Andrew Couts

Andrew Couts

@couts.bsky.social

Security & Investigations Director at @WIRED.com. Send tips and/or dog pics. Signal: couts.01

61.4K followers3.1K following1.2K posts

Andrew Couts
@couts.bsky.social

NEW: The Trump administration is hiding a secret FISA court ruling that details how US intelligence is spying on Americans under Section 702. @dell.bsky.social w/ the scoop: www.wired.com/story/the-us...

wired.comThe US Government Is Hiding a Secret Court Ruling About How It Spies on AmericansTwo US senators say the Trump administration is breaking the law by withholding the FISA court decision while it presses Congress to renew America’s most sweeping surveillance program.

Andrew Couts reposted

Caroline Haskins
@carolinehaskins.bsky.social

Airbnb is banning its hosts from making guests do things like “stripping the bed, taking trash offsite, or washing and putting away dishes.” The hosts....are not taking it well: www.wired.com/story/airbnb...

wired.comAirbnb Hosts Are Furious They Can No Longer Make Guests Do Their ChoresSome hosts are threatening to strike, while others are plotting ways around Airbnb’s new restrictions. Guests, meanwhile, are celebrating.

Andrew Couts reposted

Hugo Lowell
@hugolowell.bsky.social

NEW @WIRED.com: Trump aides casting around for a scapegoat for midterm losses have landed on James Blair because he owned a backfiring redistricting strategy — and they can’t exactly tell the president he’s at fault for starting the Iran war www.wired.com/story/its-th...

wired.com‘It’s the President’s Fault’: The White House Blame Game Starts Early Ahead of the MidtermsAs the White House contemplates losing Congress, there has been an unusually early effort to find a Republican scapegoat.
Andrew Couts
@couts.bsky.social

NEW: AWS detected attempts to exploit the PHP vulnerabilities on October 17, four days before they were patched. Logs indicate multiple malicious actors tried to use the flaws. @lhn.bsky.social reports: www.wired.com/story/hacker...

wired.comHackers Exploited the PHP Vulnerabilities Days Before They Were PatchedAmazon Web Services logged attempts to leverage the internet-melting PHP2Shell bugs four days ago. They're now being “broadly exploited” across the internet.

Andrew Couts reposted

Adam Rogers
@jetjocko.bsky.social

Gotta say it gave me a little squee of joy to see my byline in the font I had for nearly 20 years.... www.wired.com/story/how-el...

wired.comHow Elizabeth Holmes Tricked WIRED—and Everyone ElseWIRED was the first magazine to cover Theranos and its enticing billionaire founder. There were warning signs even then.
Sandra Upson@supson.bsky.social

It's Nathan Fielder Day at @wired.com, complete with a custom Nathan mouse cursor. (And the best excuse to bring @jetjocko.bsky.social back into the Wired mix)

Andrew Couts reposted

Katie Drummond
@katie-drummond.bsky.social

Nathan Fielder is on the cover of @wired.com this month. I interviewed him about Elizabeth Holmes, his extraordinary new film, and whether anyone can ever know what the hell is going on with another person. An exclusive! And quite an experience. Read the full interview here:

wired.comNathan Fielder Tells Us EverythingIncluding what Elizabeth Holmes said to him last week. A WIRED exclusive interview with the comic auteur, as his first feature film hits theaters.

Andrew Couts reposted

Marisa Kabas
@marisakabas.bsky.social

SCOOP: 'Tommy' from the now-viral exchange with Abdul El-Sayed is Thomas Teepell, a former staffer for Republican Senator Josh Hawley with close ties to Christian Nationalist Sean Feucht. He's the son of a former Bobby Jindal staffer whose consultant work was instrumental in getting Hawley elected.

thehandbasket.co'Tommy' from viral El-Sayed video is former Sen. Hawley staffer with Christian nationalist tiesThomas Teepell is the son of a former long-time Bobby Jindal staffer who's close to Sean Feucht.
Andrew Couts
@couts.bsky.social

NEW: Chicagoland cops worked with HSI agents to surveil Minnesota-based activists, according to a document reviewed by @wired.com, which shows the limits of sanctuary laws that are meant to prevent local cops for helping ICE. @awinston.bsky.social w/ the scoop:

wired.comChicago-Area Cops Helped HSI Spy on Minnesota Anti-ICE ActivistsDespite Illinois’ sanctuary laws, local police in and around Chicago helped ICE investigative agents track activists engaged in First Amendment–protected activities.

