Dhruv Mehrotra @dmehro Twitter profile | Pikagi

Pikagi

Dhruv Mehrotra

@dmehro

5,472

Followers

2,771

Following

72

Media

391

Statuses

Investigations with computers @WIRED ; previously @reveal , @gizmodo , @eyebeam . Tips: dhruv_mehrotra @wired .com or Signal: dmehro.89

New York

https://t.co/aYvW5gOB39

Joined December 2009

Don't wanna be here? Send us removal request.

Pinned Tweet

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

1 month

A data broker tracked the devices of visitors to a private island where Jeffrey Epstein allegedly assaulted and trafficked countless women and girls. The data, exposed online, details precise coordinates where hundreds live and work in the US

Tweet card media

Jeffrey Epstein’s Island Visitors Exposed by Data Broker

A WIRED investigation uncovered coordinates collected by a controversial data broker that reveal sensitive information about visitors to an island once owned by Epstein, the notorious sex offender.

39

1K

3K

Last Seen Profiles

@Vse29

@TrumpGolf

@NadiineSardiine

@miaxflur

@qooax

@over_theriver

@MarxInSoho

@CCBisonSoftball

@DrTrefonwys

@tigrao29

@Kirisy_art

@duniasidejob

@JosefineCSGO

@StateHouseUg

@sakaryauni

@DomoDash_

@maggiewittlin

@SamratRegmi5

@ousakicoco_foxy

@Skydeck

@gozde_ekz

@FrankGKlotz

@natsu_no_aoi

@johnwoodward

@pt_token

@TRICNetwork

@YAMANEstMUSIC

@davekarr1111

@mynames_joshua

@lianagoeswild

@GCFleischmann

@PogoQuestApp

@SiemensHomeUK

@MaristFootball

@MDutlinger

@takap0703

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

6 months

NEW: Leaked documents reveal details of a secretive White House funded surveillance program that is giving cops – from ICE to your local police department – access to trillions of US phone records of Americans who are not suspected of crimes.

Tweet card media

Secretive White House Surveillance Program Gives Cops Access to Trillions of US Phone Records

A WIRED analysis of leaked police documents verifies that a secretive government program is allowing federal, state, and local law enforcement to access phone records of Americans who are not...

67

2K

4K

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

1 year

NEW: We obtained an internal ICE database and found that the agency has been demanding data from elementary schools, news organizations, and abortion clinics. Experts say it could be illegal.

Tweet card media

ICE Is Grabbing Data From Schools and Abortion Clinics

An agency database WIRED obtained reveals widespread use of so-called 1509 summonses that experts say raises the specter of potential abuse.

37

2K

4K

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

2 years

THREAD: One individual or group, likely operating overseas, is behind a hundreds of hoax active shooter or bomb threats plaguing schools across the U.S. since the spring. No one knows why this is happening, but we pieced together how.

Tweet card media

Hot on the Trail of a Mass-School-Shooting Hoaxer

For months, an anonymous caller has terrorized communities around the US by reporting false shooting threats. We know how they did it. The question is, why?

19

644

1K

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

2 years

My first for @reveal : Hacked documents show that DC’s Metropolitan Police Department wanted to fire dozens of current officers they believed had committed serious crimes. A secretive panel of high-ranking officers ensured they remained on the force.

Tweet card media

DC Police Tried to Fire 24 Current Officers for ‘Criminal Offenses.’ A Powerful Panel Blocked...

Disciplinary files obtained by Reveal and WAMU/DCist show how a panel of high-ranking officers – including the current police chief – kept troubled officers on the force.

37

604

1K

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

3 years

whoops, dozens of Parler "Influencers" leaked their locations when they uploaded videos.

19

129

783

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

11 months

New: A court used an invasive smart-phone app to surveil the entire family of a man released on bond. The app sent screenshots of everything the family did on their phones back to probation officers. Now he’s back in jail, and the app may be to blame.

Tweet card media

An Anti-Porn App Put Him in Jail and His Family Under Surveillance

A court used an app called Covenant Eyes to surveil the family of a man released on bond. Now he’s back in jail, and tech misuse may be to blame.

