Tax time is once again upon us here in the USA, which means that the tax scammers are coming out of the woodwork. Many will claim to be representing the IRS, claiming that there is an urgent need to fix a problem with your return, threatening penalties if you don't pay them money. Others will simply try to file fake returns in your name, but send the massive false refund checks to themselves. I'll help you spot and avoid these scams.

In other news: Apple's Passwords app was vulnerable to phishing attacks (now fixed); Amazon is forcing Echo owners to share voice recordings; the Bluetooth chip "backdoor" that wasn't; Captchas were used by Google to translate books and Street View images; ICE uses third party tool to scrape tons of your data; beware of online file converters; Clearview AI attempted to buy millions of mugshots; RCS messaging will soon allow end-to-end encrypted chats between iPhones and Android phones.

Article Links

[9to5mac.com] Apple’s Passwords app was vulnerable to phishing attacks for nearly three months after launch https://9to5mac.com/2025/03/18/apples-passwords-app-was-vulnerable-to-phishing-attacks-for-nearly-three-months-after-launch/

[arstechnica.com] Everything You Say to Your Echo Will Soon Be Sent to Amazon, and You Can’t Opt Out https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/03/everything-you-say-to-your-echo-will-be-sent-to-amazon-starting-on-march-28/

[darkmentor.com] The ESP32 "backdoor" that wasn't https://darkmentor.com/blog/esp32_non-backdoor/

[techradar.com] Captcha if you can: how you’ve been training AI for years without realising it https://www.techradar.com/news/captcha-if-you-can-how-youve-been-training-ai-for-years-without-realising-it

[404media.co] The 200+ Sites an ICE Surveillance Contractor is Monitoring https://www.404media.co/the-200-sites-an-ice-surveillance-contractor-is-monitoring/

[malwarebytes.com] Warning over free online file converters that actually install malware https://www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/2025/03/warning-over-free-online-file-converters-that-actually-install-malware

[404media.co] Facial Recognition Company Clearview Attempted to Buy Social Security Numbers and Mugshots for its Database https://www.404media.co/facial-recognition-company-clearview-attempted-to-buy-social-security-numbers-and-mugshots-for-its-database/

[appleinsider.com] RCS messaging will get end-to-end encryption on iPhone https://appleinsider.com/articles/25/03/14/rcs-messaging-will-get-end-to-end-encryption-on-iphone

Tip of the Week: https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/its-tax-scam-time/ 

Further Info

Data Diva interview: https://www.debbiereynoldsconsulting.com/podcast/e228-carey-parker 

Malwarebytes interview: https://www.malwarebytes.com/blog/podcast/2025/03/what-google-chrome-knows-about-you-with-carey-parker-lock-and-code-s06e06 

Amazon Mechanical Turk: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_Mechanical_Turk 

My book: https://fdsd.me/book 

My newsletter: https://fdsd.me/newsletter 

Support our mission! https://fdsd.me/support 

Give the gift of privacy and security: https://fdsd.me/coupons 

Recommend news stories: send to news [at] firewallsdontstopdragons.com 

Send me your questions! https://fdsd.me/qna 

Get your Firewalls Don’t Stop Dragons Merch! https://fdsd.me/merch 

Table of Contents

Use these timestamps to jump to a particular section of the show.

0:00:00: Intro

0:00:21: Guest appearances

0:01:22: News preview

0:03:50: Apple’s Passwords app was vulnerable to phishing attacks for nearly three months

0:10:41: Everything You Say to Your Echo Will Soon Be Sent to Amazon, and You Can’t Opt Out

0:21:30: The ESP32 "backdoor" that wasn't

0:29:16: Captcha if you can: how you’ve been training AI for years without realising it

0:35:08: The 200+ Sites an ICE Surveillance Contractor is Monitoring

0:43:10: Warning over free online file converters that actually install malware

Josh Summers lived in China for many years and learned a lot about privacy and security. Since he left, he's made it his mission to share this knowledge through his website and YouTube channel called All Things Secured - helping regular, everyday people like you and me to protect our data and devices. Today we'll talk specifically about improving your security and privacy on iPhones and Android phones, and even some alternatives outside the Apple and Google ecosystems.

