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xstevens
@xstevens.dev
Security Researcher

https://infosec.exchange/@xstevens
FKA twitter/@xstevens
Reposted by xstevens
Tell me you don’t understand risk pools without telling me you don’t understand risk pools
November 10, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Reposted by xstevens
The coordinated nature of this—none are facing voters in 2026—means that either Schumer approved it or failed in his job as Senate Majority Leader to stop it.

Dems voting "no" get zero credit until they demand a change in leadership. Schumer out as Leader, Durbin out as Whip.
so currently defectors are:

Kaine (2030)
Shaheen (Retiring)
Hasan (2028)
Fetterman (2028)
Durbin (Retiring)
CCM (2028)
Rosen (2030)
King (2030)
November 10, 2025 at 2:43 AM
Reposted by xstevens
A family friend was telling us about what her husband shared about his experience in Broadview before he was deported back to Mexico. She's been sharing to friends and family because she's just in disbelief & horror what her husband told her. She wasn't able to talk to him until he was in Mexico.
November 7, 2025 at 3:08 AM
Reposted by xstevens
I think this take on the sandwich guy trial is correct. our system is built assuming that prosecutors will show appropriate restraint. the sandwich guy case went on for way too long and that in and if itself should be raising alarm bells www.lawfaremedia.org/article/sand...
November 7, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Reposted by xstevens
NEW: The U.S. Congressional Budget Office was hacked.

@doublepulsar.com found that the cause may be an unpatched Cisco ASA firewall. I asked CBO about that but it did not respond to the question.

techcrunch.com/2025/11/07/c...
Congressional Budget Office confirms it was hacked | TechCrunch
The congressional research office confirmed a breach, but did not comment on the cause. A security researcher suggested the hack may have originated because CBO failed to patch a firewall for more tha...
techcrunch.com
November 7, 2025 at 4:38 PM
Reposted by xstevens
Your cat when you're choking to death in your apartment
November 6, 2025 at 9:16 PM
Reposted by xstevens
Australia has so much electricity from solar power that it is going to start offering free electricity to everyone for at least three hours during the day as the wholesale price of power goes negative

electrek.co/2025/11/04/a...
Australia has so much solar that it's offering everyone free electricity
Australia's extensive solar power penetration makes so much energy that the government wants to offer free electricity at peak hours.
electrek.co
November 6, 2025 at 4:58 AM
Reposted by xstevens
The administration has pulled the plug on IRS Direct File, a tool that helped eligible taxpayers file for free. This decision comes despite Direct File’s immense popularity with its users.
Direct File won’t happen in 2026, IRS tells states
The free service that allowed taxpayers to file online directly with the IRS was used by hundreds of thousands of taxpayers in 2024 and 2025, who gave it high marks — although tax prep companies and R...
www.nextgov.com
November 6, 2025 at 6:04 PM
Reposted by xstevens
New: The FBI is quietly urging ICE agents to properly ID themselves in the field.

In a bulletin to law enforcement last month, it warned of criminals posing as ICE to rob, rape, kidnap—a problem it says now demands national coordination to confront.

By me & @carolinehaskins.bsky.social:
FBI Warns of Criminals Posing as ICE, Urges Agents to ID Themselves
In a bulletin to law enforcement agencies, the FBI said criminal impersonators are exploiting ICE’s image and urged nationwide coordination to distinguish real operations from fakes.
www.wired.com
November 4, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Reposted by xstevens
All day, many of you have been asking for a Cheney obituary from me. Get ready:
His Works Completed, Dick Cheney, Mass Murderer of Iraqis and American Democracy, Dies
As much as the Trumpists claim to disavow the War on Terror, they walk a path paved by the most powerful vice president in U.S. history.
www.thenation.com
November 4, 2025 at 5:55 PM
Reposted by xstevens
New, from me: DHS says immigration enforcement employees like ICE are facing unprecedented threats and 1000% increase in assaults. But the data does not add up. Look at the details, and we see state agents using excessive force, and then lying about it.
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/whos-threa...
Who's Threatening Who?
The Trump administration says immigration enforcement are being assaulted; the details tell a different story
donmoynihan.substack.com
November 4, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Reposted by xstevens
When you book a flight through major travel sites, a data broker owned by U.S. airlines will sell details about your flight—your name, credit card used, and where you’re flying to the government.

We found out how to opt-out of ARC selling your travel data. A guide:
www.404media.co/how-to-opt-o...
How to Opt-Out of Airlines Selling Your Travel Data to the Government
The Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC), owned by major U.S. airlines, collects billions of ticketing records and sells them to the government to be searched without a warrant. I managed to opt-out…
www.404media.co
November 4, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Reposted by xstevens
No one commissioned a Cheney obit from me except a friend who subsequently left his outlet. If you’re an editor and you pay more than $1.50/word, reach out. If I hate your outlet, be prepared to pay more.

If these terms are not acceptable, my book works as a Cheney obituary:
Reign of Terror: How the 9/11 Era Destabilized America and Produced Trump
How the 9/11 Era Destabilized America and Produced Trump
bookshop.org
November 4, 2025 at 1:23 PM
Reposted by xstevens
the password to the louvre surveillance server was "louvre"

www.thesocialpost.it/2025/11/02/f...
November 3, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Reposted by xstevens
It's not in this article but the government asserts that the sandwich was thrown at "point blank range", which implies subway sandwiches have defined effective weapon ranges of varying lethality, and I would like to see the government's chart of these ranges.
November 3, 2025 at 9:14 PM
Reposted by xstevens
We've got you 👍
November 3, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Reposted by xstevens
The USDA sent an email to grocery stores telling them they are prohibited from offering special discounts to customers affected by the SNAP funding lapse.
I'm aware of at least 2 stores that had offered struggling customers a discount, then withdrew it after receiving this email
November 2, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Reposted by xstevens
It’s been FIFTEEN YEARS and the media is still letting Republicans pretend they have some super-secret concept of a hidden plan to maybe consider a covert proposal that could theoretically be implemented in a hypothetical simulation of a Congress run by people who are not actually clowns.
Mike Johnson talks about the Republican "healthcare plan" like it's highly classified information: "We're not gonna be on a conference call explaining all our plans and strategies for healthcare reform, because they're leaked in real time."
November 2, 2025 at 3:07 PM
Reposted by xstevens
arXiv will no longer accept review articles and position papers unless they have been accepted at a journal or a conference and complete successful peer review.

This is due to being overwhelmed by a hundreds of AI generated papers a month.

Yet another open submission process killed by LLMs.
Attention Authors: Updated Practice for Review Articles and Position Papers in arXiv CS Category – arXiv blog
blog.arxiv.org
November 1, 2025 at 5:28 PM
Reposted by xstevens
NEW, from DomainTools Investigations, today: Inside the Great Firewall Part 1: The Dump

I cannot tell you how excited I am to see this piece go live. Our researchers knocked it out of the park - and this is just part one.

#infosec #cybersecurity

dti.domaintools.com/inside-the-g...
Inside the Great Firewall Part 1: The Dump - DomainTools Investigations | DTI
Analysis of the 500GB+ Great Firewall data breach revealing China’s state censorship network, VPN evasion tactics, and the operators behind it.
dti.domaintools.com
October 30, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Reposted by xstevens
Republicans are explicitly saying they will deny food to 40+ million unless Democrats agree to end healthcare insurance for 20+ million.
October 30, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Reposted by xstevens
man, it sure looks like republicans are using threat of federal government force to try and silence journalists
October 30, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Reposted by xstevens
Dear Journalists:

If you're reporting the China-US exhibition this morning as a "trade deal," you're engaging in malpractice.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.
October 30, 2025 at 12:06 PM
Reposted by xstevens
BREAKING: Democrats just tried to pass a standalone bill to fund WIC & SNAP to make sure families don't go hungry during the Republican shutdown.

Republicans BLOCKED it. So Trump won't use emergency funds to keep SNAP running, and Republicans won't let any bills pass. Shameful.
October 29, 2025 at 8:49 PM
Reposted by xstevens
HAPPENING NOW: Portland Police Commander Franz Schoening testifies that federal officers on Oct. 18 barraged protesters with crowd control munitions — not because of any violence but because another federal officer accidentally shot tear gas onto the roof of the ICE facility.
October 29, 2025 at 6:05 PM