Andy Greenberg

Writer for WIRED. Author of SANDWORM. New book, TRACERS IN THE DARK: The Global Hunt for the Crime Lords of Cryptocurrency, out now. agreenberg@wired.com

Website:: https://andygreenberg.net/
WIRED page:: https://www.wired.com/author/andy-greenberg/
Birdsite:: https://twitter.com/a_greenberg
Bluesky:: @agreenberg.bksy.social

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agreenberg_at_infosec.exchange@momostr.pink

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Last Notes

2026-09-22 20:59:50 UTC

For anyone who heard me tell the story of scam compound whistleblower and human trafficking survivor Red Bull again on Fresh Air today: He still needs your help.
Please see the GoFundMe, which I have vetted, below. And thank you for whatever you can give. https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-whistleblower-journey-to-a-cybersecurity-degree

2026-09-22 13:13:02 UTC

Using AI in many cases means sending your most sensitive and intimate thoughts to a server where they can be exploited as training data, sold to ad brokers, or even handed to law enforcement.
So I assembled this guide to using AI with your privacy intact. https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-use-ai-with-your-privacy-intact/

2026-08-12 12:41:04 UTC

A hacking device the size of a quarter can be plugged into a port accessible from the exterior of a Boeing 737 to change its autopilot navigation or tamper with values used to calculate its takeoff speed, a group of security researchers has shown. 🧵👇 https://www.wired.com/story/this-coin-sized-device-can-hack-a-boeing-737/

2026-08-06 21:52:48 UTC

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All of this is being presented today at Black Hat by security researchers Vangelis Stykas and Felipe Solferini.
Moral of the story: careful what technology you strap to your kid. /end
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/117/050/780/151/932/479/original/80ed422cdd99057f.jpg

2026-08-06 21:51:03 UTC

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There are so many of these devices/brands/resellers, in fact, that neither the researchers nor we at WIRED could test them individually. But we reached out to all of them, and you can see a table of their responses in our full story here: https://www.wired.com/story/hackers-stalked-me-by-hijacking-a-smartwatch-for-kids/

2026-08-06 21:50:43 UTC

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Two other platforms the researchers found security flaws in, SinoTrack and NewGPS2012, never responded and don't appear to have fixed anything. Together the three Chinese companies serve as backends for tens of millions of GPS devices, dozens of brands, sold around the world.

2026-08-06 21:49:38 UTC

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That platform, China-based SETracker, ignored the researchers' bug reports for months and denied their findings when we at WIRED inquired. Only when I sent evidence (like this picture the researchers silently took of me at my desk, plus eavesdropped audio) did they fix anything.
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/117/050/766/548/391/872/original/c2ffeaefd3a13549.jpg

2026-08-06 21:48:47 UTC

Two security researchers shipped me a pink plastic kid's smartwatch from Amazon. When I wore it, they tracked my movements, surreptitiously took photos of me, even listened to my conversations.
The same backend they hacked is used by 30+ watch brands for kids. 🧵👇
https://www.wired.com/story/hackers-stalked-me-by-hijacking-a-smartwatch-for-kids/

2026-08-06 01:41:25 UTC

At Black Hat, security researcher Vangelis Stykas reveals what he found by lurking inside North Korean hackers’ infrastructure for nearly two years: They got footholds inside 1,640 networks, by his count. About half of those intrusions were serious breaches. https://www.wired.com/story/a-security-pro-hacked-north-korean-hackers-he-found-theyd-breached-hundreds-of-networks-worldwide/

2026-07-30 21:21:44 UTC

A Minnesota state fusion center report ties the cyberattacks on 30+ Minnesota water utilities to Iranian-affiliated hackers, according to a water utility information sharing group's memo I obtained.
https://www.wired.com/story/a-leaked-memo-ties-cyberattacks-on-minnesota-water-utilities-to-iran/

2026-07-30 13:48:54 UTC

Scam researchers told a Claude agent and human "scammers" to text test subjects and build a relationship. After a week, subjects said they trusted the AI more than the human and almost half were willing to install an app at its request. Almost none detected it was AI. https://www.wired.com/story/ai-scammers-are-better-at-building-trust-than-humans/

2026-07-21 11:36:27 UTC

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As a result, the device is in over 2 million cars, about half of whose owners told dealers they didn't want it, by UCSD's estimate. They may not have any idea it's inside their vehicle.
Yet it's beaconing and can be "activated" instantly by a hacker and hijacked for theft or chaotic effects.
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/116/957/756/013/787/168/original/cd4417d2d3093527.png

2026-07-21 11:34:36 UTC

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UCSD warned KARR's manufacturer, who has now pushed out a fix. The complication: KARR is typically installed by dealers to prevent theft from their lots. If a buyer doesn't want it as an add-on, the dealer still leaves it wired in under the hood anyway in a "deactivated" state.
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/116/957/750/790/638/017/original/359d4a3798846023.jpeg