Interview Notes

All Things Secured: https://www.allthingssecured.com/ 

All Things Secured YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AllThingsSecured 

Apple iPhone Lockdown Mode: https://support.apple.com/en-us/105120 

Apple Stolen Device Protection: https://support.apple.com/en-us/120340 

Apple Advanced Data Protection: https://support.apple.com/en-us/108756 

Android Theft Protection: https://blog.google/products/android/android-theft-protection/ 

Google Advanced Protection Program: https://landing.google.com/advancedprotection/faq/ 

iPhone hide/lock apps: https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/lock-or-hide-or-an-app-iph00f208d05/ios 

Cryptomator: https://cryptomator.org/ 

OsmAnd maps: https://osmand.net/ 

Jitsi video conferencing: https://jitsi.org/ 

Hoody AI: https://hoody.com/ai 

DuckDuckGo AI: https://duck.ai/ 

GrapheneOS: https://grapheneos.org/ 

Further Info

Recommend news stories: send to news [at] firewallsdontstopdragons.com 

Send me your questions! https://fdsd.me/qna 

Check out my book, Firewalls Don’t Stop Dragons: https://fdsd.me/book 

Subscribe to the newsletter: https://fdsd.me/newsletter 

Become a patron! https://www.patreon.com/FirewallsDontStopDragons 

Get your Firewalls Don’t Stop Dragons Merch! https://fdsd.me/merch 

Give the gift of privacy and security: https://fdsd.me/coupons 

Support our mission! https://fdsd.me/support 

Generate secure passphrases! https://d20key.com/#/ 

Table of Contents

0:00:14: intro

0:00:27: Couple quick news items

0:01:59: Interview setup

0:02:47: How did you come to start All Things Secured?

0:04:41: What's is like living in China, from a privacy perspective?

0:07:26: What are the basic security and privacy risks with a smartphone?

0:11:21: How do iPhones compare to Android phones?

0:13:35: How does Android's multi-level ecosystem impact security?

0:16:42: How secure are smartphones against remote attacks?

0:19:39: Can you protect your smartphone against direct physical access?

0:25:20: What are some of the latest and greatest smartphone security features?

0:35:51: What if we don't trust Apple or Google's security?

0:40:05: If we don't trust Apple or Google apps, which ones should we consider using?

0:45:35: How can we protect our privacy with AI?

0:53:08: Are there better smartphone options beyond iOS and Android?

0:56:27: What worries you most? What gives you hope?

0:58:54: How can we learn more from you?

1:00:01: Interview wrap-up

1:00:55: Patron bonus content

1:01:55: Guest appearances

1:02:47: Looking ahead

Google's Chrome browser is rolling out changes that will hamstring ad blockers - so there's never been a better time to try a better browser. There are a handful of good options, but I'm going to recommend that you try Firefox with a fantastic ad blocker called uBlock Origin. If you've never tried this powerful combination, you won't believe what you've been missing.

In other news: the UK scrubs all encryption advice from government sites; Signal's CEO threatens to leave Sweden over backdoor demands; UK private health services hit by Medusa ransomware; Australian IVF provider has patient data stolen; Brazil gives Apple 90 days to allow side loading of apps; millions of Android TVs hijacked by a botnet; Qualcomm and Google team up to offer 8 years of Android updates; Google rolls out AI voice call scam detector; and confusion over Trump admin orders regarding Russia cyber threats.

Article Links

[techcrunch.com] UK quietly scrubs encryption advice from government websites https://techcrunch.com/2025/03/06/uk-quietly-scrubs-encryption-advice-from-government-websites/

[swedenherald.com] Signal's CEO: Then We're Leaving Sweden https://swedenherald.com/article/signals-ceo-then-were-leaving-sweden

[theregister.com] Medusa ransomware gang demands $2M from UK private health services provider https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/20/medusa_hcrg_ransomware/

[techcrunch.com] Hackers publish sensitive patient data allegedly stolen from Australian IVF provider Genea https://techcrunch.com/2025/02/26/hackers-publish-sensitive-patient-data-allegedly-stolen-from-australian-ivf-provider-genea/

