Microsoft Gave FBI Your Encryption Keys
Techlore Surveillance Report: Weekly News for Your Digital Freedom
This week's Surveillance Report covers Microsoft handing BitLocker encryption keys to the FBI, meaning your "encrypted" Windows data isn't as secure as you thought. This two-week Surveillance Report covers age verification laws spreading across three continents, 840,000 malicious browser extension installs, WhatsApp's encryption challenged in court, a trusted Android launcher turned spyware, and how social media platforms engineer addiction by design. Plus major breaches, and essential security updates you need to know about.
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Episode Timestamps
00:00 SURVEILLANCE REPORT INTRO
00:53 HIGHLIGHT STORY: BITLOCKER ENCRYPTION
09:36 MORE GLOBAL AGE VERIFICATION
14:24 DANGEROUS BROWSER EXTENSIONS
19:44 WHATSAPP ACCUSED OF NO ENCRYPTION
26:20 PROMO SEGMENT!
28:10 NOVA LAUNCHER SELLS OUT
31:50 SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS CAUGHT BEING ADDICTIVE
37:38 THE DEFENSE BULLETIN
Episode Sources
Highlight: Microsoft Handed BitLocker Encryption Keys to FBI
- https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/23/microsoft-gave-fbi-a-set-of-bitlocker-encryption-keys-to-unlock-suspects-laptops-reports/
- https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/01/how-to-encrypt-your-pcs-disk-without-giving-the-keys-to-microsoft/
- https://techlore.tech/microsoft-hands-your-encryption-keys-to-the-fbi/
- https://veracrypt.jp/en/Home.html
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C25VWAGl7Tw
Age Verification Tsunami Hits Three Continents
- https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgm4xpyxp7lo
- https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/world/australia/social-media-ban-australia.html
- https://reclaimthenet.org/florida-app-store-accountability-act-privacy-first-amendment
- https://www.miamitech.club/oppose-sb-482/
- https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/society-equity/frances-national-assembly-debates-banning-under-15s-social-media-2026-01-26/
- https://youtu.be/m__kJCz2oS0
Malicious Browser Extensions Installed 840,000 Times
- https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/malicious-ghostposter-browser-extensions-found-with-840-000-installs/
- https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/credential-stealing-chrome-extensions-target-enterprise-hr-platforms/
- https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/new-malware-service-guarantees-phishing-extensions-on-chrome-web-store/
WhatsApp's End-to-End Encryption Challenged in Lawsuit
- https://www.pcmag.com/news/lawsuit-alleges-that-whatsapp-has-no-end-to-end-encryption
- https://blog.whatsapp.com/whatsapps-latest-privacy-protection-strict-account-settings
Popular Android Launcher Sold, Now Spies on 9 Million Users
- https://www.theverge.com/news/864585/nova-launcher-instabridge-acquisition-owner-ads
- https://youtu.be/yj5QL1-jJLg
Social Media Addiction by Design
- https://edri.org/our-work/new-research-reveals-how-snapchat-uses-notifications-to-manipulate-users/
- https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/01/tiktok-settles-hours-before-landmark-social-media-addiction-trial-starts/
The Defense Bulletin
- https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/have-i-been-pwned-soundcloud-data-breach-impacts-298-million-accounts/
- https://www.404media.co/match-group-hacked-tinder-okcupid-hinge/
- https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/escan-confirms-update-server-breached-to-push-malicious-update/
- https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/22/under-armour-says-its-aware-of-data-breach-claims-after-72m-customer-records-were-posted-online/
- https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/nike-investigates-data-breach-after-extortion-gang-leaks-files/
- https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/20/ustrive-security-lapse-exposed-personal-data-of-its-users-including-children/
- https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/acf-plugin-bug-gives-hackers-admin-on-50-000-wordpress-sites/
- https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/new-android-malware-uses-ai-to-click-on-hidden-browser-ads/
- https://www.wired.com/story/security-news-this-week-us-hackers-reportedly-caused-a-blackout-in-venezuela/
- https://yro.slashdot.org/story/26/01/23/236200/tiktok-is-now-collecting-even-more-data-about-its-users
- https://blog.popey.com/2026/01/malware-purveyors-taking-over-published-snap-email-domains/
- https://itsfoss.com/news/check-snap-packages-vulnerabilities/
- https://blog.cakewallet.com/cake-adds-support-for-arbitrum-jupiter-dex-blink-api-plus-birdpay-aliases-for-zcash/
- https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/customize-keyboard-shortcuts-firefox
- https://itsfoss.com/news/nexphone-returns/
- https://alternativeto.net/news/2026/1/jan-v3-model-debuts-with-updates-to-jan-desktop-v0-7-6/
- https://blog.notesnook.com/notesnook-v3.3.8
- https://alternativeto.net/news/2026/1/f-droid-basic-2-0-alpha-debuts-with-rewritten-ui-better-search-and-improved-app-discovery/
- https://alternativeto.net/news/2026/1/immich-2-5-adds-space-saving-option-non-destructive-image-editing-ui-upgrades-and-more/
- https://alternativeto.net/news/2026/1/1password-introduces-a-new-phishing-prevention-tool-to-flag-unlinked-websites/
- https://www.mullvad.net/en/blog/2026/1/21/new-security-audit-of-account-and-payment-services/
- https://signal.org/blog/pinned-messages/
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