Techlore Surveillance Report is your weekly deep-dive into the privacy and security news that matters for your digital freedom. Hosted by Henry Fisher, founder of Techlore and long-time digital rights educator, each episode cuts through the noise to bring you carefully selected stories with the context, analysis, and historical perspective you need to truly understand what's happening to protect yourself (and others!) in the digital space.
Topics covered include:
• Privacy tool updates and vulnerabilities
• Data breaches and cybersecurity incidents
• Surveillance technology and government overreach
• Big Tech privacy policies and practices
• Encryption and security standards
• Digital rights legislation and court cases
• Open-source software developments
• Corporate data practices and accountability
Whether you're a beginner trying to stay informed or a seasoned expert tracking the ecosystem, Surveillance Report has been delivering weekly privacy and security news for years, and now continues as part of Techlore's mission to educate the world about privacy, security, and digital rights.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Techlore Surveillance Report is your weekly deep-dive into the privacy and security news that matters for your digital freedom. Hosted by Henry Fisher, founder of Techlore and long-time digital rights educator, each episode cuts through the noise to bring you carefully selected stories with the context, analysis, and historical perspective you need to truly understand what's happening to protect yourself (and others!) in the digital space.
Topics covered include:
• Privacy tool updates and vulnerabilities
• Data breaches and cybersecurity incidents
• Surveillance technology and government overreach
• Big Tech privacy policies and practices
• Encryption and security standards
• Digital rights legislation and court cases
• Open-source software developments
• Corporate data practices and accountability
Whether you're a beginner trying to stay informed or a seasoned expert tracking the ecosystem, Surveillance Report has been delivering weekly privacy and security news for years, and now continues as part of Techlore's mission to educate the world about privacy, security, and digital rights.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week's Surveillance Report covers Microsoft removing offline Windows activation, California's new tool to delete your data from brokers, cryptocurrency theft traced to the 2022 LastPass breach, France's social media ban for under-15s, and more!
This week's Surveillance Report covers:
- Microsoft continuing to remove more offline Windows activation options as well as what you can do (besides just switching to Linux!)
- A deep-dive into California's new tool to remove you from data brokers and how I'm approaching this news as a Californian
- More age verification scares coming out of France and other countries
- LastPass data breach STILL impacting people to this day
- Defense Bulletin: Threats, breaches, and service updates
🧡 SUPPORT TECHLORE
Become a Techlorian and keep this show growing: https://techlore.tech/support
🔗 SOURCES & LINKS
View all sources here: https://techlore.tech/microsoft-just-removed-another-way-to-activate-windows-offline/
⏱️ TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - INTRO
00:40 - Highlight Story: Microsoft removing more Options
05:48 - California's New Data Removal Tool
13:24 - LastPass Data Breach Still Impacting People
18:50 - Support Techlore!
19:43 - More Age Verification in France, US, and more
24:04 - The Defense Bulletin
📰 ABOUT SURVEILLANCE REPORT
Your 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.
This week's Surveillance Report covers OpenAI's plan to prioritize sponsored content in ChatGPT answers, what to do if you're targeted by government spyware, Meta's secret playbook for avoiding scammer accountability, and more!
This week's Surveillance Report covers:
- OpenAI prioritizing new monetization models with obvious problems
- How to see if you're impacted by government spyware, and what to do about it.
- Meta's secret playbook for enabling billions of fraudulent revenue
- Defense Bulletin: Threats, breaches, and service updates
🧡 SUPPORT TECHLORE
Become a Techlorian and keep this show growing: https://techlore.tech/support
🔗 SOURCES & LINKS
View all sources here: https://techlore.tech/your-chatgpt-answers-are-about-to-get-sponsored/
⏱️ TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - Intro to Surveillance Report
00:37 - OpenAI Sponsored Content
05:20 - How to Handle Government Spyware
12:38 - Our Sponsor: EasyOptOuts!
14:15 - Meta Embracing Scammers
22:02 - Defense Bulletin
📰 ABOUT SURVEILLANCE REPORT
Your 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.
This week's Surveillance Report covers a federal court blocking Texas's age verification law, AI police cameras exposed to the internet, massive data breaches affecting millions of people, and more! Happy holidays!
