How the Kremlin has targeted Signal app at heart of White House group chat leakJames TitcombTelegraph Media Group Holdings LtdToday at 12:04Russian military hackers have targeted the messaging app at the centre of the White House group chat fiasco, raising further fears about the security of US secret communications.Researchers at Google found cyber attackers linked to the Kremlins military intelligence agency had sought to gain access to Signal accounts in Ukraine and were likely to use the techniques on other targets to snoop on conversations.

Changing the deal Report: Boeing asks Trump admin to weaken penalties in 737 Max crash case Boeing plea deal opposed by victims' families might be made even weaker. Jon Brodkin Mar 25, 2025 12:40 pm | 23 An American Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 landing at Miami International Airport October 17, 2024. Credit: Getty Images | CHUYN An American Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 landing at Miami International Airport October 17, 2024. Credit: Getty Images | CHUYN Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreBoeing is trying to withdraw a plea agreement and obtain more lenient treatment from the Trump administration in a case involving two deadly 737 Max crashes, The Wall Street Journal reported today.Boeing previously agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States. Boeing could still plead guilty but face weaker penalties than it agreed to last year if the Justice Department and a federal judge agree.Trump's Department of Justice "is reviewing numerous pending criminal cases that haven't yet gone to trial or been approved by courts," and "Boeing stands to benefit from fresh eyes at Trump's Justice Department, which is inclined to at least modify parts of the agreement," the WSJ wrote, citing people familiar with the matter. "Allowing Boeing to rescind its plea agreement, or lightening the company's punishment, would mark one of the most prominent examples of the Trump administration's lighter-touch approach to some white-collar enforcement."In July 2024, Boeing agreed to plead guilty to a criminal charge and pay $243.6 million for violating a 2021 agreement that was spurred by 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019 in Indonesia and Ethiopia that killed a combined 346 people.Boeing had avoided prosecution in January 2021 when it signed a deferred prosecution agreement and agreed to pay $2.5 billion in penalties and compensation to airline customers and the victims' families. But in May 2024, the Justice Department said it determined that Boeing violated the deferred prosecution agreement "by failing to design, implement, and enforce a compliance and ethics program to prevent and detect violations of the US fraud laws throughout its operations."Judge rejected previous plea dealBoeing's plea deal was for a charge of defrauding the Federal Aviation Administration Aircraft Evaluation Group, and the plea agreement was submitted for review in US District Court for the Northern District of Texas. Judge Reed O'Connor, a George W. Bush appointee, rejected the plea deal in December because it "requires the parties to consider race when hiring the independent monitor" and because Boeing wouldn't actually have to comply with the monitor's recommendations.But as the WSJ notes, "O'Connor has said Boeing's crime 'may properly be considered the deadliest corporate crime in US history.' Nothing in his earlier ruling contemplated tearing up the guilty plea altogether or not hiring an independent monitor."Boeing and the government are still negotiating changes to the deal, the WSJ reported. One of the changes under discussion would let Boeing "forgo hiring an outside monitor to ensure its compliance with the law," the report said.In addition to the $243.6 million fine, Boeing's original deal required it to invest at least $455 million in its compliance and safety programs. It's not clear whether the $243.6 million fine is likely to be reduced or scrapped, but the WSJ writes that "Boeing isn't trying to walk back its commitment" to invest in compliance and safety improvements.O'Connor ordered the sides to provide "an update on how they plan to proceed in this matter" by April 11. The latest status report filed by the US and Boeing said "the parties are continuing to meet and confer on a resolution of this matter short of trial" and "have not reached agreement but continue to work in good faith toward that end."Boeing and the DOJ both declined to comment when contacted by Ars today.Any attempt to lessen Boeing's penalties would presumably be opposed by victims' families, whose lawyers criticized the deal struck with the Biden administration. In July, the Clifford Law Firm said the deal "unfairly makes concessions to Boeing that other criminal defendants would never receive and fails to hold Boeing accountable for the deaths of 346 persons." We contacted the firm today and will update this article if it has any comment on the report of Boeing trying to weaken the deal.Jon BrodkinSenior IT ReporterJon BrodkinSenior IT Reporter Jon is a Senior IT Reporter for Ars Technica. He covers the telecom industry, Federal Communications Commission rulemakings, broadband consumer affairs, court cases, and government regulation of the tech industry. 23 Comments

The US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is discussing plans to eliminate an entire team responsible for publishing and maintaining critical atomic measurement data in the coming weeks, as the Trump administration continues its efforts to reduce the US federal workforce, according to a March 18 email sent to dozens of outside scientists. The data in question underpins advanced scientific research around the world in areas like semiconductor manufacturing and nuclear fusion.We were recently informed that unless there is a major change in the Federal Government reorganization plans, the whole Atomic Spectroscopy Group will be laid off in a few weeks, in particular, since our work is not considered to be statutorily essential for the NIST mission, Yuri Ralchenko, the group's leader, wrote in the email, which was seen by WIRED.Ralchenko noted that atomic spectroscopy has been used to discover many new exoplanets and develop powerful new diagnostic techniques, among other applications. Unfortunately, the story of atomic spectroscopy at NIST is coming to an end, he wrote.In response to a request for comment from WIRED, Ralchenko said he wasnt permitted to speak about budget and management issues and referred questions to NISTs public affairs department. NIST and its parent agency, the Department of Commerce, did not respond to requests for comment.The Atomic Spectroscopy Group studies how atoms absorb or emit light, allowing researchers to identify the elements present in a given sample. It then collects and updates those calculations in the Atomic Spectra Database, a catalog of industry-leading spectroscopy information and measurements that plays a crucial role in fields like astronomy, astrophysics, and medicine. In a blog post published last week highlighting the importance of the database, NIST said it receives an average of 70,000 search requests worldwide each month.It is really difficult to overestimate the importance of this data, says Evgeny Stambulchik, a senior staff research scientist at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel who started a petition to gather signatures from other researchers and members of the public who oppose the cuts to the atomic spectroscopy team. The petition currently has over 1,700 signatures.Stambulchik, whose speciality is plasma spectroscopy, says that atomic spectroscopy is essentially the only tool that can be used to interpret remote objects in space, like those observed by the powerful James Webb telescope. Its also basically the only tool for investigating matter at temperatures reaching tens of million degrees, he adds, such as inside a nuclear fusion reactor.Another plasma physicist at a US institution who asked to remain anonymous because they are not authorized to speak to the media said they use this data daily to build reliable models for designing future fusion reactors. Losing this trusted data source would hinder private fusion companies," they explain.The US scientist says the data provided by NISTs Atomic Spectroscopy Group is useful to researchers and engineers across multiple fields. The kind of carefully curated data this group provided underpins reliable systems like GPS and lithography, they say. It is this kind of rigorous science and engineering that keeps our bridges up and our power on. This is not move fast and break things.