[9to5mac.com] Brazilian court gives Apple 90 days to allow sideloading on iOS https://9to5mac.com/2025/03/06/brazilian-court-apple-sideloading-ios/

[tomsguide.com] Millions of Android TVs hijacked in massive botnet https://www.tomsguide.com/computing/online-security/millions-of-android-tvs-hijacked-in-massive-botnet-how-to-see-if-yours-is-at-risk

[arstechnica.com] Qualcomm and Google team up to offer 8 years of Android updates https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/02/qualcomm-and-google-team-up-to-offer-8-years-of-android-updates/

[The Hacker News] Google Rolls Out AI Scam Detection for Android to Combat Conversational Fraud https://thehackernews.com/2025/03/google-rolls-out-ai-scam-detection-for.html

[zetter-zeroday.com] Did Trump Admin Order U.S. Cyber Command and CISA to Stand Down on Russia? https://www.zetter-zeroday.com/did-trump-admin-order-u-s-cyber-command-and-cisa-to-stand-down-on-russia/

[theregister.com] uBlock Origin dead for many as Google purges Manifest v2 extensions https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/24/google_v2_eol_v3_rollout/

Tip of the Week: Slay Browser Ads: https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/dragon-hacks-slay-browser-ads/ 

Further Info

My book: https://fdsd.me/book 

My newsletter: https://fdsd.me/newsletter 

Support our mission! https://fdsd.me/support 

Check out my dragon challenge coin: https://fdsd.me/coin2 

Give the gift of privacy and security: https://fdsd.me/coupons 

Recommend news stories: send to news [at] firewallsdontstopdragons.com 

Send me your questions! https://fdsd.me/qna 

Get your Firewalls Don’t Stop Dragons Merch! https://fdsd.me/merch 

Table of Contents

Use these timestamps to jump to a particular section of the show.

0:00:07: Intro

0:00:26: Update your Android devices

0:00:47: News rundown

0:02:50: UK quietly scrubs encryption advice from government websites

0:08:45: Signal's CEO: Then We're Leaving Sweden

0:11:01: Medusa ransomware gang hits UK health services provider

0:15:32: Hackers publish patient data allegedly from Australian IVF provider

0:19:13: Brazilian court gives Apple 90 days to allow sideloading on iOS

0:22:32: Millions of Android TVs hijacked in massive botnet

0:32:17: Qualcomm and Google offer 8 years of Android updates

0:39:18: Google Rolls Out AI Scam Detection for Android

Today, we travel back in time and back to The L0pht with one of the original founders of L0pht Heavy Industries, Weld Pond (aka Chris Wysopal). We'll talk about how hacker culture has impacted modern technology, cybersecurity practices and digital rights, while sprinkling in some classic and hilarious stories from hacker history by someone who lived them.

Interview Notes

Veracode: https://www.veracode.com/ 

L0pht.com: https://l0pht.com/ 

L0pht Congressional testimony 1998: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVJldn_MmMY 

DEF CON 26 reunion panel: https://archive.org/details/youtube-noE4o-roAWM 

MIT Lockpicking guide: https://archive.org/details/mit-guide-to-lock-picking-v05/mode/2up 

The Open Organisation Of Lockpickers (TOOOL): https://toool.us/ 

2600: https://www.2600.com/ 

Classic engineering references: https://bitsavers.org/ 

Further Info

Send me your questions! https://fdsd.me/qna 

Check out my book, Firewalls Don’t Stop Dragons: https://fdsd.me/book 

Subscribe to the newsletter: https://fdsd.me/newsletter 

Become a patron! https://www.patreon.com/FirewallsDontStopDragons 

Get your Firewalls Don’t Stop Dragons Merch! https://fdsd.me/merch 

Give the gift of privacy and security: https://fdsd.me/coupons 

Support our mission! https://fdsd.me/support 

Generate secure passphrases! https://d20key.com/#/ 

Table of Contents

Use these timestamps to jump to a particular section of the show.

