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The FBI spied on a private Signal group chat of immigrants’ rights activists who were organizing “courtwatch” efforts in New York City this spring. Brad Lander, New York City’s comptroller, condemned the FBI’s report in a statement, saying the “FBI surveillance tactic is ripped straight out of the J Edgar Hoover playbook”.

the Guardian

The FBI spied on a Signal group chat of immigration activists, records reveal

Exclusive: Agency accessed private conversations of New York ‘courtwatch’ group that was observing public hearings

"You cannot resist what you do not know, and the more you know, the better you can protect yourself and resist against the normalization of mass surveillance today," says digital rights activist Esra'a Al Shafei. She found FinFisher spyware on her device more than a decade ago. Now she's made it her mission to surveil the companies providing surveillanceware, their customers, and their funders.

Mozilla fellow Esra

interview: Esra'a Al Shafei spoke with The Reg about the spy tech 'global trade'

The band Massive Attack used live facial recognition and tracking on their audience during a recent concert to show the audience how easily facial data can be collected and displayed. The performance highlighted how facial recognition systems record, analyze, and store images, often without explicit consent from people:

PetaPixel

Band Uses Live Facial Recognition on Audience in Powerful Critique of Technology

Some fans were uneasy about seeing their data on the big screen.

ICE is quietly building up its ability to spy on Americans' phones. Earlier this month, the agency activated a $2 million contract with Paragon, a service that offers the ability to remotely hack into someone's phone. Last week, ICE entered into an $11 million contract for Cellebrite devices, which allow agents to break into a locked phone in their physical possession.

Reason.com

ICE doesn’t want you to know why they bought a phone cracking system

The agency has been expanding its surveillance capabilities without a public explanation.

Keep up with the different surveillance technologies police are using across the U.S., from body-worn cameras to cell-site simulators using the Atlas of Surveillance from EFF!

Atlas of Surveillance

Documenting Police Tech in Our Communities with Open Source Research

Flock, the automatic license plate reader (ALPR) company with a presence in thousands of communities across the U.S., has stopped agencies across the country from searching cameras

404 Media

Flock Removes States From National Lookup Tool After ICE and Abortion Searches Revealed

Following 404 Media’s reporting and in light of new legislation, automatic license plate reader (ALPR) company Flock has stopped agencies reachin...

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Whats Your Resolution For 2025 - calyxinstitute.org

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When using CalyxOS, your phone dialer has built-in support for encrypted calls, messages and video chat. Keep your conversations private, by default. calyxos.org

Forget haunted hayrides and Children of the Corn: the real ag nightmare is cyberattacks on food & agriculture. Risks have spiked as automation has become more pervasive, sparking concerns that current efforts to protect the US food system aren’t enough

The government isn’t ready for cyber chaos in the food and agriculture sector

While other agencies tasked with protecting vital infrastructure have aggressively confronted cyber challenges, USDA has shown little of the same u...