Firewalls Don't Stop Dragons Podcast

We take our cell phones with us everywhere - which makes them the perfect tracking device. Just walking around with your device will give your location away in multiple ways. But even if you had no apps on your phone, the cellular chips in our devices will constantly be interacting with every cell tower that's in range, negotiating the best tower to talk to, whether to use 5G or something else, and authenticating to the network - even in Airplane Mode. Cell site simulators (aka Stingrays or IMSI catchers) can be used to trick your phone into give away your location. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has developed a cheap, easy-to-setup device that can try to discover and report these devices. Today I interview an expert panel about the clever Rayhunter project: Cooper Quintin, The Gibson, and OopsBagel.

Interview Notes

Rayhunter announcement: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/03/meet-rayhunter-new-open-source-tool-eff-detect-cellular-spying 

EFF’s Rayhunter project: https://efforg.github.io/rayhunter/ 

Submitting logs to EFF: https://efforg.github.io/rayhunter/support-feedback-community.html 

DEF CON talk on Rayhunter: https://spectra.video/w/jt9rZHCU51Rh58cBD8oiP3 

Buy yourself an Orbic hotspot: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=orbic+rc400l 

Gotta Catch ‘Em All: https://www.eff.org/wp/gotta-catch-em-all-understanding-how-imsi-catchers-exploit-cell-networks 

iPhone/Android fake cell site protections: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/09/apple-and-google-are-introducing-new-ways-defeat-cell-site-simulators-it-enough 

Meshtastic: https://meshtastic.org/docs/getting-started/ 

Veilid: https://veilid.com/ 

Further Info

My book: https://fdsd.me/book 

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

Support the mission: https://fdsd.me/support 

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

Table of Contents

0:00:00: Intro

0:02:26: Interview setup

0:06:18: How did you become in involved with Rayhunter?

0:12:08: What is a cell site simulator?

0:14:01: What does a CSS look like and how are they deployed?

0:16:55: How is a CSS used for surveillance?

0:20:31: Can cell site simulaters work with modern protocols like 5G?

0:24:09: What information can you sniff from the cellular network?

0:27:41: Is there any transparency around the use of CSS's?

0:30:02: How did Rayhunter evolve from previous work?

0:35:00: How do I make a Rayhunter device?

0:41:45: I've create a Rayhunter... now what?

0:46:10: How can I protect myself against CSS surveillance?

0:49:38: Does Airplane Mode really disable your cellular radio?

0:52:22: How else might I defeat mass surveillance tech?

0:54:46: What's next for everyone?

1:00:53: Interview wrap-up

1:03:36: Meshtastic

1:04:49: Patron podcast preview

1:05:26: Looking ahead

The world wide web, as we know it today, has been around for over 30 years. In that time, most of us have created many dozens, perhaps hundreds, of online accounts. How many of those accounts are still alive somewhere? What data do they hold? And how good are the passwords you used? Today we're going to start on the path to finding all those accounts which could drastically improve our privacy and security.

In the news: millions of Dell laptops have critical security flaws you need to patch now; Facebook may be secretly scanning your phone's images; National Public Data is back and you should delete your data; data brokers are flouting privacy laws; Ionic 5 owners in the UK will have to pay for a security fix; Flipper Zero devices are being (wrongly) blamed for auto thefts; the US Supreme Court allows Mississippi social media law to go into effect; data brokers are hiding their opt-out pages; app TeaOnHer exposed users' data; UK backs down from Apple backdoor demand; and now is the time for EU residents to speak out against Chat Control.