0:00:16: intro

0:00:40: Interview setup

0:03:19: How did you come to be in The L0pht?

0:08:36: How did meeting in real life as well as online affect L0pht's dynamics?

0:09:34: How did you find so much free and adandoned computer hardware?

0:13:44: How did you manage to just drive your van in the NSA parking lot?

0:19:20: What has been the lasting impact of your Congressional testimony in 1998?

0:21:45: How did you come to invite cyber czar Richard Clarke to The L0pht?

0:27:17: How have hackers pushed back against overreach from corporations?

0:36:05: Why are lockpicking and computer hacking so closely related?

0:40:55: Is it easier or harder to be a hacker today versus when you started?

0:45:56: Are we still fighing the Crypto Wars of the 90s? Are we winning?

0:51:17: Are there any glaring misconceptions about The L0pht you'd like to fix?

0:55:16: Where are The L0pht folks now and what are they up to?

0:57:51: Interview wrap-up

1:00:59: Patron bonus preview

1:01:35: Looking ahead

Not all Privacy Enhancing Technologies are new - but this one is probably new to you. Onion routing was developing in the 1990's by the US government and is the basis for the Tor Network. Onion routing does one thing very well: it masks your actual IP address. While you can use a VPN for this purpose, onion routing adds a different layer of anonymity - and it's just a cool technology. Today I'll explain how it works, how to use it, and the pros and cons of doing so.

In other news: Bitly is leveraging its URL-shortening empire to monetize your links; a major car company is experimenting with in-car pop up ads; a cautionary tale about law enforcement's access to private phone data; Russian spies are using a clever new phishing technique to gain access to Microsoft 365 accounts; Apple pulls its Advanced Data Protection feature from the UK market in response to demands to 'backdoor' its encryption; and whatever your political beliefs, the chaos and careless changes made by the DOGE group are seriously undermining national security.

Article Links

[tedium.co] Broken Bits https://tedium.co/2025/02/07/bitly-terms-of-service-change/

[techstory.in] Stellantis Introduces Pop-Up Ads in Vehicles, Sparking Outrage Among Owners https://techstory.in/stellantis-introduces-pop-up-ads-in-vehicles-sparking-outrage-among-owners/

[arstechnica.com] No warrant or crimes—but Oregon woman’s nudes were shared after illegal phone search https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/02/no-warrant-or-crimes-but-oregon-womans-nudes-were-shared-after-illegal-phone-search/

[arstechnica.com] Russian spies use device code phishing to hijack Microsoft accounts https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2025/02/russian-spies-use-device-code-phishing-to-hijack-microsoft-accounts/

[bbc.com] Apple pulls data protection tool after UK government security row https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgj54eq4vejo

[schneier.com] DOGE as a National Cyberattack https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2025/02/doge-as-a-national.html

Tip of the Week: How Onion Routing Works: https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/how-onion-routing-works/ 

Further Info

Safe link shortener: https://kutt.it/

Read before using the Tor Browser: https://www.privacyguides.org/en/tor/ 

Tor Browser: https://www.torproject.org/download/ 

Onion sites that don’t suck: https://github.com/neilzone/onion-sites-that-dont-suck 

My book: https://fdsd.me/book 

My newsletter: https://fdsd.me/newsletter 

Support our mission! https://fdsd.me/support 

Give the gift of privacy and security: https://fdsd.me/coupons 

Recommend news stories: send to news [at] firewallsdontstopdragons.com 

Send me your questions! https://fdsd.me/qna 

Get your Firewalls Don’t Stop Dragons Merch! https://fdsd.me/merch 

Table of Contents

Use these timestamps to jump to a particular section of the show.

0:00:07: News preview

0:02:19: Broken Bits

0:13:50: Stellantis Introduces Pop-Up Ads in Vehicles

0:20:28: Oregon woman’s nudes were shared after illegal phone search

0:28:03: Russian spies use device code phishing to hijack Microsoft accounts

0:35:07: Apple pulls data protection tool after UK government security row

0:45:58: DOGE as a National Cyberattack

0:59:54: Tip of the Week: Onion Routing

1:11:53: Wrap-up

Generic security advice is good, but tailored advice is much better. Everyone's situation is a little different. What are you trying to protect? Who or what are you trying to protect it from? What are the consequences of failure? This is called threat modeling. And thankfully, the wonderful folks at Consumer Reports have a free, easy-to-use Security Planner tool that will help anyone do this assessment and provide custom solutions. My guest today is Yael Grauer, who will help us understand how to think about our security and how the CR tool can help you protect your data and devices.

