Security, Spoken

Maybe, just maybe, there’s no Deep State plot to get Donald Trump after all. For more than a year, Trump’s backers have held out hope that a long-running investigation by the Justice Department’s inspector general would blow the lid off of a government-wide conspiracy. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

After filing for bankruptcy and closing more than 800 stores last year, Toys "R" Us is back. The iconic retailer has opened two new mall outposts, one in Texas and another in New Jersey, in time for the holidays. The stores are packed with some of the most kid-coveted products of the year, but have been garnering attention for another reason: the surveillance technology they’re using. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

The trade war between China and the US has centered largely on escalating tariffs. But in many rural communities, the focus has shifted to the security of networks for which Chinese giants Huawei and ZTE have long provided equipment. As the 5G future approaches, the US is pushing small carriers to rip out and replace whatever parts of their infrastructure come from China, no matter the cost. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Email has long been a major weak link for security; the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton's campaign were infamously both compromised by Russian hackers through email-related phishing attacks ahead of the 2016 US elections. And with the 2020 campaign in full swing, a patched flaw in Microsoft Outlook is still giving attackers an opening. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

If you call your hacking conglomerate Evil Corp and steal tens of millions of dollars from banks and individuals over the course of a decade, you can probably expect an indictment at some point. For alleged Evil Corp leader Maksim Yakubets, it came this week, as US and UK authorities charged him and an associate with hacking thefts that totaled over $100 million. A separate criminal complaint also ties Yakubets to the infamous Zeus trojan. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

The prominent hacker and Ethereum developer Virgil Griffith was arrested by the US government Friday after he spoke at an April conference on blockchain technologies in North Korea. The US government considers his presentation to be a transfer of technology—and therefore a violation of US sanctions. But Griffith's defenders, including Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin, describe the arrest as a massive overreaction. Griffith worked for the Ethereum Foundation, and Buterin called him a friend. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Ewoks. Just saying the name evokes myriad emotions in Star Wars fans. For some, the bear-like creatures that first appeared in 1983’s Star Wars: Return of the Jedi are part of the franchise’s rich tapestry. Others consider the Ewoks a blight and would prefer they not exist at all. (Some fan edits of Return of the Jedi excise the Ewoks entirely, for crying out loud.) They’re the most controversial inhabitants of the Star Wars universe this side of Jar Jar Binks. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

What was the last thing you searched for online? For me, it was "$120 in pounds." Before that, I wanted to know the capital of Albania (Tirana), the Twitter handle of Liberal Democrat deputy leader Ed Davey (he’s @EdwardJDavey), and dates of bank holidays in the UK for 2019 (it’s a late Easter next year, folks). Thrilling, I’m sure you’ll agree. But something makes these searches, in internet terms, a bit unusual. Shock, horror, I didn’t use Google. I used DuckDuckGo. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

As we draw ever-closer to Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and all the shopping days in between, you'll have no shortage of cheap, flashy, internet-connected gadgets to choose from for holiday gifts. But in the frenzy, don't forget that the widgets you buy will live at recipients' houses—or on their wrists—for months or years to come. With that in mind, it's worth considering security and privacy risks involved, so you know what you're getting people into before they unwrap the box. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

For almost three years starting in the fall of 2015, a 56-year-old Chinese-American tour guide named Xueha "Edward" Peng would periodically carry out a strange errand: Every few months, he'd book a room at a certain designated hotel—first in California and later in Georgia—and leave $10,000 or $20,000 in cash in the room, inside a dresser drawer or taped to the bottom of a desk or TV stand. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices