2025, or The Administrative Art of Persona Non Grata

Facing a world in which the extraordinary will become ordinary, and the ordinary may become impossible | Continue reading


@hackingbutlegal.com | 1 day ago

The Secret System Behind Every Call You Make Is About to Change Hands

Also, did the Chinese government just hack it? | Continue reading


@hackingbutlegal.com | 10 days ago

Disinformation for Infosec Wonks

(How to think about fake news if you mainly think about malware) | Continue reading


@hackingbutlegal.com | 1 month ago

Russia's Information Warfare: What Is It?

Learn how the Kremlin uses lies to manipulate events & erode trust. | Continue reading


@hackingbutlegal.com | 1 month ago

LLM Prompt Surveillance: The Dark Side of Conversational AI

Why am I the only one worried about what happens to our LLM prompts? | Continue reading


@hackingbutlegal.com | 2 months ago

Roger Stone's Legal Threat Against Lauren Windsor Linked to Newly Published Secret Recordings

Undercover tapes reveal Stone discussing plans to challenge 2024 election results (VIDEO & TRANSCRIPT) | Continue reading


@hackingbutlegal.com | 4 months ago

Roger Stone Threatens Lauren Windsor with SLAPP Lawsuit Over SCOTUS Recordings

Yet another MAGA attempt to stifle constitutionally protected speech. | Continue reading


@hackingbutlegal.com | 4 months ago

Julian Assange: Journalist, or Russian Asset?

Review the facts–decide for yourself. | Continue reading


@hackingbutlegal.com | 6 months ago

CTI League in the Crossfire: Navigating Disinfo Campaigns Targeting Anti-Disinfo Efforts

(Clapping back at Matt Taibbi and Michael Shellenberger's bullshit) | Continue reading


@hackingbutlegal.com | 10 months ago

Concert: A Whistleblowing Paradigm for the Digital Age

Blow the whistle, not your cover. | Continue reading


@hackingbutlegal.com | 11 months ago

Telegram Remains a Haven for Hate Speech Shielded by Corporate Secrecy

We know too little about the platform providing 'bulletproof' chat services to the Internet's worst actors | Continue reading


@hackingbutlegal.com | 11 months ago

EXCLUSIVE: Rep. George Santos to Hacking, but Legal: “Your Question is the Most Intelligent I've Heard Ever Since I've Gotten Elected for Congress”

My discussion with an embattled Congressman in which he plied me with flattery and avoided straight answers | Continue reading


@hackingbutlegal.com | 11 months ago

Conference Keynote: "Psychologically-Motivated Threat Actors" at OWASP AppSec D.C. 2023

Six months of research in one hour. | Continue reading


@hackingbutlegal.com | 11 months ago

Statement by Annie Altman, Sam Altman's Sibling

“How We Do Anything Is How We Do Everything” | Continue reading


@hackingbutlegal.com | 11 months ago

Speculation: What happened at OpenAI?

Unraveling the complex factors behind Sam Altman’s untimely exit | Continue reading


@hackingbutlegal.com | 11 months ago

From SLAPP to SAAPP: Evolving Tactics in Silencing Public Voices

In which I propose we coin new terminology. | Continue reading


@hackingbutlegal.com | 12 months ago

Reprint: "Security in an Era of Coercive Cyber Attacks"

#IncidentResponse #Consulting | Continue reading


@hackingbutlegal.com | 1 year ago

Revenge Porn As Opposition Research: A Disturbing Trend in Political Strategy

Exploring how the Susanna Gibson case brings to light the troubling use of intimate material as a political weapon. | Continue reading


@hackingbutlegal.com | 1 year ago

The Hague Turns its Gaze Toward Cyberspace

Disinformation, hate speech, and attacks against critical infrastructure will now be considered by the International Criminal Court. | Continue reading


@hackingbutlegal.com | 1 year ago

Apple Faces a Wave of Legal Woes, Including RICO Act Lawsuit Filed by Former Employee

