Sign in

Sarah A | ساره

@xsa.bsky.social
526 followers 53 following 50 posts

hacker | infosec + human rights + anti-surveillance丨past VP Security @OpenTechFund, @internetFF, @HRW丨past fellow @mozilla @NewAmerica丨Beirut ➝ Brooklyn

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Sarah A | ساره
Micah Lee @micahflee.com · 02/05/2025
I wrote up a detailed analysis of TM SGNL, the unofficial Signal app that senior Trump fascists use to organize their war crimes micahflee.com/tm-sgnl-the-...
micahflee.com
TM SGNL, the obscure unofficial Signal app Mike Waltz uses to text with Trump officials
Yesterday, a Reuters photographer captured a photo of the freshly-ousted former National Security Advisor Mike Waltz checking his Signal messages during a Trump cabinet meeting. If you're not familiar...
301257446
Reposted by Sarah A | ساره
Innsmouth Looksmaxxing @gonebabygone.bsky.social · 27/03/2025
Mr. Miyazaki sir, I love your movies about how capitalism and the destruction of nature are evil, I made a shitty facsimile of them in a computer that drains reservoirs, do you like it
3795633108
Sarah A | ساره @xsa.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
040
Reposted by Sarah A | ساره
Jessica Shortall @jessicashortall.bsky.social · 24/03/2025
is ur child texting state secrets in a Signal chat? ily - I Leaked Yemen (attack details) smh - Secret Message Hahahaha tbh - Talkin 'Bout Houthis idk - I Doubt Korea (is in this signal chat) gtg - Gonna Text Goldberg
85103722286
Sarah A | ساره @xsa.bsky.social · 20/03/2025
Not the first story i hear about people being asked to show a passport or permanent residence card while traveling domestically in the US.
011
Reposted by Sarah A | ساره
Noah Shachtman @noahshachtman.bsky.social · 09/03/2025
More details here: www.dropsitenews.com/p/dhs-detain...
dropsitenews.com
BREAKING: DHS Detains Lead Negotiator of Columbia Gaza Solidarity Encampment After Online Campaign by Pro-Israel Groups
Mahmoud Khalil, who was detained on Saturday, is being held at an ICE detention facility.
17233162
Sarah A | ساره @xsa.bsky.social · 02/03/2025
This is quite comforting edition.cnn.com/2025/02/28/p...
edition.cnn.com
US intel shows Russia and China are attempting to recruit disgruntled federal employees, sources say | CNN Politics
Foreign adversaries including Russia and China have recently directed their intelligence services to ramp up recruiting of US federal employees working in national security, targeting those who have b...
020
Reposted by Sarah A | ساره
Cyd @cyd.social · 19/02/2025
A new version of Cyd is out today! Upgrade now. The biggest thing is change is your local Cyd archive now includes images, videos, replies, and quote tweets. Re-import your X archive into Cyd to get all of this stuff -- you'll want it you want to eventually migrate your tweets into Bluesky
184
Reposted by Sarah A | ساره
Electronic Frontier Foundation @eff.org · 18/02/2025
“Parents should check reviews of the devices they buy, both within the site they're buying it on as well as separate from that site,” EFF’s @legind.bsky.social told Parents magazine. Also, stick with recognized brands that have good product security histories.
parents.com
Mom Says She Heard a Stranger Talking to Her Child Through Their WiFi Baby Monitor–Now She’s Warning Other Parents
After a parent noticed a stranger speaking to their child through a WiFi baby monitor, experts share what may have led to this and how parents can stay safe.
28523
Sarah A | ساره @xsa.bsky.social · 12/02/2025
A Lithuanian company provided data on US military personnel in Germany to a databroker in Florida, which could then theoretically sell that data to essentially anyone. The global nature of commercial online ad surveillance should concern everyone. www.404media.co/email/0747f7...
404media.co
This Adtech Company is Powering Surveillance of U.S. Military Personnel
In a letter to a US senator, a Florida-based data broker says it obtained sensitive data on US military members from a Lithuanian company, revealing the global nature of commercial online ad surveilla...
010
Sarah A | ساره @xsa.bsky.social · 07/02/2025
The Trump admin intends to undermine access to health care and destroy social safety net programs through budget cuts, funding disruptions, and increased eligibility requirements. Here's a rundown, with the help of @upturn.org:
122
Sarah A | ساره @xsa.bsky.social · 07/02/2025
All the actions taken by the Trump admin are a widespread attack on civil rights protections that have been instrumental to confronting racism and other forms of exclusion in housing, hiring, and credit. Here's a rundown, with the help of @upturn.org:
111
Reposted by Sarah A | ساره
dell cameron @dell.bsky.social · 07/02/2025
NEW: An internal email obtained by WIRED from a threat intelligence team monitoring US Treasury systems advised labeling DOGE operatives an "insider threat," adding that it recommended suspending their access "immediately." | www.wired.com/story/treasu...
