Thomas Brewster
@thomasbrewster.bsky.social
Forbes senior writer, covering privacy, surveillance and cybercrime. Editor of The Wiretap newsletter, featuring all of the above.
Pinned
www.forbes.com
🚨 NEW (ish) 🚨 Facial recognition, AI behavioral analysis, drones,, bathroom listening devices, Flock Safety car surveillance—schools across America are rolling out all manner of AI snooping tools.
It's just not clear just how effective any of these tools are.
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
It's just not clear just how effective any of these tools are.
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
What struck me most in reporting this out was that while the teacher I spoke to had serious privacy concerns, a recently-departed student felt the opposite.
Younger generations don't seem as privacy conscious, from the conversations I've had over the years, now playing out in school surveillance.
Younger generations don't seem as privacy conscious, from the conversations I've had over the years, now playing out in school surveillance.
🚨 NEW (ish) 🚨 Facial recognition, AI behavioral analysis, drones,, bathroom listening devices, Flock Safety car surveillance—schools across America are rolling out all manner of AI snooping tools.
It's just not clear just how effective any of these tools are.
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
It's just not clear just how effective any of these tools are.
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
www.forbes.com
December 22, 2025 at 4:22 PM
What struck me most in reporting this out was that while the teacher I spoke to had serious privacy concerns, a recently-departed student felt the opposite.
Younger generations don't seem as privacy conscious, from the conversations I've had over the years, now playing out in school surveillance.
Younger generations don't seem as privacy conscious, from the conversations I've had over the years, now playing out in school surveillance.
Didn't get around to posting here as I've been off work and will be until mid-Jan.
🚨 NEW (ish) 🚨 Facial recognition, AI behavioral analysis, drones,, bathroom listening devices, Flock Safety car surveillance—schools across America are rolling out all manner of AI snooping tools.
It's just not clear just how effective any of these tools are.
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
It's just not clear just how effective any of these tools are.
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
www.forbes.com
December 22, 2025 at 4:21 PM
Didn't get around to posting here as I've been off work and will be until mid-Jan.
🚨 NEW (ish) 🚨 Facial recognition, AI behavioral analysis, drones,, bathroom listening devices, Flock Safety car surveillance—schools across America are rolling out all manner of AI snooping tools.
It's just not clear just how effective any of these tools are.
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
It's just not clear just how effective any of these tools are.
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
www.forbes.com
December 22, 2025 at 4:20 PM
🚨 NEW (ish) 🚨 Facial recognition, AI behavioral analysis, drones,, bathroom listening devices, Flock Safety car surveillance—schools across America are rolling out all manner of AI snooping tools.
It's just not clear just how effective any of these tools are.
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
It's just not clear just how effective any of these tools are.
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
Reposted by Thomas Brewster
What could go wrong? great reporting from
@thomasbrewster.bsky.social
AI Bathroom Monitors? Welcome To America’s New Surveillance High Schools www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
@thomasbrewster.bsky.social
AI Bathroom Monitors? Welcome To America’s New Surveillance High Schools www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
December 16, 2025 at 11:17 PM
What could go wrong? great reporting from
@thomasbrewster.bsky.social
AI Bathroom Monitors? Welcome To America’s New Surveillance High Schools www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
@thomasbrewster.bsky.social
AI Bathroom Monitors? Welcome To America’s New Surveillance High Schools www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
ICE just spent another $300,000 on social media surveillance tool Tangles, per contract records.
More here on that company:
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
More here on that company:
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
www.forbes.com
December 15, 2025 at 9:54 AM
ICE just spent another $300,000 on social media surveillance tool Tangles, per contract records.
More here on that company:
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
More here on that company:
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
Here's HSI accidentally destroying iPhones in a major drug trafficking investigation at the Mexico border.
They've asked Apple to provide data instead.
Related: www.forbes.com/sites/the-wi...
They've asked Apple to provide data instead.
Related: www.forbes.com/sites/the-wi...
December 9, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Here's HSI accidentally destroying iPhones in a major drug trafficking investigation at the Mexico border.
They've asked Apple to provide data instead.
Related: www.forbes.com/sites/the-wi...
They've asked Apple to provide data instead.
Related: www.forbes.com/sites/the-wi...
🚨 NEW 🚨 Brinc, founded by 25-year-old Blake Resnick, is trying to get DJIs out of American cops drone fleets.
Come December 23, the Chinese giant may not be able to put new devices in the hands of the police.
Some cops are really not happy about it.
www.forbes.com/sites/zoyaha...
Come December 23, the Chinese giant may not be able to put new devices in the hands of the police.
Some cops are really not happy about it.
www.forbes.com/sites/zoyaha...