Article Links

Millions of Dell laptops hit by ‘critical’ security vulnerability https://www.pcworld.com/article/2870014/millions-of-dell-laptops-hit-by-critical-security-vulnerability.html

Meta might be secretly scanning your phone's camera roll - how to check and turn it off https://www.zdnet.com/article/meta-might-be-secretly-scanning-your-phones-camera-roll-how-to-check-and-turn-it-off/

You Should Remove Your Info From the Rebooted National Public Data Site https://lifehacker.com/tech/remove-your-info-from-rebooted-national-public-data-site

Data Brokers Are Ignoring Privacy Law. We Deserve Better. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/08/data-brokers-are-ignoring-privacy-law-we-deserve-better

Hyundai wants Ioniq 5 owners to pay to fix a keyless entry security hole https://www.theverge.com/news/757205/hyundai-ioniq-5-security-upgrade-fix-game-boy-device-attacks

Can Flipper Zero really steal your car? (Spoiler: NO) https://blog.flipper.net/can-flipper-zero-steal-your-car/

Supreme Court allows Mississippi social media law to go into effect https://www.npr.org/2025/08/14/nx-s1-5482925/scotus-netchoice

Data Brokers Are Hiding Their Opt-Out Pages From Google Search https://www.wired.com/story/data-brokers-hiding-opt-out-pages-google-search/

How we found TeaOnHer spilling users' driver's licenses in less than 10 minutes | TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com/2025/08/13/how-we-found-teaonher-spilling-users-drivers-licenses-in-less-than-10-minutes/

UK blinks, backs down from its Apple backdoor encryption demand https://appleinsider.com/articles/25/08/19/uk-blinks-backs-down-from-its-apple-backdoor-encryption-demand

Worried about Chat Control? This website can help you get your say https://www.techradar.com/computing/cyber-security/worried-about-chat-control-this-website-can-help-you-get-your-say

Tip of the Week: Data Diet Introduction: https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/data-diet-introduction/ 

Further Info

Cory Doctorow on age verification: https://pluralistic.net/2025/08/14/bellovin/#wont-someone-think-of-the-cryptographers 

Fight EU’s Chat Control: https://fightchatcontrol.eu/ 

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 

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

Table of Contents

0:00:00: Intro

0:01:37: News preview

0:05:00: Millions of Dell laptops hit by ‘critical’ security vulnerability

0:06:44: Meta might be secretly scanning your phone's camera roll

0:12:00: You Should Remove Your Info From National Public Data

0:15:39: Data Brokers Are Ignoring Privacy Law

0:19:06: Hyundai wants Ioniq 5 owners to pay for security fix

0:22:43: Can Flipper Zero really steal your car? (No.)

0:30:38: Supreme Court allows Mississippi social media law to go into effect

0:34:35: Data Brokers Are Hiding Their Opt-Out Pages

0:43:35: We found TeaOnHer spilling users' info in less than 10 minutes

0:49:17: UK backs down from its Apple backdoor demand

0:53:38: Having your say about Chat Control

0:58:41: Tip of the Week: Data Diet, Intro

1:02:52: Merlin's Musings preview

1:04:21: Looking ahead

Why don't we have meaningful privacy laws in the US? While we haven't been able to pass federal privacy legislation, many states have managed to pass laws protecting our data and establishing some basic privacy rights. Vermont House Representative Monique Priestley led a Herculean effort to pass privacy legislation in her state last year. While managing to get a solid bill through the House and Senate, the bill was ultimately vetoed by the governor and the Senate failed to override it. But along the way, Monique learned valuable lessons about dealing with Big Tech lobbyists. Today we'll follow the journey of the Vermont Data Privacy Act of 2024 and what lessons we should learn for future attempts at privacy legislation.

Interview Notes

Monique Priestley: https://mepriestley.com/ 

Vermont State Representative site: https://priestleyvt.com/ 

Vermont Committee Zoom call: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfvAteuwRCA 

Age Appropriate Design Code: https://epic.org/epic-applauds-passage-of-vermont-age-appropriate-design-code/ 

Big Tech Tried to Kill My State’s Privacy Bill. Here’s What I Learned. https://www.techpolicy.press/big-tech-tried-to-kill-my-states-privacy-bill-heres-what-i-learned/ 

The man quietly rewriting American privacy law https://www.politico.com/news/2024/09/17/andrew-kingman-data-privacy-lobbying-00179630 

Further Info

My book: https://fdsd.me/book 

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

Support the mission: https://fdsd.me/support 

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

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

Table of Contents

0:00:00: Intro

0:01:36: Interview setup

0:05:45: How did you get into privacy politics?