Support Techlore: https://techlore.tech/support
00:00 Welcome to Surveillance Report
00:45 Judge Blocks Texas Age Verification
06:14 AI Super Pacs
10:14 Flock's Surveillance
17:52 Support Techlore!
18:34 Return to Monke Holiday Message
26:34 The Defense Bulletin
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week's Surveillance Report covers the internet's free speech protections under attack as a US Senator moves to repeal Section 230. Plus: ransomware attacks escalate with React2Shell exploitation, India orders government access to encrypted messaging, AI "superintelligence" fear is being used to justify actual corporate manipulation happening right now, and Apple still refuses to comply with EU law.
Support Techlore: https://techlore.tech/support
00:00 Welcome to Surveillance Report
00:40 Highlight Story: Section 230 Under Attack
09:00 React2Shell Updates
10:58 More Surveillance Attempts in India
16:38 Our Sponsor: EasyOptOuts!
18:12 AI Hype Explained
26:38 Apple is Breaking EU Law
27:16 Global Attacks on Privacy Compilation
31:44 The Defense Bulletin
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week's Surveillance Report covers the dangerous reality that social media bans ARE age verification, India's push for even more invasive phone surveillance, a massive vulnerability actively exploited against major companies, the EU's new proposal to gut GDPR protections, Petco's escalating security disasters, border agents charging people for protecting their data, and more!
Support Techlore: https://techlore.tech/support
00:00 Welcome to Surveillance Report
00:40 Highlight: Australia's Social Media Ban
08:06 Vulnerability Hitting Countless Sites
09:52 India's Surveillance Tech Continues
13:30 Support Techlore!
14:50 EU's Digital Omnibus
19:56 Petco's Data Breach(es) Saga
23:20 Man Arrested for Wiping Phone?
27:20 Defense Bulletin
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week's Surveillance Report covers India’s attempt to mandate a potentially invasive app on everyone’s phone, Chat Control updates in the EU with concerns still evolving, half of US states now being age verified, more AI Slop, butt to cloud encryption, and more! Correction: One of you caught my mistake! The poopinator device is $600 *with* a monthly subscription. Sorry about that!
🔎 EasyOptOuts is the easy, affordable, and effective way to automatically remove your data from people search sites: https://easyoptouts.com. Thanks to the EasyOptOuts team for sponsoring Surveillance Report!
00:00 Welcome to Surveillance Report
00:41 Highlight: India's Invasive App
08:28 Some Quick Announcements
09:50 Chat Control Updates
14:19 USA Age Verification
19:44 Our Sponsor: Easy Opt Outs!
21:04 AI Slop Continues
25:48 Butt To Cloud (B2C)
32:38 Defense Bulletin
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week's Surveillance Report covers Microsoft's AI Disaster getting worse on multiple levels as well as Google's AI, Malware is stealing E2EE messages from people all around the world, and updates to Chat Control & other EU regulations, and more!
Support Techlore: https://techlore.tech/support
00:00 Welcome to Surveillance Report 245
00:29 WhatsApp's Phone Number 'Leak'
06:08 Surveillance Report Back @ Techlore Announcement
08:01 Google's Attacks on Android Freedom
12:48 EU Saga Part 1: Chat Control
15:56 EU Saga Part 2: Digital Omnibus
20:22 Our Sponsor: EasyOptOuts!
21:50 EU Saga Part 3: Cookies Finally Crumble!
23:28 WhatsApp Interoperability Now Live
26:26 USA's VPN Ban
29:48 Cloudflare Outage
30:50 Data Breaches & Service Updates
34:18 Our Sponsor: EasyOptOuts!
34:56 Final Words!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episode 245: This week's Surveillance Report covers WhatsApp's massive phone number enumeration flaw that exposed 3.5 billion users' data through poor rate limiting - potentially the largest data exposure in history. I also examine Google's new Android sideloading restrictions threatening open app distribution, the EU's concerning Digital Omnibus proposal that could significantly weaken GDPR protections, and disturbing attempts in Wisconsin and Michigan to ban VPN usage under the guise of age verification.
🔎 EasyOptOuts is the easy, affordable, and effective way to automatically remove your data from people search sites: https://easyoptouts.com. Thanks to the EasyOptOuts team for sponsoring Surveillance Report!