Brinc Founder Blake Resnick Wants To Kick Chinese Drones Out Of U.S. Skies
Backed by Sam Altman and Peter Thiel, Brinc founder Blake Resnick is on his way to making his quadcopters the top choice for America’s cops—if only he can get the federal government to ban his primary...
www.forbes.com
December 3, 2025 at 4:46 PM
🚨 NEW 🚨 Brinc, founded by 25-year-old Blake Resnick, is trying to get DJIs out of American cops drone fleets.
Come December 23, the Chinese giant may not be able to put new devices in the hands of the police.
Some cops are really not happy about it.
www.forbes.com/sites/zoyaha...
Come December 23, the Chinese giant may not be able to put new devices in the hands of the police.
Some cops are really not happy about it.
www.forbes.com/sites/zoyaha...
Reposted by Thomas Brewster
🚨NEW🚨 At the southern border, officers use Cellebrite forensic devices to access iPhones of immigration crime suspects.
Except they don't always get the data CBP wants. So CBP orders Apple to provide it instead.
A CBP playbook on border surveillance.
www.forbes.com/sites/the-wi...
Except they don't always get the data CBP wants. So CBP orders Apple to provide it instead.
A CBP playbook on border surveillance.
www.forbes.com/sites/the-wi...
Border Patrol’s Digital Playbook: Hack iPhones, Raid iCloud Accounts
A CBP search warrant shows how it relies on data raids on iClouds when its forensics tools can't get enough information from iPhones.
www.forbes.com
December 2, 2025 at 8:37 PM
🚨NEW🚨 At the southern border, officers use Cellebrite forensic devices to access iPhones of immigration crime suspects.
Except they don't always get the data CBP wants. So CBP orders Apple to provide it instead.
A CBP playbook on border surveillance.
www.forbes.com/sites/the-wi...
Except they don't always get the data CBP wants. So CBP orders Apple to provide it instead.
A CBP playbook on border surveillance.
www.forbes.com/sites/the-wi...
🚨NEW🚨 At the southern border, officers use Cellebrite forensic devices to access iPhones of immigration crime suspects.
Except they don't always get the data CBP wants. So CBP orders Apple to provide it instead.
A CBP playbook on border surveillance.
www.forbes.com/sites/the-wi...
Except they don't always get the data CBP wants. So CBP orders Apple to provide it instead.
A CBP playbook on border surveillance.
www.forbes.com/sites/the-wi...
Border Patrol’s Digital Playbook: Hack iPhones, Raid iCloud Accounts
A CBP search warrant shows how it relies on data raids on iClouds when its forensics tools can't get enough information from iPhones.
www.forbes.com
December 2, 2025 at 8:37 PM
🚨NEW🚨 At the southern border, officers use Cellebrite forensic devices to access iPhones of immigration crime suspects.
Except they don't always get the data CBP wants. So CBP orders Apple to provide it instead.
A CBP playbook on border surveillance.
www.forbes.com/sites/the-wi...
Except they don't always get the data CBP wants. So CBP orders Apple to provide it instead.
A CBP playbook on border surveillance.
www.forbes.com/sites/the-wi...
Reposted by Thomas Brewster
December 2, 2025 at 8:32 PM
Reposted by Thomas Brewster
The new edition of Forbes magazine just dropped - the cover story is on two 30-year-old entrepreneurs from Poland, who sick of bad movie dubbing, built their own voice AI model. Today, it's worth $6.6 billion, they are new billionaires & are beating Silicon Valley's tech giants
December 1, 2025 at 1:41 PM
The new edition of Forbes magazine just dropped - the cover story is on two 30-year-old entrepreneurs from Poland, who sick of bad movie dubbing, built their own voice AI model. Today, it's worth $6.6 billion, they are new billionaires & are beating Silicon Valley's tech giants
I just got served an AI generated ad on YouTube for... Tai Chi?
November 27, 2025 at 4:18 PM
I just got served an AI generated ad on YouTube for... Tai Chi?
Also ICYMI yesterday
A security researcher discovered a nasty flaw in Google’s Antigravity tool, the latest example of companies rushing out AI tools vulnerable to hacking.