0:08:44: Who drafts the initial bill?

0:12:25: How are initial bills modified during this process?

0:17:08: When and how do lobbyists get involved?

0:22:34: Are lobbyists transparent about who they represent?

0:30:42: What are the most controversial elements of a privacy bill?

0:34:16: How are privacy laws limited by scope?

0:39:11: Why is the privacy right of action so important?

0:43:37: How do lobbyists kill privacy bills?

0:49:05: Do legislators collaborate across states?

0:55:19: How did the Vermont privacy bill get killed?

0:57:55: What are your key takeaways from this experience?

1:02:12: What's the current status of privacy legislation?

1:04:57: How can we help?

1:06:57: Wrap-up

1:09:38: Patron podcast preview

1:10:18: Looking ahead

It's early August, which means it's time for BSides Las Vegas and DEF CON, part of the trio of conferences that make up "hacker summer camp" (the other being Black Hat, which I don't attend). It's been a crazy, chaotic week - as usual - but in almost completely good ways. After the regular news, I've got some mini interviews with Jake Braun (DEF CON Franklin), Stacey Higginbotham (Consumer Reports), Cooper Quitin (EFF) and The Gibson (Veilid and hackers.town).

In other news: Tea app users file a class action lawsuit over massive breach; ChatGPT sessions may be searchable by anyone; US government launches initiative to centralize health data for use by tech companies; Australia rolls out age verification for search engines; Grok AI is now in Teslas; China-backed hackers exploit horrific Microsoft bug; Dropbox ends its password manager service.

Article Links

Tea User Files Class Action After Women’s Safety App Exposes Data https://www.404media.co/tea-user-files-class-action-after-womens-safety-app-exposes-data/

ChatGPT users shocked to learn their chats were in Google search results https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/08/chatgpt-users-shocked-to-learn-their-chats-were-in-google-search-results/

Trump administration is launching a new private health tracking system with Big Tech's help https://apnews.com/article/trump-ai-rfk-jr-health-tech-fa73703bd1fd557c787ef0b590e151f1

Australia is quietly rolling out age checks for search engines like Google https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07-11/age-verification-search-engines/105516256

Grok is now in Tesla cars, but not in the way you think https://mashable.com/article/grok-tesla

China-backed hackers used Microsoft flaw in attacks https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/07/21/china-hackers-microsoft-sharepoint/

Users left scrambling for a plan B as Dropbox drops Dropbox Passwords https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/30/dropbox_drops_dropbox_passwords/

Tip of the Week: https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/how-to-backup-cloud-data/ 

Further Info

Top hacker interviews: https://fdsd.me/hackers  

DEF CON Franklin: https://defconfranklin.com/

EFF: https://www.eff.org/

Veilid: https://veilid.com/

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

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 

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

Table of Contents

0:00:00: Intro

0:02:24: News preview

0:03:31: Tea User Files Class Action Lawsuit

0:06:24: ChatGPT users shocked to learn their chats were in Google search results

0:11:11: Trump administration is launching a new private health tracking system

0:17:52: Australia is quietly rolling out age checks for search engines

0:22:56: Grok is now in Tesla cars, but not in the way you think

0:25:29: China-backed hackers used Microsoft flaw in attacks

0:29:50: Dropbox drops Dropbox Passwords

0:32:20: Tip of the Week

0:36:27: Hacker Summer Camp Extras!