19

395

791

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

2 months

NEW: A leaked document obtained by WIRED details the locations of tens of thousands of ShotSpotter microphones embedded in communities around the planet. W/ @joeyneverjoe

Tweet card media

Here Are the Secret Locations of ShotSpotter Gunfire Sensors

The locations of microphones used to detect gunshots have been kept hidden from police and the public. A WIRED analysis of leaked coordinates confirms arguments critics have made against the techno...

31

368

777

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

2 years

NEW: Facebook is collecting sensitive data about visitors of crisis pregnancy center websites - full names, phone numbers, and even whether they schedule abortion consultations. It appears to be a violation of their own policies and promises.

Tweet card media

Facebook and Anti-Abortion Clinics Are Collecting Highly Sensitive Info on Would-Be Patients -...

The social media giant gathers data from crisis pregnancy centers through a tracking tool that works whether or not a person is logged in to their Facebook account.

17

588

760

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

2 years

A church (that swears its not a cult) had congregants install an app that reported everything its users did back to church leaders. My first for WIRED is about this niche ecosystem of "Shameware" apps built to police sinful behavior:

Tweet card media

The Ungodly Surveillance of Anti-Porn ‘Shameware’ Apps

Churches are using invasive phone-monitoring tech to discourage “sinful” behavior. Some software is seeing more than congregants realize.

71

332

761

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

2 years

Hello World! Today is my first day at @WIRED where I’ll continue to use technology to hunt for and tell big stories about law enforcement, privacy, and security. 🧵If you don't know me, here’s a bit about who I am and what I do:

25

60

660

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

1 year

NEW: A Google Drive left public on the American College of Pediatricians' website exposed the anti-trans group's detailed financial records, membership rolls, and more.

Tweet card media

Anti-Trans Doctor Group Leaks 10,000 Confidential Files

A Google Drive left public on the American College of Pediatricians’ website exposed detailed financial records, sensitive member details, and more.

5

297

592

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

1 month

Importantly, a takeaway here is that the machinery developed to serve us targeted ads is allowing companies, contractors, and governments to engage in mass surveillance. Absent laws to stop this from happening, we will see ad tech continue to be used in unintended ways.

8

132

587

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

8 months

Cant stop thinking about this:

Tweet media one

@WIRED

WIRED

8 months

BREAKING: The top financial regulator in the US government has received a call to investigate Elon Musk’s recent claims about the deaths of macaque monkeys used in research by Neuralink to develop an experimental brain chip implant. 🎨 @anjalinair25 / 🔗

Tweet media one

35

296

585

21

158

432

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

3 months

For a year, the FBI has hunted the most prolific swatter in the US. Known online as Torswats, hes called hundreds of false reports of active shootings to schools, courthouses, and mosques. Last week they arrested a suspect. Story here, more to follow:

Tweet card media

Police Arrest Teen Said to Be Linked to Hundreds of Swatting Attacks

A California teenager who allegedly used the handle Torswats to carry out a nationwide swatting campaign is being extradited to Florida to face felony charges, WIRED has learned.

12

159

430

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

1 year

According to the database, ICE sought: - records from a youth soccer league in Texas; - surveillance video from a major abortion provider in Illinois; - student records from an elementary school in Georgia; - data from three boards of elections or election departments;

1

156

404

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

1 year

NEW: Since 2016, ICE has investigated hundreds of its employees for abusing access to controversial databases containing biometric, medical, and location data. Many have been accused of using the data to stalk ex-lovers, harass detainees, and more.

Tweet card media

ICE Records Reveal How Agents Abuse Access to Secret Data

Documents obtained by WIRED detail hundreds of investigations by the US agency into alleged database misuse that includes harassment, stalking, and more.

8

335

391

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

1 month

The company tracked people visiting Epstein's island back to locations in 80 US cities: Mansions in gated communities in Michigan and Florida; homes in Martha’s Vineyard; a nightclub in Miami; across the street from Trump Tower; and on Epstein's other US properties

Tweet media one

3

72

360

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

1 year

In at least two instances, ICE pressured news organizations to reveal information about their sources.