Google AI Coding Tool Antigravity Was Hacked A Day After Launch
A security researcher discovered a major flaw in the coding product, the latest example of companies rushing out AI tools vulnerable to hacking.
www.forbes.com
November 27, 2025 at 3:56 PM
Also ICYMI yesterday
ICYMI yesterday
NSA Contractor Groomed Teenage Girls On Reddit, DOJ Alleges
NSA Contractor Groomed Teenage Girls On Reddit, DOJ Alleges
A Booz Allen Hamilton contractor for the NSA allegedly used his work computer to coerce teenagers into sharing nude images. One of his handles was Charming_Analyst5077, per court records.
www.forbes.com
November 27, 2025 at 3:56 PM
ICYMI yesterday
Reposted by Thomas Brewster
you know, what if they aren't actually a commentary on journalism or the state of media. what if these people are just extremely weird
November 26, 2025 at 11:59 PM
you know, what if they aren't actually a commentary on journalism or the state of media. what if these people are just extremely weird
Reposted by Thomas Brewster
because stupid and smart are not mutually exclusive...
"Google's Hot New Al Coding Tool Was Hacked A Day After Launch"
(great report from @thomasbrewster.bsky.social)
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
"Google's Hot New Al Coding Tool Was Hacked A Day After Launch"
(great report from @thomasbrewster.bsky.social)
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
Google AI Coding Tool Antigravity Was Hacked A Day After Launch
A security researcher discovered a major flaw in the coding product, the latest example of companies rushing out AI tools vulnerable to hacking.
www.forbes.com
November 27, 2025 at 10:16 AM
because stupid and smart are not mutually exclusive...
"Google's Hot New Al Coding Tool Was Hacked A Day After Launch"
(great report from @thomasbrewster.bsky.social)
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
"Google's Hot New Al Coding Tool Was Hacked A Day After Launch"
(great report from @thomasbrewster.bsky.social)
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
Update from Google on this one: turns out they take security seriously.
No patch for the bugs scheduled yet.
No patch for the bugs scheduled yet.
🚨NEW🚨 Google shipped its AI code editor Antigravity with a bunch of security vulnerabilities.
The most severe, discovered within 24 hours of launch, allows for a persistent backdoor on target systems.
It remains unpatched.
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
The most severe, discovered within 24 hours of launch, allows for a persistent backdoor on target systems.
It remains unpatched.
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
Google AI Coding Tool Antigravity Was Hacked A Day After Launch
A security researcher discovered a major flaw in the coding product, the latest example of companies rushing out AI tools vulnerable to hacking.
www.forbes.com
November 26, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Update from Google on this one: turns out they take security seriously.
No patch for the bugs scheduled yet.
No patch for the bugs scheduled yet.
Reposted by Thomas Brewster
A security researcher discovered a nasty flaw in Google’s Antigravity tool, the latest example of companies rushing out AI tools vulnerable to hacking.
Google AI Coding Tool Antigravity Was Hacked A Day After Launch
A security researcher discovered a major flaw in the coding product, the latest example of companies rushing out AI tools vulnerable to hacking.
www.forbes.com
November 26, 2025 at 1:49 PM
A security researcher discovered a nasty flaw in Google’s Antigravity tool, the latest example of companies rushing out AI tools vulnerable to hacking.
🚨NEW🚨 An NSA contractor with Booz Allen used his work computer (!!!) to groom teenage girls, per previously-unreported court documents.
Among his alleged handles? Charming_Analyst5077.
He also used a photo of a dead friend when posing as a young man, DOJ said.
www.forbes.com/sites/the-wi...
Among his alleged handles? Charming_Analyst5077.
He also used a photo of a dead friend when posing as a young man, DOJ said.
www.forbes.com/sites/the-wi...
NSA Contractor Groomed Teenage Girls On Reddit, DOJ Alleges
A Booz Allen Hamilton contractor for the NSA allegedly used his work computer to coerce teenagers into sharing nude images. One of his handles was Charming_Analyst5077, per court records.
www.forbes.com
November 26, 2025 at 3:15 PM
🚨NEW🚨 An NSA contractor with Booz Allen used his work computer (!!!) to groom teenage girls, per previously-unreported court documents.
Among his alleged handles? Charming_Analyst5077.
He also used a photo of a dead friend when posing as a young man, DOJ said.
www.forbes.com/sites/the-wi...
Among his alleged handles? Charming_Analyst5077.
He also used a photo of a dead friend when posing as a young man, DOJ said.
www.forbes.com/sites/the-wi...
Reposted by Thomas Brewster
🚨NEW🚨 Google shipped its AI code editor Antigravity with a bunch of security vulnerabilities.
The most severe, discovered within 24 hours of launch, allows for a persistent backdoor on target systems.
It remains unpatched.
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
The most severe, discovered within 24 hours of launch, allows for a persistent backdoor on target systems.
It remains unpatched.
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
Google AI Coding Tool Antigravity Was Hacked A Day After Launch
A security researcher discovered a major flaw in the coding product, the latest example of companies rushing out AI tools vulnerable to hacking.
www.forbes.com
November 26, 2025 at 11:34 AM
🚨NEW🚨 Google shipped its AI code editor Antigravity with a bunch of security vulnerabilities.