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NationalDays after the Signal leak, the Pentagon warned the app was the target of hackers A screengrab of a page from a Pentagon-wide memo warning against using the messaging app Signal. NPR hide captiontoggle caption NPR Several days after top national security officials accidentally included a reporter in a Signal chat about bombing Houthi sites in Yemen, a Pentagon-wide advisory warned against using the messaging app, even for unclassified information. "A vulnerability has been identified in the Signal messenger application," begins the department-wide email, dated March 18, obtained by NPR. The memo continues, "Russian professional hacking groups are employing the 'linked devices' features to spy on encrypted conversations." It notes that Google has identified Russian hacking groups who are "targeting Signal Messenger to spy on persons of interest." Moreover there was a memo in 2023 obtained by NPR warning of using Signal for using any non-public official information. A Signal spokesman said the Pentagon memo is not about the messaging app's level of security, but rather that users of the service should be aware of so-called "phishing attacks." That's when hackers try to gain access to sensitive information through impersonation or other deceptive tricks. "Once we learned that Signal users were being targeted, and how they were being targeted, we introduced additional safeguards and in-app warnings to help protect people from falling victim to phishing attacks. This work was completed months ago," said Signal spokesman Jun Harada. The March 18, 2025 Pentagon memo adds, "Please note: third-party messaging apps (e.g. Signal) are permitted by policy for unclassified accountability/recall exercises but are not approved to process or store non-public unclassified information." The encrypted Signal app is what Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other leading national security officials within the administration used to discuss bombing Houthi sites earlier this month. The Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg was inadvertently added to the group and privy to the highly sensitive discussions. In the military, sending classified data over insecure channels is called "spillage"; it can be a career ender for a military officer. The 2023 DoD memo prohibited use of mobile applications for even "controlled unclassified information," which is many degrees less important than information about on-going military operations. There's almost no precedent for the heads of Defense, State, Intelligence and National Security to be sharing such sensitive military intelligence in a forum that was known to be unsecured. "These are things that are absolutely basic," John Bolton, former national security adviser during the first Trump administration, told NPR's Here & Now. "Yet these are cabinet level people in our government, and yet not one of them ever said, 'Why are we on Signal?' " NPR's Bobby Allyn contributed to this story. NPR disclosure: Katherine Maher, the CEO of NPR, chairs the board of the Signal Foundation.Correction March 25, 2025An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified the accidental release of classified data over insecure channels as slippage when the incident is minor. The correct term is spillage, and the term applies regardless of severity.An earlier version also incorrectly said a recent Pentagon memo about Signal went out before the leak to a reporter in a chat about bombing Houthi sites in Yemen. The memo was distributed days after that leak.

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Elon Musk appears to be laying the groundwork to privatize some space and satellite operations now under the authority of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa), or steer lucrative contracts toward his SpaceX and Starlink companies, former agency employees say.Theyre sounding the alarm as at least four other federal agencies have reportedly begun pushing new contracts toward Musks Starlink satellite internet company. Musk, the worlds richest man, has been tasked by Donald Trump with drastically slashing the federal government workforce and costs.The situation raises conflict of interest questions for one of Trumps closest allies who backed him with millions of dollars of funding in the 2024 election. Musk boasts that his so-called department of government efficiency (Doge) slashes spending, but critics say hes using his position to steer government funding toward his companies.Noaa could offer the biggest prizes yet for Musk, presenting the opportunity for SpaceX to have a commanding financial advantage in a commercial US space market expected to grow to a value of nearly $2tn in value over the next decade. Already Doge likely has access to competitors confidential business information at Noaa, former employees at the agency say.More importantly for the public, it would put control of the nations communications infrastructure in the hands of a rightwing billionaire. Noaas activity quietly touches the basic functions of daily life, and everything from dependable cellphone service to how Americans connect to the internet to weather forecasting is at stake, five former Noaa employees who spoke with the Guardian said.Theres a lot of smoke but were not sure where the fire is yet, a former employee said. Were waiting to see when the next shoe drops.In the wake of a firing spree that gutted some Noaa space operations, Donald Trump Jrs investment firm stoked speculation by purchasing $50m worth of SpaceX shares. Noaa operates as part of the US commerce department and is responsible for a range of economic activity relied upon by the public. Musks Doge team has laid off about 1,300 Noaa staff so far.SpaceX primarily launches rockets and satellites for Musk and national governments. Starlink, meanwhile, has nearly 6,000 satellites in low-earth orbit and provides satellite broadband internet service and military communications to at least 2.7 million people in 100 countries.SpaceX is the biggest player in the private space industry and several former Noaa employees praised the company as an often good partner prior to Musks attack on the agency. The space technology company had strong momentum prior to the new Trump administration, making it difficult to parse what is legitimate business and what could be construed as corruption, former employees said.A new emergency Freedom of Information Act request for communications among Noaa offices and Doge in part seeks to shine some light on those questions. The Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (Peer) request noted that privatization of the agency has long been a goal of the right and was called for in the Project 2025 rightwing playbook. The move is driven by greed and corruption, Peers executive director, Tim Whitehouse, said.The danger is that Musks enterprises could morph into government-sponsored monopolies that would operate with no fear of antitrust prosecution, Whitehouse added.New contracts for StarlinkLeadership for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered staff in February to find tens of millions of dollars in funding for new Starlink contracts, Rolling Stone reported. The FAA is in the process of updating ageing air traffic control networks and last year awarded a $2.4bn contract to Verizon, but Starlink has already edged into the process.At the US Government Services Administration, Doge ordered federal staff to use Starlink for internet services, an employee told NBC News. Another agency plans to contract with Starlink, according to a federal employee familiar with the situation who spoke with NBC News. Meanwhile, Customs and Border Protection recently authorized