0:42:53: SNIPPET: Stacey Higginbotham

0:47:03: SNIPPET: Jack Braun

0:50:18: SNIPPET: Cooper Quintin and Gibson

0:55:04: Wrapup

Cory Doctorow has garnered a lot of needed attention to the decline of modern online platforms, including Google Search, Facebook and Twitter. Much of this is a result of coining the now-viral term Enshittification. Today we'll talk about how the internet was broken and who's to blame. We'll also discuss the lack of privacy laws and the threats of AI to tech workers and copyrighted works. Finally, we'll discuss Cory's novel proposal for how countries could respond to US tariffs by ripping up intellectual property agreements, changing the power dynamic of the Big Tech industry and hopefully benefiting consumers in the process.

Interview Notes

Cory’s blog (Pluralistic): https://pluralistic.net/ 

Canada shouldn't retaliate with US tariffs: https://pluralistic.net/2025/01/15/beauty-eh/#its-the-only-war-the-yankees-lost-except-for-vietnam-and-also-the-alamo-and-the-bay-of-ham 

Who Broke the Internet? https://www.cbc.ca/listen/cbc-podcasts/1353-the-naked-emperor 

Enshittification book (coming Oct 2025): https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374619329/enshittification/ 

Regex: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regular_expression 

Copyright and AI: https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/07/01/1119486/ai-copyright-meta-anthropic/ 

Further Info

Humble Bundle: https://www.humblebundle.com/books/security-apress-books 

My book: https://fdsd.me/book 

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

Support the mission: https://fdsd.me/support 

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

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

Table of Contents

0:00:00: Intro

0:02:07: Humble Bundle!

0:03:09: Interview preview

0:06:52: Has coining the term Enshittification helped to raise awareness?

0:11:08: Who broke the internet?

0:20:15: Will AI reduce tech workers' power?

0:27:21: Why can we not get privacy laws?

0:35:21: How should countries respond to US tariffs?

0:39:57: Do DRM protections incentize creators?

0:44:37: What's your take on the Anthropic AI copyright decision?

0:55:03: What's next for you?

0:56:04: Interview wrap-up

0:57:27: Hacker summer camp

0:59:28: Patron podcast preview

1:00:24: Looking ahead

We take our phones with us everywhere. And they contain, or have cloud access to, pretty much all of our personal information and online accounts. While phone makers have made it difficult for thieves to resell a stolen phone, anyone with physical access to your device may be able to extract its data or access all your accounts. Thankfully, Apple (iOS) and Google (Android) have recently introduced several features that can significantly increase your device's physical security and privacy. We'll discuss some of them today.

In the news: VPN signups in UK spike after age verification law kicks in; Tea app data breach includes IDs; Amazon buys Bee AI wearable; your power meter is a surveillance tool; Amazon's Ring returns to sharing video with police; startup sells hacked data to debt collectors; Gemini AI on Android to get third party app access; Brave blocks Windows Recall; UK backs down on Apple back door; Apple to make passkeys portable; two new AI chatbots that are truly open and private.

Article Links

Proton VPN Signups in UK Surge 1,400% After Online Safety Act Comes Into Force https://cyberinsider.com/proton-vpn-signups-in-uk-surge-1400-after-online-safety-act-comes-into-force/

I Knew the Viral 'Tea' App Was Trouble, but I Didn't Expect a Data Breach https://lifehacker.com/tech/i-knew-the-viral-tea-app-was-trouble-but-i-didnt-expect-a-data-breach 

Amazon buys Bee AI wearable that listens to everything you say https://www.theverge.com/news/711621/amazon-bee-ai-wearable-acquisition

When Your Power Meter Becomes a Tool of Mass Surveillance https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/07/when-your-power-meter-becomes-tool-mass-surveillance

Amazon's Ring goes full founder mode, taking the company back to its crime-fighting roots https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-ring-founder-mode-jamie-siminoff-crime-fighting-roots-2025-7

A Startup is Selling Data Hacked from Peoples’ Computers to Debt Collectors https://www.404media.co/a-startup-is-selling-data-hacked-from-peoples-computers-to-debt-collectors/

Unless users take action, Android will let Gemini access third-party apps https://arstechnica.com/security/2025/07/unless-users-take-action-android-will-let-gemini-access-third-party-apps/