The most severe, discovered within 24 hours of launch, allows for a persistent backdoor on target systems.
It remains unpatched.
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
The most severe, discovered within 24 hours of launch, allows for a persistent backdoor on target systems.
It remains unpatched.
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
🚨NEW🚨 Google shipped its AI code editor Antigravity with a bunch of security vulnerabilities.
The most severe, discovered within 24 hours of launch, allows for a persistent backdoor on target systems.
It remains unpatched.
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
The most severe, discovered within 24 hours of launch, allows for a persistent backdoor on target systems.
It remains unpatched.
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
Google AI Coding Tool Antigravity Was Hacked A Day After Launch
A security researcher discovered a major flaw in the coding product, the latest example of companies rushing out AI tools vulnerable to hacking.
www.forbes.com
November 26, 2025 at 11:34 AM
🚨NEW🚨 Google shipped its AI code editor Antigravity with a bunch of security vulnerabilities.
The most severe, discovered within 24 hours of launch, allows for a persistent backdoor on target systems.
It remains unpatched.
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
The most severe, discovered within 24 hours of launch, allows for a persistent backdoor on target systems.
It remains unpatched.
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
Reposted by Thomas Brewster
Court Watch is a totally indispensable source of important, interesting, bizarre court cases every week. I definitely feel as a paid subscriber I am supporting something that serves the public good. They're trying to turn 4; subscribe if you can www.courtwatch.news/p/help-us-tu...
Help Us Turn Four
Our scrappy punch above-its-weight news site only survives with support from folks like you.
www.courtwatch.news
November 25, 2025 at 4:57 PM
Court Watch is a totally indispensable source of important, interesting, bizarre court cases every week. I definitely feel as a paid subscriber I am supporting something that serves the public good. They're trying to turn 4; subscribe if you can www.courtwatch.news/p/help-us-tu...
Reposted by Thomas Brewster
Prosecutors have accused Brian Raymond, founder of AI infrastructure and consulting company Bitworks, and three others of selling coveted Nvidia chips to unspecified Chinese companies.
AI Founder Illegally Shipped Nvidia Chips To China, DOJ Alleges
Prosecutors have accused Brian Raymond, founder of AI infrastructure and consulting company Bitworks, and three others of selling coveted Nvidia chips to unspecified Chinese companies.
www.forbes.com
November 20, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Prosecutors have accused Brian Raymond, founder of AI infrastructure and consulting company Bitworks, and three others of selling coveted Nvidia chips to unspecified Chinese companies.
Also, follow and support @courtwatch.bsky.social please. They're doing excellent work.
🚨NEW🚨 A US AI founder and NVIDIA partner got caught trying to ship the most powerful of the chip maker's processors to China, the DOJ says.
He just got offered a job at another NVIDIA partner as CTO. The offer has been rescinded.
H/T @courtwatch.bsky.social
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
He just got offered a job at another NVIDIA partner as CTO. The offer has been rescinded.
H/T @courtwatch.bsky.social
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
AI Founder Illegally Shipped Nvidia Chips To China, DOJ Alleges
Prosecutors have accused Brian Raymond, founder of AI infrastructure and consulting company Bitworks, and three others of selling coveted Nvidia chips to unspecified Chinese companies.
www.forbes.com
November 20, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Also, follow and support @courtwatch.bsky.social please. They're doing excellent work.
🚨NEW🚨 A US AI founder and NVIDIA partner got caught trying to ship the most powerful of the chip maker's processors to China, the DOJ says.
He just got offered a job at another NVIDIA partner as CTO. The offer has been rescinded.
H/T @courtwatch.bsky.social
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
He just got offered a job at another NVIDIA partner as CTO. The offer has been rescinded.
H/T @courtwatch.bsky.social
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
AI Founder Illegally Shipped Nvidia Chips To China, DOJ Alleges
Prosecutors have accused Brian Raymond, founder of AI infrastructure and consulting company Bitworks, and three others of selling coveted Nvidia chips to unspecified Chinese companies.
www.forbes.com
November 20, 2025 at 6:12 PM
🚨NEW🚨 A US AI founder and NVIDIA partner got caught trying to ship the most powerful of the chip maker's processors to China, the DOJ says.
He just got offered a job at another NVIDIA partner as CTO. The offer has been rescinded.
H/T @courtwatch.bsky.social
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
He just got offered a job at another NVIDIA partner as CTO. The offer has been rescinded.
H/T @courtwatch.bsky.social
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...