00:00 Welcome to Surveillance Report 245
00:29 WhatsApp's Phone Number 'Leak'
06:08 Surveillance Report Back @ Techlore Announcement
08:01 Google's Attacks on Android Freedom
12:48 EU Saga Part 1: Chat Control
15:56 EU Saga Part 2: Digital Omnibus
20:22 Our Sponsor: EasyOptOuts!
21:50 EU Saga Part 3: Cookies Finally Crumble!
23:28 WhatsApp Interoperability Now Live
26:26 USA's VPN Ban
29:48 Cloudflare Outage
30:50 Data Breaches & Service Updates
34:18 Our Sponsor: EasyOptOuts!
34:56 Final Words!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
After 4+ years, Nate from The New Oil is stepping down from co-hosting the pod, but Surveillance Report isn't going anywhere. Here's what's changing, what's staying the same, and how to continue listening to Surveillance Report! (Hint: Nothing changes here on the podcast!)
Surveillance Report continues with the same mission: weekly privacy and security news to keep you, your family, and anyone new to digital rights informed without requiring you to monitor every RSS feed. The show is transitioning back to the Techlore umbrella. Follow Nate below to keep up with his future updates!
Links:
Surveillance Report YouTube Playlist: https://youtu.be/aUKIeeCskSU?si=-05DmAcmdoH05Ii4
Follow The New Oil for what's next: https://mastodon.thenewoil.org/@thenewoil
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episode 244: AI browsers are here and already pose huge risks, Windows 10 finally reaches end of life, Ring is partnering with Flock, many ICE stories, and more.
Welcome to the Surveillance Report - featuring Techlore & The New Oil to keep you updated on the newest security & privacy news.
(00:00) Introduction
(00:29) Highlight Story (AI Browsers)
(09:31) Data Breaches
(13:07) Companies
(17:52) Research
(23:10) Politics
(27:25) FOSS
(32:02) Misfits
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Q&A243: Why don't people care about privacy? Is it true Proton is accepting Monero? How can you get involved in the fight for privacy? And more! Join our next Q&A on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/collection/415684?view=expanded or XMR Chat: https://xmrchat.com/surveillancepod
Welcome to the Surveillance Report Q&A - featuring Techlore & The New Oil answering your questions about privacy and security.
👻 Support us on Ghost: https://surveillance-report.ghost.io/
❤️ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/surveillancepod
💛 Support us on Liberapay: https://liberapay.com/surveillancereport
🪙 Monero: 46iGe5D49rpgH4dde32rmyWifMjw5sHy7V2mD9sXGDJgSWmAwQvuAuoD9KcLFKYFsLGLpzXQs1eABRShm1RZRnSy6HgbhQD
(00:00) Introduction
(01:03) Why Don't People Care About Privacy?
(05:39) Privacy & Warranties
(06:33) Is Proton Accepting Monero?
(07:22) Quick PeerTube Plug
(07:55) Getting Involved in the Privacy Fight
(12:45) Who Will Make Graphene's Phones?
(13:43) Voluntary Certifications as Incentives
(19:39) Creating vs Exposing Privacy Problems
(22:13) Redact's Data Broker Removal Service
(23:07) Techlore Interview Idea
(23:21) Privacy as a Public Figure
(30:32) Temporary Ghost Workaround
Main Sites
Surveillance Report: https://www.surveillancereport.tech/
PeerTube: https://apertatube.net/c/surveillancereport/videos
Techlore Website: https://techlore.tech
The New Oil Website: https://thenewoil.org/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episode 243: The UK has ordered Apple to insert a backdoor into their encryption for a second time, Microsoft has removed yet more workarounds to avoid creating an account in Windows 11, Amazon adds facial recognition technology to their Ring doorbell cameras, and more.
Welcome to the Surveillance Report - featuring Techlore & The New Oil to keep you updated on the newest security & privacy news.
🔎 EasyOptOuts is the easy, affordable, and effective way to automatically remove your data from people search sites: https://easyoptouts.com. Thanks to the EasyOptOuts team for sponsoring Surveillance Report!