an evaluation of Starlink to help monitor the border.Gutting space traffic controlThe nascent space traffic coordination program manages thousands of satellites, debris and spacecraft, and helps prevent up to 50,000 near-collisions, called conjunctions, daily. Starlink accounts for a large number of those.Called the Traffic Coordination System for Space (Traccs), the program would also eventually provide launch and re-entry services for commercial satellites and spacecraft, former employees said. Musks company already works closely with Traccs, but the program has avoided vendor lock and contracts with multiple companies, in no small part because Musks agenda may not always align with the nations, one former official said.SpaceX is a great service provider, but as long as hes in control of the company its not anything that can be counted on, a former Noaa employee said.Those who spoke with the Guardian said it didnt appear that SpaceX had any interest in privatizing or taking over Traccs prior to Trumps re-election, but Musks Doge fired all but one Traccs member in effect crippling a sorely needed operation. That could open the door for privatization, and SpaceX is best positioned.They discover something is broken and conveniently say: Oh, we can fix this, a former Noaa employee said.skip past newsletter promotionSign up to This Week in TrumplandFree newsletterA deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administrationPrivacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.after newsletter promotionWeather forecast privatizationNoaa satellites in lower-earth orbit are largely utilized to forecast weather three to seven days out, and the data is given for free to weather forecasting providers such as AccuWeather, and utilized in aviation, shipping, defense and other critical industries.Some companies want to profit off the data, and few are better positioned than Musks to land contracts or take over. But private industrys data and forecasts are of extremely poor quality compared to those from the Noaa, a former employee said.Noaa weather satellites have redundancies and fail-safes intentionally built in, and huge effort is put into calibrating them with weather on earth: Noaa flies planes into storms to confirm that the data its satellites are providing is accurate, for example.The data is highly reliable, 24/7, no breakdowns, no ifs, ands or buts, a former agency employee said. If Noaa satellites fail, explode or crash, they added, then people who rely on that data may die, or serious economic damage may be inflicted.The risk of having outages is so significant because that data is used all the time for everything, and for far more than people realize, a former employee said.Musk, by contrast, has a mission of eliminating redundancies and finding efficiencies, and former agency employees noted his rockets and satellites have a history of crashing and exploding.Meanwhile, Noaa monitors space weather, including solar flares, coronas and radiation, and geomagnetic storms that can damage the electric grid and telecommunications on earth and beyond. That could have implications for Musks well-known plans to colonize Mars.If youre serious about sending people to Mars, then you have to be able to monitor and respond to space weather, an employee said.Radio frequencySpaceX, telecom giants and other industries are lobbying the federal government to auction off valuable bands on the radio frequency spectrum the electromagnetic waves that enable wireless communication, including among the military, the CIA, Noaa and their satellites.The obscure function is essential to a wide range of commercial activities, such as cellphone use, and industry wants to get their hands on all that they can because its a finite resource, a former agency employee said.A large part of Noaas forecasts stem from its satellites monitoring water vapor movement in the atmosphere, and the agency owns the radio frequencies at which vapor vibrates. If the Musk-aligned FCC sells bands too close to that frequency, potential interference could impede satellite function and disrupt reliable weather forecasting and cellphone use.Starlink wants more and more spectrum, and you hope [the FCC] would not be stupid enough to auction off the bands next to where water vibrates, but I wouldnt put it past anybody, an employee said.

(Composite / Shutterstock / Screenshot)THE TOP ISSUE OF THE 2016 presidential election, the one that changed Donald Trump from a TV loudmouth to a world historical figure, was information security. Hillary Clintons private email server and the mere possibility that classified information might have traversed it dominated media coverage and featured prominently in Trumps attacks. Then he won the election and became the biggest information security risk in U.S. history.Eight years later and the dumb keeps coming: In a stunning new security lapse revealed Monday, top Trump administration officials included Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg in their group chat on the encrypted messaging app Signal. At one point, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth shared operational details about upcoming U.S. airstrikes in Yemen, and two hours later they happened.Were not talking about an embedded mole carefully eluding detection. Trumps national security advisor, Michael Waltz, sent Goldberga personification of establishment media if there ever was onean invitation. Goldberg says he eavesdropped on the chat for two days. Apparently none of Americas national security leaders or their staffers noticed.This incident exposes a rich vein of political hypocrisyall the untold hours of Trump administration officials criticizing Hillary Clinton for her emailsthat it is difficult to resist mining. But this latest lapse fits into a disturbing broader pattern, with serious implications for our national security.U.S. military commanders see easily avoidable leaks like this and worry about operational security. At minimum, when the most senior defense leaders are information security risks, it adds another factor to planning thats already quite complex.U.S. intelligence partners see failures like this and conclude America cant be trusted. They have to operate under the assumption that any sensitive information given to the United States could be accidentally leaked by top officials. Not to mention the possibility that President Trump or longtime Putin sympathizer Tulsi Gabbard, the new director of national intelligence, will give it away to adversaries. The loss of trust damages counterterrorism, insight into foreign governments, and other national security goals.If these idiots are accidentally roping in the editor of the Atlantic on secret war deliberations, what are the chances theyre making other serious information-security mistakes, including ones that create openings for foreign intelligence agencies? Probably pretty high.Stay current on the news without losing your mind to it: Sign up for a free or paid Bulwark subscription, and well help you keep your grip.Avoiding problems like that is the point of experts, time-tested procedures, and rule-followers. At a basic level, why are senior national security officials using a private organizations messaging app instead of U.S. government-controlled communications protected by the NSA and preserved as required under the Federal Records Act? And why are classified war deliberations being set up by the national security advisor personally sending out invites to other users on an app?Its stupid, its bad for the country, but Americans shouldnt be surprised. Trump was historically terrible for information security in his first term and after, and voters elected him again in 2024 anyway.Recall that, less than