Crypto and crime, crime and crypto. They go together like spreadsheets and tax evasion. When cryptocurrency hit the scene it was, according to its evangelists, going to usher in a world of decentralized currency and free everyone from the shackles of oppressive central banks. Turns out it’s also been a pretty great way to launder money.It’s also the subject of the new book Red Team Blues, a novel from writer Cory Doctorow. In Red Team Blues a 67 year old forensic accountant finds himself at the center of a crypto-crime mystery that takes him from the heights of silicon valley to the depths of the Tenderloin. This week on Cyber, Doctorow walks us through a brief history of the valley and why he wrote three books about an old accountant during the pandemic.Doctorow is the author of more than two dozen books and too many articles to count. He’s currently blogging at pluralistic.net.We’re recording CYBER live on Twitch and YouTube. Watch live during the week. Follow us there to get alerts when we go live. We take questions from the audience and yours might just end up on the show. Subscribe to CYBER on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

CYBER

CYBER: Crime and Crypto with Cory Doctorow

We talk a lot about encrypted phones on Cyber. Everyone loves a secure communication channel that no one can peer into. But some companies, well, if there’s criminal activity going on they’re gonna sell you out. And the cops have gotten very good at setting up honeypots and hacking into existing networks.But there’s one encrypted service out there that is, as far as we know, still secure. It’s called No. 1 Business Communication and it’s a favorite of the Italian Mafia. On this episode of Cyber, Joseph Cox comes on to explain how and why No. 1 Business Communication has survived in a world where authorities have shut down the competition. Stories discussed in this episode:Inside the Italian Mafia’s Encrypted Phone of ChoiceWe’re recording CYBER live on Twitch and YouTube. Watch live during the week. Follow us there to get alerts when we go live. We take questions from the audience and yours might just end up on the show. Subscribe to CYBER on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

CYBER: Inside the Italian Mafia’s Encrypted Phone of Choice

If you’re watching or listening to this show you’re probably doing it on a device that owes its very existence to the Apple II. But these days we remember the iPhone, 90s era Windows, and even the Macintosh as these big benchmark moments in widespread adoption of tech.But all those devices wouldn't be here if it weren’t for the little Apple II board that could and the people who turned a hobbyist curiosity into a fundamental part of every household in the world.That story is the subject of the new book The Apple II Age: How the Computer Became Personal. This week on Cyber, author Laine Nooney comes on to talk about The Apple II Age and how the little machine ushered in a new world of personal computing. Nooney is also an assistant professor of Media and Information Studies at New York University and the founding editor of ROMchip: A Journal of Games Histories.We’re recording CYBER live on Twitch and YouTube. Watch live during the week. Follow us there to get alerts when we go live. We take questions from the audience and yours might just end up on the show. Subscribe to CYBER on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Apple II and How the Computer Became Personal

When Elon Musk posted a video of himself arriving at Twitter HQ carrying a white sink along with the message “let that sink in!” it marked the end of a dramatic takeover. Musk had gone from Twitter critic to “Chief Twit” in the space of just a few months but his arrival didn’t put an end to questions about his motives. Musk had earned a reputation as a business maverick. From PayPal to Tesla to SpaceX, his name was synonymous with big, earth-shattering ideas. So, what did he want with a social media platform? And was this all really in the name of free speech...or was this all in the name of Elon Musk?From Wondery, the makers of WeCrashed and In God We Lust, comes the wild story of how the richest man alive took charge of the world’s “digital public square.”Listen to Flipping The Bird: Wondery.fm/FTB_Cyber Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Wondery Presents - Flipping The Bird: Elon vs Twitter

It looks like a bluetooth speaker or an old Nokia cellphone. But that’s a disguise. Inside these small devices is everything car thieves need to break into your vehicle. There are telegram channels now where, for a few thousand dollars, you can buy a device that will break into a car in seconds.Motherboard reporter Joseph Cox is here on Cyber this week to walk us through it.Stories discussed in this episode:The Car Thieves Using Tech Disguised Inside Old Nokia Phones and Bluetooth SpeakersWe’re recording CYBER live on Twitch and YouTube. Watch live during the week. Follow us there to get alerts when we go live. We take questions from the audience and yours might just end up on the show. Subscribe to CYBER on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thieves are Stealing Cars Using Old Nokia Phones

Automation is making everyone’s lives easier, including people who call in fake bomb threats on crowded public locations. We live in a world where pranksters and criminals can summon a massive police presence with the click of a few buttons. On this episode of Cyber, Motherboard staff writer Joseph Cox is here to tell us all about it.Stories discussed in this episode:A Computer Generated Swatting Service Is Causing Havoc Across AmericaSmart Garage Company Fixes Vulnerability by Breaking Customers' DevicesHackers Can Remotely Open Smart Garage Doors Across the WorldIRS Wants to Buy Internet Mass Monitoring ToolWe’re recording CYBER live on Twitch and YouTube. Watch live during the week. Follow us there to get alerts when we go live. We take questions from the audience and yours might just end up on the show. Subscribe to CYBER on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Someone Is Selling Computer Generated Swatting Services

