Andy Greenberg
@agreenberg.bsky.social
Writer for WIRED. Author of SANDWORM. New book, TRACERS IN THE DARK: The Global Hunt for the Crime Lords of Cryptocurrency, out now. agreenberg@wired.com. Andy.01 on Signal.
That means a dish in a different place would pick up entirely different data. Probably an entirely different stream of unencrypted secrets.
As cryptographer Matt Blaze told me:
As cryptographer Matt Blaze told me:
October 14, 2025 at 1:06 AM
That means a dish in a different place would pick up entirely different data. Probably an entirely different stream of unencrypted secrets.
As cryptographer Matt Blaze told me:
As cryptographer Matt Blaze told me:
A lot of this data, such as the T-Mobile leak, is now encrypted thanks to the researchers' work. But all of it was obtained from a single dish on the roof of a building in San Diego. These findings are based on just 15% of geostationary satellite signals over the US and Mexico.
October 14, 2025 at 1:06 AM
A lot of this data, such as the T-Mobile leak, is now encrypted thanks to the researchers' work. But all of it was obtained from a single dish on the roof of a building in San Diego. These findings are based on just 15% of geostationary satellite signals over the US and Mexico.
Most striking to me was that the data included phone calls and text messages from several US and Mexican phone carriers. Remote cell towers connect to core carrier networks via satellite, relaying conversations via space—sometimes with no encryption.
October 14, 2025 at 1:06 AM
Most striking to me was that the data included phone calls and text messages from several US and Mexican phone carriers. Remote cell towers connect to core carrier networks via satellite, relaying conversations via space—sometimes with no encryption.
Their study, out today, reveals that roughly half of geostationary satellite communications they monitored were unencrypted. A flood of secrets pouring down from space, available to anyone with an $800 receiver setup. (And there's no doubt spy agencies have been listening, too.)
October 14, 2025 at 1:06 AM
Their study, out today, reveals that roughly half of geostationary satellite communications they monitored were unencrypted. A flood of secrets pouring down from space, available to anyone with an $800 receiver setup. (And there's no doubt spy agencies have been listening, too.)
A source shares some screenshots of the Lapsus ransomware gang celebrating the government shutdown as a disruption to the FBI investigations tracking them.
They also refer to Trump as "my king."
They also refer to Trump as "my king."
October 1, 2025 at 3:07 PM
A source shares some screenshots of the Lapsus ransomware gang celebrating the government shutdown as a disruption to the FBI investigations tracking them.
They also refer to Trump as "my king."
They also refer to Trump as "my king."
The Secret Service isn't claiming it foiled any plot targeting the UN General Assembly. Just that a big collection of SIMs (probably used for fraud) could have *potentially* disrupted NYC cell service. The SIMs were in a *35 MILE* radius of the UN.
These headlines are all pretty egregiously wrong:
These headlines are all pretty egregiously wrong:
September 23, 2025 at 9:20 PM
The Secret Service isn't claiming it foiled any plot targeting the UN General Assembly. Just that a big collection of SIMs (probably used for fraud) could have *potentially* disrupted NYC cell service. The SIMs were in a *35 MILE* radius of the UN.
These headlines are all pretty egregiously wrong:
These headlines are all pretty egregiously wrong:
In 3 days a slick new UK edition of Sandworm comes out with a new cover and new foreword: www.amazon.co.uk/Operation-Sa...
The publisher has tweaked the title to "Operation Sandworm" for UK reasons I don't entirely understand, but it's the same book, and hopefully will now reach a new audience.
The publisher has tweaked the title to "Operation Sandworm" for UK reasons I don't entirely understand, but it's the same book, and hopefully will now reach a new audience.
June 30, 2025 at 2:58 PM
In 3 days a slick new UK edition of Sandworm comes out with a new cover and new foreword: www.amazon.co.uk/Operation-Sa...
The publisher has tweaked the title to "Operation Sandworm" for UK reasons I don't entirely understand, but it's the same book, and hopefully will now reach a new audience.
The publisher has tweaked the title to "Operation Sandworm" for UK reasons I don't entirely understand, but it's the same book, and hopefully will now reach a new audience.
