Derek B. Johnson
@derekbjohnson.bsky.social
Reporter and knowledge broker at CyberScoop, covering privacy, AI and elections. Priors at Federal Computer Week and SC Media. Send tips, leaks and well-wishes to derek.johnson@cyberscoop.com or DM for Signal.
Reposted by Derek B. Johnson
You can understand media consolidation into the hands of the very wealthy not just as a product of wealth concentration but also as a means to defend it, with Bezos at the Post being the most obvious example
The pace at which US wealth concentration is rising is simply staggering
The concentration of AI wealth into the hands of a few tech barons + plutocratic capture ==> unchartered territory
The concentration of AI wealth into the hands of a few tech barons + plutocratic capture ==> unchartered territory
February 15, 2026 at 3:34 PM
You can understand media consolidation into the hands of the very wealthy not just as a product of wealth concentration but also as a means to defend it, with Bezos at the Post being the most obvious example
Reposted by Derek B. Johnson
Fun as this is I am about 80% sure it’s fake, karma farming.
lol this is gonna burst so fucking hard
February 15, 2026 at 9:32 AM
Fun as this is I am about 80% sure it’s fake, karma farming.
Reposted by Derek B. Johnson
It's like he represents an ideal to people who are so desperate for that vision they have projected on him that they are willing to ignore and minimize anyone else.
February 15, 2026 at 3:11 PM
It's like he represents an ideal to people who are so desperate for that vision they have projected on him that they are willing to ignore and minimize anyone else.
Reposted by Derek B. Johnson
This is like a Hitman level
February 15, 2026 at 3:03 AM
This is like a Hitman level
Reposted by Derek B. Johnson
ICE using the same ruse that Ted Bundy used to kidnap people should tell you something.
CCTV footage appears to show DHS agents posing as people having car trouble in order to lure a target out of his house before arresting them. The target comes out and starts helping them before 3 vehicles surround the scene. The car "experiencing" trouble then drives off with them.
February 15, 2026 at 1:51 AM
ICE using the same ruse that Ted Bundy used to kidnap people should tell you something.
Reposted by Derek B. Johnson
DHS is issuing subpoenas for social media accounts that are critiquing ICE www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/t... More support for my argument that we must address surveillance capitalism to protect against gov't surveillance papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Homeland Security Wants Social Media Sites to Expose Anti-ICE Accounts
www.nytimes.com
February 14, 2026 at 8:11 PM
DHS is issuing subpoenas for social media accounts that are critiquing ICE www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/t... More support for my argument that we must address surveillance capitalism to protect against gov't surveillance papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Reposted by Derek B. Johnson
So uh Ars Technica ran an article that had a bunch of fake quotes in it and now seems to have taken it down rather than issue a correction? web.archive.org/web/20260213...
Page is now down: arstechnica.com/ai/2026/02/a...
Page is now down: arstechnica.com/ai/2026/02/a...
arstechnica.com
February 13, 2026 at 10:18 PM
So uh Ars Technica ran an article that had a bunch of fake quotes in it and now seems to have taken it down rather than issue a correction? web.archive.org/web/20260213...
Page is now down: arstechnica.com/ai/2026/02/a...
Page is now down: arstechnica.com/ai/2026/02/a...
Reposted by Derek B. Johnson
Times columnist @polgreen.bsky.social poses a familiar question, and arrives at a... let's say an unusual answer.
Why, she asks, has trust in the news media cratered? Because aggressive, probing journalism isn't really that popular. People resent it. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/14/o... [Gift link]
Why, she asks, has trust in the news media cratered? Because aggressive, probing journalism isn't really that popular. People resent it. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/14/o... [Gift link]
February 14, 2026 at 4:51 PM
Times columnist @polgreen.bsky.social poses a familiar question, and arrives at a... let's say an unusual answer.
Why, she asks, has trust in the news media cratered? Because aggressive, probing journalism isn't really that popular. People resent it. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/14/o... [Gift link]
Why, she asks, has trust in the news media cratered? Because aggressive, probing journalism isn't really that popular. People resent it. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/14/o... [Gift link]
Reposted by Derek B. Johnson
"If the only way to identify concentration camps and name them, if the qualifying criteria must be that they have already lain at the heart of a genocide, what good are these conversations at all? Are we really honoring the memory of the dead by sacrificing the living?"
February 14, 2026 at 2:30 AM
"If the only way to identify concentration camps and name them, if the qualifying criteria must be that they have already lain at the heart of a genocide, what good are these conversations at all? Are we really honoring the memory of the dead by sacrificing the living?"