Brave blocks Windows Recall from screenshotting your browsing activity https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/brave-blocks-windows-recall-from-screenshotting-your-browsing-activity/

UK backing down on Apple encryption backdoor after pressure from US https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/07/uk-backing-down-on-apple-encryption-backdoor-after-pressure-from-us/

Passkey portability is finally here in iOS 26 and macOS Tahoe 26 https://9to5mac.com/2025/07/12/passkey-portability-is-finally-here-in-ios-26-and-macos-tahoe-26/

Introducing Lumo, the AI where every conversation is confidential https://proton.me/blog/lumo-ai

A language model built for the public good https://ethz.ch/en/news-and-events/eth-news/news/2025/07/a-language-model-built-for-the-public-good.html

Tip of the Week: https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/physical-phone-security/ 

Further Info

Hacker Plants Computer 'Wiping' Commands in Amazon's AI Coding Agent https://www.404media.co/hacker-plants-computer-wiping-commands-in-amazons-ai-coding-agent/ 

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 

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

Table of Contents

0:00:00: Intro

0:00:47: DEF CON update

0:01:47: News preview

0:04:06: Proton VPN use surges in UK

0:08:13: Data breach at viral Tea app

0:19:36: Amazon buys Bee AI wearable

0:26:47: Using power meters for surveillance

0:30:48: Ring again sharing video with police

0:34:57: Startup selling hacked data to debt collectors

0:42:29: Android lets Gemini access 3rd party apps

0:48:31: Brave blocks Windows Recall

0:53:14: UK backs down on Apple back door

0:57:46: Apple to support passkey portability

1:01:41: Proton's new AI: Lumo

1:07:20: A language model built for the public good

1:08:58: Tip of the Week

1:17:01: Looking ahead

1:17:55: Merlin's Musing preview

We talk a lot about digital or online security. Today we're going to focus on physical security and the general ethos of "be prepared". There are many situations in life when you will find yourself wishing you had had the foresight to acquire certain things or establish certain professional relationships before you actually needed them. Deviant Ollam is a physical penetration specialist. His job is to find and fix weaknesses in physical things... buildings, locks, safes, etc. And along the way he has learned some important lessons for all of us. Today he will share his wisdom with us.

Interview Notes

Deviant’s website: https://deviating.net/ 

Lawyer,Passport, Locksmith, Gun talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ihrGNGesfI 

Attacking Classified Safes & Vaults: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Z_Jv7vuiqg 

Red Team Alliance: https://shop.redteamalliance.com/ 

Red Team Tools: https://www.redteamtools.com/ 

CackalackyCon: https://www.cackalackycon.org/ 

Shut the F**k Up PSA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWEpW6KOZDs 

Home lock - Schlage Primus: https://commercial.schlage.com/en/products/key-systems/primus-security-upgrade.html 

Padlock - Pacific Lock (PACLOCK): https://paclock.com/ 

Further Info

My book: https://fdsd.me/book 

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

Support the mission: https://fdsd.me/support 

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

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

Table of Contents

0:00:00: Intro

0:04:27: What is a physical entry specialist?

0:08:47: How would you describe the prepper ethos?

0:12:21: What are common mistakes for disaster prep?

0:15:52: What should everyone have a passport?

0:20:32: Why should everyone have an established lawyer?

0:28:55: What other professionals should I have at the ready?

0:34:09: What locks should I use or avoid?

0:40:39: Do any movies and TV shows portray lock picking correctly?

0:43:36: What is 'responsible disclosure' like for physical vulnerabilities?

0:47:44: Do you tell companies when you stumble on physical vulnerabilities?

0:51:41: What documents should we have physical copies of?

0:55:27: If I'm politically active, how can I minimize my digital footprint?

0:59:10: Why should we use secure, private communications?

1:02:34: What's next for you?