2026-07-21 11:33:33 UTC

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Researchers at UCSD found the KARR car alarm has vulnerabilities that let a hacker in Bluetooth range unlock a car, immobilize it, or trigger horns and lights.
They can even hack a parking lot full of vehicles—or stealthily steal one—as we demoed in the video below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwA3CuJxbk4

2026-07-21 11:32:10 UTC

A device inside millions of cars has a security flaw that lets hackers unlock, track, even paralyze vehicles.
There's a patch. The problem? Half of car owners who have the device installed didn't ask for it, and may not even know about it. Thread👇
https://www.wired.com/story/a-device-hidden-in-cars-across-the-us-leaves-them-vulnerable-to-hacking-and-paralysis-patch-it-now/

2026-05-21 13:30:14 UTC

After this week's Github breach, we checked in on hacker group TeamPCP's victim count: their supply chain attacks have tainted more than 500 pieces of software (a thousand-plus different version) and breached hundreds of companies. This is out of control.
https://www.wired.com/story/teampcp-software-supply-chain-attack-spree-github/

2026-05-07 12:40:06 UTC

Researchers at security firm RedAccess found more than 5,000 vibe-coded apps, created with AI tools from Lovable, Replit, Base44 and Netlify, with essentially no security, accessible on the open web. About 40% exposed sensitive personal or corporate data. https://www.wired.com/story/thousands-of-vibe-coded-apps-expose-corporate-and-personal-data-on-the-open-web/

2026-04-23 22:03:24 UTC

A newly decoded piece of sabotage malware called Fast16, created even before Stuxnet, was designed to silently tamper with/corrupt calculations in research and engineering software. Likely created by the US or an ally, and possibly used against Iran's nuclear program. https://www.wired.com/story/fast16-malware-stuxnet-precursor-iran-nuclear-attack/

2026-04-07 20:22:25 UTC

As Trump threatens scorched-earth attacks on Iran, a joint advisory from US agencies warns Iran-linked hackers have hit US critical infrastructure: "In a few cases, this activity has resulted in operational disruption and financial loss." https://www.wired.com/story/iran-linked-hackers-are-sabotaging-us-energy-and-water-infrastructure/

2026-03-20 00:12:36 UTC

Feds just took down 4 botnets, including the Aisuru and Kimwolf botnets that carried out record-breaking DDOS attacks peaking at 30+ terabits per second, nearly three times the previous record. DOJ says the botnets had hijacked more than three million devices. https://www.wired.com/story/us-takes-down-botnets-used-in-record-breaking-cyberattacks/

2026-03-10 15:08:41 UTC

Good reporting by
@npub1xvw…ksg7 to confirm what we reported as a theory last week: That the highly sophisticated iPhone hacking toolkit known as Coruna, found in the hands of Russian spies and now criminal hackers, is an out-of-control US-government-funded creation. https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/09/an-iphone-hacking-toolkit-used-by-russian-spies-likely-came-from-u-s-military-contractor/

2026-02-12 14:08:47 UTC

Crypto transactions for human trafficking—both forced laborers in scam compounds and sex trafficking—grew by at least 85% in 2025. Now measured in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Almost all these deals are being carried out on Chinese-language Telegram channels. https://www.wired.com/story/crypto-funded-human-trafficking-is-exploding/

2026-01-27 14:00:04 UTC

Last year, a human trafficking victim trapped in a crypto scam compound in the Golden Triangle region of Laos contacted me. He proceeded to leak to me a huge collection of the compound's internal materials.
Then he had to get out alive. This is his story.
🧵👇
https://www.wired.com/story/he-leaked-the-secrets-southeast-asian-scam-compound-then-had-to-get-out-alive/

2026-01-03 09:44:05 UTC

When China invades Taiwan sometime in the coming years, it will say the US has no moral authority to oppose its takeover, and to the degree that the US is the Trump administration, China will be right.

2025-12-23 13:34:10 UTC

A measure of how wildly the crypto scam plague grew in 2025: The top two Chinese-language markets for crypto scam money launderers are now doing $2 billion *a month* in transactions. These are the biggest online black markets ever, operating in plain sight on Telegram. https://www.wired.com/story/expired-tired-wired-chinese-scammer-crypto-markets/

2025-12-04 17:22:31 UTC

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It's tempting to think of Phreeli as a phone carrier where every phone is a burner phone. But Merrill resists that description. Instead, he argues that anonymous cell service should be as normal as curtains on your home's windows.
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/662/451/432/470/655/original/474cff361fbac432.png

2025-12-04 17:21:58 UTC

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Providing someone a voice and data plan without knowing their name is, surprisingly, legal across the US, Merrill says. Anonymous payments are trickier, but Phreeli will use a crypto system based on "zero knowledge proofs" to separate payment info from phone records—even if you pay with a credit card.