Core Issues: Legal Worms Inside | Continue reading


@hackingbutlegal.com | 1 year ago

A Threat Matrix for Socially Motivated Cybercriminals/iPredopaths

A starter framework towards addressing the types of persistent threats which are often incubated within toxic Internet cultures such as Kiwi Farms. | Continue reading


@hackingbutlegal.com | 1 year ago

Roundup: Naomi Wu and the Silence That Speaks Volumes

Reactions to my recent top story. | Continue reading


@hackingbutlegal.com | 1 year ago

Sham Signal App Tied to China Raises Alarms

You're using your smartphone, scrolling through your favorite apps, sending messages, and staying connected. But what if some of those innocent-looking apps are not what they seem? | Continue reading


@hackingbutlegal.com | 1 year ago

Cloudflare: Cybersecurity, or Complicity?

TL;DR It's both. | Continue reading


@hackingbutlegal.com | 1 year ago

BlockFree: How To Keep Blocking Idiots on Twitter Without Elon Musk's Approval

Did you hear? Twitter is planning to kill its critical blocking feature | Continue reading


@hackingbutlegal.com | 1 year ago

Hacking, but Legal has migrated!

It is done. Yet there is so much more to do! | Continue reading


@hackingbutlegal.com | 1 year ago

EXCLUSIVE: Naomi Wu and the Silence That Speaks Volumes

When China's prodigious tech influencer, Naomi Wu, found herself silenced, it wasn't just the machinery of a surveillance state at play. Instead, it was... | Continue reading


@hackingbutlegal.com | 1 year ago

The Online Psychopathy Checklist

This 175-item checklist developed by a psychologist can help identify psychopaths who "use cyberspace to troll, victimize, control and manipulate" others. | Continue reading


@hackingbutlegal.com | 1 year ago

Reprint: "Buying In" to the Information Security Industry

My first-ever piece of Internet content dating back to October 2011 | Continue reading


@hackingbutlegal.com | 1 year ago

BREAKING: Amazon Senior Security Engineer Indicted in $9M Crypto Heist

This guy wasn't smart. Not at all In a dramatic twist, Shakeeb Ahmed, 34, of Louisville, KY, was arrested in Manhattan and indicted today by the Department of Justice in the Southern District of New York for orchestrating a cryptocurrency heist worth millions which occurred last … | Continue reading


@hackingbutlegal.com | 1 year ago

ANALYSIS: Today's Supreme Court Decision in Counterman v. Colorado

A win for the First Amendment–also a boon for stalkers and harassers! In a landmark decision that is no doubt sending shockwaves through legal communities and advocacy groups, the Supreme Court just ushered in a major shift in the way threats are legally defined and prosecuted. | Continue reading


@hackingbutlegal.com | 1 year ago

Asha Rangappa's "Anatomy of a Mass Murder"

A summary of a vital Substack read. Dear Reader, Have you heard of Asha Rangappa? Rangappa is an American lawyer, academic, former FBI agent, and news commentator. She was formerly an Associate Dean at Yale Law School, is currently assistant dean and a senior lecturer at Yale Uni … | Continue reading


@hackingbutlegal.com | 1 year ago

RESTRICT Act: Discussion, Implications, Analysis

What is the RESTRICT Act, and what will it mean if it becomes law? Dear Reader, Ever since I first saw Tulsi Gabbard fear-mongering on Twitter about the surveillance implications of the RESTRICT Act, I knew I wanted to write a clear-eyed analysis of this bill and how it could imp … | Continue reading


@hackingbutlegal.com | 1 year ago

EXCLUSIVE: Twitter Employs Censorship Filter to Briefly Ban Discussion of GiveSendGo

Elon Musk's staff manipulates information security tools, disrupting user conversation and raising new ethical concerns On Saturday, May 13, 2023, the donation site GiveSendGo went down. Known for its previous involvement in right-wing causes including the collection of donations … | Continue reading


@hackingbutlegal.com | 1 year ago

Between Truth and Belief: Understanding Dave Troy's Exploration of Social Capital

