Dispatches from the Empire


U.S. officials urge Americans to use encrypted apps amid cyberattack

Amid an unprecedented cyberattack on telecommunications companies such as AT&T and Verizon, U.S. officials have recommended that Americans use encrypted messaging apps to ensure their communications stay hidden from foreign hackers.

The hacking campaign, nicknamed Salt Typhoon by Microsoft, is one of the largest intelligence compromises in U.S. history, and it has not yet been fully remediated. Officials on a news call Tuesday refused to set a timetable for declaring the country’s telecommunications systems free of interlopers. Officials had told NBC News that China hacked AT&T, Verizon and Lumen Technologies to spy on customers.

iMessage and FaceTime Audio, always. If you need to communicate with an Android user, Signal.

John Gruber on this developing story.

China detains man for using ChatGPT for spreading fake news in first known case

Gansu police accused Hong of committing a “major crime” saying that the suspect admitted to prompting ChatGPT to generate a made-up story based on trending social media posts in China over the last few years.