Interview Notes

Consumer Reports Security Planner tool: https://securityplanner.consumerreports.org/ 

Yael’s website: https://yaelwrites.com/ 

Big Ass Data Broker Opt Out List (BADBOOL): https://github.com/yaelwrites/Big-Ass-Data-Broker-Opt-Out-List 

Consumer Reports advocacy: https://advocacy.consumerreports.org/ 

CR’s Digital Standard: https://thedigitalstandard.org/ 

CR’s Consumer Readiness Report 2024 (PDF): https://innovation.consumerreports.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/2024-Consumer-Cyber-Readiness-Report.pdf 

How to choose a PIN code: https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/how-to-choose-a-pin/ 

Further Info

Send me your questions! https://fdsd.me/qna 

Check out my book, Firewalls Don’t Stop Dragons: https://fdsd.me/book 

Subscribe to the newsletter: https://fdsd.me/newsletter 

Become a patron! https://www.patreon.com/FirewallsDontStopDragons 

Get your Firewalls Don’t Stop Dragons Merch! https://fdsd.me/merch 

Give the gift of privacy and security: https://fdsd.me/coupons 

Support our mission! https://fdsd.me/support 

Generate secure passphrases! https://d20key.com/#/ 

Table of Contents

Use these timestamps to jump to a particular section of the show.

0:00:07: Intro

0:01:07: Interview setup

0:02:35: Yael introduction

0:04:19: What questions should we answer to get useful security advice?

0:06:41: How does Security Planner work?

0:08:03: How does Security Planner tailor its suggestions?

0:10:58: How do you decide what the most important factors are for security?

0:15:11: What might trigger me to re-run this tool and get a fresh report?

0:17:18: How does Consumer Reports research its recommendations?

0:19:59: How does CR vet the products and services that it recommends?

0:23:18: How do you weight things like convenience and ease of use?

0:27:34: Is it okay to make people pay for basic security features?

0:35:08: What role should government play in pushing for better security?

0:36:55: How important is transparency for driving better security?

0:39:15: What did the CR Cyber Readiness survey reveal?

0:43:22: Why do we choose bad passwords?

0:45:55: Why don't companies provider better support for security problems?

0:51:39: What's next for you and CR? How do we get updates?

0:53:43: Interview wrap-up

0:56:20: Patron bonus content preview

0:57:06: Looking ahead

Privacy is a human right - and you don't have to justify rights, you just have them. That's kinda the whole point. But you do need to exercise them and defend them sometimes. It has been leaked that the UK is telling Apple to reveal the encrypted data of every single one of their users to the UK government under the auspices of the Investigatory Powers Act (and its recent controversial Amendment). This would be a privacy and security disaster, and we were not even supposed to know about it.

In other news: Netgear warns of serious router bugs (so update your firmware now); DeepSeek AI app has serious security and privacy problems, but the AI model has real promise in other ways; AngelSense personal customer data exposed; Cybercrime groups exploit 7-Zip app flaws to bypass Windows protections; some clever Mac and iOS malware making the rounds; new Android Identity Check feature released, and I introduce some Privacy Enhancing Technologies.