Deciphering the complex impact of disinformation on networked societies. Sometimes I really wonder what the point of doing this job is. False claims that you'd debunked at least several times in the past reappear, and go even more viral than the previous occasions. | Continue reading


@hackingbutlegal.com | 1 year ago

The OP_RETURN Vigilante: How Russian Military Bitcoin Addresses Were Doxed

On April 26, 2023, the blockchain analytics company Chainalysis published an eye-opening technical analysis of a fascinating event which occurred in February and March 2022 where an anonymous Bitcoin user used a unique feature of the cryptocurrency's transactions to label nearly … | Continue reading


@hackingbutlegal.com | 1 year ago

Elon Musk's Twitter Tenure: A Manifestation of Toxic Masculinity

Elon Musk, one of the most high-profile tech figures globally, has come under scrutiny for his handling of Twitter after acquiring the social media platform. His leadership style, characterized by drastic changes, public controversies, and disregard for basic social norms, has sp … | Continue reading


@hackingbutlegal.com | 1 year ago

Twitter Has Completed Its Transformation to an Information Warfare Platform

Beware the blue checks. For the past decade, Twitter has been a ubiquitous presence in the American public discourse, providing a platform for people to share their opinions, connect with others, and stay informed about world events. However, under the ownership of Elon Musk, Twi … | Continue reading


@hackingbutlegal.com | 1 year ago

A Police Officer and a Violent Troll Walk Into a Harassment Forum

Punch line: they're the same person. New details have emerged in the case of an anonymous poster on the harassment website "OnAForums" who has claimed to be a police officer and is alleged to have used his position to conduct illegal surveillance on a man's location through his m … | Continue reading


@hackingbutlegal.com | 1 year ago

Defending Against Coordinated Internet Harassment (SAAPP)

Tactics to help you send fuccbois to the circular file. Dear Reader, Today I'm coining a new term to describe coordinated Internet harassment of the type which often affects public figures, journalists, and activists: Strategic Attacks Against Public Participation (SAAPP). | Continue reading


@hackingbutlegal.com | 1 year ago

U.S. Based Disinfo Actors Spread Fear About Taiwan

Peeling back a Twitter influence operation with Taiwan-focused disinformation elements to show you how it works | Continue reading


@hackingbutlegal.com | 1 year ago

Joseph Flynn Just Tweeted Something Strange About the Death of Investigative Journalist Michael Hastings

Whether intended as a veiled threat or an insinuation of deeper knowledge, this tweet could imply some things. Michael Hastings was an American investigative journalist who gained significant notoriety for his fearless reporting on national security issues and influential governm … | Continue reading


@hackingbutlegal.com | 1 year ago

Russian Oligarch Hired Spies to Surveil Girlfriend in Major US Cities

by Scott Stedman and Jackie Singh This piece originally appeared in Forensic News on August 1, 2022. | Continue reading


@hackingbutlegal.com | 1 year ago

Criticize Elon Musk? Banned!

Who is the new Trust & Safety Lead helping to ruin Twitter? Dear Reader, I’ve just been caught up amongst the waves of suspensions of journalists on Twitter, no doubt due to my tweets and blog posts which are endlessly critical of Elon Musk and the massive mess he’s intentionally … | Continue reading


@hackingbutlegal.com | 1 year ago

Who is she?

…And what was she doing in the office of Twitter's CEO? Dear Reader, As is typical for me, I was skimming a dataset, and something unusual jumped out at me. In today’s case, I won’t bore you with too many investigative details, since I’m not sure they really matter at this junctu … | Continue reading


@hackingbutlegal.com | 1 year ago

At FIFA World Cup 2022?The Qatari Government is Spying On You.

While France, Norway, and Germany sounded the alarm, America didn’t, despite the massive connection to a U.S.-based private military firm mired in previous surveillance scandals and founded by a former CIA employee. Then, a popular sports journalist recently critical of Qatar die … | Continue reading


@hackingbutlegal.com | 1 year ago