#data security best practices for businesses

[legalfirmindia]

Data Protection: Legal Safeguards for Your Business

In today’s digital age, data is the lifeblood of most businesses. Customer information, financial records, and intellectual property – all this valuable data resides within your systems. However, with this digital wealth comes a significant responsibility: protecting it from unauthorized access, misuse, or loss. Data breaches can have devastating consequences, damaging your reputation, incurring…

[mudassir-iqbal]

ERP Selection: Key Factors & Best Practices

Choosing the right Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system is a crucial decision that can significantly impact your organization’s efficiency and growth. With so many options on the market, it is essential to approach the selection process strategically. In this article, I tried to detail the most important factors based on my experience and best practices to consider when selecting an ERP…

[adelitawilliam]

Best Practices For Payroll Data Security In Small Businesses

To ensure payroll data security in small businesses, use secure, encrypted systems for data storage and transactions. Limit access to payroll information to authorized personnel only and implement multi-factor authentication. Regularly update software and back up data. Partnering with professionals offering payroll services for small businesses in Orange CA can provide additional security measures, reducing the risk of data breaches and errors.

[zapperrr]

Securing Your Website: Best Practices for Web Developers

As the digital landscape continues to evolve, website security has become a paramount concern for businesses and individuals alike. With cyber threats becoming increasingly sophisticated, it is crucial for web developers to adopt robust security measures to safeguard their websites and the sensitive data they handle. In this article, we'll delve into the best practices that web developers can implement to enhance the security of their websites and protect against potential threats.

Introduction

In today's interconnected world, websites serve as the digital storefront for businesses, making them vulnerable targets for cyber attacks. From data breaches to malware infections, the consequences of a security breach can be severe, ranging from financial loss to damage to reputation. Therefore, prioritizing website security is essential for maintaining the trust and confidence of users.

Understanding Website Security

Before diving into best practices, it's crucial to understand the importance of website security and the common threats faced by websites. Website security encompasses measures taken to protect websites from cyber threats and unauthorized access. Common threats include malware infections, phishing attacks, SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and brute force attacks.

Best Practices for Web Developers

Keeping Software Updated

One of the most fundamental steps in website security is keeping all software, including the content management system (CMS), plugins, and server software, updated with the latest security patches and fixes. Outdated software is often targeted by attackers due to known vulnerabilities that can be exploited.

Implementing HTTPS

Implementing HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) encrypts the data transmitted between the website and its users, ensuring confidentiality and integrity. HTTPS not only protects sensitive information but also boosts trust among visitors, as indicated by the padlock icon in the browser's address bar.

Using Strong Authentication Methods

Implementing strong authentication methods, such as multi-factor authentication (MFA) and CAPTCHA, adds an extra layer of security to user accounts. MFA requires users to provide multiple forms of verification, such as a password and a one-time code sent to their mobile device, reducing the risk of unauthorized access.

Securing Against SQL Injection Attacks

SQL injection attacks occur when malicious actors exploit vulnerabilities in web applications to execute arbitrary SQL commands. Web developers can prevent SQL injection attacks by using parameterized queries and input validation to sanitize user inputs effectively.

Protecting Sensitive Data

It's essential to employ encryption techniques to protect sensitive data, such as passwords, credit card information, and personal details, stored on the website's servers. Encrypting data at rest and in transit mitigates the risk of data breaches and unauthorized access.

Regular Security Audits

Conducting regular security audits helps identify vulnerabilities and weaknesses in the website's infrastructure and codebase. Penetration testing, vulnerability scanning, and code reviews enable web developers to proactively address security issues before they are exploited by attackers.

Choosing a Secure Hosting Provider

Selecting a reputable and secure hosting provider is critical for ensuring the overall security of your website. When evaluating hosting providers, consider factors such as security features, reliability, scalability, and customer support.

Evaluating Security Features

Choose a hosting provider that offers robust security features, such as firewalls, intrusion detection systems (IDS), malware scanning, and DDoS protection. These features help protect your website from various cyber threats and ensure continuous uptime.

Ensuring Regular Backups

Regularly backing up your website's data is essential for mitigating the impact of security incidents, such as data breaches or website compromises. Choose a hosting provider that offers automated backup solutions and store backups securely offsite.

Customer Support and Response to Security Incidents

Opt for a hosting provider that provides responsive customer support and has established protocols for handling security incidents. In the event of a security breach or downtime, prompt assistance from the hosting provider can minimize the impact on your website and business operations.

Implementing Firewall Protection

Firewalls act as a barrier between your website and external threats, filtering incoming and outgoing network traffic based on predefined security rules. There are several types of firewalls, including network firewalls, web application firewalls (WAF), and host-based firewalls.

Configuring and Maintaining Firewalls

Properly configuring and maintaining firewalls is crucial for effective security. Define firewall rules based on the principle of least privilege, regularly update firewall configurations to reflect changes in the website's infrastructure, and monitor firewall logs for suspicious activity.

Educating Users about Security

In addition to implementing technical measures, educating users about security best practices is essential for enhancing overall website security. Provide users with resources, such as security guidelines, tips for creating strong passwords, and information about common phishing scams.

Importance of User Awareness

Users play a significant role in maintaining website security, as they are often the targets of social engineering attacks. By raising awareness about potential threats and providing guidance on how to recognize and respond to them, web developers can empower users to stay vigilant online.

Providing Training and Resources

Offer training sessions and educational materials to help users understand the importance of security and how to protect themselves while using the website. Regularly communicate updates and reminders about security practices to reinforce good habits.

Monitoring and Responding to Security Incidents

Despite taking preventive measures, security incidents may still occur. Establishing robust monitoring systems and incident response protocols enables web developers to detect and respond to security threats in a timely manner.

Setting Up Monitoring Tools

Utilize monitoring tools, such as intrusion detection systems (IDS), security information and event management (SIEM) systems, and website monitoring services, to detect abnormal behavior and potential security breaches. Configure alerts to notify you of suspicious activity promptly.

Establishing Incident Response Protocols

Develop comprehensive incident response plans that outline roles, responsibilities, and procedures for responding to security incidents. Establish clear communication channels and escalation paths to coordinate responses effectively and minimize the impact of security breaches.

Securing your website requires a proactive approach that involves implementing a combination of technical measures, choosing a secure hosting provider, educating users about security best practices, and establishing robust monitoring and incident response protocols. By following these best practices, web developers can mitigate the risk of security breaches and safeguard their websites and the sensitive data they handle.

[ourjobagency]

In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, the cloud has emerged as a transformative technology that empowers businesses with flexibility, scalability, and cost-effectiveness. Migrating to the cloud is no longer an option but a necessity to stay competitive. 

[mynicosensesaretingling]

Mic Check: Feelings Engaged

A Bono x fem! (Y/N) reader story

Summary: When Bono’s radio mic goes haywire , (Y/N) offers her colleague a helping hand, leading to an unexpected moment of intimacy between the pair with the teasing comments from Lewis only adding fuel to the fire.

Warnings: None except it’s been written in my notes app

Notes: I wanted to write something for Bono for so long now , since he’s so incredibly dear to me. So now I just did- anyways I hope there aren’t any mistakes and that you enioy this little story x

—-

It’s a bustling Friday practice session at the track, and the air is filled with the familiar sounds of mechanics working, engines revving, and the steady hum of team radios crackling to life. Bono stands in the Mercedes garage, his eyes flicking over the various data streams on the monitors in front of him as Lewis sends feedback through the radio. There’s a calm professionalism to him, his headset settled snugly over his ears as he keeps his cool amidst the chaos of the session.

(Y/N), working a few stations over, is equally immersed in her role, running through telemetry data and keeping an eye on the numbers as they stream in. It’s her second full season working with the team, and although the work is often intense, the environment feels like home. Especially with Bono around. There’s something comforting about his expertise, his quiet focus—and maybe, though she’d never say it aloud, something undeniably attractive too.

Attentively watching the data presented to her , the buzzing noise of the track outside the garage slowly but surely becomes more of a background noise to (Y/N) —until she hears Bono curse softly under his breath. Looking over at the engineer, she finds him fiddling with the mic on his radio headset.

“I’m losing audio,” he mutters, mostly to himself, his fingers rapidly tapping at the small mic attached to his headset. The frustration is clear on his face. His eyebrows drawn together in a frown, as he tries to fix the issue without missing a beat in his ongoing strategy communications.

Without thinking much about it, (Y/N) walks over to the man, noticing his struggle. “Need a hand?”

Bono looks up, his brows slightly raising, surprised by her offer. “Yeah, I think the mic’s loose. Keeps cutting in and out,” he says, his voice lower than usual, the usual steady control in his tone replaced by just a hint of frustration. Stepping closer, (Y/N) notices the faint flush creeping up his neck as he tries to juggle the malfunction and his job.

“Let me take a look,” she says, voice gentle as she steps right in front of him. Bono’s eyes stay fixed on her for a moment before he gives a small nod, lowering his head slightly so she has easier access to the mic. It’s the simplest of gestures, but (Y/N)’s heart skips a beat—being this close to him, especially in the middle of the chaos of the garage, feels strangely intimate.

(Y/N)’s hands lift to adjust the mic, her fingers brushing his cheek ever so slightly, as she reattaches the microphone more securely. His skin is warm under her fingertips, and the moment she touches him, she notices the slightest inhale from Bono, though he stays incredibly still, as if he’s afraid to move.

The garage feels smaller now, the noise fading into the background as (Y/N) concentrates on the mic, trying to focus on the task but fully aware of how close she is to the race engineer. Every brush of her hand sends a spark of awareness through her body. Focusing on the task at hand she feels Bono’s eyes on her form, though he’s trying his best to keep it professional.

“Okay, try now,” (Y/N) murmurs, stepping back slightly to give him some space. Bono clears his throat, his hand reaching up to adjust the mic himself, fingers brushing where hers had just been. He’s back to business in an instant, but there’s an edge to his voice as he speaks into the mic.

“Lewis, do you copy? How’s the connection now?” Bono’s voice is steady, but the slightest tension remains in his shoulders as he waits for a response.

There’s a brief pause before Lewis’s voice crackles through the radio, loud and clear. “Yeah, I hear you loud and clear, Bono. Thought you’d left me hanging there for a minute,” Lewis teases, but before Bono can respond, Lewis’s voice returns, this time with a playful lilt. “Wait a minute… was that her fixing your mic? That surely sounded like her voice ,mate.”

Bono’s reaction is immediate—he lets out an exasperated sigh, his hand coming up to rub the back of his neck, but keeping her focus on him, (Y/N) can see the faintest hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

“Lewis, focus on your out-lap,” Bono says, his voice firm but with a warmth that betrays his usual stoicism. Slightly shaking his head, he’s trying to suppress his embarrassment, but the smile that’s breaking through is impossible to miss.