Article Links

[Bleeping Computer] Netgear warns users to patch critical WiFi router vulnerabilities https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/netgear-warns-users-to-patch-critical-wifi-router-vulnerabilities/

[krebsonsecurity.com] Experts Flag Security, Privacy Risks in DeepSeek AI App https://krebsonsecurity.com/2025/02/experts-flag-security-privacy-risks-in-deepseek-ai-app/

[techcrunch.com] AngelSense exposed location data and personal information of tracked users https://techcrunch.com/2025/01/30/angelsense-exposed-location-data-and-personal-information-of-tracked-users/

[The Hacker News] Russian Cybercrime Groups Exploiting 7-Zip Flaw to Bypass Windows MotW Protections https://thehackernews.com/2025/02/russian-cybercrime-groups-exploiting-7.html

[appleinsider.com] New macOS malware disguises itself as Chrome & Zoom installers https://appleinsider.com/articles/25/02/04/new-macos-malware-disguises-itself-as-chrome-zoom-installers

[macrumors.com] Apple Removed Apps Infested With Screen Reading Malware https://www.macrumors.com/2025/02/06/apple-removed-screen-reading-malware-apps/

[Bleeping Computer] New Android Identity Check locks settings outside trusted locations https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/new-android-identity-check-locks-settings-outside-trusted-locations/

[theverge.com] Apple ordered to open encrypted user accounts globally to UK spying https://www.theverge.com/news/608145/apple-uk-icloud-encrypted-backups-spying-snoopers-charter

Tip of the Week: https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/privacy-enhancing-technologies-pet/ 

Further Info

Securing your router:  https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/secure-your-network-4-remediate/ 

Objective-See tools: https://objective-see.org/ 

Recommend news stories: send to news [at] firewallsdontstopdragons.com 

Check out my book, Firewalls Don’t Stop Dragons: https://fdsd.me/book 

Subscribe to the newsletter: https://fdsd.me/newsletter 

Become a patron! https://www.patreon.com/FirewallsDontStopDragons 

Get your Firewalls Don’t Stop Dragons Merch! https://fdsd.me/merch 

Give the gift of privacy and security: https://fdsd.me/coupons 

Support our mission! https://fdsd.me/support 

Generate secure passphrases! https://d20key.com/#/ 

Table of Contents

Use these timestamps to jump to a particular section of the show.

0:00:06: Intro

0:00:20: Tax scams, ID.me

0:02:54: News preview

0:05:01: Netgear router vulnerabilities

0:08:17: DeepSeek AI has security problems, but also shows promise

0:19:36: AngelSense exposed personal information of tracked users

0:26:23: Russian Cybercrime Groups Exploiting 7-Zip Flaw

0:35:44: macOS stealer malware disguises itself as fake installer

0:42:30: New Apple malware uses OCR to mine secrets

0:46:00: New Android Identity Check locks settings outside trusted locations

0:49:10: Apple ordered to open encrypted user accounts globally to UK spying

1:04:56: Tip of the Week: Privacy Enhancing Technologi...

In the real world, we present different aspects of ourselves in different environments: home, work, family, friends, school, etc. Why can't we do this in the virtual world, as well? While marketers love to identify us with unique identifiers so they can track us mercilessly, there are tools we can use that will allow us to compartmentalize our digital lives just like we can in the real world. Today we'll discuss the notion of decentralized identity with Dr. Paul Ashley, CTO of Anonyome Labs who runs the MySudo service.

Interview Notes

MySudo: https://anonyome.com/individuals/mysudo/ 

Anonyome Labs: https://anonyome.com/ 

Open Wallet Foundation: https://openwallet.foundation/ 

Verifiable Credentials (W3C): https://www.w3.org/TR/vc-data-model/ 

Privacy is Power interview: https://podcast.firewallsdontstopdragons.com/2024/11/25/privacy-is-power-2/ 

EFF on digital wallets: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/09/digital-id-isnt-everybody-and-thats-okay

Further Info

Recommend news stories: send to news [at] firewallsdontstopdragons.com 

Send me your questions! https://fdsd.me/qna 

Check out my book, Firewalls Don’t Stop Dragons: https://fdsd.me/book 

Subscribe to the newsletter: https://fdsd.me/newsletter 

Become a patron! https://www.patreon.com/FirewallsDontStopDragons 

Get your Firewalls Don’t Stop Dragons Merch! https://fdsd.me/merch 

Give the gift of privacy and security: https://fdsd.me/coupons 

Support our mission! https://fdsd.me/support 

Generate secure passphrases! https://d20key.com/#/ 

Table of Contents

Use these timestamps to jump to a particular section of the show.