Top Secret classified Pentagon documents leaked on a Minecraft Discord server. The pages of documents contain sensitive information about troop placements in Ukraine, rumors about allies, and—weirdly—a character sheet for a tabletop roleplaying game. On this episode of Cyber, host Matthew Gault takes a back seat and lets Motherboard editor-in-chief Jason Koebler interrogate him about what’s in these classified Pentagon documents.Pentagon’s Ukraine War Plans Leaked on Minecraft Discord Before Telegram and TwitterLeaked Pentagon Docs Share Wild Rumor: Kremlin Plans to ‘Throw’ Putin’s War While He’s Getting ChemoLeaked Classified Documents Also Include Roleplaying Game Character StatsWe’re recording CYBER live on Twitch and YouTube. Watch live during the week. Follow us there to get alerts when we go live. We take questions from the audience and yours might just end up on the show. Subscribe to CYBER on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What We Know about the Pentagon Leaks

A terrible April Fool’s day glitch screws over Uber drivers, tenants in California are striking back against landlords, and private banks: do we need them?Today’s episode of Cyber is a cypher, that infrequent version of the show where we decipher some recent tech news. It’s a potpourri for the panopticon age. A grab bag of tech horrors, a not so gentle reminder that our work is not yet done.Motherboard reporter Roshan Abraham is here to talk about it all.'Screwed': Uber Claws Back Double Pay from Drivers After April Fools GlitchTenants of America's Biggest Landlord Form Union to Fight Evictions, Rent HikesWant to Curb City Crime? Evict Fewer Tenants, Study SaysPrivate Banks Are In Crisis. What If They Were Public Banks?We’re recording CYBER live on Twitch and YouTube. Watch live during the week. Follow us there to get alerts when we go live. We take questions from the audience and yours might just end up on the show. Subscribe to CYBER on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Uber's April Fools Glitch

Facial recognition systems are here. They’ve been deployed extensively along America’s southern border and in its cities. Authoritarian regimes in Iran and Russia are using the technology to crack down on dissidents and what’s going on in Moscow right now paints a horrifying picture of how dangerous the tech has become.On this episode of Cyber, Lena Masri is here to talk about it. She’s the author of a new report at Reuters about how Putin uses facial recognition to curb dissent.Stories discussed in this episode:Facial recognition is helping Putin curb dissent with the aid of U.S. techU.S. Hardware Is Fueling Russia's Facial Recognition Crackdown on Anti-War DissidentsAI Use by Cops, Child Services In NYC Is a Mess: ReportWe’re recording CYBER live on Twitch and YouTube. Watch live during the week. Follow us there to get alerts when we go live. We take questions from the audience and yours might just end up on the show. Subscribe to CYBER on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How Russia Uses Facial Recognition to Stop Protestors

Love it or hate it, you can’t escape artificial intelligence. People are using Midjourney to make viral photos of Donald Trump’s arrest and the Pop’s puffy coat. Redditors are creating entire fake historical events and backing it up with AI-generated photos. Silicon Valley seems to think this tech is the next big thing, with Google and Microsoft betting big on it and some people begging everyone to pause development for six months.Is AI changing the world? With us here today to try to answer that question is Motherboard reporter Chloe Xiang.Stories discussed in this episode:People Are Creating Records of Fake Historical Events Using AIChatGPT Can Replace the Underpaid Workers Who Train AI, Researchers SayThe Open Letter to Stop 'Dangerous' AI Race Is a Huge Mess'He Would Still Be Here': Man Dies by Suicide After Talking with AI Chatbot, Widow SaysAI Theorist Says Nuclear War Preferable to Developing Advanced AIWe’re recording CYBER live on Twitch and YouTube. Watch live during the week. Follow us there to get alerts when we go live. We take questions from the audience and yours might just end up on the show. Subscribe to CYBER on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What’s Driving the AI Hype?

In America, no one can protect you from a transportation employee being paid off by the feds. The Drug Enforcement Agency has a single remit: to prosecute America’s long-failed war on drugs. Joseph Cox is on today’s episode of Cyber to talk about one its shadier practices and the senators who want answers from the Department of Justice. It turns out that the DEA has been paying Amtrak and commercial package companies to act as informants and supply data on customers without having to get a warrant.Stories discussed in this episode:The DEA Bought Customer Data from Rogue Employees Instead of Getting a WarrantThe 'Insanely Broad' RESTRICT Act Could Ban Much More Than Just TikTokHere is the FBI’s Contract to Buy Mass Internet DataCops Sue Afroman for 'Emotional Distress' After He Made Music Videos of Botched RaidWe’re recording CYBER live on Twitch and YouTube. Watch live during the week. Follow us there to get alerts when we go live. We take questions from the audience and yours might just end up on the show. Subscribe to CYBER on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The DEA Is Skipping Warrants and Buying Data from Rogue Employees