“Oh, I’m focused,” Lewis replies, his tone mischievous. “Just thought I’d ask. Should I leave you two to it, or are we going to talk about strategy?”

Glancing back at (Y/N), Bono catches her eye for a brief moment, both of them sharing an amused, slightly embarrassed look. There’s a tension between the pair, but the humor in Lewis’s words manages to cut through it, making the moment feel lighter.

Bono lets out a dry laugh, shaking his head as he taps on the mic. “Yeah, let’s focus on the strategy. We’ll debrief later, Lewis.”

The radio crackles again as Lewis’s laughter comes through. “Sure, sure. But, just saying—‘bout time you two got close. We’ve all seen it coming.”

Bono’s face flushes at that, and he quickly turns back to the monitors, his fingers tapping at the keyboard, pretending to be fully immersed in his work. (Y/N), on the other hand,feels a mixture of embarrassment and… something else, as she walks back to her station. The way Lewis spoke, as if everyone had noticed the way her and Bono seem to gravitate toward each other, leaves the woman flustered. Was it really that obvious?

“Well, uh,” Bono calls , clearing his throat again, “thanks for fixing that. Shouldn’t have trouble now.”

(Y/N) nods, her heart still pounding as she tries to shake off Lewis’s teasing. “No problem,” she says through a slightly awkward chuckle. There’s still something hanging in the air between them, something unspoken.

Bono glances over at her once more before looking away, his lips pressing together like he’s holding something back. For a second, it feels like he might say something, but before he can, the team radio crackles again.

“Bono,” Lewis calls, his voice still carrying that teasing edge, “when’s the next date? Need me to clear the schedule?”

(Y/N) can’t help but laugh softly, shaking her head as Bono rolls his eyes. “You’re impossible, Lewis,” he mutters, though his voice is lighter now, the moment of tension dissolving into something more comfortable. He presses the radio switch again, sighing dramatically. “Focus on the driving, will you?”

Lewis just laughs in response, clearly pleased with himself, and Bono, despite his best efforts to maintain his usual professionalism, can’t help but let out a soft chuckle as well.

As the practice session winds down, the garage starts to return to its usual rhythm, but the brief moment of closeness between herself and Bono lingers in the back of (Y/N)’s mind. Every now and then, she catches him glancing in her direction, and when her eyes meet his, there’s a flicker of something unspoken—a spark that neither of the two can ignore.

And though nothing more is said between the pair, there’s an undeniable shift. (Y/N) can still feel the weight of his gaze, the soft smile that tugged at his lips, and the teasing words of Lewis echoing in the back of her mind.

Maybe Lewis was right—maybe it was about time.

[kissingraine]

(might become a Starscream x reader, Shockwave x reader thang,,,,) eventual smut! 18+

Midnight City — Soundwave x f!Reader

Draped in fog and soft neon, the Nemesis cruised slowly across the dark skies. Undetected and reeking of Decepticon malevolence as always yet undetected. The small lights that flickered below were as ignorant as ever, inferior lifeforms that were too busy eyeing their tiny glowing boxes to even look up. Soundwave knew without a doubt that they spent twenty four full hours of the week with their heads bent down. No mistaking it's become an issue among them.

Thin servos dancing over the keys as he watches the human settlement breathe, each streetlamp glistening faintly; a city that never sleeps. His sources tell him. Flickers of data, EM fields that pulse—not enough to disrupt the way his processor regulates but just enough to make the probes attached to his chassis writhe in distaste, primitive security networks buzzing with naive confidence. He's been relentlessly tracking down a signal that's made contact with the Earth's atmosphere a little over two nights ago.

It flashes every few irregular intervals, making it hard to pin down where the signal begins before fizzling out again. Like a dying star. Soundwave doesn't stop, can't stop. Not when this might be the only thing that can fix their current dilemma and he's been alone for so long. He's not sure how much time has passed. The ship's command left in his servos as their forces went on separate paths, vowed not to stray from the cause just had more creative 'ideas' on how to effectively mobilize their forces. He stayed on the Nemesis to keep things within control, to keep himself in control. Knows that his cassettes are also worrying about their situation but when they see him so composed, can feel that relief as it washes over him.

That signal, so similar to that relic's nature... but he can't be too sure just yet. Needs to keep probing, combing through the infantile network that the natives possessed.

Lazerbeak suggested to scout, but he turned it down. This organic settlement is a little too crowded for his liking. Can't risk them getting found. Not with their resources limited. He's been rationing their energon preserves too and he's this close to finding another hotspot of undisturbed fuel. Just enough to get them off of this miserable ball of dirt. The others can't be faring too well, can they? His objective was apparent, precise: locate the signal. Which he watched disappear into the city near the sewege systems.

Not exactly pleasant but he isn't Knockout enough to be picky about it. A red dot appears on his screen and his servos are quick to move, tendrils moving in to help. This is the first time Lazerbeak's seen him get remotely excited over something like a red spot on the multi-screens of his control panel. It's faint but emits a similar wavelength to the one Soundwave's filed away in his data banks.

It's in an area just near the organic's underground mode of transportation. Figures. It's more complicated to single out the signal's location especially if it was underground. Soundwave had discovered pretty recently that layers of concrete, reinforced metal buried beneath the earth didn't allow currents of data to run as easily.

And he'd rather not part with the ship to risk getting his processor overwhelmed with human thoughts and volatile emotions. So he does what he's best at. Infiltrate surface network and seeping into it like viscous liquid. It's fascinating how they make it so easy to extract information from them with their fragile digital infrastructure, trembling with aging code—an easy point of access. Doesn't even need to knock when the firewall practically crumbles at his technological prowess.

• Glancing at the clock, it's almost time for you to close the cafe. It had been a hectic day with Ma finally taking over the latter half of your shift so you could lay back and relax on bean bag chairs in the basement. Said basement was a small arcade area where a select few people in your block would come and relax, too. The space just big enough for a small crowd. It was mostly you and your friends who used it, though. One of their siblings, an electronically inclined person as you like to call them, had their computer setup placed in one of the cozy corners.

• It's... beeping, the screen flashing in red with warnings popping up in a dozen windows. That can't be good, can it...?

• Granted you have no clue how to code things and the like. Or just code in general. You've called your friend's sibling's name. Once, twice, but no response and the very undeniable fact that there might be a virus or worse... someone trying to hack into their device was enough to alarm you.

Interference... suddenly. Out of all the humans on this sad excuse for a mudball, there's one tenacious enough to not only interrupt Soundwave's search for data but crudely walk straight into his network with intent. Curious and reckless, his servos stop moving something that Lazerbeak doesn't fail to notice as he and his fellow cassette look at each other. And then he's back into it, he narrows the scan and slices through the city's digital haze to trace the point of origin. Protocol indicating he should move quietly and observe. It's difficult to keep track of, being so close to their manmade tunnels, slipping through his iron grasp and fading into an almost ambient noise.

• You don't know how you're doing this, you don't even know why and for all you know your friend's sibling could have their entire information compromised! But your fingers move as though possessed and you find yourself unable to stop. And now you wonder if it had anything to do with that incident from a week ago. But you definitely know that someone is actively trying to hack the computer, “You're mine now.” You murmur to yourself, responding in plain text and all the amount of taunt you could muster in you.

Before his tracer could lock on, having every bit the intent to scare this human off by revealing their location because that always worked—a spew of numbers and words strung together with an image attached. His tentacles twitch in anticipation, coiling around itself as his head tilts in instinct. And there you are, on his screen forming visuals on who the very human that's dared to intercept him. Bold move, human, he all but manages to swallow the growl building in his chassis. And that gesture... your middle finger's raised. Soundwave might not know what that means but he'll assume that you're insulting him considering the words that appear right after it.

“Come and get me. Coward.”

Next

[cosmic-daydreamz02]

Career Reading

Placements to look at for your ideal career:

2nd house-how you make money

6th house-daily routine and work

10th house-career and public image

MC- career point.

11th house-social networks, long-term goals, opportunities for advancement (2nd from MC, so it shows the income from the career)

North Node - your life purpose and direction ; what you are meant to move towards in this lifetime

Part of Fortune - Where you find joy and success in this life, linked to both material and spiritual fulfillment

Vertex - represents fated encounters in your life. Where and how your destiny unfolds/ your turning point in life (not normally linked to career, but I think it can show what leads you to your true calling in this life especially if yours is in one of the money or career houses)

Saturn- rules discipline, structure, and long-term achievement, where you need to put in consistent effort to achieve success. Indicates your approach to responsibility in your career

Sun- core identity and life purpose, where you shine the most

Jupiter- expansion luck and growth. It shows your opportunities for success

Venus - where you can use your artistic abilities and social charm. It can also be how you attract money and resources

Signs and Career

Aries

• Career style: Assertive, pioneering, energetic, independent.

• Fields: Leadership roles, entrepreneurship, sports, military, anything involving action or competition.

• Drive: You take initiative and thrive in dynamic, fast-paced environments where you can be first.

Taurus

• Career style: Steady, practical, patient, and value-oriented.

• Fields: Finance, banking, agriculture, real estate, art, luxury goods, anything involving material wealth or beauty.

• Drive: Security, stability, and a focus on building long-term wealth. Aesthetic and sensory satisfaction are important.

Gemini

• Career style: Communicative, versatile, adaptable, intellectual.

• Fields: Journalism, writing, teaching, marketing, sales, technology, anything that involves communication or travel.

• Drive: Curiosity and intellectual stimulation. You thrive in dynamic, social environments where you can multitask.

Cancer

• Career style: Nurturing, protective, intuitive, emotionally driven.

• Fields: Healthcare, caregiving, real estate, hospitality, education, psychology, anything that involves caring for others.

• Drive: Emotional security and a need to create a safe, supportive environment. You work best when you feel connected to your work on an emotional level.

Leo

• Career style: Charismatic, creative, confident, leadership-focused.

• Fields: Entertainment, arts, fashion, politics, sports, anything involving self-expression and performance.

• Drive: Recognition, fame, and the desire to shine. You excel in careers where you can showcase your talents and leadership.

Virgo

• Career style: Detail-oriented, analytical, service-minded, organized.

• Fields: Healthcare, administration, research, editing, writing, data analysis, anything involving precision and service.

• Drive: Efficiency and perfection. You aim to serve others by improving systems or contributing to something meaningful.

Libra

• Career style: Diplomatic, collaborative, partnership-oriented, aesthetically inclined.

• Fields: Law, diplomacy, art, design, beauty, fashion, anything involving partnership or justice.

• Drive: Harmony and balance in professional relationships. You thrive in roles where teamwork, fairness, and aesthetics are valued.

Scorpio

• Career style: Intense, transformative, secretive, powerful.

• Fields: Psychology, research, finance (especially investments, taxes, inheritance), surgery, anything involving transformation or mystery.

• Drive: Power and control. You are drawn to careers that allow you to dig deep and uncover hidden truths or manage shared resources.

Sagittarius

• Career style: Adventurous, philosophical, expansive, freedom-loving.

• Fields: Education, travel, law, publishing, international business, anything that involves exploration and knowledge-sharing.

• Drive: Freedom and expansion. You seek opportunities that allow you to learn, grow, and explore new horizons.

Capricorn

• Career style: Ambitious, disciplined, authoritative, responsible.

• Fields: Business, politics, government, finance, engineering, management, anything that involves structure, authority, and long-term goals.

• Drive: Success and achievement. You are career-focused and work tirelessly toward building a solid reputation and legacy.

Aquarius

• Career style: Innovative, humanitarian, unconventional, forward-thinking.

• Fields: Technology, science, social reform, innovation, group work, anything involving progressive change or social impact.

• Drive: Making a difference and creating a better future. You work best in collaborative or unconventional environments that allow for innovation.

Pisces

• Career style: Compassionate, imaginative, spiritual, idealistic.

• Fields: Art, music, healing, psychology, spirituality, charity work, anything that involves creativity, intuition, or service to others.

• Drive: Helping others and finding deeper meaning. You’re drawn to careers where you can use your empathy and creativity to make a positive impact.

Houses and Career Focus

1st House (Self-Identity, Public Persona)

You identify closely with your career. You're meant for careers where you're the leader or face of whatever you do, you're meant to be in the public eye somehow.

2nd House (Money, Resources, Values)

Financial stability and security is what drives you in your career. You would do good in careers related to banking and finance or sales (more like selling luxury goods or real estate)

3rd House (Communication, Learning, Siblings)

Communication, education, and travel. Or working in media. Teaching, writing, or sales/ anything that involves exchanges of info

4th House (Home, Family, Roots)

Home design, family business, real estate. Care giving or working from home. Emotional fulfillment through your career

5th House (Creativity, Pleasure, Children)

Creative fields, working with children. Career allows for self-expression. performance or leadership roles

6th House (Work Environment, Health, Service)

Service industry, Healthcare (especially if you have heavy virgo/pisces or 6th/12th placements), administration, work that requires tedious precision and detail

7th House (Partnerships, Marriage)

Collaboration, requires partnerships in career. Law, any counseling/consulting work, diplomat

8th House (Shared Resources, Transformation)

Finance (other peoples money like taxes, inheritance, etc), psychology, research/investigation

9th House (Philosophy, Travel, Higher Education)

Higher education, travel, law, publishing, career could be linked to foreign lands, (travel vlogger, professor, resort owner?)

10th House (Career, Reputation, Public Life)

Leadership, recognition, achieving goals, public image and success are emphasized

11th House (Community, Goals, Social Networks)

Community service/humanitarian work, technology, collective work

12th House (Spirituality, Solitude, Healing)

Healing, spirituality, charity work, hospitals, or creative/behind the scenes work like set design, director etc

[sheepispink]

⋆˚｡⋆୨✧୧˚ 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑬𝑺𝑪𝑶𝑹𝑻 𝑷𝑹𝑶𝑻𝑶𝑪𝑶𝑳 ˚୨✧୧⋆｡˚⋆

Series Masterlist

Chapter 1: First Impressions

wc: 2.7k

It’s been three months since you first started your job at the division of security operations, a dream you’ve had since you were little. You’ve always wanted to be part of something meaningful, even if you were just a small function in the code. Speaking of code, you hoped to be on the technological side of things, never having really been a hands-on person—well, at least not confrontational hands-on like this job requires. You’d figured it was the perfect choice; what job wasn’t desperate for another programmer? The research you did on this place was insane; you wanted to make the best impression and land a job straight out of university, and your hard work paid off because pretty soon you got that letter. It was an assistant position for some random manager. Okay, maybe it wasn’t exactly what you hoped, but everyone started somewhere. Besides, experience gets you places you were sure you’d learn something in the time you spent working under them. Right?

Wrong. You rock back and forth on your chair for the third time that hour, absolutely bored out of your mind like a little kid restrained from toys. Sorting out the filing cabinets was suddenly the least of your problems when they gave you access to at least a hundred emails to read through. Not to mention your manager practically gave you permission to respond to them however you see fit (not without a glare and warning if you said something stupid, though). Every day you clicked a stupid delete button, the more you started wondering if this was an internship or just absolute hell. Once you hear your manager’s footsteps approaching again, you sit back up with a long sigh, knowing you could either continue this work or sit in a toilet stall and play games on your phone. The latter was looking more tempted by the second, but you quickly reminded yourself that you’re 23 now, and this is work! Clicking on the first email, you’re quick to delete another empty report from an intern.

Your eyes flitter over the next few emails, clicking away mindlessly before you pause..an escort is needed? Only two emails in, and this one seems a little different from the usual data assignment in an Excel document. This one was addressed by another manager, and damn, their title sounds fancy even if you don’t know what the hell it means. You sit up in your seat as your finger runs against the mousepad of the laptop, scrolling down the page. This could well be the stupidest thing to consider. Who would actually consider being an escort to some random agent all the way to Miami?? And stay there until he’s done?? In your own hotel?!

You, that’s who. You didn’t care if he made you carry his luggage or if you did paperwork for the whole plane trip. This could be your big break, working with an actual, experienced agent. If you could just help him out a smidge, that could take you a mile in your work! Peeking over your desk, you make sure your manager isn’t looking before quickly writing back the most sophisticated response along with a quick mention of your name as a candidate. You’d probably be screwed if he did find out you practically promoted yourself on his behalf, but realistically, he won’t. The chair creaks as you lean back again, groaning softly as you remember that an email response will definitely take a week to come back.

Before you know it, you're already switching departments and knee-deep in a tonne of new documents to fill out for the trip. Why the hell hadn’t this agent gotten his passport renewed?! ‘Does he never go on holiday?? Is he an overworker or just the biggest shut-in ever??” You weigh up all the options as you step your way into the small desk space they allowed you to occupy, your hands preoccupied with a laptop, papers, and way too many things in your head. Oddly, this busy office block feels like home, like the corridors of your university cafeteria. This also means you know how to manoeuvre through this situation with ease, getting to your desk quickly and efficiently with no awkward interactions. Though you used to take your time and wish you’d bump into the love of your life and he’d pick up your books, you wanted this job so badly that it was out the window. Thankfully, this had been one of the best first weeks you could have so far; it was practically second nature—

You bite your lip so hard that you can’t tell if the pain is from the blood on your teeth or the hot coffee seeping through the back of your new shirt. Groaning softly, you turn to face the culprit, hoping that they’ll be nice about it like you were. Accidents happen, you think; maybe he just slipped. After all, there’s probably a bunch of interns here too; they’d be in a much worse position than you. But there's no culprit waiting to say sorry or offer to fix your shirt—only a man swerving through the crowds with a suspicious coffee mug that is only half full as he rushes through. Great. Not even a prince charming who will pay for your dry cleaning.

It’s only a few days later when that same man walks by again, and again, and again, until eventually he stops in front of your desk. You lift your eyes from the small little corner you own, stacks of paperwork before you, just because the agent you were escorting was that important.

“Hey- you’re my escort, right?”

And unfortunately, that agent was this man before you. Yes, you would have thrown a fit about the coffee; yes, you would have refused to work with him or forced him to apologise. But damn, you just really wanted that job.

You nod your head, sitting up a little straighter as you push away any of the burning distaste for him and give him a polite look. “Yes, I’m your escort.”“You sure..? I mean.. you kind of just look like any odd intern, no offense. Actually, the interns get a better desk than you.” His blue eyes pierce into you, one hand rubbing at the stubble on his jaw as he raises an eyebrow at you. Only now have you actually gotten a full look at him and his well… unkept appearance. His hair is tousled, stray pieces fall over his face, and dark bags tug his eyes down. If you had to predict his future, you’d be sure he’s on the path to being the embodiment of a die-hard metal fan. You also had a pretty confident guess he’d end up being the boyish lazy agent upon seeing how he grabs one of the sweets off your small pot and pops it into his mouth.

“I can show you the documents, Mr. Kennedy, if you really want—I’m pretty sure I'm your escort.” His words had annoyed you a little, but you couldn’t just get angry at him. He’s practically a veteran agent, and it’s clear that he doesn’t even know you existed before today; no one really has.“I’ve had enough of doing paperwork; I’m just glad you’re doing mine. So, what have you got planned for me, escort?” He’s a little sassy, it seems, definitely not what you had expected, but you just had to remember to stay professional and keep to expectations. You stifle a sigh as you begin talking again. Maybe this really was a bad idea.

At first it didn't seem to be too bad; you’d carry his important documents stiffly as you escorted him to the meeting with another high ranking official or the like. Even if they were boring, you had to remind yourself that life had its stepping stones, and you’d just have to work yourself through this one to be able to comfortably pay your rent this month on top of chasing your dream. He’d disappear some days off on a mission before he’d come back looking far more grouchier than before. It only seemed to worsen as you soon came to realise that, in the simplest words, Leon had just as much hope left for himself as Chris Redfield did—which was in the depths of hell. You’ve watched him be shouted at numerous times in the passing days over lost work, unfinished reports, denial of missions, and straight up.. slacking off. It was concerning to say the least, and you’re starting to regret all of this already. Most days he barely even had a routine, too hungover from last night’s drinking session to think twice before he started another one at midday.

“Um.. Mr. Kennedy?” You have to speed walk just to catch up to his long strides as he heads towards the exit of this DSO building, already beelining for the bar. “What?” His voice is sharp and barely restrained as he slightly turns his head only to catch a glimpse of you and your meek face trying to ask him something. “Oh, it's just you, escort. What do you want now?” He raises an accusing brow at you as if you had just interrupted something so very important with something that seemed to have the significance of the size of an ant.

“Well, I need you to fill in these documents—“ You begin before he cuts you off, rolling his eyes at your words. “So? Just put it on my desk. Can’t you escorts do anything right?” That only makes you grit your teeth in anger— how dare he insult you because of his grouchy behaviour? “Mr. Kennedy, you told me that last week, and you still haven't done it!”

“Exactly, I told you to do that. So just do it.” With that, he reaches the double doors that lead to exit the building, pushing past into the evening air and leaving you dejected in the lobby.

You couldn’t just let that go, obviously not, so you’d return to his desk every day and slap down another high stack of paperwork onto his desk. If that's what he wanted, so be it—he can deal with it when he practically can't see over his desk. You have a smirk on your face as you contemplate that, imagining him huffing as he goes through the stacks.