Somehow it's considered antisemitic to protest this in America or suggest it should be resisted. In fact, it's antisemitic to think that this has anything to do with judaism rather than a murderous regime's campaign of conquest. www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
June 27, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Somehow it's considered antisemitic to protest this in America or suggest it should be resisted. In fact, it's antisemitic to think that this has anything to do with judaism rather than a murderous regime's campaign of conquest. www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
Two of my most memorable moments with Young were his first answer to me when we sat down for an interview (I had asked him where he was from!) and then his final comment as we said goodbye.
May 30, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Two of my most memorable moments with Young were his first answer to me when we sat down for an interview (I had asked him where he was from!) and then his final comment as we said goodbye.
Cryptome.org is an incredible archive of leaked documents, historic internet artifacts and other strange finds. Another favorite quote from Young (and Cryptome's co-administrator, his wife Deborah Natsios) is the site's privacy policy:
May 30, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Cryptome.org is an incredible archive of leaked documents, historic internet artifacts and other strange finds. Another favorite quote from Young (and Cryptome's co-administrator, his wife Deborah Natsios) is the site's privacy policy:
Sad to learn of the death of John Young, creator of Cryptome, cypherpunk, shit-stirrer, progenitor of the transparency movement that included WikiLeaks and Snowden. I profiled him in my book, This Machine Kills Secrets, which ended with a comment he wrote in 2012 about Assange and his early work:
May 30, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Sad to learn of the death of John Young, creator of Cryptome, cypherpunk, shit-stirrer, progenitor of the transparency movement that included WikiLeaks and Snowden. I profiled him in my book, This Machine Kills Secrets, which ended with a comment he wrote in 2012 about Assange and his early work:
Then the feds got onto his trail.
To skip ahead (spoilers) Akasha read my book about crypto crime, Tracers in the Dark, in prison, and got in touch with me when he got out. In the 18 months since, I've been reporting out his life story—part Breaking Bad, part Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test.
To skip ahead (spoilers) Akasha read my book about crypto crime, Tracers in the Dark, in prison, and got in touch with me when he got out. In the 18 months since, I've been reporting out his life story—part Breaking Bad, part Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test.
May 22, 2025 at 12:33 PM
Then the feds got onto his trail.
To skip ahead (spoilers) Akasha read my book about crypto crime, Tracers in the Dark, in prison, and got in touch with me when he got out. In the 18 months since, I've been reporting out his life story—part Breaking Bad, part Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test.
To skip ahead (spoilers) Akasha read my book about crypto crime, Tracers in the Dark, in prison, and got in touch with me when he got out. In the 18 months since, I've been reporting out his life story—part Breaking Bad, part Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test.
(He also owned a pet lemur.)
May 22, 2025 at 12:33 PM
(He also owned a pet lemur.)
Akasha Song made DMT by the kilogram in labs across the Western US. He traveled into the Brazilian forest to find a source to import literal tons of the jurema preta tree bark from which DMT can be extracted. He wholesaled DMT by the pound to an LSD cartel. At one point, one of his labs exploded.
May 22, 2025 at 12:33 PM
Akasha Song made DMT by the kilogram in labs across the Western US. He traveled into the Brazilian forest to find a source to import literal tons of the jurema preta tree bark from which DMT can be extracted. He wholesaled DMT by the pound to an LSD cartel. At one point, one of his labs exploded.
DMT is the active ingredient in ayahuasca, but those who vape a few dozen milligrams of it in its pure, crystalline form describe traveling to other dimensions, meeting sentient inhabitants of those realms, communing with God, and achieving transcendental states of being.
May 22, 2025 at 12:33 PM
DMT is the active ingredient in ayahuasca, but those who vape a few dozen milligrams of it in its pure, crystalline form describe traveling to other dimensions, meeting sentient inhabitants of those realms, communing with God, and achieving transcendental states of being.
To capture how this new, anarchic form of firearm is continuing to defy gun control even as the weapons become more powerful and practical, we also put together an interactive timeline of the evolution of 3D printed guns over the last dozen-plus years.
