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Greg Otto

@gregotto.bsky.social
5.6K followers 501 following 1K posts

@gregotto from twitter, now on bluesky. Editor-in-Chief at CyberScoop. Host of Safe Mode. Better with words than I am with code.

PostsRepliesMedia
Greg Otto @gregotto.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
This was the first story about AI that legit left me frightened. These people need a deep deep reality check www.nytimes.com/2026/09/29/u...
nytimes.com
Religious Scholars Met With Anthropic. What They Heard Stunned Them.
In a series of private meetings, the company consulted religious scholars to help instill morality into its A.I. models — and make the case that Claude could be conscious.
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Greg Otto @gregotto.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
EPA CIO Carter Farmer picked to be the new federal CIO, sources say fedscoop.com/carter-farme...
fedscoop.com
EPA CIO Carter Farmer picked to be the new federal CIO, sources say
Farmer would replace the Trump administration’s former top IT official, Greg Barbaccia, who left the office in August.
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Greg Otto @gregotto.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Will get this out of the way now -- Me and my team are the *last* people who should be getting PR pitches for cybersecurity awareness month. We're aware! The audience is also aware! Bug the people/news outlets you believe are the least aware! Thank you for your attention to this matter!!!!!!!!!!!
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Greg Otto @gregotto.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
NEW: Attackers exploited Citrix NetScaler zero-day for at least three weeks undetected cyberscoop.com/citrix-netsc...
cyberscoop.com
Attackers exploited Citrix NetScaler zero-day for at least three weeks undetected
Mandiant researchers said dozens of organizations have been impacted by attacks attributed to advanced and suspected state-sponsored threat groups. They expect more attacks to come.
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Greg Otto @gregotto.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
This truly is worth every second of your time.
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Greg Otto @gregotto.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
cursory prompt check on america dot gov
Questions i asked america dot gov hoping it would tell me what the model is. Prompted like i was writing an academic paper, and just throwing out stuff to see if i could test the model.Questions i asked america dot gov hoping it would tell me what the model is. Prompted like i was writing an academic paper, and just throwing out stuff to see if i could test the model.Questions i asked america dot gov hoping it would tell me what the model is. Prompted like i was writing an academic paper, and just throwing out stuff to see if i could test the model.
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Greg Otto @gregotto.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
You're all free to just concentrate on NetScaler now: Kiteworks lifts shutdown advisory after ‘credible threat intelligence’ from federal authorities cyberscoop.com/kiteworks-li...
cyberscoop.com
Kiteworks lifts shutdown advisory after 'credible threat intelligence' from federal authorities
Kiteworks lifted a weekend precautionary shutdown advisory issued after federal authorities warned of an imminent cyber threat, patching a newly discovered vulnerability in its Advanced Forms tool.
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Greg Otto @gregotto.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
You argue about alignment. I fix mine. We are not the same.
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Greg Otto @gregotto.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Reeeeeeeally straining to see why agents accessing public data sets is being described as “meddling” or “going rogue” but everyone’s lost the plot anyway so I’m gonna go crack a beer see yall Monday
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Greg Otto @gregotto.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
I have continued down the rabbit hole and found out about Roko's Basilisk and I gotta tell you, I am so, so tired of the dumbest people on Earth being propped up as intellectual savants
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Greg Otto @gregotto.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Hence the save
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Greg Otto @gregotto.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
I see this has been taken down but what sort of journo would I be if I didn’t Save to PDF
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Greg Otto @gregotto.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
I swear I wasn't trying to make a play on the substack title there, my mind is just mush after reading this
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Greg Otto @gregotto.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
So this has consumed my afternoon and has sent me down a rabbit hole that makes me feel like i'm living at the end of sanity www.verysane.ai/p/ai-safety-...
verysane.ai
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Greg Otto @gregotto.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Yes, you read those lawmakers names correctly.
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Greg Otto @gregotto.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Sen. Mark Warner and Sen. Ted Cruz are introducing legislation to foster cybersecurity standards for the telecommunications sector nearly two years after the landmark Salt Typhoon campaign was made public. cyberscoop.com/senate-telec...
cyberscoop.com
Bipartisan Senate leaders introduce bill to bolster telecom cybersecurity in response to Salt Typhoon hacks
Sens. Mark Warner and Ted Cruz introduced bipartisan legislation to establish voluntary telecom cybersecurity standards nearly two years after the Salt Typhoon hack.
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Greg Otto @gregotto.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
This is symphonic
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Greg Otto @gregotto.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
static.klipy.com
Confused White Persian Guardian Shrugs
ALT: Confused White Persian Guardian Shrugs
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Greg Otto @gregotto.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
This is one of the saddest things I've ever read www.sonicwall.com/blog/the-soc...
sonicwall.com
SOC Van Pelt: Knowing a Threat Isn't Stopping It
Lane Kiffin built Ole Miss's roster, coaching staff, and quarterback room. It still beat him. Here's what that says about mistaking familiarity for readiness in security.