Vittoria Elliott Leah Feiger
Feb 7, 2025 2:47 PM
A US Treasury Threat Intelligence Analysis Designates DOGE Staff as ‘Insider Threat’
An internal email reviewed by WIRED calls DOGE staff's access to federal payments systems “the single biggest insider threat risk the Bureau of the Fiscal Service has ever faced.”
313180596165
Sarah A | ساره @xsa.bsky.social · 07/02/2025
Why do medical costs continue to skyrocket in the US? Well, manufacturers are forcing hospitals into 1st repair contracts, which means a hospital's own staff are prevented from repairing devices that they had long been able to fix. www.404media.co/email/42b13b...
404media.co
Medical Device Company Tells Hospitals They're No Longer Allowed to Fix Machine That Costs Six Figures
Hospitals are increasingly being forced into maintenance contracts with device manufacturers, driving up costs.
000
Sarah A | ساره @xsa.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
So the Treasury is going on the blockchain... cool cool cool www.forbes.com/sites/digita...
forbes.com
‘This Needs To Stop Now’—Elon Musk Confirms Radical Doge U.S. Treasury Plan
Elon Musk has confirmed he wants to put the U.S. Treasury on a blockchain, the technology that underpins bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies...
000
Sarah A | ساره @xsa.bsky.social · 03/02/2025
I don’t know when people will start realizing that the US is under authoritarian rule
000
Sarah A | ساره @xsa.bsky.social · 03/02/2025
The hackers behind the massive breach of AT&T data last year hunted through the data for phone numbers and records of top officials and their families, including the Trump family (Melania and Ivanka Trump); Kamala Harris; and Marco Rubio’s wife www.404media.co/email/061e4e...
404media.co
Hackers Mined AT&T Breach for Data on Trump's Family, Kamala Harris
Hackers behind the breach of “nearly all” of AT&T customers’ metadata searched for records associated with members of the Trump family, Kamala Harris, and Marco Rubio’s wife.
010
Reposted by Sarah A | ساره
Senator Ron Wyden @wyden.senate.gov · 01/02/2025
NEW: Sources tell my office that Treasury Secretary Bessent has granted DOGE *full* access to this system. Social Security and Medicare benefits, grants, payments to government contractors, including those that compete directly with Musk's own companies. All of it.
58842869212989
Sarah A | ساره @xsa.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
Nearly 100 journalists and civil society folks were targets of Israeli spyware company #Paragon. The targeting was a “zero-click” attack, which means targets wouldn't have had to click on any malicious links to be infected. www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
theguardian.com
WhatsApp says journalists and civil society members were targets of Israeli spyware
Messaging app said it had ‘high confidence’ some users were targeted and ‘possibly compromised’ by Paragon Solutions spyware
120
Sarah A | ساره @xsa.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
Trump's sudden freeze of federal aid has profound repercussions all around the world. Here are some of the stories that are coming up: www.nytimes.com/2025/01/31/w...
nytimes.com
000
Sarah A | ساره @xsa.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
China’s repression of #Uyghurs in #Xinjiang extends beyond borders to target women Uyghur activists and their families, using digital threats, harassment, surveillance, and other means to silence them. Read @citizenlab.ca's report: citizenlab.ca/case-studies...
citizenlab.ca
Xinjiang region, China - The Citizen Lab
Since 2014, the Chinese government has escalated its repression against Uyghurs and other Turkic ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang region in northwestern
011
Reposted by Sarah A | ساره
Ken Klippenstein @kenklippenstein.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
Trump administration just suspended all new foreign aid pending review, per State Department cable leaked to me (1/2)
46830208
Sarah A | ساره @xsa.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
Are you a journalist? Or do you work on investigative research? The Global Investigative Journalism Network @gijn.org is offering a free, online cyber investigations training program for investigative journalists. The course will run for six weeks, starting April 14, 2025. gijn.org/stories/digi...
gijn.org
031
Sarah A | ساره @xsa.bsky.social · 22/01/2025
Users are reporting that their posts are being taken down from #TikTok for saying "Free Palestine," yet TikTok denies that this is happening. Still incredible to witness how afraid the world is of even the idea of a free Palestine. www.404media.co/tiktok-free-...
404media.co
TikTok Says It’s Not Censoring ‘Free Palestine’ Comments. Users See Something Different
When TikTok returned after being pulled from the U.S., hours before President Trump’s inauguration, users reported “free palestine” comments were being instantly removed.
