Mysterious drone sightings lead to FAA ban despite no threats detected

It’s been a busy year for cybersecurity, but it’s not over yet. This week, we revealed how hackers figured out how to jailbreak digital license plates (which are legally issued in at least a couple of states and are valid throughout the United States), allowing them to change the license plate number to basically anything. . That means someone with this ability can avoid tolls and fines, or even change their license plate to be the same as their enemy’s.

While the company that makes the plates, Reviver, makes it clear that doing this would be illegal and a violation of their terms of service, we assume that people who want to hide their car’s credentials so they can speed around town don’t mind me. That worries me too much.

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency staff are preparing for an uncertain future. Several CISA employees told WIRED they fear the incoming Trump administration will scrap key programs they say keep Americans safe from cyberattacks and other threats, or that the agency itself could be dismantled.

In recent years, financial scams that involve scamming people out of their cryptocurrency holdings have come to be known by a catchy and widespread name: “pig butchering.” But it’s time to rebrand, according to Interpol officials. The term, which is a translation from Chinese and refers to the slow process of fattening a pig before slaughter, was probably created by the scammers themselves. As such, their use could further demean victims of these scams or shame them into not reporting a crime.

Apparently committing crimes in public is in fashion. We take a deep dive into the world of drug dealers who advertise their wares on open web platforms like Instagram, X, and Snapchat. The practice is not new, but authorities in Europe say it is becoming more popular.

And that’s not all. Every week, we round up the security and privacy news we didn’t cover in depth. Click on the headlines to read the full stories. And stay safe out there.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said Thursday it would temporarily ban drone flights over dozens of critical infrastructure and utility sites in New Jersey and New York “at the request of federal security partners.” The restrictions will last 30 days. The announcement comes as panic over mysterious drone sightings in the two states has increased in recent weeks. The FAA said in a joint declaration with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense and the FBI on Wednesday that the U.S. government has found no evidence of malicious or unexplained aircraft.

“After closely examining technical data and advice from concerned citizens, we assess that sightings to date include a mix of legal commercial drones, hobby drones, and police drones, as well as manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and errant stars. reported as drones,” the agencies wrote. “We have not identified anything anomalous and do not assess that the activity to date presents a risk to national security or public safety over civil airspace in New Jersey or other northeastern states.”