However, you’re only met with horror as you realise he’s not even at his desk, already heading down the corridor with a bottle of beer in his hand again. What the hell? You want to scream right now because there is no way you could have landed a job this badly. Yeah, you’re a bit of a hard worker, but this is the DSO—you have to be one. This occurs more and more frequently, watching as he just saunters down to the bar again or maybe to the balcony for a smoke; either way, he doesn't intend to look at a single word of the work set out for him.

It gets to the point where you have Chris coming for you too, asking where the hell the mission reports are, but all you can do is show him the place where Leon’s desk is, the reports overflowing. The agent begins to dislike you after that, scolding you for “snitching” him to Chris and then stating he’s had enough of your persistence. So, instead, he tries to annoy you and slaps twenty dollars in your hands. “Go buy me a bottle of beer, and then i want you to go to that diner down the road, order the special, but specify that I want no mayo in the burger and a seedless bun”

So of course, you trudge yourself down the road to the diner, pickup the food all while cursing him out before returning only to be met with another twenty dollars and another order. This repeats again, and again, and he seems to seethe each time you give him that same unfazed look upon your face.

In the past four weeks of this job, somehow you had dropped from earth to hell and then lower. It was like he was actively trying to kick you out of this place, and if you didn't have the paycheck and a dream right now, you’d go in a heartbeat.

You didn’t realise the severity of the situation until you’re panicking on a Monday morning, trying to find him because you both have to be at a meeting in ten minutes and he still hasn't clocked in for his shift. You’ve practically begged every security employee to tell you if they see him, knowing that Chris might just have your head if you don't get there in time. It’s even worse that the meeting is twenty minutes away from the DSO building you’re always at—this is a guaranteed failure. The phone goes to voicemail again, so you reluctantly decide to just attend the meeting anyway. You usually weren't allowed to sit inside with him, but the least you could do was give them an apology to save the DSO some face. Even if they wouldn't take ‘I have no idea where he is’ as an excuse.

You stop outside the building, cheeks flushed from the cold since the traffic was so bad outside you had to jog over to the building. Taking the lift up to the meeting room, the other attendees give you a dirty look, assuming you were some stupid intern in the wrong place. Their looks almost made you cower, but you know you aren't doing anything wrong. “Excuse me, sir.”

You stand awkwardly in front of the meeting’s host, your body awfully rigid from your next words. “Yes?” He looks at you with disdain, not expecting to be spoken to by some kid.

“The agent I'm escorting here, Mister Kennedy, will be a little bit late or may as well not turn up at all. I.. uh, hope you understand?” You attempt to explain, not really sure how to word this.

What you didn't expect was for the man to grow furious, slamming his hand against the wooden table, which immediately made the entire room stop their menial chatter to stare. “What do you mean he’s not coming? He’s our top agent.” He barks out, and you have no idea what to say, backing up from him as you fumble.

“I’m sure he’ll be here soon, but—“

“You’re only sure? What kind of escort are you?”

The red that coats your cheeks is humiliating, deepening with each second the silence continues on for. You grit your teeth, muttering out apologies as fast as you can before he eventually dismisses you, and you’re halfway down the stairs before you know it. The back of your hand wipes your face, small tears forming in your eyes at all the gazes fixed on you.

If that hadn't taken the cake, you didn't know what did. To think that he was getting away with all of this was a severe understatement; he was slowly deteriorating his own life from his habits. He’d been kicked off missions permanently now, and then work for him started slowly dwindling. It sounded good—less work right? Wrong. He was practically a week away from being fired altogether, which also kissed your job bye bye. The interns had already begun to snicker about it, even going as far as to ask you questions about him as well. As much as you hated his guts for his behaviour, you hated the sneers on their faces even more. It was the third time you’ve given them a dirty look now, even going as far as silencing one with a sharp glare. You couldn't help but scoff, a mere intern trying to mock an experienced agent? Who the hell did they think they were?

However, after another week passes with little to no improvement, you couldn't deny that the longer this continued, they wouldn't even have someone to mock anymore. The issue was, what the hell could you even do? Chris had fully given up on him at this point, as had most of the operatives here, and as much as you hated it, it seemed like you were his last hope.

————————————————————————

Next Series Masterlist

[letternotekisses]

Yap about your self-insert oc please 🙏🙏🙏 I love hearing about people's ocs :3

Bet! She's still in the works, but I've already decided I want to ship her with Doom, lol. Take this random ass thing I wrote up!! Any questions about her I'd be so very pleased to answer. <3

Ortolan is rather complex in the way that she is. While never exactly an official Overwatch agent, she was loosely acquainted, and at some point could be found within their database and minimal online articles. She had been extended an invitation to formally join at one point in time, but rejected it in favour of living outside of the public eye, formerly suffering with agoraphobia in her young adult years.

Her work and input were often small, but it still left Winston leaving a smiley face next to her file as he typed it up. He'd thought them to be friends - at least somewhat. Even if she was flighty and weird, unable to relax and let people past that stiff, awkward shell. It was a nice little addition to their database, like a family photo with that one distant cousin you love all the same.

Although, when Overwatch had disbanded, fallen apart and melted away like ash in snow, everyone had assumed that those particular files were safe. Not necessarily firewalled to the nines, but unimportant enough that they be left alone by any power hungry tyrants on the look out for scraps of information.

Or so they had thought.

Winston had yet to remember that she'd been right in the heart of their operations at times, seen their worsts, their bests, their personal lives, their work lives and everything in-between. Too busy shielding everyone else to remember that she was practically a little goldmine of information. And the file with all of her personal information lay unguarded, bare and unprotected like a baby animal fresh from the mould of its shell.

So, unsuspectingly easy for a bubble-gum chewing hacker to stumble across, violet eyes bright and tuned, like a predator honing in on prey. Something new and shiny to show the big boss, something fresh and enticing to curry favour with him and hopefully line her pockets. A new target.

And of course, Akande was all too pleased. A plan dividing in his mind as his gaze roved over the data pad, Ortolan's face caught and zoomed in on under a dim streetlight, pixelated to all hell on the security camera but undeniably her.

[victusinveritas]

So...this might just, maybe, be a bit of a way for Trump, our Fearless Endeavoring Leader Of the Nation, to slide the country into the Insurrection Act and the martial law/a police state. So that's probably bad. Good for the country of course, this great, strong, huge, winningest at trade deals and law enforcement country, best Country in the World. Huge. But yeah, the rest of us, those not in jackboots and masks in the service of the King-President, we're, what's the word... Fucked. If you don't want to read the link above on the White House website, I've posted it below the cut.

[Cue martial music, Teutonic] STRENGTHENING AND UNLEASHING AMERICA’S LAW ENFORCEMENT TO PURSUE CRIMINALS AND PROTECT INNOCENT CITIZENS Executive Orders April 28, 2025 By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:

Section 1. Purpose and Policy. Safe communities rely on the backbone and heroism of a tough and well-equipped police force. My Administration is steadfastly committed to empowering State and local law enforcement to firmly police dangerous criminal behavior and protect innocent citizens. When local leaders demonize law enforcement and impose legal and political handcuffs that make aggressively enforcing the law impossible, crime thrives and innocent citizens and small business owners suffer. My Administration will therefore: establish best practices at the State and local level for cities to unleash high-impact local police forces; protect and defend law enforcement officers wrongly accused and abused by State or local officials; and surge resources to officers in need. My Administration will work to ensure that law enforcement officers across America focus on ending crime, not pursuing harmful, illegal race- and sex-based “equity” policies. The result will be a law-abiding society in which tenacious law enforcement officers protect the innocent, violations of law are not tolerated, and American communities are safely enjoyed by all their citizens again.

Sec. 2. Legal Defense of Law Enforcement Officers. The Attorney General shall take all appropriate action to create a mechanism to provide legal resources and indemnification to law enforcement officers who unjustly incur expenses and liabilities for actions taken during the performance of their official duties to enforce the law. This mechanism shall include the use of private-sector pro bono assistance for such law enforcement officers.

Sec. 3. Empowering State and Local Law Enforcement. (a) The Attorney General and other appropriate heads of executive departments and agencies (agencies) shall take all appropriate action to maximize the use of Federal resources to: (i) provide new best practices to State and local law enforcement to aggressively police communities against all crimes; (ii) expand access and improve the quality of training available to State and local law enforcement; (iii) increase pay and benefits for law enforcement officers; (iv) strengthen and expand legal protections for law enforcement officers; (v) seek enhanced sentences for crimes against law enforcement officers; (vi) promote investment in the security and capacity of prisons; and (vii) increase the investment in and collection, distribution, and uniformity of crime data across jurisdictions. (b) Within 60 days of the date of this order, the Attorney General shall review all ongoing Federal consent decrees, out-of-court agreements, and post-judgment orders to which a State or local law enforcement agency is a party and modify, rescind, or move to conclude such measures that unduly impede the performance of law enforcement functions.

Sec. 4. Using National Security Assets for Law and Order. (a) Within 90 days of the date of this order, the Attorney General and the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security and the heads of agencies as appropriate, shall increase the provision of excess military and national security assets in local jurisdictions to assist State and local law enforcement. (b) Within 90 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Attorney General, shall determine how military and national security assets, training, non-lethal capabilities, and personnel can most effectively be utilized to prevent crime.

Sec. 5. Holding State and Local Officials Accountable. The Attorney General shall pursue all necessary legal remedies and enforcement measures to enforce the rights of Americans impacted by crime and shall prioritize prosecution of any applicable violations of Federal criminal law with respect to State and local jurisdictions whose officials: (a) willfully and unlawfully direct the obstruction of criminal law, including by directly and unlawfully prohibiting law enforcement officers from carrying out duties necessary for public safety and law enforcement; or (b) unlawfully engage in discrimination or civil-rights violations under the guise of “diversity, equity, and inclusion” initiatives that restrict law enforcement activity or endanger citizens.

Sec. 6. Use of Homeland Security Task Forces. The Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall utilize the Homeland Security Task Forces (HSTFs) formed in accordance with Executive Order 14159 of January 20, 2025 (Protecting the American People Against Invasion) to coordinate and advance the objectives of this order.

Sec. 7. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

i. the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or

ii. the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations. (c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person. (d) The Department of Justice shall provide funding for this order’s publication in the Federal Register. DONALD J. TRUMP

THE WHITE HOUSE, April 28, 2025.

[End to the sound of marching jackboots on concrete, and imagine a boot stamping on a human face—forever.]

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Toby Davies

Published: May 14, 2024

Seventy-eight per cent of people in England and Wales think that crime has gone up in the last few years, according to the latest survey. But the data on actual crime shows the exact opposite.

As of 2024, violence, burglary and car crime have been declining for 30 years and by close to 90%, according to the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) – our best indicator of true crime levels. Unlike police data, the CSEW is not subject to variations in reporting and recording.