1

76

323

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

1 month

The data is extremely precise. It shows devices inside Epstein’s waterfront "temple" and on his beaches, pools, and cabanas scattered across his 71-acres island.

Tweet media one

5

64

313

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

1 month

Near Intelligence — a controversial company with known ties to the defense industry — tracked the devices on behalf of an unknown client. It amassed more than 10,000 coordinates from Epstein's visitors, likely siphoned from advertising exchanges, and exposed them online

Tweet media one

1

72

301

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

1 year

NEW: Every year a government algorithm decides if thousands of welfare recipients will be investigated for fraud. Teaming up w/ @LHreports , we obtained the algorithm and found that it discriminates based on ethnicity and gender. Heres the story:

Tweet card media

Inside the Suspicion Machine

Obscure government algorithms are making life-changing decisions about millions of people around the world. Here, for the first time, we reveal how one of these systems works.

7

163

293

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

1 month

If you are interested in how this kind of tracking has become ubiquitous, read all of @ByronTau 's reporting. Buy his book - its truly stunning:

Tweet card media

Means of Control by Byron Tau: 9780593443224 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

You are being surveilled right now. This sweeping exposé reveals how the U.S. government allied with data brokers, tech companies, and advertisers to monitor us through the phones we carry...

www.penguinrandomhouse.com

2

50

287

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

3 months

A police department tried to run facial recognition on a face that was algorithmically generated from crime-scene DNA. It wont be the last time this happens It shows how police combine unproven technology in criminal investigations without oversight

Tweet card media

Cops Used DNA to Predict a Suspect’s Face—and Tried to Run Facial Recognition on It

Police around the US say they're justified to run DNA-generated 3D models of faces through facial recognition tools to help crack cold cases. Everyone but the cops thinks that’s a bad idea.

8

169

286

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

2 years

Personal news time: Tomorrow is my last day at @Reveal . Starting next month, I'm joining @WIRED . Stay Tuned!

25

6

275

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

1 year

If you a researcher interested in the data, or someone who received an illegal subpoena send me an email at dhruv_mehrotra @wired .com

2

57

262

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

2 years

NEW: @Gizmodo / @themarkup analyzed millions of crime predictions a predictive policing firm left exposed on its servers. We found the algorithm spared White neighborhoods and relentlessly targeted Black & Latino ones - with devastating consequences for some

Tweet card media

Crime Prediction Software Promised to Be Free of Biases. New Data Shows It Perpetuates Them – The...

Millions of crime predictions left on an unsecured server show PredPol mostly avoided Whiter neighborhoods, targeted Black and Latino neighborhoods

3

160

234

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

2 years

NEW: There is an ongoing and coordinating swatting spree that has (so far) targeted more than 90 US schools. We reviewed police records, spoke to state/local law enforcement and obtained audio from the calls. Listen to some of them in the story

Tweet card media

A Swatting Spree Is Terrorizing Schools Across the US

Sixteen states collectively suffered more than 90 false reports of school shooters during three weeks in September—and many appear to be connected.

8

105

223

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

2 years

Made a bad joke, got sent to the

Tweet media one

2

28

219

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

3 years

Parler users documented their march from the National Mall to the Capitol, where the violent insurrection ensued. We mapped and reviewed the videos.

7

99

191

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

7 months

Scoop: The company formerly known as Predpol is ceasing operations at the end of the year. They have been quietly sold for parts to the company formerly known as ShotSpotter.

Tweet card media

The Maker of ShotSpotter Is Buying the World’s Most Infamous Predictive Policing Tech

SoundThinking is purchasing parts of Geolitica, the company that created PredPol. Experts say the acquisition marks a new era of companies dictating how police operate.

5

107

181

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

11 months

While Covenant Eyes is explicitly meant to censor pornographic content, we found that it also blocks websites like @theappeal . Experts say its use in a courtroom raises a lot of "constitutional red flags"

Tweet media one

2

34

177

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

3 years

Hello, hey, hi. Today is my last at Gizmodo. 🎉 On Monday I start at @Reveal 🎉

34

2

161

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

11 months

In September we wrote about how it has been used by churches to monitor congregants.