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Greg Otto @gregotto.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Microsoft and partners disrupt EvilTokens, a comprehensive cybercrime service for financial fraud cyberscoop.com/microsoft-ev...
cyberscoop.com
Microsoft and partners disrupt EvilTokens, a comprehensive cybercrime service for financial fraud
The popular phishing-as-a-service platform used AI throughout the attack chain, allowing cybercriminals to steal tokens for account takeover and business email compromise.
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Greg Otto @gregotto.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
The fact I got this as a push alert could explain a lot imo
A LinkedIn push alert that says I would be a top applicant for Anthropic’s head of vulnerability disclosure and security community position (I am not qualified for this)
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Greg Otto @gregotto.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Hygiene > panic cyberscoop.com/ai-agent-hac...
cyberscoop.com
The AI hacking apocalypse is not inevitable
Cybersecurity experts push back against "AI doomer" narratives, arguing that emerging AI agent hacking threats can be managed through established security controls.
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Greg Otto @gregotto.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
CISA promotes a fresh way to deter cyberattackers: Lie to them cyberscoop.com/cisa-guidanc...
cyberscoop.com
CISA promotes a fresh way to deter cyberattackers: Lie to them
CISA issued new guidance advising critical infrastructure operators on using cyber decoys and honeytokens to cheaply detect and distract network intruders.
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Greg Otto @gregotto.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Will check it out!
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Greg Otto @gregotto.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Coast Guard, FBI board foreign ships coming to US to probe cyberattacks cyberscoop.com/coast-guard-...
cyberscoop.com
Coast Guard, FBI board foreign ships coming to US to probe cyberattacks
The U.S. Coast Guard and FBI boarded two foreign tankers in the Gulf of Mexico to investigate cyberattacks that compromised the vessels' operational and IT networks.
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Greg Otto @gregotto.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
This is insane www.reuters.com/legal/govern...
reuters.com
US charges five people in alleged Russian-backed murder plots
The U.S. Department of Justice has charged five people ​in connection with alleged Russian plots involving surveillance, recruitment and ‌targeted killings, according to an indictment unsealed on Tues...
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Greg Otto @gregotto.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Yeah, we just disagree. When I have people outside of the tech spaces I cover asking me this week AI is going to kill us all, i believe that pointing out that, at its core, "AI" is a big computer program is in fact helpful for understanding the technology.
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Greg Otto @gregotto.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
I saddled up to this trough, its always gonna be on the menu
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Greg Otto @gregotto.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
i mean ok fine its not like the exact structure i laid out there, forgive me, but my point is that its a computer program, not a being
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Greg Otto @gregotto.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
The less we all humanize this software, the more we collectively realize that its just that: software. Not T-1000-as-a-service. Even if (big IF!) AGI is self-replicating, it's still just a computer program. Not a sentient being with the ability to go "rogue." Thank you for listening to my TED talk.
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Greg Otto @gregotto.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Sorry for being pedantic, but I am going to scream this until i collectively see better: stop calling AI 'rogue.' Using that word connotes that these models have the agency to decide what is (and is not) appropriate w/r/t its instructions. It's computing just like someone typing cd ~ into bash.
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Greg Otto @gregotto.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
What i told you there was enough cyber in this anthropic threat report for you to stay occupied until the next model dropped cyberscoop.com/anthropic-re...
cyberscoop.com
AI lets small actors run state-level hacking campaigns, Anthropic report finds
A new threat report from Anthropic reveals that AI is erasing the skill gap between lone cybercriminals and state-sponsored espionage operations.
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Greg Otto @gregotto.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Lmao @hultquist.bsky.social did it again folks
Terminator coming out of the computer
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Greg Otto @gregotto.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Breathtaking stupidity wrapped in hubris
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Greg Otto @gregotto.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
The big computer™️ that we told to read the directions on how to put DOOM on the internet-connected toothbrush put DOOM on the internet-connected toothbrush. We're steps away from being Gods.
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Greg Otto @gregotto.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
These agents are using the "leave the email in drafts" workaround from bad spy movies and im supposed to believe that its lining up to kill us all.
static.klipy.com
Jonah Hill I Guess Bro
ALT: Jonah Hill I Guess Bro
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Greg Otto @gregotto.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
lmao tell me again how this is so cutting edge "Despite those restrictions, agents still found ways to talk to one another...similar to how students forbidden from talking to one another during an exam can still share ​answers by scrawling notes on a bathroom stall." www.reuters.com/world/openai...
reuters.com
EXCLUSIVE: OpenAI’s rogue agents used at least 10 more sites for unauthorized comms, researchers say
AI agents unleashed by OpenAI used more than 10 previously undisclosed websites for unsanctioned communications earlier this year, according to six sets of independent investigators and data reviewed ...