Andrew Couts reposted

Leah Feiger
@leahfeiger.bsky.social

NEW: Elon Musk has assembled a presidential-level field operation this midterm cycle, underscoring the extent to which he has taken over the get-out-the-vote effort for the Republican party. WIRED's tracking his America PAC funding efforts here - read @hugolowell.bsky.social + @dell.bsky.social:

wired.comElon Musk Is Almost Single-Handedly Funding the Republican Midterms PushElon Musk has assembled a presidential-level field operation this midterm cycle, underscoring the extent to which he has taken over the get-out-the-vote effort for the Republican party.
Andrew Couts
@couts.bsky.social

NEW: The new White House press secretary, Katie Zacharia, previously worked as an affiliate marketer for an MLM then known as Beachbody, which Zacharia described to @wired.com as “sort of a pyramid scheme.” @tessowen.bsky.social & @timmarchman.bsky.social w/ the scoop: www.wired.com/story/white-...

wired.comWhite House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia Was an Affiliate Marketer for a Fitness MLMTrump's newly installed press secretary tells WIRED that in the early 2010s, she promoted a product for a company then called Beachbody, which she described as “sort of a pyramid scheme.”
Andrew Couts
@couts.bsky.social

NEW: Researchers at @citizenlab.ca found ~45 phones belonging to @aljazeera.com infected with zero-click spyware that was distributed via online ads—a “nightmare scenario” that is extremely difficult to defend against. @mattburgess1.bsky.social & @lhn.bsky.social report www.wired.com/story/nightm...

wired.com‘Nightmare Scenario’: Zero-Click Spyware Is Infecting Phones via Targeted AdsResearchers at The Citizen Lab have for the first time released technical evidence of sophisticated mercenary spyware being distributed via online advertising.
Andrew Couts
@couts.bsky.social

“The robot, said to be 120 cm (about 3 ft 11 inches) tall, was dressed in a white tank top, black sweatpants and wearing a gold chain and sunglasses. It also had what appears to be a fake mustache.” apnews.com/article/robo...

apnews.comPolice confiscate robot that groped 16-year-old girl, probe whether young men were at the controlsGerman authorities have opened an investigation into possible sexual harassment involving a robot. The incident took place in Cologne, where a robot allegedly touched a 16-year-old girl’s buttocks and...
Andrew Couts
@couts.bsky.social

NEW: The criminal complaint against an OpenAI engineer reveals that, according to investigators, he allegedly used a $14 device to spy on company executives’ meetings. @peard33.bsky.social, @regret.bsky.social, and @carolinehaskins.bsky.social report: www.wired.com/story/an-ope...

wired.comAn OpenAI Employee Allegedly Used a Chatbot to Help Plant a Recording Device at the OfficeChatbot prompts reveal the engineer’s alleged efforts to set up a covert listening device days before one was found in a meeting room used by high-level executives.

Andrew Couts reposted

Dhruv Mehrotra
@dmehro.bsky.social

New: Feds got warrants to use fake cell towers to hunt Don Lemon’s producer, a 21-year-old college student. They also sought to use the technology against a journalist and a state Senate candidate.

wired.comFeds Got Warrants to Use Fake Cell Towers to Hunt Down Don Lemon’s ProducerInvestigators also sought permission to use an invasive surveillance tool called a cell-site simulators against journalist Georgia Fort and a Minnesota state Senate candidate.
Andrew Couts
@couts.bsky.social

NOTE: For anyone reblogging or posting about this story, please note that *we did NOT report here that Brenden Cuni is the shooter.* We only reported that he was at the scene wearing the yellow vest and holding a rifle.