1:06:05: Wrap-up

1:08:45: Patron podcast preview

Your cell phone number uniquely identifies you. Many companies rely on this 1-to-1 relationship to authenticate you to their systems. So if someone were to somehow manage to steal your mobile phone number - a hack called SIM swapping - they could use that to impersonate you and compromise any of your accounts that are validated via SMS or phone call. There's a new tool to combat this scam that's better than the old-style account PIN codes. I'll explain how it works.

In the news: many Brother printers have serious cyber vulnerabilities; Belkin in abandoning Wemo smart devices next January; Xfinity's WiFi routers can detect motion in your entire home; Bluesky is rolling out age verification in the UK; California is using drones to catch the use of illegal fireworks; McDonald's AI hiring bot was hacked to expose millions of applicants' data; Mexican drug cartel hacked FBI phone to catch informants; US strikes blow against North Korean fake worker scams; Denmark is looking to ditch Microsoft products.

Article Links

New Vulnerabilities Expose Millions of Brother Printers to Hacking https://www.securityweek.com/new-vulnerabilities-expose-millions-of-brother-printers-to-hacking/ 

Belkin pulls the plug on Wemo smart home products which will stop working in 2026 https://9to5google.com/2025/07/10/belkin-wemo-smart-home-shutdown-list/ 

Using WiFi Motion in the Xfinity app https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/wifi-motion 

Bluesky is rolling out age verification in the UK https://www.theverge.com/news/704468/bluesky-age-verification-uk-online-safety-act 

Huge fines coming for Californians caught by drone with illegal fireworks https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/california-drones-illegal-fireworks-20629637.php 

McDonald’s AI Hiring Bot Exposed Millions of Applicants’ Data https://www.wired.com/story/mcdonalds-ai-hiring-chat-bot-paradoxai/ 

Drug cartel hacked FBI official’s phone to track and kill informants https://arstechnica.com/security/2025/06/mexican-drug-cartel-hacked-fbi-officials-phone-to-track-informant-report-says/ 

Identities of More Than 80 Americans Stolen for North Korean IT Worker Scams https://www.wired.com/story/identities-of-80-plus-americans-stolen-for-north-korean-it-worker-scams/ 

Why Denmark is dumping Microsoft Office and Windows for LibreOffice and Linux https://www.zdnet.com/article/why-denmark-is-dumping-microsoft-office-and-windows-for-libreoffice-and-linux/ 

Tip of the Week: https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/freezing-your-mobile-account/ 

Further Info

Tom’s Hardware on WiFi Motion: https://www.tomshardware.com/networking/routers/new-xfinity-router-motion-detecting-feature-stokes-privacy-fears-feature-powered-by-wi-fi-signals 

RockYou password list: https://cybernews.com/security/rockyou2024-largest-password-compilation-leak/ 

LibreOffice: https://www.libreoffice.org/discover/libreoffice/ 

Eurostack: https://eurostack.eu/ 

Running Linux in a VM on Windows: https://itsfoss.com/install-linux-mint-in-virtualbox/ 

Age verification: https://www.privacyguides.org/articles/2025/05/06/age-verification-wants-your-face/ 

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 

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

Table of Contents

0:00:00: Intro

0:00:17: DEF CON coming up fast

0:03:34: News preview

0:06:31: New Vulnerabilities Expose Millions of Brother Printers to Hacking

0:11:51: Belkin pulls the plug on Wemo smart home products

0:14:25: Using WiFi Motion in the Xfinity app

0:21:19: Bluesky is rolling out age verification in the UK

0:26:49: Huge fines coming for Californians caught by drone with illegal fireworks

0:29:36: McDonald’s AI Hiring Bot Exposed Millions of Applicants’ Data

0:35:31: Drug cartel hacked FBI official’s phone to track and kill informants

0:39:54: Identities of More Than 80 Americans Stolen for North Korean IT Worker Scams

0:48:33: Why Denmark is dumping Microsoft Office and Windows for LibreOffice and Linux

0:55:48: Tip of the Week

1:01:37: Merch reminder

1:02:12: Patron podcast preview

1:02:45: Looking ahead

Privacy risks are bad enough for adults - but it's much worse for our kids, particularly as students. Who provides notice and obtains consent for minors at school? In many cases it's not the parents, let alone the students - it's the school system. Not only are they opting the students into invasive data collection by profit-driven third parties, but they often also bind them to mandatory arbitration clauses, neutering their ability to seek legal redress for the inevitable violations. Today I'll discuss this horrid state of affairs with someone who is on the front lines of this battle for our children's right to privacy: co-founder of the EdTech Law Center, Andy Liddell.

Interview Notes

EdTech Law Center: https://edtech.law/about-us/ 

EdTech current cases: https://edtech.law/cases/ 

Internet Safety Labs: https://internetsafetylabs.org/ 

The Right to Oblivion (book): https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674260528 

ACLU, Digital Dystopia: https://www.aclu.org/publications/digital-dystopia-the-danger-in-buying-what-the-edtech-surveillance-industry-is-selling 

The Markup, College Prep Software Naviance Is Selling Advertising Access to Millions of Students: https://themarkup.org/machine-learning/2022/01/13/college-prep-software-naviance-is-selling-advertising-access-to-millions-of-students 

Proton blog on EdTech and privacy: https://proton.me/blog/ed-tech-trackers 

Further Info

My book: https://fdsd.me/book 

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

Support the mission: https://fdsd.me/support 

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

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

Table of Contents

0:00:00: Intro

0:02:48: What's your mission at the EdTech Law Center?

0:05:20: What are the unique privacy threats for students?

0:09:46: What privacy laws are there for minors?

0:12:05: How are these laws enforced and litigated?

0:18:21: How does notice and consent work for students?

0:27:05: What rights do the kids have in these situations?

0:29:38: How are these EdTech companies?

0:31:40: Which apps and tools are most problematic and why?

0:37:20: Should minors's data be deleted when they reach adulthood?

0:40:15: Are school systems equipped to understand these contracts?

0:42:35: What about privacy issues with EdTech hardware?

0:45:50: What have we already learned via discovery or reporting?

0:50:01: As a parent, who do I talk to about my child's privacy risks at school?

0:54:16: What are some red flags to look out for?

0:57:10: What responsibilities do school systems have here?

1:00:57: So what can we do? When should we reach out to you?

1:05:02: Interview follow-up

1:06:26: Patron podcast preview

1:07:19: Looking ahead

Do you realize that you're not always using your chosen mobile web browser or your network privacy features? Many mobile apps have their own in-app browser that can gather your data and even inject ads and trackers into any web links you click. I'll explain how this works and what you can do about it.

In the news: 23andMe bankruptcy ombudsman argues for user consent to data; Meta AI app privacy nightmare; Amazon, Roku sharing users for ads; WhatsApp launches in-app ads; healthcare sites are sharing your data; ICE seeks powerful new surveillance tool; Austrian government wants your encrypted data; new US visa rules require social media posts; Scattered Spider targeting insurance info; VT governor signs child data privacy law; Flock blocks access to some US states; Microsoft offers 1-year security updates for Win10 users; new Android 16 security features; Denmark's answer to deepfakes; cleaner Google search results; ChatGPT user info reports.

Article Links

[therecord.media] 23andMe privacy ombudsman recommends company obtains consent for sale of customer data https://therecord.media/23andme-privacy-ombudsman-recommends-consent-sale

[techcrunch.com] The Meta AI app is a privacy disaster https://techcrunch.com/2025/06/12/the-meta-ai-app-is-a-privacy-disaster/

[variety.com] Amazon, Roku Strike Deal to Pool Connected-TV Audiences for Advertisers https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/amazon-roku-pool-connected-tv-audiences-advertising-deal-1236432579/

[9to5mac.com] WhatsApp just launched ads for all users https://9to5mac.com/2025/06/16/whatsapp-just-launched-ads-for-all-users-here-are-the-details/