The drop in violence includes domestic violence and other violence against women. Anti-social behaviour has similarly declined. While increased fraud and computer misuse now make up half of crime, this mainly reflects how far the rates of other crimes have fallen.

All high-income countries have experienced similar trends, and there is scientific consensus that the decline in crime is a real phenomenon.

[ Data via Office for National Statistics ]

There is strong research evidence that security improvements were responsible for the drop. This is most obvious with vehicle electronic immobilisers and door deadlocks, and better household security – stronger door frames, double glazed windows and security fittings – along with an avalanche of security in shopping centres, sports stadiums, schools, businesses and elsewhere. Quite simply, it became more difficult to commit crimes.

Decreases in crimes often committed by teenagers, such as joyriding or burglary, had a multiplying effect: when teenagers could no longer commit these easy “debut crimes” they did not progress to longer criminal careers.

There are, of course, exceptions. Some places, times and crime types had a less pronounced decline or even an increase. For many years, phone theft was an exception to the general decline in theft. Cybercrime, measured by the CSEW as fraud and computer misuse, has increased and is the most prominent exception.

But this increase was not due to thwarted burglars and car thieves switching targets: the skillset, resources and rewards for cybercrime are very different. Rather, it reflects new crime opportunities facilitated by the internet. Preventive policy and practice is slowly getting better at closing off opportunities for computer misuse, but work is needed to accelerate those prevention efforts.

The perception gap

So why is there such a gulf between public perception and the reality of crime trends? A regular YouGov poll asks respondents for their top three concerns from a broad set of issues. Concern about crime went from a low in 2016 (when people were more concerned with Brexit), quadrupled by 2019 and plummeted during the pandemic when people had other worries. But in the last year, the public’s concern about crime has risen again.

Proportion of people naming crime as a top three issue facing the country:

[ Data via YouGov ]

There are many possible explanations for this, of which the first is poor information. A study published in 1998 found that “people who watch a lot of television or who read a lot of newspapers will be exposed to a steady diet of crime stories” that does not reflect official statistics.

The old news media adage “if it bleeds, it leads” reflects how violent news stories, including crime increases and serious crimes, capture public attention. Knife crime grabs headlines in the UK, but our shock at individual incidents is testament to their rarity and our relative success in controlling violence – many gun crimes do not make the news in the US.

Most recent terrorist attacks in the UK have featured knives (plus a thwarted Liverpool bomber), but there is little discussion of how this indicates that measures to restrict guns and bomb-making resources are effective.

Political rhetoric can also skew perceptions, particularly in the run-up to elections. During the recent local elections, the Conservatives were widely criticised for an advert portraying London as “a crime capital of the world” (using a video of New York), while Labour has also made reference to high levels of crime under the current government.

There are also some “crime drop deniers”, who have vested interests in crime not declining due to, for example, fear of budget cuts. One of us (Graham) worked with a former police chief who routinely denied the existence of declining crime.

Despite the evidence of crime rates dropping, some concerns are justified. Victims, along with their families and friends, have legitimate concerns, particularly as crime is more likely to recur against the same people and at the same places.

And, while the trend is clear, there are nevertheless localised increases in some types of offending. When these relate to harmful and emotive issues like knife crime in London, for example, it is natural that this might have a substantial influence.

We are unlikely to be able to change political agendas or journalists’ approach to reporting. But governments should be taking a more rational approach to crime that is based on evidence, not public perception.

Local governments need to keep on top of their local crime hotspots: problem bars and clubs where crime occurs, shops where shoplifting is concentrated, local road traffic offence hotspots and so on. The common theme here is how crime concentrates.

National government, meanwhile, should lead on reducing crime opportunities via national-level levers. Only national government can influence social media platforms and websites that host online crime and encourage larger businesses to improve manufacturing, retailing and service industry practices.

The positive story around crime rarely makes headlines, but this should not put us off from learning the lessons borne out in the data. We know this can work from past success, but it took decades to get car makers to improve vehicle security and to get secure-by-design ideas in building regulations. Society needs to move more quickly.

[ausetkmt]

Donald Trump has threatened to go after a lot of people—journalists, political rivals and undocumented immigrants to name a few—and starting next year, he’ll have the entire national security apparatus at his disposal.

What’s the best way to keep your personal information secure from surveillance, not just by the government, but also data brokers, tech companies, and online scammers? Leah talks with WIRED business editor Louise Matsakis and security editor Andrew Couts about what to expect and practical tips for your phone, computer, and life.

Leah Feiger is @LeahFeiger. Andrew Couts is @couts.bsky.com. Louise Matsakis is @lmatsakis. Write to us at politicslab@WIRED.com. Be sure to subscribe to the WIRED Politics Lab newsletter here.

Mentioned this week: The WIRED Guide to Protecting Yourself From Government Surveillance by Andy Greenberg and Lily Hay Newman Anyone Can Buy Data Tracking US Soldiers and Spies to Nuclear Vaults and Brothels in Germany by Dhruv Mehrotra and Dell Cameron A New Phone Scanner That Detects Spyware Has Already Found 7 Pegasus Infections by Lily Hay Newman

Transcript

Note: This is an automated transcript, which may contain errors.

Leah Feiger: This is WIRED Politics Lab, a show about how tech is changing politics. I’m Leah Feiger, the senior politics editor at WIRED. Donald Trump is returning to the White House with a long list of grievances. We know he wants to deport millions of undocumented immigrants scattered across the country, that he’s vowed to go after journalists, and wants prosecutions of his political opponents. His allies in Congress are eager to roll back abortion and transgender rights, and there are calls, generally on the right, for a crackdown on left-leaning activist groups. As head of the national security apparatus, Trump will be in possession once again of a huge surveillance machine. It’s tempting to feel anxious about all of this, but there are a lot of compelling reasons to think about your cybersecurity that go way beyond what Donald Trump may or may not do. We wanted to do a little bit of a cybersecurity reset. What are the best practices for all of us, things that might protect us from a snooping government, internet scammer, or data collection company. Joining me to talk about the various ways we can protect our data is Andrew Couts, WIRED senior editor of security and investigations. Hey, Andrew.

Andrew Couts: Hey, great to be here.

Leah Feiger: And Louise Matsakis, WIRED senior business editor. Hey, Louise.

Louise Matsakis: Hey, it’s so great to be here.

Also On WIRED

Leah Feiger: Let’s kick this right off. This guide also exists on WIRED.com. You can click on the link in our show notes today. Who is this guide for? Why should people know how to protect themselves online?

Andrew Couts: The guide is for anybody who feels like they might be in a vulnerable situation from government surveillance, or it could include an abusive partner or anyone who really feels like they need to take extra steps to protect themselves. I would say entering these uncertain times of the incoming Trump administration, that's probably changing compared to how it was in the past few years or ever. It's really up to you as the reader or listener to read the guide, see if it applies to you, see if theres anything in your life that makes you feel nervous about it and take some steps to protect yourself.

Leah Feiger: Let’s talk about those specific people a little more. My dad listens to the show. Hey, dad. Should he be doing this? Should he be following the guide?

Andrew Couts: It’s really very subjective and so it might not apply to everybody, but there's really little downside to protecting yourself and taking extra steps to ensure that your privacy is secured as best that you can make it. I would say if you are an activist, if you're a political person publicly, if you are in a vulnerable community, the only downside is some inconvenience and having to make sure you’re on top of various settings and things. We tried to present our guide in a way that's on a sliding scale so you can mix and match what you think is appropriate for your life and for your risk level. It's not just government surveillance that this applies to, because we all know everybody's getting scam texts and calls all the time. It applies to that too because just because your data is safe with one of the apps you use, they could get breached and then that data is out there and it can be connected to all different types of information that's out there about you already, and it can make even people who aren't in the public eye or otherwise engaged in any behavior that might make them a target still vulnerable.

Leah Feiger: Let’s just take a quick step back for a moment and talk about some big picture information about how online surveillance currently works. It’s so integrated into our online experience. Like you said, how many times have I gotten messages that my apps have been breached, that this password is unsecure, it's a daily occurrence. Obviously, Louise, you're an expert on everything China. Andrew, you have been covering this for so long. Talk to me about this big picture. What are we actually even coming up against here?

Louise Matsakis: I think in the last few years it’s definitely gotten a lot worse. I think a lot of us are familiar with the experience of I want to buy a new pair of sneakers. I look at this pair of sneakers and then that pair of sneakers follows you around the internet everywhere. Suddenly you see it on your phone, you see it in your Instagram ads. The other day I had the experience of actually looking up a couch on Facebook marketplace, and then because my Facebook data is connected to my Instagram data, I started getting Instagram ads for couches and I was like, “Hey, Facebook.”

Leah Feiger: Incredible.

Louise Matsakis: “I can't afford a new $3,000 couch, which is why I'm looking for a used one.”

Leah Feiger: But thank you for waving it in my face.

Louise Matsakis: There’s also, I think, the most invasive form of surveillance in a lot of ways is location tracking. You're seeing advertisements based on your IP address, based on where you go every day. A lot of people have their Google history on, so Google knows literally what time you leave your house every day, what time you return, when you maybe go somewhere like Planned Parenthood or when you go to a protest and when you return from that protest. Often, a lot of times I encourage people to look at lawsuits when they want to see what data is available to law enforcement because you can see how your trove of text messages, iMessage, conversations going back sometimes maybe an entire decade between people end up being used as evidence. I think also it's good for people to know that sometimes protecting yourself can be inconvenient and make things a little bit harder, but it can also be nice and actually better for your life. I don't want to see those couches everywhere. I don't want to see those sneakers. Because I have a lot of my conversations now set to auto delete, I'm actually saving storage space and I don't really need those conversations from three months ago where I'm like, “Hey, I'm going to be five minutes late to have coffee with my friend.”

Leah Feiger: Well, you bring up such a funny point. I think when we're talking WIRED's Guide to Government Surveillance, like you said it has so many different levels to it. There's on one hand, yes, perhaps at some point if Kash Patel takes over the FBI, what does it look like for journalists and activists in this space? But then there's also the smaller, the day-to-day people should be allowed to do that too. Dad, if you're listening, get on it.

Louise Matsakis: Yeah, exactly. I think privacy is a virtue that permeates all aspects of society and it's worth protecting whether you are a vulnerable activist or whether you are Leah’s dad.

