Firewalls Don't Stop Dragons Podcast

Firewalls Don't Stop Dragons Podcast


New Year’s Resolutions: 2024

January 15, 2024

The new year is here! And I’ve got a handful of solid tips for you that you should absolutely plan to accomplish in 2024! I also have a lot of news to catch you up on:


23andMe blames its customers for their data breach; Burger King in Brazil using facial recognition to offer discounts based on how hungover you look; Russian agents hack live webcams to hone in on targets in Ukraine; fake celebrity ads for medicare scam on YouTube; Facebook’s Link History is a confusing new tracking feature; FTC orders location data broker to stop selling your info; Google new location history changes may spell the end for geofence warrants; AirDrop anonymity cracked by China; well-hidden iPhone backdoor discovered by Kaspersky; UK tries to further expand surveillance capabilities; the Beeper Mini messaging saga is over; and a marketing company is offering to listen in on real time conversations to target ads.


Article Links
  1. [TechCrunch] 23andMe tells victims it’s their fault that their data was breached https://techcrunch.com/2024/01/03/23andme-tells-victims-its-their-fault-that-their-data-was-breached/
  2. [Dark Reading] Russian Agents Hack Webcams to Guide Missile Attacks on Kyiv https://www.darkreading.com/ics-ot-security/russian-agents-use-residential-webcams-to-gather-info-for-missile-attack-on-kyiv
  3. [404media.co] Deepfaked Celebrity Ads Promoting Medicare Scams Run Rampant on YouTube https://www.404media.co/joe-rogan-taylor-swift-andrew-tate-ai-deepfake-youtube-medicare-ads/
  4. [Gizmodo] Meet ‘Link History,’ Facebook’s New Way to Track the Websites You Visit https://gizmodo.com/meet-link-history-facebook-s-new-way-to-track-the-we-1851134018
  5. [ftc.gov] FTC Order Prohibits Data Broker X-Mode Social and Outlogic from Selling Sensitive Location Data https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/01/ftc-order-prohibits-data-broker-x-mode-social-outlogic-selling-sensitive-location-data
  6. [Electronic Frontier Foundation] Is This the End of Geofence Warrants? https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/12/end-geofence-warrants
  7. [9to5Mac] AirDrop cracked by China, revealing phone number and email address of sender https://9to5mac.com/2024/01/09/airdrop-cracked-by-china/
  8. [Schneier Blog] New iPhone Exploit Uses Four Zero-Days https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2024/01/new-iphone-exploit-uses-four-zero-days.html
    1. Security Now, Ep955: https://youtu.be/fJHzq4YOv68?si=WTdyr5LCXV4xJh-k&t=2105 

  9. [POLITICO Europe] Britain’s got some of Europe’s toughest surveillance laws. Now it wants more https://www.politico.eu/article/uk-bulking-up-spying-regime-breakneck-speed/
  10. [MacRumors] Beeper Mini Resorts to Jailbreaking iPhones to Rescue Blue Bubbles https://www.macrumors.com/2023/12/21/beeper-mini-jailbroken-iphones-rescue-imessage/
  11. [404media.co] Marketing Company Claims That It Actually Is Listening to Your Phone and Smart Speakers to Target Ads https://www.404media.co/cmg-cox-media-actually-listening-to-phones-smartspeakers-for-ads-marketing/
  12. Tip of the Week: https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/new-years-resolutions-for-2024/ 

Further Info

Table of Contents

Use these timestamps to jump to a particular section of the show.


  • 0:00:38: Listener survey
  • 0:01:57: News rundown
  • 0:04:35: 23andMe blames victims for their data breach
  • 0:09:39: Russian Agents Hack Webcams to Guide Missile Attacks on Kyiv
  • 0:15:19: Deepfaked Celebrity Ads Promoting Medicare Scams Run Rampant on YouTube
  • 0:21:31: Meet ‘Link History,’ Facebook’s New Way to Track You
  • 0:29:41: FTC Order Prohibits Data Broker from Selling Sensitive Location Data
  • 0:33:13: Is This the End of Geofence Warrants?
  • 0:36:57: AirDrop cracked by China, revealing phone number and email address of sender
  • 0:43:11: New iPhone Exploit Uses Four Zero-Days
  • 0:51:58: UK trying to expand surveillance powers
  • 0:55:25: The Beeper Mini saga
  • 1:01:25: Marketing Company Claims That It Actually Is Listening to Your Phone to Target Ads
  • 1:07:44: Tip of the Week: New Year’s Resolutions!
  • 1:19:43: Looking ahead

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