LILY HAY NEWMAN MATT BURGESS ANDY GREENBERG SECURITY JAN 31, 2026 6:30 AM Security News This Week: Jeffrey Epstein Had a ‘Personal Hacker,’ Informant Claims Plus: AI agent OpenClaw gives cybersecurity experts the willies, China executes 11 scam compound bosses, a $40 million crypto theft has an unexpected alleged culprit, and more. PHOTOGRAPH: US JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/GETTY IMAGES Get our Tracker: ICE newsletter to understand what’s happening and what’s coming next SIGN UP By signing up, you agree to our user agreement (including class action waiver and arbitration provisions), and acknowledge our privacy policy. You’ve read your last free article. The intersection of technology, power, and culture. Start your free trial and get access to 5 all-new premium newsletters—cancel anytime. START FREE TRIAL Already a subscriber? Sign In The intersection of technology, power, and culture. Start your free trial and get access to 5 all-new premium newsletters START FREE TRIAL You Might Also Like In your inbox: Sign up for our new Tracker: ICE newsletter TikTok now collects even more of your data Big Story: ICE pretends it’s a military force, but it would get soldiers killed Microdosing for depression works about as well as drinking coffee Watch: We raced in exoskeletons to see if they actually help Written by WIRED Staff TOPICS SECURITY ROUNDUP CYBERSECURITY RUSSIA HACKING SECURITY IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT MINNESOTA JEFFREY EPSTEIN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE Don't Just Keep Up. Get Ahead Sign up for the Daily newsletter to get our biggest stories, handpicked for you each day. SIGN UP By signing up, you agree to our user agreement (including class action waiver and arbitration provisions), and acknowledge our privacy policy. READ MORE DOGE May Have Misused Social Security Data, DOJ Admits Plus: The FAA blocks drones over DHS operations, Microsoft admits it hands over Bitlocker encryption keys to the cops, and more. MADDY VARNER Here’s the Company That Sold DHS ICE’s Notorious Face Recognition App Immigration agents have used Mobile Fortify to scan the faces of countless people in the US—including many citizens. MADDY VARNER How to Film ICE Filming federal agents in public is legal, but avoiding a dangerous—even deadly—confrontation isn’t guaranteed. Here’s how to record ICE and CBP agents as safely as possible and have an impact. MADDY VARNER Moltbot Is Taking Over Silicon Valley People are letting the viral AI assistant formerly known as Clawdbot run their lives, regardless of the privacy concerns. WILL KNIGHT ICE Can Now Spy on Every Phone in Your Neighborhood Plus: Iran shuts down its internet amid sweeping protests, an alleged scam boss gets extradited to China, and more. MATT BURGESS What to Do if ICE Invades Your Neighborhood With federal agents storming the streets of American communities, there’s no single right way to approach this dangerous moment. But there are steps you can take to stay safe—and have an impact. MADDY VARNER The State-Led Crackdown on Grok and xAI Has Begun At least 37 attorneys general for US states and territories are taking action against xAI after Grok generated a flood of nonconsensual sexual images of women and minors. MADDY VARNER ICE and CBP’s Face-Recognition App Can’t Actually Verify Who People Are ICE has used Mobile Fortify to identify immigrants and citizens alike over 100,000 times, by one estimate. It wasn't built to work like that—and only got approved after DHS abandoned its own privacy rules. MADDY VARNER AI’s Hacking Skills Are Approaching an ‘Inflection Point’ AI models are getting so good at finding vulnerabilities that some experts say the tech industry might need to rethink how software is built. WILL KNIGHT US Hackers Reportedly Caused a Blackout in Venezuela Plus: AI reportedly caused ICE to send agents into the field without training, Palantir’s app for targeting immigrants gets exposed, and more. ANDY GREENBERG FBI Agent’s Sworn Testimony Contradicts Claims ICE’s Jonathan Ross Made Under Oath The testimony also calls into question whether Ross failed to follow his training during the incident in which he reportedly shot and killed Minnesota citizen Renee Good. TIM MARCHMAN Hundreds of Millions of Audio Devices Need a Patch to Prevent Wireless Hacking and Tracking Flaws in how 17 models of headphones and speakers use Google’s one-tap Fast Pair Bluetooth protocol have left devices open to eavesdroppers and stalkers. ANDY GREENBERG