Surveillance Report: Weekly News For Digital Freedom

Hosted by Techlore

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352

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Jun 2026

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About the show

Weekly news for digital freedom. Surveillance Report covers privacy, security, surveillance technology, and digital rights news to keep you safer online from the latest threats. Hosted by Henry Fisher, founder of Techlore, a leading digital rights media organization for over 10 years. Each episode cuts through the noise with carefully selected stories, context, historical perspective, and analysis - empowering you to defend your rights with actionable steps. Topics include: data breaches, government and corporate surveillance, Big Tech privacy policies, encryption standards, digital rights legislation, privacy tool updates and vulnerabilities, and accountability journalism. Whether you're new to digital privacy or a seasoned expert tracking the ecosystem, Surveillance Report is the weekly news brief that keeps you informed. New episodes every Wednesday. Learn more about Techlore at techlore.tech.

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June 12, 202635 min

Meta Hid Face-Recognition Code on 50M Phones, The UK's Device-Scanning Ultimatum & A Burner Phone Ban

Meta quietly embedded unreleased facial-recognition code, internally called "nametag" onto more than 50 million phones through its Meta AI app, then deleted it the day after Wired exposed it. This week I also get into Microsoft repos weaponized a second time to push credential-stealing malware to AI users, the UK's ultimatum to scan every device (and Signal's response), the FCC's push to kill burner phones...plus the usual breaches, threats, and a stacked week of FOSS+ updates.🗺️ The open-source answer to Google Timeline is finally here! Replay every route and light up every city you've visited on a map nobody else owns; self-host Dawarich free or grab the hosted version at https://dawarich.app/techlore/ with code TECHLORE for 20% off your first year.In this episode:Highlight: Meta's secret face-recognition code on 50M+ phonesMicrosoft repos weaponized a second time in weeks to push credential-stealing malware to AI usersThe UK's ultimatum to scan all content on all devices and Signal's one-page rebuttalTwo states, two directions: Massachusetts bans precise-location-data sales (146–0); Texas forces Apple/Google age verification (SB2420)The FCC's push to kill burner phones by making telecoms collect everyone's IDDefense Bulletin, Breaches: DentaQuest, UN World Food Programme (600K Gaza households), ServiceNow, SoFi, Dashlane (20 vaults, but Argon2-encrypted), Oxford, 20K Instagram accounts via Meta's AI, French govt messagingThreats: Chrome zero-day, WhatsApp/NSO, Microsoft "Nightmare Eclipse" 0-days, UniFi root bug, Gogs RCE, npm + PyPI supply-chain attacks, Hola browser cryptominer, OpenAI Lockdown Mode, Apple's auto-password-changer, license-plate readers adding AirPod/phone trackersFOSS+: Tails 7.8.1, Firefox Vulkan video + free VPN going unlimited, Nextcloud Hub 26, Proton Drive CLI for Linux, Futo Keyboard, Brave Origin, FSFE's public-money-public-code win, and Loupe (see what your apps can see)🧡 SUPPORT TECHLOREBecome a Techlorian and keep this show growing: ★ Support this podcast ★ 🔗 SOURCES & LINKSView all sources here: https://techlore.tech/meta-hid-face-recognition-code-on-50m-phones-the-uks-device-scanning-ultimatum-a-burner-phone-ban/⏱️ TIMESTAMPS(00:00) - WELCOME TO SURVEILLANCE REPORT (01:00) - META ADDING SNEAKY FACIAL RECOGNITION (05:42) - MICROSOFT HACKED TO PUSH MALWARE (08:38) - THE UK'S SURVEILLANCE ULTIMATUM (11:40) - OUR SPONSOR: DAWARICH! (13:20) - GOOD & BAD NEWS IN US STATES (16:42) - FCC BANNING PRIVATE NUMBERS (20:00) - DEFENSE BULLETIN: DATA BREACHES (24:15) - DEFENSE BULLETIN: THREATS (28:54) - DEFENSE BULLETIN: FOSS+ 🎥 VIDEOWatch on YouTube 📰 ABOUT SURVEILLANCE REPORTYour essential weekly tech news podcast covering the latest threats to security, privacy, and digital freedom. Hosted by Henry Fisher from Techlore.