a month after first taking office in 2017, Trump conducted an emergency meeting on a surprise North Korea ballistic missile launch with Japans prime minister at Mar-a-Lago, in view of resort guests with smartphones. The presidents Florida beach club/home is easily accessible, and multiple unauthorized individuals have made it past security, including a suspected Chinese spy carrying a laptop, external drives, and four phones.Just two months into his first term, the president blurted out highly sensitive intelligence from a foreign partner to Russias ambassador and foreign minister in the Oval Office. It wasnt illegalthe commander-in-chief has the power to disclose classified informationbut it served no national interest, and looked like an attempt to impress the Russian officials. The information came from Israel, and concerned a spy placed high inside ISIS in Syria, which was led at the time by Bashar al Assad, a Russian ally and Israeli adversary.Those are just two early examples. Trump intervened to get his son-in-law Jared Kushner a top White House position even though Kushner couldnt pass the standard background check. Kushner subsequently requested more information from the intelligence community than almost any other executive branch official, including on topics outside his purview. He also used WhatsApp to communicate with Saudi Leader Mohammed bin Salman, who was later caught putting malware on Amazon owner Jeff Bezoss phone.After leaving office, Trump illegally took documents containing national security secrets, including some pertaining to nuclear weapons, and kept them in unsecure spaces at Mar-a-Lago. That alone was easily worse than any information security breach Hillary Clinton didor other notable examples, such as Joe Biden, Mike Pence, and David Petraeusnot least because those individuals cooperated with federal officials, while Trump repeatedly lied and defied the law. That led to criminal charges, but with the help of loyalist judge Aileen Cannon, Trump managed to delay the case long enough to run for and win the 2024 election.As bad as Trumps first term was for information security, the White House included some serious professionals that contained his worst impulses. The second Trump administration has been purging those sorts of people and replacing them with loyalists (or no one), further transforming the federal government from a competent, professional civil service into a tool of corrupt authoritarianism.Will Trump punish Waltz or anyone else responsible for this security lapse? Someone might get fired to contain the embarrassment, but it probably wont improve anything, as Trump prizes loyalty more than competence. And his broader priority is clear: Americas president doesnt mind if his administrations actions weaken the United Statesso long as he gains more domestic power for himself. To him that counts as a good deal.Share

Bad forecast Europe is looking for alternatives to US cloud providers Some European cloud companies have seen an increase in business. Matt Burgess, wired.com Mar 25, 2025 9:12 am | 27 Credit: Getty Images Credit: Getty Images Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreThe global backlash against the second Donald Trump administration keeps on growing. Canadians have boycotted US-made products, antiElon Musk posters have appeared across London amid widespread Tesla protests, and European officials have drastically increased military spending as US support for Ukraine falters. Dominant US tech services may be the next focus.There are early signs that some European companies and governments are souring on their use of American cloud services provided by the three so-called hyperscalers. Between them, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, and Amazon Web Services (AWS) host vast swathes of the Internet and keep thousands of businesses running. However, some organizations appear to be reconsidering their use of these companies cloud servicesincluding servers, storage, and databasesciting uncertainties around privacy and data access fears under the Trump administration.Theres a huge appetite in Europe to de-risk or decouple the over-dependence on US tech companies, because there is a concern that they could be weaponized against European interests, says Marietje Schaake, a nonresident fellow at Stanfords Cyber Policy Center and a former decadelong member of the European Parliament.The moves may already be underway. On March 18, politicians in the Netherlands House of Representatives passed eight motions asking the government to reduce reliance on US tech companies and move to European alternatives. Days before, more than 100 organizations signed an open letter to European officials calling for the continent to become more technologically independent and saying the status quo creates security and reliability risks.Two European-based cloud service companies, Exoscale and Elastx, tell WIRED they have seen an uptick in potential customers looking to abandon US cloud providers over the last two weekswith some already starting to make the jump. Multiple technology advisers say they are having widespread discussions about what it would take to uproot services, data, and systems.We have more demand from across Europe, says Mathias Nbauer, the CEO of Swiss-based hosting provider Exoscale, adding there has been an increase in new customers seeking to move away from cloud giants. Some customers were very explicit, Nbauer says. Especially customers from Denmark being very explicit that they want to move away from US hyperscalers because of the US administration and what they said about Greenland.It's a big worry about the uncertainty around everything. And from the Europeans perspectivethat the US is maybe not on the same team as us any longer, says Joakim hman, the CEO of Swedish cloud provider Elastx. Those are the drivers that bring people or organizations to look at alternatives.Concerns have been raised about the current data-sharing agreement between the EU and US, which is designed to allow information to move between the two continents while protecting peoples rights. Multiple previous versions of the agreement have been struck down by European courts. At the end of January, Trump fired three Democrats from the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB), which helps manage the current agreement. The move could undermine or increase uncertainty around the agreement. In addition, hman says, he has heard concerns from firms about the CLOUD Act, which can allow US law enforcement to subpoena user data from tech companies, potentially including data that is stored in systems outside of the US.Dave Cottlehuber, the founder of SkunkWerks, a small tech infrastructure firm in Austria, says he has been moving the companys few servers and databases away from US providers to European services since the start of the year. First and foremost, its about values, Cottlehuber says. For me, privacy is a right not a privilege. Cottlehuber says the decision to move is easier for a small business such as his, but he argues it removes some taxes that are paid to the Trump administration. The best thing I can do is to remove that small contribution of mine, and also at the same time, make sure that my customers privacy is respected and preserved, Cottlehuber says.Steffen Schmidt, the CEO of Medicusdata, a company that provides text-to-speech services to doctors and hospitals in Europe, says that having data in Europe has always been a must, but his customers have been asking for more in recent weeks. Since the beginning of 2025, in addition to data residency guarantees, customers have actively asked us to use cloud providers that are natively European companies, Schmidt says, adding that some of his services have been moved to Nbauers Exoscale.Harry Staight, a spokesperson for AWS, says it is not accurate that customers are moving from AWS to EU alternatives. Our customers have control over where they store their data and how it is encrypted, and we make the AWS Cloud sovereign-by-design, Staight says. AWS services support encryption with customer managed keys that are inaccessible to AWS, which means customers have complete control of who accesses their data. Staight says the membership of the PCLOB does not impact the agreements around EU-US data sharing and that the CLOUD Act has additional safeguards for cloud content. Google and Microsoft declined to comment.The potential shift away from US tech firms is not just linked to cloud providers. Since January 15, visitors to the European Alternatives website increased more than 1,200 percent. The site lists everything from music streaming services to DDoS protection tools, says Marko Saric, a cofounder of European cloud analytics service Plausible. We can certainly feel that something is going on, Saric says, claiming that during the first 18 days of March the company has beaten the net recurring revenue growth it saw in January and February. This is organic growth which cannot be explained by any seasonality or our activities, he says.While there are signs of movement, the impact is likely to be smallat least for now. Around the world, governments and businesses use multiple cloud servicessuch as authentication measures, hosting, data storage, and increasingly data centers providing AI processingfrom the big three cloud and tech service providers. Cottlehuber says that, for large businesses, it may take many months, if not longer, to consider what needs to be moved, the risks involved, plus actually changing systems. What happens if you have a hundred petabytes of storage, it's going to take years to move over the Internet, he says.For years, European companies have struggled to compete with the likes of Google, Microsoft, and Amazons cloud services and technical infrastructure, which make billions every year. It may also be difficult to find similar services on the scale of those provided by alternative European cloud firms.If you are deep into the hyperscaler cloud ecosystem, youll struggle to find equivalent services elsewhere, says Bert Hubert, an entrepreneur and former government regulator, who says he has heard of multiple new cloud migrations to US firms being put on hold or reconsidered. Hubert has argued that it is no longer safe for European governments to be moved to US clouds and that European alternatives cant properly compete. We sell a lot of fine wood here in Europe. But not that much furniture, he says. However, that too could change.Schaake, the former member of the European Parliament, says a combination of new investments, a different approach to buying public services, and a Europe-first approach or investing in a European technology stack could help to stimulate any wider moves on the continent. The dramatic shift of the Trump administration is very tangible, Schaake says. The idea that anything could happen and that Europe should fend for itself is clear. Now we need to see the same kind of pace and leadership that we see with defense to actually turn this into meaningful action.This story originally appeared on wired.com.Matt Burgess, wired.com Wired.com is your essential daily guide to what's next, delivering the most original and complete take you'll find anywhere on innovation's impact on technology, science, business and culture. 27 Comments

AdvertisementGo ad freeage verificationTexans Might Soon Have to Show Photo ID to Buy a Dildo Online Mar 25, 2025 at 10:27 AM A new bill introduced by Angela Paxton, wife of Texas AG Ken Paxton, would impose privacy-invading age verification requirements on online sex toy retailers. Dean Black via Unsplash / Collage via 404 Media A newly introduced bill in Texas would require online sellers to show a photo ID before buying a dildo.SB 3003, introduced by Senator Angela Paxton (wife of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton), would criminally charge online retailers for selling an obscene device without verifying the buyers age. Sellers would have to require customers to submit their government-issued photographic identification, or use third-party age verification services that use public records or other reliable sources to verify the purchaser's identity and age, the bill says. Owning a credit card, which already requires the holder to be over 18 years of age, would not be enough.Like the regressive and ineffective adult site age verification laws passing all across the country in the last few years, this law would drag Texans back to a not-so-distant time when sex toy sellers had to pretend vibrators were for massage.Hallie Lieberman, journalist and author of Buzz: A Stimulating History of the Sex Toy, sold sex toys in Texas in the early 2000s under the states six dildo law, which criminalizes the possession of six or more obscene devices, defined as "a device including a dildo or artificial vagina, designed or marketed as useful primarily for the stimulation of human genital organs." That law is still on the books but is now considered unenforceable and unconstitutional. Lieberman told me sellers got around the law by claiming the toys were for medical purposes. This bill could send retailers back to that time.I can see something like that happening again, with people saying on their sex toy store websites that vibrators are for back massage and butt plugs are for rectal strengthening, Lieberman said. It's similar to how sex toys were marketed in the early 20th century to get around obscenity laws and the Comstock Act (which unfortunately still exists and may be used to prevent access to contraceptives and sex toys nationwide.) Butt plugs were sold as cures for asthma and vibrators for sciatica. We are literally going back in time with this law.Lieberman told me she had to call the clitoris the man in the boat at the time to avoid breaking the law. When we can't speak openly about our bodies and sexual pleasure, when we're forced to use euphemisms, we not only are under informed about our bodies, but we also feel shame in seeking out pleasure, she said.Like age verification laws for websites, the bill would make buying sex toys online harder for everyone, not just minors, and would send consumers to less-safe retailers with lower-quality, possibly dangerous toys. And also like those laws, people who do upload their government ID or undergo other age verification measures could risk having their purchases exposed to a hostile government.The government should not have a record of what sex toys we buy. This isn't just a frivolous concern, Lieberman said. In a nation where the president has declared that there are only two genders and that transgender people don't exist, where trans people are erased from government websites and kicked out of the military, it would be dangerous for the government to have a record that you purchased sex toys designed for trans people. Imagine you're a school teacher at a public school in Texas and there's a record you purchased a sex toy designed for queer people in a state where a parental bill of rights bill was just passed prohibiting discussion of sexual orientation in schools."We are literally going back in time with this law."Texas legislators have been trying to limit access to sex toys for their constituents for years. In late 2024, Hillary Hickland, a freshman member of Texas Republican House, introduced a bill that would ban retailers in the state from selling sex toys unless they file paperwork to become sexually oriented businesseseffectively forcing stores like Walmart, CVS and Target, which sell vibrators and other sex toys, to take those products off their shelves and forcing brick-and-mortar boutiques to verify the ages of all customers. The bill was referred to Texas Trade, Workforce & Economic Development committee earlier this month.Paxtons bill would charge online retailers with a Class A Misdemeanor if they dont verify ages, and would open them up to fines up to $5,000 for each violation.Paxton did not respond to a request for comment.Sam Cole is writing from the far reaches of the internet, about sexuality, the adult industry, online culture, and AI. She's the author of How Sex Changed the Internet and the Internet Changed Sex.More from Samantha ColeMore like thisSenator Tries Bringing Anti-Porn Age Verification Law to New York The internet is a dangerous place for children, rife with sexual material that is harmful to minors," the Republican lawmakers wrote. "The ease of access to this material is downright scary." Feb 5, 2025 Chaturbate Will Pay Texas $675,000 for Violating New Porn Age Verification Law Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the popular porn webcam site in March. Apr 26, 2024 Arizona Governor Strikes Down Age Verification Bill, Says It Violates First Amendment While we look for a solution, it should be bipartisan and work within the bounds of the First Amendment, which this bill does not," Arizona governor Katie Hobbs wrote. Apr 9, 2024 Viral Audio of JD Vance Badmouthing Elon Musk Is Fake, Just the Tip of the AI Iceberg AI-generated audio of Vance saying Musk is cosplaying as a great American leader has been played more than 2 million times on TikTok alone. Mar 24, 2025 DNA of 15 Million People for Sale in 23andMe Bankruptcy There is no way to know what a buyer will want to do with the reams of genetic information it has collected. Customers, meanwhile, still have no way to change their underlying genetic data. Mar 24, 2025 Tesla Owner Doxing Site Dogequest Relaunches on Dark Web Last week 404 Media reported a website called Dogequest was doxing Tesla owners. The site administrators appear to have launched a clone of the interactive map on the dark web too. Mar 24, 2025

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Sales of new Tesla cars slumped in Europe last month in the latest indication of a potential buyer backlash over Elon Musks high profile and controversial behaviour since becoming a leading figure in Donald Trumps administration.The Texas-based electric carmaker sold less than 16,000 vehicles across Europe last month, down 44% on average across 25 countries in the EU, the UK, Norway and Switzerland, according to data compiled by the research platform Jato Dynamics.Teslas market share fell to 9.6% last month, the lowest it has registered in February for five years. In January, its sales across Europe fell 45%, from 18,161 in 2024 to 9,945.However, in the UK the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders reported an almost 21% rise in the number of new Tesla cars registered in February, with the Model 3 and Model Y proving the second and third most popular after the Mini Cooper.Analysts and investors have been attempting to assess what impact Musks political interventions are having on the carmaker, where he is chief executive, amid signs that his senior role in Trumps administration is leading to a consumer backlash by some Tesla owners or prospective buyers. Tesla dealerships have also been the target of protests.The tech billionaire and close Trump adviser has shown support for Germanys far-right AfD party, theatrically brandished a chainsaw for bureaucracy at a conservative conference, and accused Keir Starmer and other senior politicians of covering up the scandal about grooming gangs.However, analysts have said that the volatile sales are also likely to have been affected by Teslas overhaul of the Model Y.Felipe Munoz, a global analyst at Jato Dynamics, said: Tesla is experiencing a period of immense change. In addition to Elon Musks increasingly active role in politics and the increased competition it is facing within the EV market, the brand is phasing out the existing version of the Model Y its bestselling vehicle before it rolls out the update.Brands like Tesla, which have a relatively limited model lineup, are particularly vulnerable to registration declines when undertaking a model changeover.The research companys figures for February show that Teslas rivals powered ahead in Europe last month.Volkswagen reported a 180% increase in sales of battery electric vehicles to just under 20,000, while BMW and Mini sold a combined 19,000 such models last month.The Chinese-owned BYD recorded a 94% increase in sales in Europe to more than 4,000. Separate figures show that BYDs global sales topped $100bn (83bn) last year, overtaking Tesla as the worlds biggest electric car company by revenue.skip past newsletter promotionSign up to Business TodayFree daily newsletterGet set for the working day we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morningPrivacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.after newsletter promotionBYD, which last beat Tesla on global annual revenues in 2018, reported revenues of 777bn yuan (86bn) in 2024, a 29% year-on-year increase, beating analyst estimates. Tesla reported annual revenues of $97.7bn last year.BYD also sells about the same number of electric vehicles as Tesla 1.76m compared with 1.79m respectively in 2024. However, when sales of BYDs other hybrid cars are included it is much larger.Polestar, which is primarily owned by Volvos parent company, Geely, recorded an 84% increase to more than 2,000 vehicles.BYD sold 4.27m vehicles last year, almost as many as the 4.5m sold by Ford, and has forecast that it will sell between 5m and 6m this year. The Hong Kong-listed company has a market value of about $160bn, up about 50% so far this year. Tesla is valued at $780bn despite a share-price plunge of more than a third in 2025. Tesla shares opened up 6% on Monday as the wider Nasdaq index rose nearly 2%.Total car sales in across the 25 EU markets, the UK, Norway and Switzerland dropped by 3% to 970,000 in February, while BEV registrations were up by a quarter.

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Nous, Yahoo, faisons partie de la famille de marques Yahoo. Lorsque vous utilisez nos sites et applications, nous utilisons des cookies pour:vous fournir nos sites et applications;authentifier les utilisateurs, appliquer des mesures de scurit, empcher les spams et les abus; etmesurer votre utilisation de nos sites et applications. Si vous cliquez sur Accepter tout, nos partenaires, dont 238 font partie du Cadre de transparence de consentement de lIAB Europe, et nous-mme stockerons et/ou utiliserons galement des informations sur un appareil (en dautres termes, utiliserons des cookies), et nous servirons des donnes de golocalisation prcise et dautres donnes personnelles telles que ladresseIP et les donnes de navigation et de recherche, pour fournir des publicits et des contenus personnaliss, mesurer les publicits et les contenus, tudier les audiences et dvelopper des services. Si vous ne souhaitez pas que nos partenaires et nousmmes utilisions des cookies et vos donnes personnelles pour ces motifs supplmentaires, cliquez sur Refuser tout. Si vous souhaitez personnaliser vos choix, cliquez sur Grer les paramtres de confidentialit. Vous pouvez rvoquer votre consentement ou modifier vos choix tout moment en cliquant sur les liens Paramtres de confidentialit et des cookies ou Tableau de bord sur la confidentialit prsents sur nos sites et dans nos applications. Dcouvrez comment nous utilisons vos donnes personnelles dans notre Politique de confidentialit et notre Politique concernant les cookies.