2025-12-04 17:21:30 UTC

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Now Merrill is launching a privacy-focused cell service designed to know almost nothing about you. Phreeli will function as a kind of layer on top of T-Mobile's network. The cell towers are T-Mobile’s, but the contracts with users—and the decisions about what data to collect from them—are Phreeli’s.

2025-12-04 17:21:11 UTC

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Phreeli's founder is Nicholas Merrill, who became famous in the privacy world for refusing to comply with a warrantless FBI surveillance order sent to his internet service provider in 2004, demanding a customer's information. He spent a decade-plus in court fighting the order—and won.
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/662/446/131/915/584/original/8bdc3ce54ff90aad.png

2025-12-04 17:20:42 UTC

The new anonymous phone carrier startup Phreeli, launching today, will let you sign up for cellular service with almost no personally identifiable information—not even your name. All it asks for is a ZIP code, the minimum info legally required for tax purposes. https://www.wired.com/story/new-anonymous-phone-carrier-sign-up-with-nothing-but-a-zip-code/

2025-11-18 14:09:32 UTC

Researchers tried plugging every possible phone number into WhatsApp's web app. They found they could collect 3.5 billion users' phone numbers, plus photos for half and profile text for almost a third, the biggest personal data exposure ever by some measures.
https://www.wired.com/story/a-simple-whatsapp-security-flaw-exposed-billions-phone-numbers/

2025-10-14 01:13:38 UTC

Researchers pointed a satellite dish at the sky for 3 years and monitored what unencrypted data it picked up. The results were shocking: They obtained thousands of T-Mobile users' phone calls and texts, military and law enforcement secrets, much more: 🧵👇https://www.wired.com/story/satellites-are-leaking-the-worlds-secrets-calls-texts-military-and-corporate-data/

2025-08-08 20:24:41 UTC

Researchers at Defcon just showed they can crack the Securam ProLogic locks used on high-security safes to protect guns, cash, and narcotics in pharmacies.
When they told Securam last year, it sent them legal threats—and didn't fix the flaws.
https://www.wired.com/story/securam-prologic-safe-lock-backdoor-exploits/

2025-07-19 15:58:53 UTC

On the one-year anniversary of CrowdStrike's disastrous crashes that took down millions of computers worldwide, a new study finds 750-plus hospital networks in the US were disrupted, and 200-plus appear to have had outages of patient medical services. https://www.wired.com/story/at-least-750-us-hospitals-faced-disruptions-during-last-years-crowdstrike-outage-study-finds/

2025-07-09 19:32:38 UTC

McDonald's uses an AI chatbot called "Olivia" for hiring. A pair of hackers found they could access every conversation job applicants had with it—including all the personal info they shared—by exploiting security vulnerabilities as basic as using the password "123456".
https://www.wired.com/story/mcdonalds-ai-hiring-chat-bot-paradoxai/

2025-06-12 19:54:09 UTC

We've updated and republished our guide to surveillance-resistant protest, first published in the summer of 2020. Paywall is down for this.
https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-protest-safely-surveillance-digital-privacy/

2025-05-30 15:47:14 UTC

Sad to learn that John Young, creator of Cryptome, cypherpunk, shit-stirrer, and progenitor of the transparency movement that led to WikiLeaks and Snowden, has died. I profiled him in my book, This Machine Kills Secrets, which ended with a note he wrote in 2012 about Assange and his early work:
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/114/597/562/214/909/783/original/1218e0fb01e62ffc.png

2025-05-14 20:04:26 UTC

The biggest-ever online black market, Haowang Guarantee, just shut down. The move follows Telegram's decision to ban thousands of accounts that hosted crypto scam markets after WIRED asked about new research on them from blockchain analysis firm Elliptic. https://www.wired.com/story/the-internets-biggest-ever-black-market-shuts-down-after-a-telegram-purge/

2025-05-13 14:07:52 UTC

Crypto-tracing firm Elliptic found Telegram-based Xinbi Guarantee, a market for Chinese crypto scammers and money launderers, had done $8.4 billion in sales—all while registered in the US.
After WIRED asked Telegram about it, Telegram banned thousands of accounts. https://www.wired.com/story/xinbi-guarantee-crypto-scam-hub/

2025-03-26 22:01:29 UTC

And now Trump himself is trying to blame this on Signal: "I think Signal could be defective, to be honest with you."
Don't shoot the (encrypted) messenger.👇https://www.wired.com/story/signalgate-isnt-about-signal/

2025-03-24 18:29:48 UTC

Green card holders detained. A French researcher denied entry for anti-Trump messages. A new travel ban on 40+ countries coming.
Given all these encroachments on travelers' civil liberties, we've updated our guide to digital privacy while crossing US borders. https://www.wired.com/2017/02/guide-getting-past-customs-digital-privacy-intact/

2025-03-02 21:27:20 UTC

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If you think it better serves US interests to cave to Putin and throw Ukraine to the wolves, you're also probably wrong. But at least you're being honest about your ethics, if you can call them that.