June 4, 202638 min

Dashlane Confirms Hackers Stole Password Vaults, Pentagon Location Tracking, and Hackers Trick Meta's AI

Dashlane has confirmed hackers stole around 20 encrypted password vaults, and the company is being unusually quiet about how it happened. Plus the Pentagon admits US troops were tracked using commercial location data, Europe accelerates its move away from US tech, and hackers hijacked celebrity Instagram accounts by simply asking Meta's AI support chatbot.🔎 EasyOptOuts is the easy, affordable, and effective way to automatically remove your data from people search sites: https://easyoptouts.comThanks to the EasyOptOuts team for sponsoring Surveillance Report!In this episode:Highlight: Dashlane confirms stolen password vaults and the LastPass parallelsPentagon confirms US troops tracked via commercial location dataEurope pulls away from US tech: EU Parliament drops Google, Euro-Office launches with TutaHackers hijack celebrity Instagram accounts by tricking Meta's AI support chatbotDefense Bulletin: breaches at Carnival Cruise, Charter, 23andMe, Ultrahuman, and more. Threats: actively exploited Android zero-day, Red Hat npm packages backdoored, HTTP/2 Bomb DoS, Signal backup phishing, websites spying via SSD activity. FOSS+ Updates: Tor Browser 15.0.15, Mullvad Android audit, Proton Mail's Gmail bridge, Rocky Linux 10.2, openSUSE Tumbleweed, NixOS 26.05🧡 SUPPORT TECHLOREBecome a Techlorian and keep this show growing: ★ Support this podcast ★ 🔗 SOURCES & LINKSView all sources here: https://techlore.tech/dashlane-confirms-hackers-stole-password-vaults-pentagon-location-tracking-and-hackers-trick-metas-ai/⏱️ TIMESTAMPS(00:00) - WELCOME TO SURVEILLANCE REPORT (00:56) - DASHLANE LOSES CUSTOMER PASSWORD VAULTS (06:05) - MILITARY HIT BY THE SURVEILLANCE ECONOMY (12:55) - OUR SPONSOR: EASYOPTOUTS! (14:32) - EURO ACCELERATES AWAY FROM BIG TECH (20:00) - INSTAGRAM ACCOUNTS HACKED WITH META'S AI (24:00) - DEFENSE BULLETIN: DATA BREACHES (27:06) - DEFENSE BULLETIN: THREATS (34:08) - DEFENSE BULLETIN: FOSS+ 🎥 VIDEOWatch on YouTube 📰 ABOUT SURVEILLANCE REPORTYour essential weekly tech news podcast covering the latest threats to security, privacy, and digital freedom. Hosted by Henry Fisher from Techlore.

May 28, 202632 min

A Rare Age Verification Win, AI Cameras On School Buses, And A License Plate Tracking Ban

A rare and genuine win against age verification with California following Colorado in exempting Linux and other open source operating systems from its Digital Age Assurance Act, directly because of community pressure. Plus AI cameras on tens of thousands of school buses being quietly repurposed for police access, a bipartisan amendment that could end nationwide automatic license plate reader programs, the open source supply chain under unprecedented attack, and a Trump Mobile data leak.In this episode:Highlight: Age verification laws are coming for everyone except open sourceBusPatrol AI school bus cameras now angling for police accessBipartisan amendment to end nationwide police license plate trackingDefense Bulletin: data breaches at Trump Mobile, 7-Eleven, Charter, plus a major GitHub/TanStack supply chain compromiseThreats: open source code poisoned at unprecedented scale, AI agents imperiled by critical vulnerability, Defender zero-days, Apex One zero-day, Linux kernel privilege escalation, Mullvad on exit-IP fingerprinting, Texas AG sues Meta over WhatsApp encryptionFOSS+ Updates: Tails 7.8, Firefox's new design, Tuta improvements, AltStore on-device sideloading, Vivaldi 8.0, Linux Mint / Rhino Linux / MX Linux / AlmaLinux updates🧡 SUPPORT TECHLOREBecome a Techlorian and keep this show growing: ★ Support this podcast ★ 🔗 SOURCES & LINKSView all sources here: https://techlore.tech/california-exempts-open-source-from-age-verification-plus-school-bus-surveillance-getting-out-of-control/⏱️ TIMESTAMPS(00:00) - WELCOME TO SURVEILLANCE REPORT (00:52) - HIGHLIGHT: CALIFORNIA & COLORADO EXEMPT LINUX (06:02) - THINK OF THE CHILDREN BUS SURVEILLANCE PROGRAM (10:22) - SUPPORT THE PODCAST (11:22) - LEFT AND RIGHT UNITE AGAINST ALPR (14:34) - DEFENSE BULLETIN: DATA BREACHES (18:34) - DEFENSE BULLETIN: THREATS (26:52) - DEFENSE BULLETIN: FOSS+ 🎥 VIDEOWatch on YouTube 📰 ABOUT SURVEILLANCE REPORTYour essential weekly tech news podcast covering the latest threats to security, privacy, and digital freedom. Hosted by Henry Fisher from Techlore.