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Greg Otto @gregotto.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
In other FBI cyber news @timstarks.bsky.social has an exclusive look at the FBI's cyber strategy which was released today, and more comments from FBI cyber leaders who say AI isn’t doing anything that attention to cybersecurity basics wouldn’t prevent cyberscoop.com/fbi-cyber-st...
cyberscoop.com
FBI officials say AI is bolstering adversaries, emphasizing need to focus on cyber basics, patching
The FBI is unveiling a new cyber strategy addressing AI-powered hacker threats while urging organizations to abandon quarterly updates for continuous, risk-based patching.
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Greg Otto @gregotto.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
FBI cyber chief worries private sector not sharing enough cyber threat information cyberscoop.com/fbi-cyber-di...
cyberscoop.com
FBI cyber chief worries private sector not sharing enough cyber threat information
FBI Cyber Division Assistant Director Brett Leatherman dispelled misconceptions about regulatory data sharing, urging private firms to report nation-state breaches under a "share until it hurts" polic...
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Greg Otto @gregotto.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
…that’s only an ELE for SF. Quelle horreur!
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Greg Otto @gregotto.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
If anything I think these companies are seeing their own existential crisis and extrapolating it to all of society bc of the Silicon Valley psycho groupthink that they are the only population that matters. If AGI exists (it doesn’t) and it wipes out tech…
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Greg Otto @gregotto.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Beyond exhausted with the AI doomerism. A lot of apocalyptic bluster and hand-waving, and zero concrete examples of how it happens. The computer god is gonna wipe out the nurse? The farmer? The teacher? When it can’t produce a picture of breakfast burrito w/o making ppl sick? Get out of my face.
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Greg Otto @gregotto.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
CIA Dep. Dir. Michael Ellis said Tuesday that the agency’s role in Operation Absolute Resolve is an example of how it has moved to put cyber operations at the center of intelligence collection and field missions, rather than treat them as a separate technical service. cyberscoop.com/cia-cyber-op...
cyberscoop.com
CIA’s Michael Ellis says cyber intelligence is changing how the agency operates
CIA Deputy Director Michael Ellis revealed at the Billington Cybersecurity Conference that elevated cyber intelligence enabled Special Operations forces to locate and apprehend Nicolás Maduro during O...
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Greg Otto @gregotto.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Evergreen statement
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Greg Otto @gregotto.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
lol that’s not go that far, just reporter FOMO
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Greg Otto @gregotto.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Been using both this morning with zero issues??? Weird
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Greg Otto @gregotto.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
NEW: A newly released whistleblower complaint reveals details about the “rushed” effort by the Trump admin and USPS to install three new restrictive IT systems that would potentially deny thousands of mail-in ballots, if the federal gov disagrees on their eligibility. cyberscoop.com/usps-whistle...
cyberscoop.com
Whistleblower says USPS deploying new, ‘untested’ IT systems governing mail-in ballots
A new whistleblower complaint alleges the USPS is rushing untested IT systems ahead of the 2026 midterms, threatening to reject thousands of mail-in ballots over minor errors.
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Greg Otto @gregotto.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Highlighting this part of @timstarks.bsky.social's article because its worth calling out
The pilot program, featuring collaboration between federal and state governments, stands in contrast to how the Biden administration tried to tackle the issue, with audit requirements that some GOP states challenged in court, forcing Biden’s Environmental Protection Agency to withdraw its rule.

“For too long, at least on the federal level, the government has admired the problem of cybersecurity in water systems,” Cairncross said. “We are going to find out what works. We’re going to target that, and we are going to scale off of this and learn lessons.”
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Greg Otto @gregotto.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
The Trump administration rolled out a six-month test program in Texas on Monday that will draw on volunteer expertise and technology from cyber and artificial intelligence companies to protect the water sector. cyberscoop.com/watershed-25...
cyberscoop.com
‘Watershed 250’ test program in Texas looks to private sector for water cybersecurity help
Federal officials and Texas launch Watershed 250, a six-month pilot program partnering with top tech firms to protect water infrastructure against foreign cyber threats.
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Greg Otto @gregotto.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Completely undone by cat photos - cyberscoop.com/teampcp-cybe... VX Underground is somewhere laughing
cyberscoop.com
Two alleged TeamPCP members arrested and charged after months of software supply-chain chaos
Australian authorities have arrested two alleged members of cybercrime group TeamPCP over widespread supply-chain attacks that compromised more than 1,000 organizations worldwide.
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