030
Reposted by Sarah A | ساره
John Scott-Railton @jsrailton.bsky.social · 23/12/2024
The volume of scam phone calls targeting elderly people in the US is insane. If you've visited an aging person, you know what I'm talking about. Ring after ring on that landline. Several calls a day isn't out of the ordinary. Each of them a risk of wiping out their savings.
1213427
Sarah A | ساره @xsa.bsky.social · 23/12/2024
Managed to pass both my #CIPT and #CIPM in the past two weeks, while dealing with the news out of Lebanon and checking several times a day that my friends and my family are still alive. Not sure how I did it but talk about working under pressure...
000
Reposted by Sarah A | ساره
Kashmir Hill @kashhill.bsky.social · 20/12/2024
After I reported on automakers selling info about people’s driving to the insurance industry, G.M. stopped providing the data to risk profiling companies. But I heard it was still selling data about how & where people drive, anonymized. This is the major use case: www.nytimes.com/2024/12/20/t...
nytimes.com
How Your Car Might Be Making Roads Safer
Researchers say data from long-haul trucks, and cars made by General Motors, is critical for addressing traffic congestion and road safety. Data privacy experts have their concerns.
24316
Sarah A | ساره @xsa.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
Authorities in Serbia have repeatedly used #Cellebrite tools to unlock mobile phones so they could then infect them with potent malware, including the phones of activists and a journalist. #security #privacy www.404media.co/email/ad7b75...
404media.co
Cellebrite Unlocked This Journalist’s Phone. Cops Then Infected it With Malware
A new report from Amnesty International reveals multiple cases where Serbian authorities used Cellebrite devices to access targets' mobile phones before loading them with spyware.
021
Sarah A | ساره @xsa.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
Older story, but a reminder that social engineer attacks are the most commonly used against vulnerable populations, and in this case, journalists and activists. cyberscoop.com/iranian-hack...
cyberscoop.com
Iranian hackers impersonate journalists in social engineering campaign
Members of a notorious Iranian hacking crew are using false personas to steal credentials and access victim cloud environments, per a new Mandiant report.
041
Sarah A | ساره @xsa.bsky.social · 11/12/2024
Hey America, are you okay?
030
Sarah A | ساره @xsa.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
A good reminder to boycott McDonald's. Just saying.
010
Reposted by Sarah A | ساره
Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 06/12/2024
New: multiple major health insurance companies (Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Caresource, Medica, Elevance Health) have taken down pages on their websites which listed their leadership, following the murder of United Healthcare CEO www.404media.co/multiple-maj...
404media.co
Major Health Insurance Companies Take Down Leadership Pages Following Murder of United Healthcare CEO
Following the shooting of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, multiple major health insurance companies have taken their executive leadership pages offline.
3382583643
Sarah A | ساره @xsa.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
Still one of my favorite headlines to have read recently: www.404media.co/police-freak...
404media.co
Police Freak Out at iPhones Mysteriously Rebooting Themselves, Locking Cops Out
Law enforcement believe the activity, which makes it harder to then unlock the phones, may be due to a potential update in iOS 18 which tells nearby iPhones to reboot if they have not been in contact ...
010
Sarah A | ساره @xsa.bsky.social · 22/11/2024
Anyone have experience with Cape? www.theverge.com/2024/11/21/2...
theverge.com
A new ‘ultra-secure’ phone carrier says it can make you harder to track
Cape says it can obfuscate your location.
010
Sarah A | ساره @xsa.bsky.social · 20/11/2024
Another way data brokers can be incredibly dangerous, and why privacy matters: more than 3 billion phone coordinates collected by a US data broker expose detailed movements of US military and intelligence ops in Germany, and no one can do anything about it. www.wired.com/story/phone-...
wired.com
Anyone Can Buy Data Tracking US Soldiers and Spies to Nuclear Vaults and Brothels in Germany
More than 3 billion phone coordinates collected by a US data broker expose the detailed movements of US military and intelligence workers in Germany—and the Pentagon is powerless to stop it.
020
Reposted by Sarah A | ساره
Read the book Read Raising Expectations (and Raising Hell) @jphillll.bsky.social · 18/11/2024
I think this is a pretty good norm at this point, but it’s also helpful to remember that orgs mostly want you to register so that you can stay in the loop. So have a burner organizing email, follow them on social media, attend meetings, find ways to stay in the loop and get into the work.
645784
Reposted by Sarah A | ساره
Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 02/08/2024
New: I interviewed Signal's Meredith Whittaker for the 404 Media Podcast. We talked about the threat of AI to end to end encryption; what backdoors in encrypted apps actually look like, and much more. A genuinely insightful discussion. Listen here: www.404media.co/podcast-sign...
404media.co
Podcast: Signal's President Meredith Whittaker on Backdoors and AI
We speak to Meredith Whittaker about the threat posed by AI to end-to-end encryption, what backdoors actually look like, and much more in this special interview episode.