May 20, 202641 min

A Brutal Week for Microsoft Security, Signal Threatens to Leave Canada, And Bitwarden Quietly Shifts

A brutal week for Microsoft with seven vulnerability stories, an actively exploited Exchange zero-day, the MiniPlasma exploit (rooted in a six-year-old Project Zero report Microsoft sat on), and Pwn2Own Berlin zero-days. Plus the Shai-Hulud npm supply chain attack hitting 600+ packages, Signal threatening to pull out of Canada over Bill C-22, Meta rolling out AI-powered age detection, and some quiet changes at Bitwarden that have long-time users uneasy.🔎 EasyOptOuts is the easy, affordable, and effective way to automatically remove your data from people search sites: https://easyoptouts.comThanks to the EasyOptOuts team for sponsoring Surveillance Report!This episode also covers: data breaches at NYC Health + Hospitals, 7-Eleven, West Pharmaceutical, Grafana Labs, CISA, and more. WordPress plugin exploits, Cemu emulator Linux compromise, NGINX RCE, macOS sandbox escape. And open source news like FSFE vs Apple, Tor Browser 15.0.14, Firefox 151, Discord E2EE for calls, Azure Linux 4.0, Rocky Linux new security repo, and Organic Maps updates!🧡 SUPPORT TECHLOREBecome a Techlorian and keep this show growing: ★ Support this podcast ★ 🔗 SOURCES & LINKSView all sources here: https://techlore.tech/a-brutal-week-for-microsoft-security-signal-threatens-to-leave-canada-and-bitwarden-quietly-shifts-policies/⏱️ TIMESTAMPS(00:00) - WELCOME TO SURVEILLANCE REPORT (00:54) - HIGHLIGHT: A BAD WEEK FOR MICROSOFT (10:46) - OPEN SOURCE SUPPLY CHAIN ATTACK (14:40) - SIGNAL THREATENS TO LEAVE CANADA (19:33) - OUR SPONSOR: EASYOPTOUTS! (20:48) - META USING AI FOR UNDERAGE USERS (24:38) - BITWARDEN CONCERNS (27:28) - DEFENSE BULLETIN: DATA BREACHES (31:04) - DEFENSE BULLETIN: THREATS (35:22) - DEFENSE BULLETIN: FOSS+ 🎥 VIDEOWatch on YouTube 📰 ABOUT SURVEILLANCE REPORTYour essential weekly tech news podcast covering the latest threats to security, privacy, and digital freedom. Hosted by Henry Fisher from Techlore.

