Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai

@[email protected]
8.6K Followers
1.8K Following
1.2K Posts

Real-time cyber historian of the late capitalist era @TechCrunch, writing about the intersection of hackers, human rights, and spies.

Also writing a book about Hacking Team and the history of government spyware.

Posts about infosec, surveillance by day. 🍕, ⚽️, 🎸, 🎮 by night. 


☎️ Signal: +1 917 257 1382

💻 Keybase/Telegram: @ lorenzofb

✉️ [email protected]


Previously: VICE Motherboard, Mashable, WIRED's Danger Room.

Twitterhttps://twitter.com/lorenzofb
Personal Sitehttps://lorenzofb.com
PronounsHe/him
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TechCrunchhttps://techcrunch.com/author/lorenzo-franceschi-bicchierai/
Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai13h ago

NEW: I spoke to cybersecurity legend Mikko Hyppönen about his decades-long fight against computers viruses first, and then malware — and how computers have gotten safer over time.

Mikko also told me why he has decided to now turn his focus to fight another enemy: killer drones. And, as it turns out, some of the technical challenges are very similar.

http://techcrunch.com/2026/04/04/after-fighting-malware-for-decades-this-cybersecurity-veteran-is-now-hacking-drones/

After fighting malware for decades, this cybersecurity veteran is now hacking drones | TechCrunch

Mikko Hyppönen is one of the most recognizable faces of the cybersecurity industry. After fighting computer viruses, worms, and malware, for more than 35 years, he tells TechCrunch why he is now working on systems to stop killer drones.

TechCrunch
Show threadLorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai1d ago

UPDATE: A member of ShinyHunters told us that they took the stolen European Commission's data directly from TeamPCP. In other words, the hackers are hacking each other now.

https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/03/europes-cyber-agency-blames-hacking-gangs-for-massive-data-breach-and-leak/

Europe’s cyber agency blames hacking gangs for massive data breach and leak | TechCrunch

CERT-EU blamed the cybercrime group TeamPCP for the recent hack on the European Commission, and said the notorious ShinyHunters gang was responsible for leaking the stolen data online.

TechCrunch
Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai1d ago

NEW: CERT-EU accused cybercrime gang TeamPCP of being behind the recent European Commission hack.

It also accused ShinyHunters of being behind the leak of the stolen data, which was around 92 gigabytes, and contained full names, email addresses, and some email content.

http://techcrunch.com/2026/04/03/europes-cyber-agency-blames-hacking-gangs-for-massive-data-breach-and-leak/

Europe’s cyber agency blames hacking gangs for massive data breach and leak | TechCrunch

CERT-EU blamed the cybercrime group TeamPCP for the recent hack on the European Commission, and said the notorious ShinyHunters gang was responsible for leaking the stolen data online.

TechCrunch
Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai2d ago
Zack Whittaker2d ago

New, by me: Telehealth giant Hims & Hers confirmed its customer service ticketing system was hacked. A spokesperson said it was a social engineering attack. The hacker stole mostly customer support tickets, including customer names and contact information, but also the contents of customer requests.

https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/02/telehealth-giant-hims-hers-says-its-customer-support-system-was-hacked/

Telehealth giant Hims & Hers says its customer support system was hacked | TechCrunch

The U.S. telehealth giant says hackers stole customer support ticket data over the course of several days in February.

TechCrunch
Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai2d ago
Zack Whittaker2d ago

New, by me: A popular Canadian money transfer app exposed thousands of driver's licenses and passports to the open web. Anyone with a link was able to view the data in their browser.

The data goes back to September 2020, and was updating daily until the server was secured this week.

https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/02/canadian-money-transfer-app-duc-expose-drivers-licenses-passports-amazon-server/

Exclusive: Money transfer app Duc exposed thousands of driver's licenses and passports to the open web

An exposed Amazon-hosted server allowed anyone to access reams of customer data without needing a password.

TechCrunch
Show threadLorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai2d ago
You can read Lyons' full letter, which he sent to three Congresspeople, here: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/27988741-ice-letter-response-to-congress/
ice-letter-response-to-congress

Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai2d ago

NEW: ICE confirms that it's planning to use Paragon's spyware to counter “foreign terrorist organizations’ thriving exploitation of encrypted communication platforms.”

ICE's acting director Todd Lyons said the agency will “comply with constitutional requirements,” without specifying what those are.

It's unclear if the agency’s criminal investigative unit Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) has already used the spyware.

http://techcrunch.com/2026/04/02/ice-says-it-bought-paragons-spyware-to-use-in-drug-trafficking-cases/

ICE says it bought Paragon's spyware to use in drug trafficking cases | TechCrunch

The acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement told lawmakers that the use of Paragon spyware is necessary to counter terrorists’ “thriving exploitation of encrypted communications platforms.”

TechCrunch
Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai3d ago
Zack Whittaker3d ago

Not a joke: Hasbro was hacked. The American toymaking giant said in an SEC filing that it may take weeks for it to recover. Much of the company's website appears down.

https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/01/hasbro-hacked-may-take-several-weeks-to-recover/

Hasbro says it was hacked, and may take 'several weeks' to recover | TechCrunch

The American toy-making giant noted that it was continuing to "implement measures to secure its business operations," suggesting that the hackers may still be in the company's systems.

TechCrunch
Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai3d ago

NEW: WhatsApp alerted around 200 users who were tricked into installing a fake app that was actually government spyware.

The company accused Italian spyware maker SIO of being behind the app, and announced it plans to send the company "a formal legal demand to stop any such malicious activity."

http://techcrunch.com/2026/04/01/whatsapp-notifies-hundreds-of-users-who-installed-a-fake-app-that-was-actually-government-spyware/

WhatsApp notifies hundreds of users who installed a fake app made by government spyware maker | TechCrunch

The Meta-owned company said it identified around 200 users who were tricked into installing a fake version of WhatsApp that was actually Italian-made spyware.

TechCrunch
Show threadLorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai4d ago

UPDATE: Google accused North Korean government hackers of being behind the supply chain attack against Axios.

“North Korean hackers have deep experience with supply chain attacks, which they’ve historically used to steal cryptocurrency. The full breadth of this incident is still unclear, but given the popularity of the compromised package, we expect it will have far reaching impacts,” said Google's John Hultquist.

https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/31/hacker-hijacks-axios-open-source-project-used-by-millions-to-push-malware/

North Korean hackers blamed for hijacking popular Axios open source project to spread malware | TechCrunch

A hacker inserted malware in Axios, an open source web tool downloaded tens of millions of times weekly, in a widespread hack.

TechCrunch