Am I missing something or does this story not really describe what Claude was actually used for in the operation in any real detail? www.wsj.com/politics/nat...
Exclusive | Pentagon Used Anthropic’s Claude in Maduro Venezuela Raid
The use of the model through a contract with Palantir highlights the growing role of AI in the Pentagon.
www.wsj.com
February 14, 2026 at 12:10 AM
Am I missing something or does this story not really describe what Claude was actually used for in the operation in any real detail? www.wsj.com/politics/nat...
Reposted by Derek B. Johnson
can’t post this one again until 2032
February 13, 2026 at 8:44 PM
can’t post this one again until 2032
Reposted by Derek B. Johnson
February 13, 2026 at 2:54 PM
Reposted by Derek B. Johnson
Reposted by Derek B. Johnson
The rapid Stormfront-ification of Fox News and GOP media in general reveals the extent to which "palingenetic right wing ultra-nationalist populism" (i.e., fascism) has been the telos toward which much of the "American conservative movement" has been oriented since the 1940s.
Current state of things: One Fox News host casually declares that Epstein’s money comes from “Jewish billionaires” and a “Jewish banking family,” another responds that he was a “sex rabbi.” www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/jes...
February 13, 2026 at 4:05 PM
The rapid Stormfront-ification of Fox News and GOP media in general reveals the extent to which "palingenetic right wing ultra-nationalist populism" (i.e., fascism) has been the telos toward which much of the "American conservative movement" has been oriented since the 1940s.
Reposted by Derek B. Johnson
I can't overstate how central outlets like Politico were in propping up the MAGA fake-populist election season lie that Trumpism cared about unchecked corporate predation (usually with helpful quotes by Matt Stoller).
February 13, 2026 at 1:35 PM
I can't overstate how central outlets like Politico were in propping up the MAGA fake-populist election season lie that Trumpism cared about unchecked corporate predation (usually with helpful quotes by Matt Stoller).
Reposted by Derek B. Johnson
Mini-scoop: IcedID malware developer fakes his own death to escape the FBI
-Apple patches zero-day used in an "extremely sophisticated attack"
-Tianfu Cup returns with an N-day track
-first malicious Outlook add-in discovered
Podcast: risky.biz/RBNEWS525/
Newsletter: news.risky.biz/risky-bullet...
-Apple patches zero-day used in an "extremely sophisticated attack"
-Tianfu Cup returns with an N-day track
-first malicious Outlook add-in discovered
Podcast: risky.biz/RBNEWS525/
Newsletter: news.risky.biz/risky-bullet...
February 13, 2026 at 9:01 AM
Mini-scoop: IcedID malware developer fakes his own death to escape the FBI
-Apple patches zero-day used in an "extremely sophisticated attack"
-Tianfu Cup returns with an N-day track
-first malicious Outlook add-in discovered
Podcast: risky.biz/RBNEWS525/
Newsletter: news.risky.biz/risky-bullet...
-Apple patches zero-day used in an "extremely sophisticated attack"
-Tianfu Cup returns with an N-day track
-first malicious Outlook add-in discovered
Podcast: risky.biz/RBNEWS525/
Newsletter: news.risky.biz/risky-bullet...
Reposted by Derek B. Johnson
Here's a list of some topics I cover in my article, Privacy in Authoritarian Times papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
February 13, 2026 at 1:47 PM
Here's a list of some topics I cover in my article, Privacy in Authoritarian Times papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Reposted by Derek B. Johnson
NEW: ProPublica and @texastribune.org found that DHS rushed a revamped tool to check voters’ citizenship into use while it was still adding data.
As a result, the tool has made persistent mistakes, particularly for citizens born outside the U.S.
As a result, the tool has made persistent mistakes, particularly for citizens born outside the U.S.
“Not Ready for Prime Time.” A Federal Tool to Check Voter Citizenship Keeps Making Mistakes.
The Department of Homeland Security pushed out the revamped tool while it was still adding data. That led to widespread misidentification, particularly for citizens born outside the U.S.
www.propublica.org
February 13, 2026 at 1:00 PM
NEW: ProPublica and @texastribune.org found that DHS rushed a revamped tool to check voters’ citizenship into use while it was still adding data.
As a result, the tool has made persistent mistakes, particularly for citizens born outside the U.S.
As a result, the tool has made persistent mistakes, particularly for citizens born outside the U.S.