May 14, 202637 min

Linux's Rough Run, ICE's 20M Palantir Database & Android Good/Bad News

Linux gets hit with a third major vulnerability in as many weeks, a Palantir-built database of 20 million people, and Android delivers both bad news (a new VPN leak Google has refused to patch) and good news (intrusion logging for high-risk users). Plus encrypted RCS finally arrives in iOS 26.5, Instagram quietly kills its end-to-end encrypted DMs, and the usual roundup of data breaches, threats, and FOSS+ updates in your weekly Surveillance Report.🧡 SUPPORT TECHLOREBecome a Techlorian and keep this show growing: ★ Support this podcast ★ 🔗 SOURCES & LINKSView all sources here: https://techlore.tech/three-linux-exploits-palantir-20m-person-database-and-androids-good-bad-week-surveimay-13/⏱️ TIMESTAMPS00:00 INTRO TO SURVEILLANCE REPORT00:34 A THIRD LINUX VULNERABILITY STRIKES!05:16 PALENTIR KNOWS ALL07:20 SOME QUICK ANNOUNCEMENTS10:32 ANDROID: GOOD AND BAD NEWS15:48 DEFENSE BULLETIN: DATA BREACHES20:54 DEFENSE BULLETIN: THREATS27:12 DEFENSE BULLETIN: FOSS+🎥 VIDEOWatch on YouTube 📰 ABOUT SURVEILLANCE REPORTYour essential weekly tech news podcast covering the latest threats to security, privacy, and digital freedom. Hosted by Henry Fisher from Techlore.

May 8, 202632 min

CopyFail Explained, Utah's New VPN Law, and Microsoft Edge Keeping Passwords in Plaintext

This week's Surveillance Report covers the most severe Linux threat in years sending researchers and admins scrambling, Apple patching the bug police were using to extract deleted Signal messages from iPhones, Utah's new law regulating VPNs taking effect, and Microsoft Edge inexplicably storing your passwords in plaintext memory.🧡 SUPPORT TECHLOREBecome a Techlorian and keep this show growing: ★ Support this podcast ★ 🔗 SOURCES & LINKSView all sources here: https://techlore.tech/copyfail-explained-utahs-new-vpn-law-and-microsoft-edge-keeping-passwords-in-plaintext/⏱️ TIMESTAMPS(00:00) - INTRO TO SURVEILLANCE REPORT (01:10) - HIGHLIGHT: LINUX VULNERABILITY COPYFAIL (06:55) - APPLE FIXES NOTIFICATION BUG (08:46) - UTAH TRIES TO TARGET VPNS (14:16) - MICROSOFT EDGE STORING PASSWORDS IN MEMORY (20:10) - DEFENSE BULLETIN 🎥 VIDEOWatch on YouTube 📰 ABOUT SURVEILLANCE REPORTYour essential weekly tech news podcast covering the latest threats to security, privacy, and digital freedom. Hosted by Henry Fisher from Techlore.

April 10, 202654 min

VPNs Could Make You an NSA Target, North Korea's Supply Chain Hijack & the EU Kills Chat Control

The government told you to use a VPN, but are you actually making yourself a target for NSA surveillance in the process? This week's highlight story digs into a letter from six US lawmakers pressing intelligence officials to answer whether Americans using commercial VPNs risk losing their legal protections and being treated as foreign nationals under Section 702 of FISA.Also this week: North Korea's methodical, weeks-long social engineering attack that briefly hijacked the Axios open-source JavaScript library; Android malware called NoVoice that infected 2.3 million devices through the Google Play Store that survives a factory reset; Apple's device-level age verification expanding to the UK, Singapore, and South Korea; and the EU Parliament's dramatic vote to kill Chat Control, plus Patrick Brayer's five-point action plan for genuine child protection that doesn't require mass surveillance. The Defense Bulletin is packed: VeraCrypt's developer locked out by Microsoft, a rare Apple iOS 18 backport patch, Meta losing a child exploitation lawsuit, Apple Maps ads incoming, and more.🧡 SUPPORT TECHLOREBecome a Techlorian and keep this show growing: ★ Support this podcast ★ 🔗 SOURCES & LINKSView all sources here: https://techlore.tech/vpns-could-expose-you-to-nsa-spying-north-koreas-open-source-hijack-android-malware-hits-2-3-million-devices-via-google-play-and-the-eu-ending-chat-control/⏱️ TIMESTAMPS(00:00) - WELCOME TO SURVEILLANCE REPORT (01:18) - HIGHLIGHT STORY: NSA VPN SPYING (08:24) - NORTH KOREA HACKS OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE (10:30) - GOOGLE HOSTING MALWARE ON PLAY STORE (15:00) - AGE VERIFICATION ADVANCES EVERYWHERE (26:12) - END OF CHAT CONTROL & WHAT'S NEXT! (31:00) - DEFENSE BULLETIN 🎥 VIDEOWatch on YouTube 📰 ABOUT SURVEILLANCE REPORTYour essential weekly tech news podcast covering the latest threats to security, privacy, and digital freedom. Hosted by Henry Fisher from Techlore.