[The Markup] This Is How You Stop Data Trackers From Sucking up Your Health Data https://themarkup.org/the-breakdown/2025/06/17/this-is-how-you-stop-data-trackers-from-sucking-up-your-health-data

[fedscoop.com] ICE seeks proprietary data and tech to monitor up to a million people  https://fedscoop.com/ice-seeks-proprietary-data-and-tech-to-monitor-up-to-a-million-people/

[reuters.com] Austrian government agrees on plan to allow monitoring of secure messaging https://www.reuters.com/world/austrian-government-agrees-plan-allow-monitoring-secure-messaging-2025-06-18/

[The Hacker News] New U.S. Visa Rule Requires Applicants to Set Social Media Account Privacy to Public https://thehackernews.com/2025/06/new-us-visa-rule-requires-applicants-to.html

[therecord.media] Scattered Spider hackers targeting insurance industry following retail hits, Google warns https://therecord.media/scattered-spider-targeting-insurance-sector-following-retail-attacks

[epic.org] EPIC Applauds Vermont Governor Phil Scott for Signing Age-Appropriate Design Code into Law https://epic.org/epic-applauds-vermont-governor-phil-scott-for-signing-age-appropriate-design-code-into-law/

[404media.co] Flock Removes States From National Lookup Tool After ICE and Abortion Searches Revealed https://www.404media.co/flock-removes-states-from-national-lookup-tool-after-ice-and-abortion-searches-revealed/

[techradar.com] Windows 10 users who don’t want to upgrade to Windows 11 get new lifeline from Microsoft https://www.techradar.com/computing/windows/windows-10-users-who-dont-want-to-upgrade-to-windows-11-get-new-lifeline-from-microsoft

[androidauthority.com] Android 16 introduces Advanced Protection mode to fortify your phone against threats https://www.androidauthority.com/android-16-advanced-protection-mode-2-3566064/

[theguardian.com] Denmark to tackle deepfakes by giving people copyright to their own features https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jun/27/deepfakes-denmark-copyright-law-artificial-intelligence

[tedium.co] Does One Line Fix Google? https://tedium.co/2024/05/17/google-web-search-make-default/

[schneier.com] What LLMs Know About Their Users https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2025/06/what-llms-know-about-their-users.html

Tip of the Week: https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/the-in-app-switcheroo/

Further Info

Delete your 23andMe data: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/03/how-delete-your-23andme-data

Clean Google Search: https://udm56.com/ 

Other Google udm codes: https://serpapi.com/blog/every-google-udm-in-the-world/ 

My book: https://fdsd.me/book 

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

Table of Contents

0:00:00: Intro

0:00:51: News preview

0:03:14: 23andMe ombudsman recommends gaining consent for sale of data

0:07:46: The Meta AI app is a privacy disaster

0:11:04: Amazon, Roku Strike Deal to Pool Audiences for Ads

0:14:19: WhatsApp just launched ads for all users

0:17:03: Data Trackers Are Sucking Up Your Health Data

0:21:37: ICE seeks proprietary data and tech to monitor up to a million people

0:27:29: Austrian government agrees on plan to allow monitoring of secure messaging

0:30:27: New U.S. Visa Rule Requires Applicants to Set Social Media Account Privacy to Public

0:34:09: Scattered Spider hackers targeting insurance industry

0:38:31: VT Governor Phil Scott Signs Age-Appropriate Design Code into Law

0:41:17: Flock Removes States From National Lookup Tool

0:44:02: Windows 10 users get new lifeline from Microsoft

0:47:21: Android 16 introduces Advanced Protection mode

0:50:38: Denmark to tackle deepfakes by giving people copyright to their own features

0:53:50: Does One Line Fix Google?

0:59:06: What LLMs Know About Their Users

1:01:28: Tip of the Week

1:09:03: Hacker Summer Camp news

1:11:18: Looking ahead