2025-03-02 21:19:35 UTC

I've been writing about Russia's invasion of Ukraine since 2016 (it did not begin in 2022) and have yet to talk to a Ukrainian who wants to accept peace on Putin's terms.
So if you're an American pushing for that, please just admit it's because you don't care about Ukrainians.

2025-02-19 11:09:33 UTC

Russia-linked hackers have been phishing Ukrainian military with Signal QR codes that look like group invites but instead add a linked device that eavesdrops on messages. Update Signal now to get its fix for a tactic that’s likely to spread beyond Ukraine. https://www.wired.com/story/russia-signal-qr-code-phishing-attack/

2025-02-12 21:22:46 UTC

Totally normal and cool email to get from the sitting president of the United States of America
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/113/992/441/159/458/533/original/a4c4a4a0981442ca.png

2025-02-10 12:39:52 UTC

As an IRS agent, Tigran Gambaryan was perhaps the most effective crypto investigator in history. Then last year he was charged in Nigeria with money laundering and thrown in prison.
Throughout, he was texting with me from a secret phone. This is his full, untold story. https://www.wired.com/story/untold-story-crypto-crimefighters-descent-nigerian-prison-binance/

2025-02-09 16:17:17 UTC

When we unionized a few years ago, a lot of peanut gallery types on social media wanted to tell me it would be the end of Wired.
Hope it’s now clear (thanks mostly to our insanely talented and hardworking politics team) that it does not work that way.
Unions are good.
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/113/974/826/315/830/067/original/99f88efa12c02a1b.jpg
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/113/974/826/442/510/606/original/7a278591c77ee5e2.jpg
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/113/974/826/569/590/986/original/0b36f2432b97561b.jpg

2025-01-22 00:51:21 UTC

Trump pardons Ross Ulbricht after eleven years in prison. An incredible twist in the never-ending Silk Road saga.
https://www.wired.com/story/trump-frees-silk-road-creator-ross-ulbricht-after-11-years-in-prison/

2025-01-09 13:36:55 UTC

For two years, the serial swatter "Torswats" called in fake school shootings across the US, scrambling police, locking down schools, terrorizing hundreds of communities.
This is the untold story of his swatting rampage and the private eye who tracked him down. https://www.wired.com/school-swatting-torswats-brad-dennis/

2024-12-03 19:21:29 UTC

Two years ago, @npub1cdq…2x6k got banned from Twitter (and later X) for posting a link to a Mastodon account that tracked Elon Musk's private jet.
Now, in the midst of an exodus from X, he's launched a tool to archive and delete your X account so you can escape, too. https://www.wired.com/story/x-delete-posts-cyd-micah-lee/

2024-11-12 13:40:28 UTC

Trump has vowed to deport millions of immigrants and jail his political enemies. Conservative groups who helped elect him want more restrictions on abortion and a crackdown on protest.
All of that requires surveillance. We put together a guide to protect yourself. https://www.wired.com/story/the-wired-guide-to-protecting-yourself-from-government-surveillance/

2024-11-04 16:49:14 UTC

If you read my book Sandworm and/or care about Ukraine, please understand that Trump does not, and if elected he will very likely let Putin win.
"For Ukrainians, the outcome of the US election could be a matter of life and death."
Vote accordingly.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/01/election-ukraine-war-trump-zelenskyy

2024-10-31 12:55:35 UTC

Sophos detailed to me its 5-year cat-and-mouse game with Chinese hackers repeatedly exploiting its firewalls. The company resorted to installing spy "implants" on devices the hackers were testing on—and traced them to a university and contractor in Chengdu. https://www.wired.com/story/sophos-chengdu-china-five-year-hacker-war/

2024-10-09 16:12:53 UTC

In 2020, IRS agent Tigran Gambaryan traced and seized 69,370 bitcoins stolen from the Silk Road drug market.
Now, as those coins are set to be sold off by the US gov—$4.4 billion, the biggest criminal seizure ever to flow into the treasury—he's in jail in Nigeria.
https://www.wired.com/story/4-4-billion-silk-road-bitcoin-tigran-gambaryan/

2024-09-26 12:47:45 UTC

Hackers showed me (there's video) how a website vulnerability let them locate, unlock, honk the horn, start ignition of any of millions Kias in seconds, just by reading a car's license plate.
They found similar bugs for a dozen carmakers over the last two years.
https://www.wired.com/story/kia-web-vulnerability-vehicle-hack-track/