May 19, 2025 at 12:47 PM
To capture how this new, anarchic form of firearm is continuing to defy gun control even as the weapons become more powerful and practical, we also put together an interactive timeline of the evolution of 3D printed guns over the last dozen-plus years.
To see how our clone of Mangione's (alleged) ghost gun performed at a firing range, read our story and watch the video: www.wired.com/story/luigi-...
(I'll spoil the ending: the gun performed exactly as well as the one shown in the surveillance footage of Brian Thompson's murder.)
(I'll spoil the ending: the gun performed exactly as well as the one shown in the surveillance footage of Brian Thompson's murder.)
May 19, 2025 at 12:47 PM
To see how our clone of Mangione's (alleged) ghost gun performed at a firing range, read our story and watch the video: www.wired.com/story/luigi-...
(I'll spoil the ending: the gun performed exactly as well as the one shown in the surveillance footage of Brian Thompson's murder.)
(I'll spoil the ending: the gun performed exactly as well as the one shown in the surveillance footage of Brian Thompson's murder.)
3D printers are much better now, and MUCH cheaper. The entire shopping list for making Mangione's (alleged) Glock-style 9mm 3D-printed gun was $1,144.67 plus shipping—including a $650 3D printer. The printer alone in 2015 cost nearly $3,000.
May 19, 2025 at 12:47 PM
3D printers are much better now, and MUCH cheaper. The entire shopping list for making Mangione's (alleged) Glock-style 9mm 3D-printed gun was $1,144.67 plus shipping—including a $650 3D printer. The printer alone in 2015 cost nearly $3,000.
Despite state laws and even a recent Supreme Court ruling banning some "ghost guns," this was 100% legal. Other than 3D printing the silencer (as Mangione allegedly did), I made this fully lethal firearm in total privacy without a background check or showing anyone ID—no gun control at all.
May 19, 2025 at 12:47 PM
Despite state laws and even a recent Supreme Court ruling banning some "ghost guns," this was 100% legal. Other than 3D printing the silencer (as Mangione allegedly did), I made this fully lethal firearm in total privacy without a background check or showing anyone ID—no gun control at all.
Like I wrote yesterday, it's never been clearer that US aid for the Israeli military is morally indefensible, and there’s never going to be a better time than right now to stop defending it.
That's true today, too.
That's true today, too.
May 18, 2025 at 6:04 PM
Like I wrote yesterday, it's never been clearer that US aid for the Israeli military is morally indefensible, and there’s never going to be a better time than right now to stop defending it.
That's true today, too.
That's true today, too.
This is a huge crackdown on Chinese crypto crime markets. After our inquiry, Telegram banned not only Xinbi but also Huione Guarantee, a MUCH bigger market Elliptic exposed (and WIRED has reported on since) last year—the biggest digital black market ever by some measures.
May 13, 2025 at 2:13 PM
This is a huge crackdown on Chinese crypto crime markets. After our inquiry, Telegram banned not only Xinbi but also Huione Guarantee, a MUCH bigger market Elliptic exposed (and WIRED has reported on since) last year—the biggest digital black market ever by some measures.
My ideal book review, thank you
May 2, 2025 at 12:51 PM
My ideal book review, thank you
Garantex, a major Russian cashout point for dirty cryptocurrency of all kinds in recent years, is currently down with a law enforcement seizure notice.
March 6, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Garantex, a major Russian cashout point for dirty cryptocurrency of all kinds in recent years, is currently down with a law enforcement seizure notice.
Thanks Jake, very kind of you but you know my technical credentials are actually pretty peccable based on the questions I’m always calling you up to ask you. :)
Anyway here are more screenshots showing the domain and the signature. But also yes I’ve been getting these Trump grift emails forever.
Anyway here are more screenshots showing the domain and the signature. But also yes I’ve been getting these Trump grift emails forever.
February 13, 2025 at 12:03 AM
Thanks Jake, very kind of you but you know my technical credentials are actually pretty peccable based on the questions I’m always calling you up to ask you. :)
Anyway here are more screenshots showing the domain and the signature. But also yes I’ve been getting these Trump grift emails forever.
Anyway here are more screenshots showing the domain and the signature. But also yes I’ve been getting these Trump grift emails forever.