Andrew Couts: Part of the issue here is that everybody knows you’re getting tracked for ads and your location is getting tracked for various reasons and all these things, and I think it’s often put in the context of advertising or some commercial uses. I think the two big issues right now are one, all of that data can now be purchased by the government instead of getting a warrant. They're basically able to just go around the Fourth Amendment. This is happening, police are doing this, Immigration Customs Enforcement is doing this. We do a lot of stories at WIRED that are based on location data. The most recent one was one about a data broker who supplied more than 3 billion data points on people in Germany. Why Germany matters to people in the US is that we have a lot of military installations and intelligence installations there. We were able to looking at the raw data, you could just literally track someone from a bunker where our nuclear weapons are stored to a brothel where they go after work, to their home and see their commute every single day.

Leah Feiger: Everyone go check the story out on WIRED.com. It's an amazing real life example of how this all is at play, but it’s crazy.

Andrew Couts: It’s crazy. I think the issue is that we just don’t know how this data is going to be used in the future. I think part of the issue here is just continued exposure that can lead to unintended consequences. So you might think you’re not vulnerable right now. We just don’t know what the future holds or how this data can be repackaged, shared, leaked, anything. Anytime your data is such sensitive data about where you go every single day or what websites you’re looking at, what apps are on your phone, all this stuff that might be used just to serve you an ad for a couch could also be used to embarrass you publicly or track you and surveil you in other different ways. I think it’s really important for people to understand that none of this stuff is happening in a bubble. It is all very porous in terms of who can get access to this data anywhere from a data broker who might just be a guy in his office in Florida, like one dude with a couple of computers. There’s a lot of data brokers out there and there are a lot of ones that are just some random person who has massive amounts of information on you, to the FBI or ICE or whoever it might be.

Leah Feiger: Let's talk about what you guys do. How do you lock up your cybersecurity? Do you use flip phones? What is your cloud storage? Are you only on Signal? All of these things I'm referencing by the way in the WIRED guide, go check it out. Where are you guys at?

Louise Matsakis: I have most of my conversations on Signal and I have the vast majority of them set to delete every four weeks. I find that that’s a good timescale for normal everyday conversations and then more sensitive conversations delete sometimes in as little as a few hours or a few days. Very rarely have I found that this is inconvenient for my life. Sometimes I ask a friend like, “Hey, that cool Airbnb, you stayed in that I know you already dug the link up to. Can you send that to me again?” But that's a pretty minor.

Leah Feiger: Small price to pay.

Louise Matsakis: Yeah, small price to pay. I'm really careful about location tracking and then usually-

Leah Feiger: So you are not active on Find My Friends?

Louise Matsakis: No. Although I do track my Boomer mom.

Leah Feiger: Sure.

Louise Matsakis: Yeah. Who won’t listen to this podcast, so sorry mom, I am tracking you. She knows this.

Leah Feiger: The big reveal, actually.

Louise Matsakis: Yeah, but I actually don't let her.

Leah Feiger: It’s the Louise Global Surveillance blog.

Louise Matsakis: Yeah, don’t let her track me back though. That’s my business. But when you get over the age of 70, your kid is allowed to see where you’re going.

Leah Feiger: Absolutely, amazing. Yeah.

Louise Matsakis: But I don’t use location tracking. I turn location tracking off for most of my apps and then I have a separate blank device and sometimes I bring that depending on where I’m going, particularly when I'm going to mainland China.

Leah Feiger: Yeah, I was going to ask, because you do reporting trips, you have sources all over the place. Are you bringing air gap devices? Is your work computer coming with?

Louise Matsakis: I usually will not bring my work computer. I'll bring a personal computer that doesn’t have very much information on it and I will bring a blank cell phone. I'll put various Chinese apps on that phone that I don’t really want. I don't really want WeChat just hanging out on my normal device for the most part. But those are pretty above and beyond precautions that I don't think the average person needs to take. But I think just making sure, do you really need 30 apps on your phone having your location? Because to Andrew's point about all of these data brokers, a lot of the time they're getting this location information, not from Google necessarily, or not from Facebook, not from these big companies that they don't need to sell that information. It’s literally often the game you downloaded and you forgot about. It's like the silly Candy Crush knockoff.

Leah Feiger: Oh God, I'm screwed. Yeah.

Louise Matsakis: Yeah, it’s worth just looking at those sort of apps that you forgot about and realizing, “Oh, all of these applications have particularly your location information.” Those are the two things that I prioritize is ensuring that it’s not just protecting my data, but I don't have that data. If my device gets seized, it’s like those conversations are just not there. You only see the last few weeks at the most, and in most cases maybe you see that that person's contact is in my phone, but you have no idea what we talked about because that data has been erased and Signal is also end-to-end encrypted. It’s not being stored on a server somewhere where a court could make a subpoena for it or cops could try and get a warrant for it. Those are my two big things. There are a lot of other things you can do, but I think for the average person who knows where you’re going and what are your conversations and where are they and how they being stored and do you want to keep them all the time?

Leah Feiger: Absolutely. Absolutely. Andrew, how about you?

Andrew Couts: Yeah, I would echo basically all of those, though I'm not going on cool reporting trips to China, so that’s outside my knowledge. But just to reiterate on the apps, I would say one thing I do is I just limit the number of apps that are on my phone and I don't ever download ones that are just, there's no need for it. I'm not going to download the McDonald's app or something. There’s things that might be a little bit convenient, but McDonald’s doesn't need to have an app on my phone all the time.

Leah Feiger: OK, so talk me through that though, because I’m with you. I’m totally with you. What’s wrong with having these extra apps on your phone?

Andrew Couts: It really just depends on the specific app, but if they get access to your phone book, they can do contact mapping. If they get access to your location, obviously they can do behavior mapping so they can see what other stores you’re going into and just mapping out what your behaviors are, what your activities are. Usually, that’s just to sell you more stuff.

Leah Feiger: Which as Louise points out, you don’t have to have that either in your life.

Andrew Couts: Right, exactly. There’s just no reason for them to have any data about me, to Louise’s point that just the data shouldn't exist in the first place. I try to limit the number of apps. I also am very diligent about making sure my location settings are all up to date. Just nothing can track me unless I’m using the app and for a mapping app or can’t track me at all if I’m... Not to endorse Apple, but I use an iPhone, it has a lot of really good privacy features that people can take advantage of. Some of them make your life slightly less convenient, but I’d say the trade-off is well worth it. The most important... I’d say the one thing anybody can do to protect their privacy most is to use Signal and to get everyone they know to use Signal. I would say obviously there are benefits to protecting your conversations, but if you are thinking, “Well, WhatsApp also uses the Signal protocol,” if you’re into that nerdy stuff about how this encryption works, that’s true, but WhatsApp also collects all the metadata. I would highly recommend Signal over any other encrypted app that’s out there at the moment. Then I just try to limit what I'm doing on my devices that I think might be sensitive. I also, I think financial privacy is also really important and so I try to use cash on a regular basis. Obviously, it’s not very convenient.

Leah Feiger: Really?

Andrew Couts: Yeah, I do it for-

Leah Feiger: This is a new fact. I’m learning about you right here, right now. Everything else I could have predicted.

Andrew Couts: Well, just on the daily shopping and things like that, that when it's convenient for me to do it, I can’t do that through Uber or something. I don’t use Uber really, but I'm here in San Francisco this week, so I am. I’m going to delete the app as soon as I get to the airport, but around town grocery shopping and shopping for my dogs, I’ll use cash if I can because it’s still really private and it’s more private than cryptocurrency. It’s more private than anything at this moment.

Leah Feiger: Interesting. You guys haven’t mentioned the one thing that I’m personally a bit obsessed with, so maybe I’m actually wrong, so tell me if I’m wrong. I love my DeleteMe. DeleteMe, for everyone by the way, just is, how do I even describe it? It's a subscription tool to purge your information from data brokers.

Louise Matsakis: Yeah, so what they do is there’s a lot of these sometimes they’re referred to as people look up sites and they’re basically these databases of... Sometimes they're actually scraping courts, so it will literally show when you filed for divorce, even if you can't see the actual court documents and it will show often your address. Sometimes they make family trees so it will show Leah is related to her dad and they both lived at the same address or whatever it is. It’s really sensitive information and there are services DeleteMe. There are other ones that will on your behalf will send a request saying like, “Hey, you need to take my data down.” I think that this is a really good thing that you bring up and it's really important because one of the most sensitive pieces of information about you is where you live, right, where you sleep every night. If you are an activist, if you are somebody who's posting a lot of things on the internet, if you are making other people mad, it is fairly likely that you might encounter somebody who is so mad at you or detests you so much that they want to know where you live. I’m not saying that people are going to necessarily come and show up at your house, but it’s really scary.

Leah Feiger: Absolutely.

Louise Matsakis: I've had this experience where people are saying, “I know where you live, this is your address,” and that is a very common form of harassment and there have been plenty of documented cases where people do show up. I think protecting that information is important and that’s obviously something that is not easy to change. Sometimes people just open a new email address because they’ve gotten too much spam to their old one, but it’s really hard to get a new apartment or buy a new house or whatever it is.

Leah Feiger: I would also say not even just people that are active online or making their opinions known or hated. You could work at a nonprofit and wake up the next day that a woman’s health organization that perhaps actually doesn't have that much to do with abortion and you and your colleagues are on blast from far right?

Andrew Couts: Absolutely. I think DeleteMe is a great service and it’s one that obviously it costs some money so not everybody is able to afford it, which is unfortunate, but if you can, I highly recommend it. I think other steps you can take just nuts and bolts. You can use a VPN to protect a lot of your information while you’re online. There are a lot of caveats to that. A lot of VPN companies are bad in the ways that we’re talking about here about data brokers or whatever else they have access to everything you’re doing online, so do your research on that. The Freedom of the Press Foundation has a great guide to how to figure out which VPN is good for you. The other thing is just make sure you’re not posting where you’re at on social media. If you’re going to post about being at a concert, maybe think about posting it after the concert is over or when you're not in that area, because to Louise’s point, we’re talking about government surveillance or threat actors or whatever these high-minded things. But a thing I’m nervous about is going into this new era of polarization, hyper-political ideas is that vigilante justice and people thinking there’s supposed to go after you because you made them mad about something, about anything. If they find your address, if they find all your contact information, etc. That can be extremely scary. Another thing I would say to do is if you want to protect your anonymity, definitely don’t use the same username on various different platforms. Don’t use the same email address, don’t use your phone number connected to apps if you can avoid it. All these things can be pieced together, especially when there’s a data breach and it's relatively trivial to do that. There are tools out there that make searching that information very easy. Anytime you can obfuscate your online identities, that's a very good thing to do just in the long-term.

Leah Feiger: We got to bring this into our current political situation here. We're obviously all gathered and talking about this for a very specific reason. Trump has threatened to go after government staffers who leak information to journalists. He’s threatened to go after journalists, he’s threatened to go after political enemies and he’s gone after journalists communications in the past. How can people prevent the government from reading their texts and emails?