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Teslas electric vehicle (EV) sales in Europe slumped in February, falling behind legacy automakers Volkswagen and BMW, as well as Chinese rivals, according to data from research firm JATO Dynamics.The sharp drop comes amid intensifying competition in the European EV market and potential consumer backlash over CEO Elon Musks political endorsements.JATO Dynamics reported that Teslas battery-electric vehicle (BEV) registrations in 25 European Union markets, the UK, Norway, and Switzerland fell by 44% year-over-year to under 16,000 cars. Teslas market share in the region dropped to 9.6%, its lowest February reading in five years.In contrast, Volkswagens BEV sales surged 180% to nearly 20,000 cars, while BMW and its Mini brand combined sold almost 19,000 EVs. Chinese manufacturers also made inroads, with BYD and Polestar registering year-over-year increases of 94% and 84%, respectively.Political backlash and market shifts weigh on TeslaCopy link to sectionTeslas declining performance in Europe coincides with growing scrutiny over Elon Musks political activity. The billionaire has been vocal in his support for former US President Donald Trump and has also endorsed far-right parties in Europe, including Germanys Alternative fr Deutschland (AfD).Musk has posted at least two dozen messages on his X platform in support of AfD, a move that has drawn criticism from European leaders and customers alike. Musks role in politics, rising competition in the EV market and the phasing out of the existing version of its best-selling vehicle, the Model Y, have all impacted sales, Felipe Munoz, Global Analyst at JATO Dynamics, said in a report.Polestar CEO Michael Lohscheller recently acknowledged the shifting sentiment, stating that his company was actively targeting Tesla owners who were disillusioned by Musks political involvement. We get a lot of people writing that they dont like all this, Lohscheller told Bloomberg. A lot of people have very, very negative sentiment.Matthias Schmidt, a Germany-based automotive analyst,told Business Insiderlast month that he expected Musks political involvements to eventually have an impact on Teslas European sales, and said rivals like Polestar would likely reap the benefit of disgruntled Tesla owners ditching their vehicles.Model Y phase-out and growing competitionCopy link to sectionBeyond political factors, Tesla is also facing headwinds due to the phasing out of the current version of its best-selling Model Y. Munoz noted that brands with a limited model lineup, like Tesla, are particularly vulnerable to registration declines when undergoing a model transition.Meanwhile, traditional automakers and Chinese EV brands are seizing the opportunity to expand their presence in the European market. BYD, Polestar, Xpeng, and Leapmotor all recorded rising sales, highlighting a growing shift in consumer preference.Figures follow Januarys dismal showCopy link to sectionThese latest figures follow Teslas dismal show in Europe in January, with sales dropping by almost half, marking one of the worst months for the automaker in recent years.Germany, Europes largest car market, recorded the most significant drop in Tesla sales. Registrations fell 60% year-over-year to just 1,277 vehicles in January, marking the weakest performance since July 2021, according to Bloomberg.The latest figures raise concerns about Teslas ability to maintain its foothold in Europe as consumer sentiment shifts and competition accelerates.

23andMe filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Sunday, leaving the fate of millions of peoples genetic information up in the air as the company deals with the legal and financial fallout of not properly protecting that genetic information in the first place. The filing shows how dangerous it is to provide your DNA directly to a large, for-profit commercial genetic database; 23andMe is now looking for a buyer to pull it out of bankruptcy.23andMe said in court documents viewed by 404 Media that since hackers obtained personal data about seven million of its customers in October 2023, including, in some cases health-related information based upon the users genetics, it has faced over 50 class action and state court lawsuits, and that approximately 35,000 claimants have initiated, filed, or threatened to commence arbitration claims against the company. It is seeking bankruptcy protection in part to simplify the fallout of these legal cases, and because it believes it may not have money to pay for the potential damages associated with these cases.CEO and cofounder Anne Wojcicki announced she is leaving the company as part of this process. The company has the genetic data of more than 15 million customers.According to its Chapter 11 filing, 23andMe owes money to a host of pharmaceutical companies, pharmacies, artificial intelligence companies (including a company called Aganitha AI and Coreweave), as well as health insurance companies and marketing companies.The filing is a devastating reminder that once you give your genetic information to a company like 23andMe, there is no way to have any clue what is going to happen to that data, how it is going to be analyzed, how it is going to be monetized, how it is going to be protected from hackers, and who it is going to be shared with for profit. Sharing your own DNA with 23andMe also necessarily implicates your close family members, who may or may not want their genetic information submitted to a company that is financially precarious and sitting on a trove of highly sensitive information.On Friday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued an urgent alert to 23andMe customers telling them to ask the company to delete their data and destroy their genetic samples under a California privacy law: Given 23andMes reported financial distress, I remind Californians to consider invoking their rights and directing 23andMe to delete their data and destroy any samples of genetic material held by the company.Other genetic sequencing companies have shared customer information with police and governments, pharmaceutical companies, and health insurers. GED Match, a non-profit that once claimed it would protect customers genetic data, was sold to a for-profit company called Verogen, which works with the FBI and was later sold to a Dutch multinational conglomerate.Police now regularly attempt to identify suspects using information pulled from commercial genetic databases like the one that 23andMe has created.23andMes bankruptcy means that the company will be put up for sale, and theres no way of knowing who is going to buy it, why they will be interested, and what will become of its millions of customers DNA sequences. 23andMe has claimed over the years that it strongly resists law enforcement requests for information and that it takes customer security seriously. But the company has in recent years changed its terms of service, partnered with big pharmaceutical companies, and, of course, was hacked.In a letter to customers Sunday, 23andMe said Your data remains protected. The Chapter 11 filing does not change how we store, manage, or protect customer data. Our users privacy and data are important considerations in any transaction, and we remain committed to our users privacy and to being transparent with our customers about how their data is managed. It added that any buyer will have to comply with applicable law with respect to the treatment of customer data, which means essentially nothing because there are few laws that protect against the monetization of customer genetic data, as evidenced by the fact that other genetic databases proactively offer information to law enforcement and partner with big pharma.The company now could be sold to anyone, and there is no way to know what that buyer will want to do with the reams of genetic information it has collected. Customers, meanwhile, still have no way to change their underlying genetic data.Jason is a cofounder of 404 Media. He was previously the editor-in-chief of Motherboard. He loves the Freedom of Information Act and surfing.More from Jason Koebler