0:00:14: Intro

0:00:38: Getting more non-US news stories

0:02:44: Still waiting on big winner to reply

0:03:15: Intervew setup

0:05:23: How did Anonyome Labs get started?

0:12:20: Which identifiers are most valuable for tracking people?

0:15:19: Can you explain "de-centralized IDs " and "identity wallets"?

0:24:28: Are there open standards for digital ID?

0:29:20: Can digital ID be used to privately verify your age online?

0:32:18: Can email relay companies see all your emails?

0:36:31: How about using a custom domain for creating email aliases?

0:38:50: Don't a lot of sites reject email and phone numbers from alias services?

0:43:17: Do social media companies allow you to have multiple accounts?

0:46:37: What about ad ID's and fingerprinting?

0:51:21: What happens if your virtual ID company goes bad or goes dark?

0:55:36: Can I trust the virtual ID companies with my privacy?

0:59:07: Are there downsides or gotchas to using services like these?

1:00:51: How can we convince companies to respect our privacy?

1:04:48: What else is MySudo working on?

1:07:41: Interview wrap-up

1:08:17: Patron preview

1:08:42: Looking ahead

Software plugins allow you to add functionality to existing applications. Web browsers commonly use these extensions to add functionality like shopping helpers, password managers, ad blockers and much, much more. In a way, these add-ons are like "apps" for the browser. Like apps, they can view and manipulate your data. In the browser, they may alter the web page, track pages you visit, and even mine any data you might enter into web forms. Also like apps, plugins can have permissions which you must agree to when you install them. Therefore, we need to be very careful which plugins we install and make sure we trust the maker. Today I'll explain how to audit your plugins.

In other news: The TikTok ban has been given a 75-day reprieve; the Trump administration fires scores of cybersecurity experts; Apple Intelligence will soon be enabled by default on iPhones and Macs; some clever researchers have hacked the iPhone USB-C connection; a tricky new smishing campaign tricks users into bypassing Apple protections; PowerSchool hack affects 62M students and 9M teachers; new AI took can identify where a photo was taken; Subaru hack exposes scary amount of location data collection; fuzzing tool find over 100 bugs in modern cellular network; Texas sues Allstate for using private car data; FTC to ban GM from sharing location info; exercise equipment collects lots of personal data; federal court finally rules that Section 702 FISA data access requires a warrant.

Article Links

[theverge.com] Trump signs order refusing to enforce TikTok ban for 75 days https://www.theverge.com/2025/1/20/24348213/trump-tiktok-ban-executive-order-sale-delay-china

[techcrunch.com] Trump administration fires members of cybersecurity review board in “horribly shortsighted” decision https://techcrunch.com/2025/01/22/trump-administration-fires-members-of-cybersecurity-review-board-in-horribly-shortsighted-decision/

[macrumors.com] macOS Sequoia 15.3 and iOS 18.3 Enable Apple Intelligence Automatically https://www.macrumors.com/2025/01/21/macos-sequoia-15-3-apple-intelligence-opt-out/

[9to5mac.com] Security vulnerability in iPhone’s USB-C port, and a gotcha with iMessage scams https://9to5mac.com/2025/01/14/security-vulnerability-in-iphones-usb-c-port-and-a-gotcha-with-imessage-scams/

[Tech Radar] PowerSchool hack keeps getting worse - 62 million students now thought to be affected https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/powerschool-hack-keeps-getting-worse-62-million-students-now-thought-to-be-affected

[404media.co] The Powerful AI Tool That Cops (or Stalkers) Can Use to Geolocate Photos in Seconds https://www.404media.co/the-powerful-ai-tool-that-cops-or-stalkers-can-use-to-geolocate-photos-in-seconds/

[wired.com] Subaru Security Flaws Exposed Its System for Tracking Millions of Cars https://www.wired.com/story/subaru-location-tracking-vulnerabilities/

[The Hacker News] RANsacked: Over 100 Security Flaws Found in LTE and 5G Network Implementations https://thehackernews.com/2025/01/ransacked-over-100-security-flaws-found.html

[gizmodo.com] Texas Sues Allstate for Collecting Driver Data to Raise Premiums https://gizmodo.com/texas-sues-allstate-for-collecting-driver-data-to-raise-premiums-2000549878

[techcrunch.com] GM banned from sharing driving and location data with insurance companies https://techcrunch.com/2025/01/17/gm-banned-from-sharing-driving-and-location-data-with-insurance-companies/

[consumerreports.org] Your Exercise Bike Knows a Lot About You—and It Doesn't Keep Every Secret https://www.consumerreports.org/health/health-privacy/exercise-machine-privacy-a3907557984/

[eff.org] VICTORY! Federal Court (Finally) Rules Backdoor Searches of 702 Data Unconstitutional https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/01/victory-federal-court-finally-rules-backdoor-searches-702-data-unconstitutional

Tip of the Week: Treat Extensions Like Apps: https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/treat-extensions-like-apps/ 

Further Info

There are way too many data brokers and they have way too much of our data. We've talked a lot lately about what you can do to reclaim your privacy and claw back some of that data and today I'm going to give you yet another interesting tool for your privacy toolbox: Permission Slip. This app and the related service, brought to you by Consumer Reports, will work on your behalf to request that these data brokers relinquish your information, or at least suppress the sharing of that data to the extent that's legally possible. The tool has some helpful and interesting features that you may not find on other, similar services. Sukhi Gulati GIlbert is my guest today and will explain why you should consider using this tool and how it supports the overall effort to rein in dangerous business of data mining.

Interview Notes

Permission Slip app: https://permissionslipcr.com/ 

Protecting Your Privacy Online: https://www.consumerreports.org/electronics/privacy/from-our-president-protecting-your-privacy-online-a1603013649/ 

Digital Security & Privacy: https://www.consumerreports.org/digital-security-privacy/ 

CR Report on data deletion services (PDF): https://innovation.consumerreports.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Data-Defense_-Evaluating-People-Search-Site-Removal-Services-.pdf 

California data broker registry: https://cppa.ca.gov/data_broker_registry/ 

How to download the Vermont data broker list (which doesn’t seem to work): https://www.muckrock.com/foi/vermont-80/vermont-data-broker-db-107096/ 

My article series on data deletion: https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/osint-reconnaissance/ 

Further Info

Annual listener survey!! https://fdsd.me/survey2025 

Send me your questions! https://fdsd.me/qna 

Check out my book, Firewalls Don’t Stop Dragons: https://fdsd.me/book 

Subscribe to the newsletter: https://fdsd.me/newsletter 

Become a patron! https://www.patreon.com/FirewallsDontStopDragons 

Get your Firewalls Don’t Stop Dragons Merch! https://fdsd.me/merch 

Give the gift of privacy and security: https://fdsd.me/coupons 

Support our mission! https://fdsd.me/support 

Generate secure passphrases! https://d20key.com/#/ 

Table of Contents

Use these timestamps to jump to a particular section of the show.

0:00:12: Intro

0:00:51: Couple quick news notes

0:01:45: Last call: listener survey

0:02:47: Interview setup

0:03:48: What brought you to Consumer Reports and the Permission Slip app?

0:07:19: How does Permission Slip compare to other data deletion services?

0:14:17: Where are the data brokers getting so much of our personal info?

0:17:00: How do I use Permission Slip?

0:21:47: What info does Permission Slip give to brokers?

0:24:42: Is it more effective to request data deletion yourself versus using a service?

0:31:12: What level of success should I expect when deleting my data?

0:33:16: Are there any limitations or exclusions for data deletion?

0:38:19: What if you live in a state or country with no privacy laws?

0:39:44: Can we limit access to our public data records?

0:41:24: Does freezing your credit do anything to limit data sharing?

0:43:53: How broken is the 'notice and consent' model for privacy?

0:45:57: Would it help to actively spread incorrect personal info?

0:48:31: How else can we reduce our data footprint?

0:50:04: What's next for Consumer Reports in terms of privacy?

0:53:46: What does Permission Slip Pro cost?

0:55:19: Interview wrap-up

0:59:11: Patron content preview

0:59:50: Looking ahead