Louise Matsakis: Under a regime that is concerned about retribution, it's hard. Again, I go back to do not have the data in the first place. When I've talked to sources, don't be on your company's Wi-Fi, do not forward emails, do not forward text messages, use a different device if you can take a picture of that email on your cellphone network, not on the Wi-Fi that your computer is connected to and send that over Signal. Then have that message auto delete, right? I think it's about when the government says, “Hey, produce this information,” the best thing to say is, “I don't have that information. That information does not exist.” Also, I think it’s important for people to realize if you’ve never been in this situation before, they’re not coming to you necessarily. They’re coming to the providers that you use like Google, like Facebook, like WhatsApp, and they are legally required or compelled to provide this information. In most cases they do and sometimes they do it extremely quickly. If the government can prove that there is an emergency, and in most cases this is good, right? When a mass shooter is on the loose, it’s good that Facebook provides information that might help them catch that person. There’s a reason that these mechanisms exist, but under a regime that is not concerned about constitutional rights and that is going after their perceived enemies, these protections can become weak. I think it’s about just not having that data to produce is the best thing you can do and to use services like Signal that are end-to-end. Because in that case when the government says, “Hey, Signal provide this information on Louise and Andrew.” Signal can't access it, they do not have it. Their response is, “Sorry, our technology does not allow for you to compel us to provide this information.”

Leah Feiger: Meredith Whitaker, what a goddess.

Andrew Couts: I would just add obviously encrypt everything you possibly can. iCloud backup can now be encrypted. iMessages are also end-to-end encrypted as are FaceTime audio calls. I don’t know a lot about Android, I’m sorry. I’m sure that there are comparable features on Android platforms. Look it up, find out what you can do on those. Just limit using the cloud as much as possible. To Louise’s point that anytime a company is storing something for you, that’s who some the authorities are going to go to. One other Apple feature is lockdown mode, which is specifically for vulnerable people. It will lock down a lot of the sharing or collecting of this data that we’re talking about being sensitive across the entire device. That’s another way of just not making that data exist. If you need to get a different device to use it, that’s certainly an option. I would say if you are thinking about getting a burner phone, you have to be very, very diligent with that. You can never have it connect to your home Wi-Fi network, for example, or connect to your office Wi-Fi. That information then makes you more vulnerable and can expose you. The last thing I would say is if you’re just getting started to thinking about what your risk levels look like and what your digital privacy hygiene looks like, all the information before now is already out there and so you can’t really control that. Whatever’s been collected on your life up until now can probably be accessed by someone somewhere, so factor that in. That doesn't mean give up, it doesn’t mean it’s not worth doing anything, but it’s definitely something you just need to be aware of that if you’re just starting now, you’re going to be safer, but you're not necessarily going to be bulletproof going forward.

Leah Feiger: I feel bananas even having to talk about this because obviously your government should be protecting you. One of the things that I feel like we’ve all just been beating the drum on recently is the PRESS Act, which would protect journalists from government spying and it has a lot of bipartisan support and passed in the House, but it’s currently held up in the Senate. Senate Democrats have been slow walking it. How do you recommend that people hold these things at once? This is a very broad question of your government should not be doing this to you and simultaneously it may be, and thus you have to take these steps.

Louise Matsakis: I think it’s unfortunate, but this is the way that it works in most parts of the world. It shouldn’t be that way and I think it’s good to be idealistic, but I think it’s important to remember that America is not special and this is how governments behave. This is how law enforcement behaves, and that if you accept that and think of it as the norm, not that you shouldn’t fight, but that it’s worth considering that. However, in other ways we are really behind. We do not have a national privacy law. We have a patchwork of protections in certain states like California where we all are currently, which is great, but it’s a real shame. I often say this and it surprises a lot of people. There are more consumer, important to say consumer, but there are more consumer privacy protections in China than there are in the U.S. That is a shame. That is something that we should be ashamed about and that should be changed. But I think day-to-day it’s just good to be pragmatic and to know that law enforcement’s going to be law enforcement, the government’s going to be the government, and it’s just worth having a default. I think having these things be set in a way that you don’t have to think about it every day and that these conversations are just deleting. I’m just using this email service that’s end-to-end encrypted. I have my DeleteMe subscription that I only need to renew once a year, that makes it a lot easier. I think paranoia is very emotionally draining and you don’t want to be in a position where you’re constantly worried and you're constantly paranoid. I think when you use these things and you set it and forget it, you can feel more empowered to live your life the way you want. Then the conveniences of not being tracked, of not seeing the catch all the time, of not.

Leah Feiger: The Autonomous couch.

Louise Matsakis: Not having to pay more for cloud storage every year because you’re not putting as much data into the cloud. These things compound over time and then you just have a nicer digital life. That’s what I want people to have.

Andrew Couts: I think during the first Trump administration, we became glaringly aware of the difference between laws and norms. I think the PRESS Act is a great reminder that there are still more norms out there that can be pushed aside. That’s what that law is attempting to do is to make it a law that you can’t do certain activities of surveillance and targeting of journalists that are at the moment just rules in the book. For example, the FBI has policy that they’re not going to prosecute journalists for publishing stories about classified information, but that's just a rule. If-

Louise Matsakis: It’s not a law.

Andrew Couts: It’s not a law and that can just be brushed aside and there’s other protections like that and I think we’re going to become aware of more that we haven’t even thought of at this moment. I wish we had a national privacy law. I wish we had better press protections that weren't based on agency rules, but there’s only so much we can do and we have to operate in the reality that were entering. A thing you can do to protect yourself is all the things we’ve been talking about here, but you can also vote, support legislation that comes up in Congress, be politically active in a way that supports your ideals and that protects everybody, including yourself.

Leah Feiger: On that note, we’re going to take a quick break and when we're back more on surveillance in the age of Trump 2.0. Welcome back to WIRED Politics Lab. We've been talking about a lot of the different ways that the government can track us and these apps are bad and encryption is good, and having everything off of our phones and computers is also good. I think we need to talk a little bit about some of these tech companies and these apps that we’re using. Perhaps a way into that is all of these tech CEOs that have been congratulating Trump and kissing the ring. Does that give you any additional concerns when it comes to our conversations about cybersecurity?

Louise Matsakis: I think there’s two things. One is more of just a vibe shift, which is that I think a lot of these CEOs saw what happened during the first Trump administration and saw how he could fly off the handle and start tweeting about them. I think that they realize that he responds really well to flattery. I think you’re seeing a lot of CEOs just going and kissing the ring. They want to ensure that their businesses are protected and there’s a lot less standing up for principals, a lot less of the resistance. The second thing about corporations since the first Trump administration is that you've seen a lot more companies get into the advertising business. Amazon has an enormous advertising business now. Uber is now in the advertising business. I see ads in the Uber app. Even some of these new AI companies such as Perplexity, they said they're going to get potentially into the ads business as well. Another shift is that a lot more people are having really extensive conversations with chatbots, with things like ChatGPT, which is another place where you can not have your conversation save. I don’t think we've seen necessarily a case yet of OpenAI, or maybe not at least a high profile one, getting a subpoena for this information from their users, but it could happen if you're asking ChatGPT sensitive things. That’s the other shift is that it’s some of the kinds of data being collected and who is collecting it have changed. Advertising is really high margin business, so a lot more companies want to do it on top of their core business. I think considering that, that there's more companies that are hungry for your data than there were before, and that we are now in an environment where there is, I think, less appetite from corporations to push against things that the second Trump administration might do because I think they realize that this is an unpredictable guy who they can just be nice to and get what they want.

Leah Feiger: Oh, depressing.

Louise Matsakis: But yes.

Andrew Couts: The kissing of the ring thing, that seems just like what I would expect CEOs to do to protect their businesses above any other principles. I’m more concerned about what the internal policies are going to be and the norms that we've taken for granted from these companies. For example, many companies Google, Twitter, or X now rather, release transparency reports. They tell you how many subpoenas they get, how many they’ve fought, how many they’ve responded to, and we might not see as many of those. X, in particular, is one that we have to be especially cautious of because if you have the X app on your phone, it’s going to be collecting data about you regardless of whether you log on or not. Regardless of what you think about the discourse on X at the moment, that’s secondary to what the back end app is going to be collecting.

Leah Feiger: Right, especially when it’s CEO and owner are very involved in the administration.

Andrew Couts: Exactly. There’s no mystery to what Elon Musk is going to do with your data if he decides that he wants to do something with your data. He's fully within his right to do that, that’s his data basically.

Leah Feiger: Yes, we all gave it to him willingly.

Andrew Couts: Yeah, exactly.

Leah Feiger: This feels like a dumb question, but what does Trump want with your data?

Louise Matsakis: I think it depends a little bit on who you are, but I think throughout this campaign, Trump has made it extraordinarily clear that he feels like he was an enormous victim during his first administration and that he was prosecuted by the press, by the DOJ, by the FBI, by lawmakers. I think he is very eager to go after those people. Part of that process is seeing who were you talking to, who provided that information to those journalists that he hates and wants to get revenge upon. What were their conversations like? Who was talking to them? I think it’s personal in a lot of ways, but even if he can’t get a conviction, or even if a judge doesn’t want to go along with Trump’s antics or some of the checks and balances in our system do hold up, these things take so much time and a lot of what authoritarianism is about and what makes it so dangerous is that it throws a wrench into everything. It derails activists, derails journalists, derails opposition lawmakers from just getting things done. Even if people are not thrown into prison, it’s being harassed all day, having to appear in court over and over again, having to spend all of your money on legal fees, having a bunch of Trump’s allies harassing you all day. That is really exhausting and that is sort of the point. Even if they’re not able to get the data identifying you, targeting you and trying to get it, and the fear that that creates is enough to accomplish their goals.

Andrew Couts: It doesn’t even have to be anything more than your name and putting that out there publicly for you to be targeted by any number of people. We saw Kash Patel release a list of people in government who he considered enemies. Your life can be really upended just by, if Donald Trump sends out a tweet that says, "Andrew Couts is a piece of shit," that's enough to make my life chaos.

Leah Feiger: Let's get into one specific example that obviously we talk a lot about at WIRED and are quite familiar with, Pegasus. Biden signed an executive order keeping this incredibly sophisticated spyware called Pegasus, that’s been used against activists and journalists around the world. Biden signed an order banning it in the US. Do we think that ban is going to hold?

