then depositing your return in a random bank account, where it can later be transferred to Nigeria. Sound impossible? It’s not, according to the story of an unlucky man named Michael Kasper. Long story…

Privacy & Security Adam Clark Estes Mar 30

Inmate Walks Free After Emailing Release Instructions to Prison Staff

An inmate who was in prison for multiple charges of fraud is apparently up to his old tricks. Posing as a senior court clerk, Neil Moore, 28, used an illicit mobile phone to email fake bail instructions to prison staff, who released him. Well, that’s embarrassing. Moore was being held at Wandsworth Prison in the…

Tech News Maddie Stone Mar 29

Stolen Uber Accounts Are Selling for a Dollar on the Dark Net

Anyone with a spare dollar can buy access to stolen, active Uber account information. Vendors on the new darknet market AlphaBay are peddling Uber user details. You can buy all sorts of illicit stuff through darknet markets, from drugs to weapons to counterfeit goods. But this is the first time we’ve seen a high-profile sale…

Tech News Kate Knibbs Mar 28

The Nextdoor App Is Making My Neighborhood Safer

My neighborhood is experiencing a crime wave. Just on my block in the last week, several packages were stolen from doorsteps and tires have been slashed on at least two cars. I found all of this out from an app that’s quickly becoming our neighborhood’s best security system. “I heard it from Fred two doors…

Tech News Alissa Walker Mar 27

When Does Online Fantasy Become Criminal Conspiracy?

When does an online fantasy cross the line into criminal conspiracy? That’s the issue the Second Circuit Court of Appeals is currently weighing in United States v. Gilberto Valle, the so-called “cannibal cop” case. EFF filed an amicus brief in support of Valle today, arguing that finding him guilty of conspiracy based on his online…

Tech News Hanni Fakhoury and Jamie Williams - EFF Mar 23

5 Theories About the Greatest Unsolved Art Heist Ever

On March 18, 1990, two police officers—or so they seemed—walked into a Boston museum and left with $500 million worth of paintings. They have never been found. The two thieves seem to have gained access to the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum in the wee hours of the 18th by claiming they were investigating a report…

Tech News Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan Mar 18

The Silk Road Mastermind Just Applied For A Retrial

Last month, it took a jury of peers just four hours to convict Ross Ulbricht on seven counts related to his running of The Silk Road. But Ulbricht isn’t giving up that easy — his lawyer has applied for a do-over. In a court filing submitted yesterday and spotted by Ars Technica, Ulbricht’s superstar lawyer…

Privacy & Security Chris Mills Mar 7

300,000 Chickens Killed By Attacks on Farm Alarm Systems

In the past two weeks, attacks at 16 South Carolina chicken houses have left over 300,000 chickens dead. Farmed chickens rarely live good lives, but these deaths were especially horrible: Someone with inside knowledge of the houses temperature alarm systems, slowly killed the chickens with heat and cold. The criminals, who seemed to have expert…

Tech News Sarah Zhang Mar 6

Feds Just Charged 3 Spammers With the Biggest Data Breach in History

The only thing that sucks more than spam are the greedy people who send it to you. That’s why the Department of Justice charging three spam kingpins responsible for one of the largest data breaches in history is so exciting. Finally, Feds are taking down the spam kingpins—or at least trying. A small army of…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes Mar 6

How a Forensic Scientist Uses Dirt to Solve Murders

Fanboys Stab Each Other Over Android vs Apple

Online Extortionists Are Using Encryption as a Ransom Weapon

Inside the fascinating world of a crime scene photographer

Game of Thrones Was Pirated 7 Million Times in the Last 3 Months

AT&T Let Scammers Steal Personal Data from at Least 280,000 Customers

Stolen Credit Card Data Spreads Around the World “Staggeringly” Fast

The FBI Has Its Own Secret Brand of Malware

Obama: If You Cyberattack the US, We’ll Sanction You

The Bizarre Schemes of the Silk Road Investigator Who Broke Bad

Feds Want Reddit to Give Up Personal Info of Darknet Market Redditors

It’s Very, Very Easy for Hackers to Steal Your IRS Account

Inmate Walks Free After Emailing Release Instructions to Prison Staff

Stolen Uber Accounts Are Selling for a Dollar on the Dark Net

The Nextdoor App Is Making My Neighborhood Safer

When Does Online Fantasy Become Criminal Conspiracy?

5 Theories About the Greatest Unsolved Art Heist Ever

The Silk Road Mastermind Just Applied For A Retrial

300,000 Chickens Killed By Attacks on Farm Alarm Systems

Feds Just Charged 3 Spammers With the Biggest Data Breach in History

This 5-Star Ryzen 5500U Mini PC Is Now 44% Off While Apple’s Mac mini Stays at Full Price on Amazon

This 4-in-1 Ergonomic Laptop Sleeve Hits a Record Low With $53 Worth of Free Extras Included

Samsung Clears Out Galaxy SmartTag2 at 42% Off, Now Nearly Half the Price of Apple’s AirTag

‘Daemons of the Shadow Realm’ Has Four Banger Songs For the Price of Two

JBL Boombox 3 Portable Speaker Drops to 40% Off, Though This All-Time Low Price May Not Stick Around for Long

Apple’s M5 13-inch MacBook Air Hits Record Low With Its Biggest Discount Yet Since Launch, Cheaper Than 2025 Model on Amazon

‘Chucky’ Is Finally Returning to the Big Screen

Used Electric Vehicles Are Having A Resurgence

Anker’s EufyMake E1 Finally Brings Printers Out of the Dark Ages

This Loud-Ass Party Speaker Almost Got Me High AF

Asus Zenbook A16 Review: Start Considering Snapdragon on PC, for Real

Aqara Thermostat Hub W200 Review: Almost Better than My Ecobee

HP Omen Max 45L Review: 4K60 Gaming Has Never Been So Easy

Ecovacs Winbot W3 Omni Review: Window Cleaning Robots Have a Long Way to Go

AirPods Max 2 vs. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): Which ANC Headphones Win?

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