(00:00) Introduction
(00:21) Sponsor: EasyOptOuts
(01:38) PSA
(01:56) Highlight Story (UK/Apple)
(08:25) Data Breaches
(12:41) Companies
(21:45) Research
(25:19) Politics
(32:42) FOSS
(39:16) Misfits
(40:47) Sponsor: EasyOptOuts
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episode 242: Microsoft offers an extension for Windows 10 users to get security updates longer (but there's a catch), LinkedIn will start using your data to train AI (but you can opt out), OnePlus phones have a serious vulnerability, and more.
Welcome to the Surveillance Report - featuring Techlore & The New Oil to keep you updated on the newest security & privacy news.
❤️ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/surveillancepod
👻 Support us on Ghost: https://surveillance-report.ghost.io/
💛 Support us on Liberapay: https://liberapay.com/surveillancereport
🪙 Monero: 46iGe5D49rpgH4dde32rmyWifMjw5sHy7V2mD9sXGDJgSWmAwQvuAuoD9KcLFKYFsLGLpzXQs1eABRShm1RZRnSy6HgbhQD
❓XMR Chat: https://xmrchat.com/surveillancepod
(00:00) Introduction
(00:38) Sponsor: EasyOptOuts
(01:09) PSA
(01:48) Highlight Story (Windows)
(06:47) Data Breaches
(10:58) Companies
(14:56) Research
(22:45) Politics
(29:14) FOSS
(31:33) Misfits
(33:17) Sponsor: EasyOptOuts
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episode 241: ProtonMail allegedly banned journalist accounts, Plex had a data breach, leadership changes at the EFF, and more.
Welcome to the Surveillance Report - featuring Techlore & The New Oil to keep you updated on the newest security & privacy news.
🔎 EasyOptOuts is the easy, affordable, and effective way to automatically remove your data from people search sites: https://easyoptouts.com. Thanks to the EasyOptOuts team for sponsoring Surveillance Report!
(00:00:00) Introduction
(00:00:17) Sponsor: EasyOptOuts
(00:00:40) PSA
(00:01:16) Highlight Story (ProtonMail)
(00:13:58) Data Breaches
(00:24:04) Companies
(00:39:45) Research
(00:47:19) Politics
(01:06:25) FOSS
(01:13:30) Misfits
(01:16:20) Sponsor: EasyOptOuts
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Q&A240: Are there any good reasons not to use a cloud-based password manager? Which phone should you use for a day job? What routers do we recommend? These questions and more on this week's Q&A. Join our next Q&A on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/collection/415684?view=expanded or XMR Chat: https://xmrchat.com/surveillancepod
Welcome to the Surveillance Report Q&A - featuring Techlore & The New Oil answering your questions about privacy and security.
👻 Support us on Ghost: https://surveillance-report.ghost.io/
❤️ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/surveillancepod
💛 Support us on Liberapay: https://liberapay.com/surveillancereport
🪙 Monero: 46iGe5D49rpgH4dde32rmyWifMjw5sHy7V2mD9sXGDJgSWmAwQvuAuoD9KcLFKYFsLGLpzXQs1eABRShm1RZRnSy6HgbhQD
(00:00) Introduction
(00:48) Cloud-Based Password Mangers
(07:01) Non-Stigmatized Encrypted Email
(09:28) Work Phones
(11:57) Nate's SIMless Life
(14:25) Why Henry Prefers Synology
(16:58) Old Account Cleanup Strategies
(19:55) Reliable Crypto Resources
(24:13) Private RSS Without Patreon
(28:03) Router Recommendations
Main Sites
Surveillance Report: https://www.surveillancereport.tech/
PeerTube: https://apertatube.net/c/surveillancereport/videos
Techlore Website: https://techlore.tech
The New Oil Website: https://thenewoil.org/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episode 240: ChatGPT is sending your messages to the police, X/Twitter is rolling out some end to end encrypted messaging that we’ll discuss, lotsss of politics this week, and more!
Welcome to the Surveillance Report - featuring Techlore & The New Oil to keep you updated on the newest security & privacy news.
Join our new ghost: https://surveillance-report.ghost.io/
(00:00) Introduction
(00:24) Support us!