Reposted by Derek B. Johnson
The research underscores how AI tools have matured in their cyber offensive capabilities, even as it doesn’t reveal novel or paradigm shifting uses of the technology. via @derekbjohnson.bsky.social cyberscoop.com/state-hacker...
Google finds state-sponsored hackers use AI at 'all stages' of attack cycle
New Google research reveals state-sponsored hackers are using Gemini across the entire cyberattack cycle to automate reconnaissance and tinker with malware.
cyberscoop.com
February 12, 2026 at 9:31 PM
The research underscores how AI tools have matured in their cyber offensive capabilities, even as it doesn’t reveal novel or paradigm shifting uses of the technology. via @derekbjohnson.bsky.social cyberscoop.com/state-hacker...
Reposted by Derek B. Johnson
Scoop: A top CISA official told employees today that the agency's cyber division will eliminate some programs to redirect limited resources to high priorities like OT security.
Early glimpse of potentially major reorganization at weakened CISA.
www.cybersecuritydive.com/news/cisa-cy...
Early glimpse of potentially major reorganization at weakened CISA.
www.cybersecuritydive.com/news/cisa-cy...
February 12, 2026 at 9:32 PM
Scoop: A top CISA official told employees today that the agency's cyber division will eliminate some programs to redirect limited resources to high priorities like OT security.
Early glimpse of potentially major reorganization at weakened CISA.
www.cybersecuritydive.com/news/cisa-cy...
Early glimpse of potentially major reorganization at weakened CISA.
www.cybersecuritydive.com/news/cisa-cy...
Reposted by Derek B. Johnson
News: The top-secret whistleblower complaint against Tulsi Gabbard is related to a conversation intercepted last spring in which two foreign nationals discussed Jared Kushner, according to U.S. officials familiar with the matter. www.wsj.com/politics/nat...
Gabbard Whistleblower Complaint Based on Intercepted Conversation About Jared Kushner
The substance of the conversation, which covered in part issues related to Iran, isn’t known.
www.wsj.com
February 12, 2026 at 9:00 PM
News: The top-secret whistleblower complaint against Tulsi Gabbard is related to a conversation intercepted last spring in which two foreign nationals discussed Jared Kushner, according to U.S. officials familiar with the matter. www.wsj.com/politics/nat...
Reposted by Derek B. Johnson
I'm of the opinion that the breakdown in American politics is at the elite level not the mass level. Low info voters behaved as they always behave. It was elected officials, business leaders, etc. that could have maintained the guardrails but did not.
www.gelliottmorris.com/p/trump-lost...
www.gelliottmorris.com/p/trump-lost...
The less voters knew, the more they liked Trump in 2024. Not Anymore
The least-engaged Americans have swung 25 points against him since 2024 — about twice the shift among everyone else. Trump has flattened the engagement gap.
www.gelliottmorris.com
February 12, 2026 at 3:03 PM
I'm of the opinion that the breakdown in American politics is at the elite level not the mass level. Low info voters behaved as they always behave. It was elected officials, business leaders, etc. that could have maintained the guardrails but did not.
www.gelliottmorris.com/p/trump-lost...
www.gelliottmorris.com/p/trump-lost...
Reposted by Derek B. Johnson
I've wondered if we're living through a different sort of epistemic closure: not one of the right cocooning itself in participatory nonsense, but rather one of billionaires grown confident that closing on—i.e., purchasing—the means of knowledge production will let them dictate what's real or true.
Trump on the endangerment finding: "This radical rule became the legal foundation for the green new scam. One of the greatest scams in history, maybe even greater than the Russia Russia Russia hoax."
February 12, 2026 at 7:23 PM
I've wondered if we're living through a different sort of epistemic closure: not one of the right cocooning itself in participatory nonsense, but rather one of billionaires grown confident that closing on—i.e., purchasing—the means of knowledge production will let them dictate what's real or true.
Reposted by Derek B. Johnson
The MEGA Act and SAVE Act would dramatically transform U.S. election laws in a quest to curb election fraud. Audits and experts say improprieties are extremely rare. via @derekbjohnson.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3dD... | cyberscoop.com/republicans-...
GOP Congress moves to shape election law in Trump’s image
YouTube video by CyberScoop
www.youtube.com
February 12, 2026 at 6:20 PM
The MEGA Act and SAVE Act would dramatically transform U.S. election laws in a quest to curb election fraud. Audits and experts say improprieties are extremely rare. via @derekbjohnson.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3dD... | cyberscoop.com/republicans-...