Andrew Couts: Absolutely not. That's one that’s going to go away immediately. We’ve already seen ICE... Wire broke the news that ICE purchased a different spyware or tried to, and that was immediately under review from the White House as soon as we reported that news. That’s the mechanisms that are protecting us at the moment. That can just be brushed aside literally with a stroke of a pen. I would say spyware is still a big problem. Apple’s done a lot to try to combat it, but we’re seeing... We published a story today about, there’s a company that creates a free and paid tool that can scan your device, and they've already found seven Pegasus infections, which may not sound like a lot, but in that of I think 2000 customers, something around that. But that’s a lot. It is a targeted malware that exposes everything on your phone. We talked a lot about singing the praises of Signal, but if you're infected with spyware, that just goes out the window. It’s all there, your camera can be turned on remotely. Your microphone can be turned on remotely. Everything on your device is accessible to whoever's infected you. If you’d asked me a year ago, "Should people be concerned about being targeted by spyware?" I'd say not unless you are doing some highly controversial political activism or a journalist publishing national security secrets, but now it's good to check, maybe download the free tool and just get checked out every so often.

Leah Feiger: Yikes. Big, yikes. Obviously, we talked about policy solutions. I mentioned the PRESS Act earlier. A lot of journalists and First Amendment advocates have been calling on the Senate to pass it or do something, anything. Obviously, it's stalled right now. Trump on Truth Social on November 20th posted, "Republicans must kill this bill." Before that, it had bipartisan support. What effect do you think that comments like Trump, not just about the PRESS Act, but about this entire apparatus at the moment could affect us going forward the first couple hundred days? Any thoughts, any predictions there?

Louise Matsakis: I think we’l probably see potentially fewer leaks than we did in the first administration. There was a lot of activity immediately from a lot of different agencies raising concerns about really disturbing behavior in all parts of the government as Trump took over, problems about a lot of different types of programs in every major agency. But I still believe in people who want to do the right thing and who see something that is concerning to them and wanting to stand up and to say something about it. There are still safe ways for them to generally keep their anonymity protected and to be able to talk to a journalist about what they're seeing. I think you'll still see some of that, but I think there’s going to be a lot more concern and that will keep a fair number of people quiet. I think journalists are going to have to get more creative about trying to figure out what’s going on inside the government.

Andrew Couts: Yeah, it’s hard to know what the priorities of the Trump administration will be, but we do know that mass deportations are at the top of that list. I think the blast radius we will experience from whatever that looks like is going to catch up a lot of people you might not expect, necessarily. The obvious things that could happen is if people start reporters who are covering that or activists who are speaking out against it could then be deemed national security risks, which give a lot more leeway for the government to target you or to take additional actions that circumvent some of the protections that are otherwise in place when it’s not a national security issue. We talked about norms versus laws earlier, and I think that’s where we're going to start to see the chasm between those two realities. It may not be sweeping arrests of every reporter at the New York Times or WIRED or wherever, but it might just be one. That has a chilling effect immediately. Everyone is going to be more concerned about their role in public life and in confronting the Trump administration about whatever it’s doing. I would say cracking the whip very quickly, whether it’s on immigration and then everything surrounding that, it seems to me a likely scenario.

Leah Feiger: Listeners, you can find many more of WIRED’s cybersecurity recommendations online, just look for the link in today's show notes. We'll be right back with Conspiracy of the Week. Welcome back to WIRED Politics Lab. It is time for my very favorite segment of this show, which is Conspiracy of the Week, where our lovely guests bring their favorite conspiracies they've come across as of late or generally. I pick my favorite. Louise, what do you have for us today?

Louise Matsakis: I have a fun one. It's a little bit of a local story. I live in Los Angeles, and if you haven't been there, you might not know that in downtown LA there are tar pits, literally these giant puddles of tar that smell bad. They have been there literally since prehistoric times.

Leah Feiger: Wait, really? I've been to LA so many... This is new information.

Louise Matsakis: Yes, there is a tar pit park, and then there is a museum where actually they have a lot of the stuff that has been pulled out, so-

Leah Feiger: Oh my gosh.

Louise Matsakis: We’re talking like full woolly mammoths.

Leah Feiger: Wow.

Louise Matsakis: There’s an entire wall of, I don’t know what they're called, but it’s an ancient wolf basically. I’m not sure what the species is, but all of their skulls, because basically for hundreds, thousands of years, animals would just walk by and fall into them.

Leah Feiger: Oh my God.

Louise Matsakis: To date, they’ve only found, or so they say, one person who’s fallen in, and it was a prehistoric woman and her dog, but the-

Leah Feiger: Prehistoric women had dogs?

Louise Matsakis: Yeah.

Leah Feiger: I have so many questions.

Louise Matsakis: Yeah. I'm sure the exact time period, it was a very early pet owner.

Leah Feiger: Yes.

Louise Matsakis: But the conspiracy that I’ve heard around LA is that the government is putting things in the tar pit. They're putting people-

Leah Feiger: To cover it up. Of course.

Louise Matsakis: Yes. They’re putting people in the tar pits and it’s like they know that they won’t be lifted out and that the archeologists who work there who are still excavating are in cahoots with the government to keep things in the tar pits.

Leah Feiger: OK. I have the dumbest question ever. In my mind, because obviously I grew up watching cartoons, putting stuff in tar. It’s like gooey.

Louise Matsakis: It is gooey.

Leah Feiger: How do you excavate that? What does that even entail?

Louise Matsakis: I am not an archeologist.

Leah Feiger: Fair enough. How are they pulling out their political enemies, I suppose is my question?

Louise Matsakis: Yeah. Well, I think that’s the thing is that they're keeping them in there.

Leah Feiger: They’re keeping them in there.

Louise Matsakis: But I’m not sure. It’s been a very long effort, but I'm not sure over the years how they’ve gotten all of the bones out and stuff, but they're very preserved so that part of the is like-

Leah Feiger: A little Pompeii action.

Louise Matsakis: Exactly. A little Pompeii action and that maybe one day when it’s safe to talk about what happened. We know that the bodies are there and we know that the information there.

Leah Feiger: I am so obsessed. If these tar pits were in New York, the mafia would’ve just dumped all of lower Manhattan into this.

Louise Matsakis: I guess it just takes a while to sink.

Leah Feiger: Godfather part four would’ve been a very different film.

Louise Matsakis: I think it takes some time to sink though, so that’s the thing is-

Leah Feiger: I want to go chuck stuff in there now. I didn't know this was a thing.

Louise Matsakis: You can literally see them and there's literally just a cone that it's like, "Don't go over there and be like, don't get your foot in the gear."

Leah Feiger: This is what I’m going to do. I’m going to go throw all of my non-encrypted devices into LA’s tar pit, a WIRED field trip. This was an incredible conspiracy. Andrew, can you top that?

Andrew Couts: I cannot. That’s amazing. My conspiracy is less fun, and it’s not even a conspiracy yet, but we’re recording this on Wednesday morning. The CEO of UnitedHealthcare was shot in Midtown Manhattan, and obviously gun violence is a daily occurrence in America, but such a brazen attack in the middle of Manhattan is just baffling.

Leah Feiger: Blocks away from Times Square.

Andrew Couts: Yeah. It is. If you’ve been into Manhattan, this is extremely wild, and I haven’t looked at the news since we’ve been recording this, so they may have already caught the guy, but regardless, just because of all the politics around healthcare. There was a big ransomware attack against a subsidiary of UnitedHealthcare that they paid $22 million to the ransomware gang that did it. It’s a very complicated thing, but there’s already some conspiracy theories swirling around that it’s like ransomware gang or whatever. I think it’s more likely something completely separate from that, but regardless of what it is, it just feels so wild that people are going to be talking about this forever. Regardless of what the facts come out.

Leah Feiger: Oh, a hundred percent, we’re going to log off and it’s thousands of conspiracies will have popped up in the last hour.

Andrew Couts: Indeed.

Leah Feiger: Wow. All right. Well, that’s still a good one because it’s, as you said, just truly bananas. I got to give this one to Louise. I'm obsessed with LA’s tar pits.

Louise Matsakis: Highly recommend if you ever come visit.

Leah Feiger: I'm going to the museum.

Louise Matsakis: Yeah, it’s a really fun thing.

Leah Feiger: That’s good stuff. That was really good. Thank you both so much for joining us today for this terrifying but really informative conversation.

Louise Matsakis: Thank you so much for having us.

Andrew Couts: Thanks for having us.

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Best MBA Colleges in Delhi NCR under IP University—RDIAS Leading with Industry-Focused Programs and Great Placements

Pursuing an MBA in Delhi NCR under Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIPU) is an excellent choice for students aspiring to pursue a successful career in business and management. Among the top MBA colleges in Delhi NCR, Rukmini Devi Institute of Advanced Studies (RDIAS) is a premier institute offering an industry-aligned curriculum, state-of-the-art infrastructure, and excellent placement opportunities.

Why Choose RDIAS for an MBA under IP University?

RDIAS, affiliated to IP University, offers a comprehensive MBA program designed to develop analytical, leadership, and decision-making skills in students. The institute integrates experiential learning through case studies, live projects, and internships, giving students practical exposure to real-world business challenges.

Industry-focused curriculum

RDIAS offers a dynamic and updated curriculum aligned with industry trends. Subjects such as marketing, finance, human resource management, and business analytics are taught with a focus on practical implementation. The learning approach includes:

Case study analysis to develop problem-solving skills.

Simulations and group discussions to enhance decision-making abilities.

Workshops and certification in emerging business areas such as digital marketing and data analytics.

Exceptional placement assistance

RDIAS has a dedicated placement cell that collaborates with top recruiters across various industries. The placement record is impressive, with students securing roles in leading companies such as Deloitte, KPMG, Infosys, HDFC Bank, and Wipro. The placement cell provides:

Resume-building assistance and mock interviews.

Pre-placement training to develop soft skills and business acumen.

Networking opportunities with alumni and industry leaders.

Experiential learning through internships and industry exposure

To bridge the gap between academia and industry, RDIAS integrates internships and live projects as a mandatory part of its MBA curriculum. Students get to experience the following:

Corporate internships with reputed firms.

Industrial visits to understand business operations first-hand.

Guest lectures by industry experts from companies like Google, Amazon, and Tata Group.

State-of-the-art infrastructure and learning facilities

The college offers world-class infrastructure with modern classrooms, a well-equipped library, computer labs with advanced business analytics software, and seminar halls for events. The smart learning environment enhances academic engagement and overall student development.

Strong alumni network and career growth opportunities

RDIAS has an extensive alumni network that helps students in career progression through mentorship programs, industry connections, and placement referrals. The institute encourages students to participate in the following:

Entrepreneurship development programs for aspiring business leaders.

Organize festivals and competitions to develop strategic thinking.

Global exchange programs to gain international business insights.

Conclusion

For students looking for the best MBA colleges in Delhi NCR under IP University, RDIAS is the top choice due to its industry-oriented education, exceptional faculty, practical teaching approach, and excellent placements. The institute prepares students for corporate jobs and leadership roles in the competitive business world. If you aspire to pursue an MBA in Delhi NCR, RDIAS should be your priority for a successful and rewarding career.