(01:14) Ghost announcement
(02:16) Highlight Story
(09:10) Data Breaches
(13:04) Companies
(17:18) Research
(19:44) Politics
(26:10) FOSS
(29:58) Misfits
(32:20) Support us!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episode 239: Google is expanding their control over sideloading, Word documents will now save to the cloud by default, Bluesky is blocked in Mississippi, and more.
Welcome to the Surveillance Report - featuring Techlore & The New Oil to keep you updated on the newest security & privacy news.
🔎 EasyOptOuts is the easy, affordable, and effective way to automatically remove your data from people search sites: https://easyoptouts.com. Thanks to the EasyOptOuts team for sponsoring Surveillance Report!
(00:00) Introduction
(00:21) Sponsor: EasyOptOuts
(01:34) PSA
(02:36) Highlight Story (Sideloading)
(10:40) Data Breaches
(13:54) Companies
(18:05) Politics
(22:10) FOSS
(25:23) Sponsor: EasyOptOuts
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Q&A238: Our thoughts on Kagi and their Orion browser, navigating healthcare apps, thoughts on legal compensation for data breaches, and more on this week's record-breaking Q&A. Join our next Q&A on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/collection/415684?view=expanded or XMR Chat: https://xmrchat.com/surveillancepod
Welcome to the Surveillance Report Q&A - featuring Techlore & The New Oil answering your questions about privacy and security.
❤️ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/surveillancepod
💛 Support us on Liberapay: https://liberapay.com/surveillancereport
🪙 Monero: 46iGe5D49rpgH4dde32rmyWifMjw5sHy7V2mD9sXGDJgSWmAwQvuAuoD9KcLFKYFsLGLpzXQs1eABRShm1RZRnSy6HgbhQD
(00:00) Introduction
(00:35) Thoughts on Kagi/Orion
(04:05) Smartwatch Recommendations
(05:47) Mandatory Healthcare Apps
(08:13) Legal Harms of Data Breaches
(11:01) Medical Identity Theft
(12:08) Infostealer Spread Methods
(13:52) Password Managers On-Screen Keyboards
(15:49) PeerTube Considerations
(20:34) Ecosystems vs Separate Services
(24:45) Pay-As-You-Go International eSIM
(24:41) Claims of XMR Control
(27:12) Thoughts on Linux Phones (Again)
(29:25) How We Use XMR Chat
(29:59) Can XMR Be Chain-Analyzed
(30:04) NanoGPT Plug
(31:55) SMS vs Google RCS
Main Sites
Surveillance Report: https://www.surveillancereport.tech/
PeerTube: https://apertatube.net/c/surveillancereport/videos
Techlore Website: https://techlore.tech
The New Oil Website: https://thenewoil.org/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episode 238: A new vulnerability affects nearly every major password manager on the market, a definitive resolution to the Apple/UK Backdoor saga, Mozilla finally refocuses on Firefox, and more.
Welcome to the Surveillance Report - featuring Techlore & The New Oil to keep you updated on the newest security & privacy news.
📷 Ente is the zero-knowledge, cross-platform, and open-source photo management app you didn't know you needed: https://ente.sh/surveillancereport. Thanks to Ente for supporting Surveillance Report.
(00:00) Introduction
(00:31) Sponsor: Ente
(01:48) Highlight Story (Password Managers)
(08:59) Data Breaches
(13:24) Companies
(16:20) Research
(18:19) Politics
(25:18) FOSS
(27:49) Sponsor: Ente
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episode 237: Microsoft will integrate GitHub more deeply as GitHub's CEO resigns, data brokers were caught hiding their opt-out pages, important updates from Debian, the Pinephone Pro, & Plex, and more.
Welcome to the Surveillance Report - featuring Techlore & The New Oil to keep you updated on the newest security & privacy news.
🔎 EasyOptOuts is the easy, affordable, and effective way to automatically remove your data from people search sites: https://easyoptouts.com. Thanks to the EasyOptOuts team for sponsoring Surveillance Report!
(00:00) Introduction
(00:23) Sponsor: EasyOptOuts
(01:59) Highlight Story (GitHub)
(07:12) Data Breaches
(10:23) Companies
(18:59) Research
(19:57) Politics
(23:48) FOSS
(26:03) Misfits
(28:09) Sponsor: EasyOptOuts
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.