Artificial Intelligence is taking over. But I don’t mean that in a Skynet kinda way. It’s simply becoming ubiquitous because companies are insisting on inserting the technology into all their products, even if it’s not useful – or not even safe. Unfortunately, the breathless reporting on dangers of AI is also getting way out of hand, including stories of AI systems ‘blackmailing’ their designers. Today I’ll try to bring us back to reality a bit.

Also in the news: Billions of session login cookies up for grabs; Meta and Yandex cheat in order to track you around the web; Qualcomm fixes three zero-day bugs being actively exploited; Apple releases transparency report on push notification data requests; LAPD using Waymo for gathering video evidence; another massive AT&T user data leak includes SSNs; AI system appears to try to blackmail its owner; judge grants preliminary injunction on DOGE data grab; and we’ll check in on your 2025 New Year’s Resolutions!

Article Links

1. [theregister.com] Billions of cookies up for grabs as experts warn over session security https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/29/billions_of_cookies_available/
2. [arstechnica.com] Meta and Yandex are de-anonymizing Android users’ web browsing identifiers https://arstechnica.com/security/2025/06/meta-and-yandex-are-de-anonymizing-android-users-web-browsing-identifiers/
   1. More info: https://www.zeropartydata.es/p/localhost-tracking-explained-it-could  
3. [techcrunch.com] Phone chipmaker Qualcomm fixes three zero-days exploited by hackers https://techcrunch.com/2025/06/03/phone-chipmaker-qualcomm-fixes-three-zero-days-exploited-by-hackers/
4. [404media.co] Apple Gave Governments Data on Thousands of Push Notifications https://www.404media.co/apple-gave-governments-data-on-thousands-of-push-notifications/
5. [404media.co] LAPD Publishes Crime Footage It Got From a Waymo Driverless Car https://www.404media.co/lapd-publishes-crime-footage-it-got-from-a-waymo-driverless-car/
6. [cyberinsider.com] AT&T Investigating New Leak of 86 Million Customer Records with Decrypted SSNs https://cyberinsider.com/att-investigating-new-leak-of-86-million-customer-records-with-decrypted-ssns/
7. [bbc.com] AI system resorts to blackmail if told it will be removed https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpqeng9d20go
8. [eff.org] Privacy Victory! Judge Grants Preliminary Injunction in OPM/DOGE Lawsuit https://www.eff.org/press/releases/privacy-victory-judge-grants-preliminary-injunction-opmdoge-lawsuit
9. Tip of the Week: https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/2025-resolutions-check-in/ 

Further Info

• 2025 New Year’s Resolutions: https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/new-years-resolutions-2025/ 
• Privacy Guides: https://www.privacyguides.org/articles/ 
• EFF’s Rayhunter project: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/03/meet-rayhunter-new-open-source-tool-eff-detect-cellular-spying 
• My book: https://fdsd.me/book 
• My newsletter: https://fdsd.me/newsletter 
• Support our mission! https://fdsd.me/support 
• Give the gift of privacy and security: https://fdsd.me/coupons 
• Send me your questions! https://fdsd.me/qna 
• Get your Firewalls Don’t Stop Dragons Merch! https://fdsd.me/merch 

Table of Contents

• 0:00:00: Intro
• 0:00:50: A note on protest privacy
• 0:04:32: News preview
• 0:06:43: Billions of cookies up for grabs as experts warn over session security
• 0:18:27: Meta and Yandex are de-anonymizing Android users’ web browsing identifiers
• 0:25:59: Phone chipmaker Qualcomm fixes three zero-days exploited by hackers
• 0:27:51: Apple Gave Governments Data on Thousands of Push Notifications
• 0:33:25: LAPD Publishes Crime Footage It Got From a Waymo Driverless Car
• 0:37:39: AT&T Investigating New Leak of 86 Million Customer Records with Decrypted SSNs
• 0:41:51: AI system resorts to blackmail if told it will be removed
• 0:51:40: Privacy Victory! Judge Grants Preliminary Injunction in OPM/DOGE Lawsuit
• 0:56:04: Tip of the Week
• 0:58:13: Wrapup
• 0:58:30: Merlin’s Musings preview
• 0:59:10: Looking ahead