America is thinking about banning the most popular social media app in the world. TikTok has exploded in the past few years and whether you love it or hate it, you can’t deny its huge influence.Legislators in America are concerned about that influence, especially because of TikTok’s connections to China. On Thursday, TikTok’s CEO testified before the House’s Committee on Energy and Commerce and fielded questions about the app, its connection to China, and what it might be doing to America’s children.It was a shitshow.Motherboard’s Social Media Manager, Emily Lipstein, is on this episode of Cyber talking about.Stories discussed in this episode:Congress Shocked to Discover 10 Year Olds Check the ‘I’m Over 18’ Box OnlineBanning TikTok Is Unconstitutional, Ludicrous, and a National EmbarrassmentFollow Motherboard on TikTok to see the Congressional footageWe’re recording CYBER live on Twitch and YouTube. Watch live during the week. Follow us there to get alerts when we go live. We take questions from the audience and yours might just end up on the show. Subscribe to CYBER on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why Does Congress Want to Ban TikTok?

It’s almost impossible to get retail priced tickets to The Cure’s newest live tour. Fans are, once again, turning to the secondary market despite the band’s insistence that Ticketmaster shut it down. This week on Cyber, Joseph Cox and Motherboard Motherboard editor-in-chief Jason Koebler take us into the world of the ticket scalper, where whole Ticketmaster accounts are being sold in bulk and a “verified fan” is just someone the algorithm approves of.Stories discussed in this episode:The Cure Tried to Stop Scalpers. Brokers Are Selling Entire Ticketmaster Accounts InsteadTicketmaster Cancels Public Sale for Taylor Swift Tickets Because It Already Sold Them AllBlink-182 Tickets Are So Expensive Because Ticketmaster Is a Disastrous Monopoly and Now Everyone Pays Ticket Broker PricesThe Man Who Broke TicketmasterWe’re recording CYBER live on Twitch and YouTube. Watch live during the week. Follow us there to get alerts when we go live. We take questions from the audience and yours might just end up on the show. Subscribe to CYBER on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts.Hosted on Acast. Seeacast.com/privacy for more information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Scalpers Are Selling Whole Ticketmaster Accounts Now

In America the trains never seem to run on time. On February 3, a train crashed in East Palestine, Ohio releasing toxic chemicals into the air. Almost a month later, another train owned by the same company also derailed in Ohio. That’s not all. Trains in Charlotte are running slower than they should. NYC can’t fit trains into its new station. The list goes on and on.What the hell is going on with mass transit in America?If you’re a long time Cyber listener, you might already know some of the answers to this question. That’s thanks to returning champion, Motherboard senior writer Aaron Gordon.Stories discussed in this episode:East Palestine Derailment ‘Foreseeable and Preventable,’ Ohio Attorney General Lawsuit Alleges24 Hours of News Shows America's Transportation HellscapeThe Worst Transit Project in the U.S. Is Officially DeadBoston's Subway Was Running at Half Speed Because It Lost Paperwork‘We Had All the Issues That Town Has:’ East Palestine Is Not the First or Last Derailment DisasterWe’re recording CYBER live on Twitch and YouTube. Watch live during the week. Follow us there to get alerts when we go live. We take questions from the audience and yours might just end up on the show.Subscribe to CYBER on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This Is Why America's Trains Keep Crashing

Collapse. It’s the word on everybody’s lips. Silicon Valley Bank and Signature are no more. The banks, folks, they’ve collapsed. But don’t worry, these aren’t your typical banks. SVB and Signature were not the kinds of places working class folks were holding checking accounts. These were massive institutions that propped up America’s ailing tech sector. If you’ve been hustled by an NFT startup in the past year, there’s a good chance it had deposits at SVB.But now they’re gone and, after some panic, it looks like America’s blessed institutions are working as intended. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is gonna clean all this up. But should they?On this episode of Cyber, Motherboard Managing Editor Jordan Pearson sits down to answer the question.Stories discussed in this episode:How Silicon Valley's Bank ImplodedAre Failing Banks About to Destroy the Economy?OK, WTF Is Up With the Government Bailing Out the Tech Industry?WSJ Wonders: Did Silicon Valley Bank Die Because One Black Person Was on Its Board?We’re recording CYBER live on Twitch and YouTube. Watch live during the week. Follow us there to get alerts when we go live. We take questions from the audience and yours might just end up on the show.Subscribe to CYBER on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

WTF Is Up With the Silicon Valley Bank Bailout?

Hacking. Hackers. Disinformation campaigns. Encryption. The Cyber. This stuff gets complicated really fast, but Motherboard spends its time embedded in the infosec world so you don't have to. Host Matthew Gault talks every week to Motherboard reporters about the stories they're breaking and to the industry's most famous hackers and researchers about the biggest news in cybersecurity. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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CYBER

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