Andrew Couts@couts.bsky.social

NEW: ICE agent in a high-viz vest holding a rifle at the scene of shooting near the Bronx has a history of allegedly lying, using excessive force, and courts have found his arrests unlawful. @dmehro.bsky.social @awinston.bsky.social, @regret.bsky.social w/ the scoop: www.wired.com/story/ice-ag...

wired.comICE Agent at NYC Shooting Has History of Alleged Violence and Illegal ArrestsBrenden Cuni, an ICE supervisor, has been accused of excessive force and tackling a pregnant woman to the ground. Several of his arrests were later found to be unlawful in federal court.
Andrew Couts
@couts.bsky.social

NEW: Federal prosecutors are considering bringing a perjury and obstruction of justice case against the former White House staffer who implicated Donald Trump in the January 6 riot. @hugolowell.bsky.social has the scoop: www.wired.com/story/the-do...

wired.comThe DOJ Is Weighing Perjury Charges Against Cassidy HutchinsonThe Justice Department is considering a perjury and obstruction of justice case against Cassidy Hutchinson, a former White House aide who testified against Donald Trump to the January 6 committee.
Andrew Couts
@couts.bsky.social

The man shot by ICE in NYC yesterday has disappeared after he was admitted to the hospital, and his lawyer reportedly doesn’t know where he is. www.courthousenews.com/ice-shot-a-m...

courthousenews.comICE shot a man in New York City; his lawyers can’t find himThe agency claims Oscar Belgal "weaponized his vehicle” against agents in the Bronx, prompting them to fire seven shots at his car.
Andrew Couts@couts.bsky.social

NEW: ICE agent in a high-viz vest holding a rifle at the scene of shooting near the Bronx has a history of allegedly lying, using excessive force, and courts have found his arrests unlawful. @dmehro.bsky.social @awinston.bsky.social, @regret.bsky.social w/ the scoop: www.wired.com/story/ice-ag...

wired.comICE Agent at NYC Shooting Has History of Alleged Violence and Illegal ArrestsBrenden Cuni, an ICE supervisor, has been accused of excessive force and tackling a pregnant woman to the ground. Several of his arrests were later found to be unlawful in federal court.

Andrew Couts reposted

Dhruv Mehrotra
@dmehro.bsky.social

NEW: Footage from Thursdays shooting shows an ICE agent in a construction vest brandishing a rifle. His name is Brenden Cuni. Federal judges have found multiple arrests involving Cuni unlawful. He has been accused of repeatedly Tasing a handcuffed man and tackling a pregnant woman in Minneapolis.

wired.comICE Agent at NYC Shooting Has History of Alleged Violence and Illegal ArrestsBrenden Cuni, an ICE supervisor, has been accused of excessive force and tackling a pregnant woman to the ground. Several of his arrests were later found to be unlawful in federal court.
Andrew Couts
@couts.bsky.social

NEW: ICE agent in a high-viz vest holding a rifle at the scene of shooting near the Bronx has a history of allegedly lying, using excessive force, and courts have found his arrests unlawful. @dmehro.bsky.social @awinston.bsky.social, @regret.bsky.social w/ the scoop: www.wired.com/story/ice-ag...

wired.comICE Agent at NYC Shooting Has History of Alleged Violence and Illegal ArrestsBrenden Cuni, an ICE supervisor, has been accused of excessive force and tackling a pregnant woman to the ground. Several of his arrests were later found to be unlawful in federal court.
Andrew Couts
@couts.bsky.social

NEW: In other news, @lhn.bsky.social chatted with Shaq about how he got haq’d (and how you should try to avoid getting haq’d too) wired.com/story/how-a-weirdly-chill-celebrity-thinks-about-personal-cybersecurity (sorry, sorry, trying to delete)

wired.comHow a (Weirdly Chill) Celebrity Thinks About Personal CybersecurityAt a recent event for security firm NordVPN, NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal revealed that he got hacked—and warned the public about the need to “have control of their own information.”