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A Tesla level 3 charging station is seen on March 19, 2025, in Woodstock, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, File) By JESSE BEDAYNUpdated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] Share A man drove his car into protesters outside a Tesla dealership in Palm Beach County, Florida, but did not injure any of those who had gathered to demonstrate against billionaire Elon Musk and President Donald Trump over the weekend, according to law enforcement. The planned protest was one of a slew across the U.S. at businesses associated with Tesla, the company led by Musk, in response to the billionaires work with the Trump administration in cutting federal funding and the workforce. Attacks on property carrying the logo of Elon Musks electric-car company are cropping up across the U.S. and overseas. Several more violent incidents include Cybertrucks being set on fire in Seattle and shots fired at a Tesla dealership in Oregon. The protest on Saturday was interrupted when Andrew Dutil drove his vehicle onto the sidewalk full of protesters at a slow speed, forcing people to scramble out of the way to avoid the being hit, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriffs Office.Dutil was arrested and faces an assault charge, according to court records. An attorney who could speak on Dutils behalf wasnt immediately listed in court records. RELATED COVERAGE Palm Beach County is also home to Trumps Mar-a-Lago resort, which the president has called the Center of the Universe on social media. Trump and Musk through the Department of Government Efficiency have begun dismantling government agencies and programs and laying off staff in the name of culling government waste, fraud and abuse. ___Bedayn is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. JESSE BEDAYN Bedayn is a statehouse reporter for The Associated Press based in Denver. He is a Report for America corps member.

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In six weeks, the Trump administrations rapid scheduled disassembly of American science has been as sharp and deep as its trashing of the USs alliances and goodwill; Earth science, weather forecasting and early warning systems, medical research (including cancer research), Nasa. Academic grants more broadly have been cut, paused and subject to review for a long list of banned words (including such contentious terms as political and women).This has caused universities across the country to reduce their intake of PhD students, medical students and other graduate students, introduce hiring freezes and even rescind some offers of admission. More than 12,500 US citizens currently in other countries on Fulbright research grants recently had their funding paused, along with 7,400 foreign scholars currently hosted in the US, leaving them financially stranded. And, when it came to one foreign academic visiting the US, detaining them and refusing them entry.Even more worryingly, the administration is specifically targeting some universities, including pulling $400m in funding from Columbia University, and $800m from Johns Hopkins, forcing it to lay off 2,000 people. Furthermore, the legally dubious arrest and detention of Mahmoud Khalil, and the cancelling of his green card, is sure to have a chilling effect on foreign students and researchers already in the US and on the desire of others to go there in the future. As Christina Pagel, a German-British professor at University College London, writes: This isnt chaos. Instead, the attacks on research appear to follow a three-pronged objective: to forcibly align science with state ideology; undermine academic independence and suppress dissent; and maintain geopolitical and economic goals.The Saturn V rockets that took US astronauts to space and eventually the moon in the 1960s owed their existence to Operation Paperclip, which brought 1,500 former Nazi scientists (such as Wernher von Braun, the former director of Nasas Marshall Space Flight Center) to the US. In the week after Donald Trumps election, I wondered whether the German philosopher Jrgen Habermas may inadvertently get his wish (of a Europe that unified through opposition to the US) and suggested that Europe position itself to reverse the decades-long transatlantic brain drain by welcoming highly educated American researchers and scientists who were sure to find themselves under attack. This time, there is no moral quandary about it, no Nazi pasts to ignore; only as much advantage to be gained as can be in a world where the EU must hold the ground for liberal democratic society, joined by Canada to the west, and Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand to the east.To some extent, EU governments and institutions are already picking up on the opportunity. For example, on 7 March, the University of Aix-Marseille announced Safe Place for Science, a three-year, 15m programme to bring 15 American scientists working in climate, health and astrophysics to its campus. According to a university spokesperson, more than 60 applications have been received, 30 of them coming within the first 24 hours. The university indicated that it has been in contact with other universities and the French government about expanding scientific asylum on both a national and European level, and to help coordinate welcoming and relocating different researchers.US federal government spending on all research and development (R&D) totalled roughly $195bn in 2024. That sounds imposing, but lets put it into greater context. As of 2023, US GDP was $27.7tn and EU GDP was $26.5tn, when adjusted for purchasing power parity. Taken as a whole, both polities are roughly the same economic size. Lets imagine that the EU were to put real money on the table to lure science of all kinds out of the US and to the continent. It wouldnt need to match $195bn, euro for dollar, in part because more than half the US total is defence R&D, and the EU is already boosting defence spending bigly. So, say it just picked a bold, round number that lends itself well to narrative, storytelling and headlines, and is enough to rope in the cuts happening in the US.A sum of 25bn a year would represent just under 0.1% of the EUs GDP, and even less if the UK, Norway and Switzerland (all of which participate in the Horizon Europe research funding programme) were included. As it is, R&D spending in the EU lags behind the US and a report ordered by the European Commissions research department recently recommended more than doubling Horizon Europes 95bn, seven-year budget. What Im suggesting goes further, yes. But not only is it well within the EUs ability to afford, it would ultimately pay for itself: research found that non-defence R&D spending returned 200% for the US during the postwar period.But let me push the boundary of fantastical again, and suggest that the EU may lure not just American researchers, but American universities themselves. According to the Cross Border Education Research Team, US universities maintain 29 actual campuses in Europe (and far more if you include centres and study abroad programmes). There are dozens of American colleges and universities with enormous endowments that regularly splash out hundreds of millions of dollars at a time on new buildings. If US crackdowns (like the recent demands made of Columbia) on academic freedom, funding, and foreign students and faculties become more frequent, they may find the idea of second campuses in Europe tempting indeed.Alexander Hurst is a Guardian Europe columnistDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.