March 31, 202649 min

Two iOS Exploits, Google's Android Lockdown & Instagram Drops Encryption

This week's Surveillance Report covers two sophisticated zero-click iOS exploit frameworks: Coruna and DarkSword hit hundreds of millions of iPhones in the span of a single week. Google finally revealed their controversial Android sideloading "advanced flow," and it involves a 24-hour wait, developer mode unlock, and a wall of warning screens just to install an APK. Meanwhile, Instagram has quietly killed end-to-end encryption in DMs, Colorado is pushing OS-level age verification that would even drag Linux into compliance, and the EU's chat control battle took a wild turn.🧡 SUPPORT TECHLOREBecome a Techlorian and keep this show growing: https://techlore.tech/support🔗 SOURCES & LINKSView all sources here: https://techlore.tech/coruna-and-darksword-ios-exploits-explained-what-iphone-users-need-to-do-right-now/⏱️ TIMESTAMPS00:00 INTRO TO SURVEILLANCE REPORT01:30 HIGHLIGHT STORY: IOS EXPLOITS08:02 GOOGLE SIDELOADING ADVANCED FLOW19:26 INSTAGRAM REMOVING E2EE22:26 OS AGE VERIFICATION28:44 EU CHAT CONTROL31:00 DEFENSE BULLETIN📰 ABOUT SURVEILLANCE REPORTYour essential weekly tech news podcast covering the latest threats to security, privacy, and digital freedom. Hosted by Henry Fisher from Techlore, delivering deep analysis to help you reclaim control and defend your rights. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. ★ Support this podcast ★

March 2, 202640 min

Password Manager Vaults Aren't Private, Google Threatens Open Android, & Apple's Global Age Verification

Password managers CAN see your vault (new research reveals attack vectors), Google threatens the open Android ecosystem, Apple rolls out age verification globally, 147 million installs of Android mental health apps with security flaws, Samsung's innovative privacy display, and a massive week of breaches and updates.NO SR NEXT WEEK - Back in two weeks!🧡 SUPPORT TECHLOREBecome a Techlorian and keep this show growing: https://techlore.tech/support🔗 SOURCES & LINKSView all sources here: https://techlore.tech/password-manager-vaults-arent-private-google-threatens-open-android-apples-global-age-verification-sr257⏱️ TIMESTAMPS00:00 INTRO00:55 PASSWORD MANAGER VAULT SECURITY12:51 ANDROID DEVELOPER VERIFICATION16:36 APPLE AGE VERIFICATION21:06 ANDROID MENTAL HEALTH APPS25:17 DEFENSE BULLETIN📰 ABOUT SURVEILLANCE REPORTYour essential weekly tech news podcast covering the latest threats to security, privacy, and digital freedom. Hosted by Henry Fisher from Techlore, delivering deep analysis to help you reclaim control and defend your rights. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. ★ Support this podcast ★

February 20, 202649 min

3 Mac Attacks Explained, Discord Age Verification Goes Global & Hidden Hotel Cameras

No operating system is safe, and this week, Mac users got hit from three directions at once. We cover the attacks, Discord's messy age verification expansion, hidden hotel cameras in China, and everything else threatening your digital rights.🧡 SUPPORT TECHLOREBecome a Techlorian and keep this show growing: https://techlore.tech/support🔗 SOURCES & LINKSView all sources here: https://techlore.tech/mac-hit-by-3-simultaneous-attacks-discords-age-verification-fails-googles-deleted-footage-returns-sr256/⏱️ TIMESTAMPS00:00 INTRO01:00 MACOS ATTACKS13:12 DISCORD AGE VERIFICATION23:34 MORE AGE VERIFICATION26:08 GOOGLE NEST FOOTAGE MYSTERY30:56 DEFENSE BULLETIN📰 ABOUT SURVEILLANCE REPORTYour essential weekly tech news podcast covering the latest threats to security, privacy, and digital freedom. Hosted by Henry Fisher from Techlore, delivering deep analysis to help you reclaim control and defend your rights. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. ★ Support this podcast ★

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