1248
Sarah A | ساره @xsa.bsky.social · 02/08/2024
The NYT cannot even be bothered to name the fact that Biden has been condoning, supporting, and financing a genocide for the 10 months as possible reason for the lack of support.
010
Reposted by Sarah A | ساره
Ⓐnarchohoodism 🐈‍⬛ 🏴 @161bklyn.myatproto.social · 01/08/2024
Ahaaa…interesting developments truthout.org/articles/atl...
truthout.org
Atlanta’s Cop City Is Funded by Some of the Same Billionaires Who Back AIPAC
Donors to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee are underwriting a thin blue line between Israel and Cop City.
36027
Sarah A | ساره @xsa.bsky.social · 01/08/2024
USPS was sharing customers’ info by hiding data-collecting code (tracking pixels) used across its site. Tech and ad companies create this kind of code to collect info about the user every time a page with the code loads in the browser. techcrunch.com/2024/07/18/u...
techcrunch.com
Exclusive: USPS shared customer postal addresses with Meta, LinkedIn and Snap
The U.S. Postal Service confirmed it took action to "remediate" the data sharing following a TechCrunch investigation.
000
Reposted by Sarah A | ساره
Jillian C. York @jillian.bsky.social · 31/07/2024
How Israel influences content moderation and silences Palestinians and their supporters.
eff.org
Digital Apartheid in Gaza: Unjust Content Moderation at the Request
This is part one of an ongoing series. Government involvement in content moderation raises serious human rights concerns in every context. Since October 7, social media platforms have been challenged
084
Sarah A | ساره @xsa.bsky.social · 31/07/2024
I can count off the top of my head 7 or 8 Lebanese friends who, like myself, are on standby waiting to see if they can head home. Scattered between Paris, NYC, London, Geneva, Dubai, etc, and glued to the news, not knowing whether or not to board their flights to Beirut.
000
Sarah A | ساره @xsa.bsky.social · 31/07/2024
Not the first #privacy fail with Strava. In this instance, the author used the weekly heatmap, browsed the map, selected a neighborhood that looked like it had one active runner, and found that person’s name and where they lived. lifehacker.com/health/strav...
lifehacker.com
I Used Strava's New Heatmap to Find a Stranger's Home Address
Running and cycling app Strava has a ton of features that help you find new running routes, including segments, the route builder, and the global heatmap. Earlier this summer, Strava began offering a ...
110
Sarah A | ساره @xsa.bsky.social · 31/07/2024
Another great piece by @kashhill.bsky.social : If you drive a car made by General Motors and it has an internet connection, your car’s movements and exact location are being collected and shared anonymously with a data broker. www.nytimes.com/2024/07/26/t...
nytimes.com
Automakers Sold Driver Data for Pennies, Senators Say
Ron Wyden and Edward Markey urged the F.T.C. to investigate how car companies handled the data from millions of car owners.
022
Sarah A | ساره @xsa.bsky.social · 30/04/2024
Why metadata matters, and can be a goldmine of dangerous information simplex.chat/blog/2024041...
simplex.chat
The dangers of metadata in messengers
011
Sarah A | ساره @xsa.bsky.social · 13/03/2024
When car companies share people's driving behavior with insurance companies, including when they speed, brake too hard or accelerate rapidly. And the majority of drivers have no idea this is happening, until they see big hikes in their insurance quotes www.nytimes.com/2024/03/11/t...
nytimes.com
Automakers Are Sharing Consumers’ Driving Behavior With Insurance Companies
LexisNexis, which generates consumer risk profiles for the insurers, knew about every trip G.M. drivers had taken in their cars, including when they sped, braked too hard or accelerated rapidly.
000
Sarah A | ساره @xsa.bsky.social · 11/03/2024
Fascinating article about adtech and how incredibly granular the data can be - enough to track a specific person “The [adtech] ecosystem is the largest information-gathering enterprise ever conceived by man. And it wasn’t built by the government.” www.wired.com/story/how-pe...
wired.com
How the Pentagon Learned to Use Targeted Ads to Find Its Targets—and Vladimir Putin
Meet the guy who taught US intelligence agencies how to make the most of the ad tech ecosystem, "the largest information-gathering enterprise ever conceived by man."
000
Sarah A | ساره @xsa.bsky.social · 10/01/2024
Really not helping out your brand there by blaming customers for a data breach... techcrunch.com/2024/01/03/2...
010
Sarah A | ساره @xsa.bsky.social · 19/12/2023
The new round of fellowship is now open at Mozilla ✨ Are you interested in the intersection of tech and society? Check this out foundation.mozilla.org/en/blog/seek...
001