Andrew Couts reposted

Marisa Kabas
@marisakabas.bsky.social

Horrifying: Arizona Democratic congressional candidate Bernadette Greene-Placentia was raped by a man after he knocked her out. Another man approached her to do the same. “She began swinging her foot at him. ‘Not even worth it,’ she heard the man say as he moved away.”

phoenixnewtimes.comCongressional candidate is raped while repairing her campaign signsEmbarrassed, she initially didn’t want to report attack. Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office's investigation is ongoing.
Andrew Couts
@couts.bsky.social

NEW: The US military is trying to court “nontraditional” companies like OpenAI and Anthropic, including using video pitches that are 5 minutes or less for AI tools that could be used in the “kill chain.” @regret.bsky.social has the scoop: www.wired.com/story/the-pe...

wired.comThe Pentagon Hopes to Speed Up ‘Kill Chain’ AI Buys With 5-Minute VideosThe US government’s Tradewinds initiative has made it easier to throw millions of dollars at “nontraditional” defense contractors, including OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google.

Andrew Couts reposted

Kyle Griffin
@kylegriffin1.bsky.social

BREAKING: ICE over the past year investigated hundreds of nonprofits across the U.S. that help people register to vote. The internal documents, obtained by the Democracy Forward, showed that ICE's investigative arm also contemplated sending undercover agents to investigate the organizations.

democracydocket.comICE  probed hundreds of voter registration groups across the U.S.The agency also contemplated deploying undercover agents to "initiate prosecutions" against the groups and "dismantle" them.
Andrew Couts
@couts.bsky.social

NEW: We made a continuously updating tracker to help everyone make sense of Elon Musk’s America PAC spending on the midterms. Tool built by @dell.bsky.social, @dmehro.bsky.social, & @regret.bsky.social; reporting by @hugolowell.bsky.social www.wired.com/story/elon-m...

wired.comElon Musk’s America PAC Is Spending Big on the Midterms. We’re Tracking It DailyTo follow Elon Musk’s America PAC money, WIRED created a live-updating tracker that highlights the trillionaire’s overall influence on November’s elections.
Andrew Couts
@couts.bsky.social

NEW: A major joint investigation by the Palestine Reporting Lab, Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism, @lighthousereports.com, and @wired.com mapped all 925 checkpoints that are effectively shutting down life for Palestinians in the West Bank: www.wired.com/story/how-is...

wired.comHow Israeli Checkpoints Choke Palestinian Life in the Occupied West BankLost time. Lost jobs. Lost friends. Lost family. Lost lives. Our joint investigation reveals the system that has divided the West Bank and measures what it cost people to move through it.
Andrew Couts
@couts.bsky.social

NEW: Cisco Talos researchers built a tool to ID malware that integrates AI tools. It quickly found a command-and-control server for malware that is entirely directly by AI to plan its attack methods. @lhn.bsky.social has the scoop: www.wired.com/story/a-tool...

wired.comA New Tool Found Malware That’s Guided by an AI Hive Mind—No Humans in SightCisco Talos researchers created a new framework for identifying malware and hacking tools that rely on AI chatbots—and quickly discovered something unusual.
Andrew Couts
@couts.bsky.social

NEW: If you wanted to design a system for monetizing people’s secrets, you’d be hard pressed to make something better than an AI chatbot. Here’s how to use these tools without giving up the intimate details of you life. @agreenberg.bsky.social reports: www.wired.com/story/how-to...

wired.comHow to Use AI With Your Privacy IntactYour conversations with AI chatbots are both highly personal and deeply vulnerable to surveillance. Here’s how you can protect yourself.

Andrew Couts reposted

William Turton
@williamturton.bsky.social

In 2024 the former CEO of a defense contractor made a stunning confession to two FBI agents. He alleged that was the ringleader of a massive pay-to-play operation, bribing senators with campaign contributions in exchange for govt contracts. www.propublica.org/article/fbi-...

propublica.orgThe FBI Anti-Corruption Squad Was Circling Susan Collins — Until Trump Got in the WayAfter the FBI caught a defense contractor’s CEO making illegal campaign contributions, it sought to launch a sweeping political bribery probe involving Collins and others. Then the second Trump admini...
Andrew Couts
@couts.bsky.social

feels like we’re 3 days from some company announcing that their “misaligned” AI agents published the contents of every user’s cloud drives on a Pokémon-themed website because someone made a chatbot test called “doit 4 da lulz”