Tweet card media

The Ungodly Surveillance of Anti-Porn ‘Shameware’ Apps

Churches are using invasive phone-monitoring tech to discourage “sinful” behavior. Some software is seeing more than congregants realize.

2

42

157

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

2 years

The files provide a rare glimpse into how officers avoid accountability and keep their jobs, even after internal affairs investigators have determined they committed crimes. #MPDLeaks

1

32

148

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

3 years

New: Dozens of Parler videos were filmed at police stations, military facilities, and detention centers

7

70

144

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

2 years

Internal Affairs investigated one officer that punched his wife so hard he fractured a bone around her eye socket. Another officer, allegedly hit two women at a Hooters. When one of them said she was calling the cops, he pulled out his badge and replied, “Bitch, I am the police”

2

51

147

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

11 months

The app, called Covenant Eyes, upended the family’s life. “I’m afraid to even communicate with our lawyer,” his wife says. “If I mention anything about our case, I’m worried they are going to see it and use it against us.”

Tweet media one

1

34

147

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

11 months

We tested the software and found that the app flags network requests not intentionally made by a user. The defendant is now back in jail because Covenant Eyes detected a network request to an explicit website on his wifes device; the family says he never touched her phone.

Tweet media one

1

28

138

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

2 years

Other officers amassed records for domestic violence, DUIs, indecent exposure,, stalking and more. They are all still currently on the force, patrolling the District in possession of MPD-issued firearms and authorized to use deadly force

1

42

133

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

2 years

Earlier this month, we tracked 90+ hoax calls that sent hundreds of thousands of students into lockdown in September. They haven’t stopped. Scores of schools in NJ, FL, CA, SC, SD, WI, and CT been targeted in the past three weeks

Tweet card media

A Swatting Spree Is Terrorizing Schools Across the US

Sixteen states collectively suffered more than 90 false reports of school shooters during three weeks in September—and many appear to be connected.

3

36

133

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

2 years

The FBI believes a single subject—a male “with a heavy accent described as Middle Eastern or African'—is behind many of these hoax calls and is using a VOIP service to call in threats to schools. We traced phone numbers used in the hoax calls to a service called TextNow

2

19

127

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

2 years

We also contact six numbers associated with recent false-reports, which were obtained either through law enforcement officials or public records requests…their responses were interesting.

Tweet media one

Tweet media two

1

19

126

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

3 months

Update: The Seminole County Sheriff's Office has confirmed that the California teenager suspected to be Torswats is now in a Florida jail. He was booked into the John E. Polk Correctional Facility on a no-bond status earlier today.

Tweet media one

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

3 months

For a year, the FBI has hunted the most prolific swatter in the US. Known online as Torswats, hes called hundreds of false reports of active shootings to schools, courthouses, and mosques. Last week they arrested a suspect. Story here, more to follow:

12

159

430

5

45

126

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

2 years

Facebook claims to have tech that prevents its systems from collecting reproductive health data, but we found the company still knows who visits hundreds of these sites and, sometimes, if they book an appointment

Tweet media one

3

52

116

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

1 year

The exposed documents offer an unprecedented look at an organization leading the charge against abortion in the United States. They include Quickbooks files as well as nearly 400 spreadsheets detailing financial, membership, donor, and fundraising information

2

31

120

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

2 years

According to an FBI memo we obtained, TextNow has already provided investigators with subscriber information that indicates that the account had connected to TextNow through the Ethiopian Telecommunications Company, which is owned by the Ethiopian government.

1

19

118

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

11 months

The doesn’t app permit its software to be used in a “premeditated legal setting,” such as monitoring people on probation. But courts in at least five US states have used Covenant Eyes to surveil the devices of people who are awaiting trial or released on parole

1

24

117

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

2 years

Just seeing that @oyousef and @JennaMC_Laugh also just put out an excellent follow up here:

2

32

117

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

2 years

Experts worry that the data could be used as evidence against people in states where abortion is outlawed. Our analysis found that in states that will ban most or all abortions if Roe v. Wade is overturned, at least 120 centers sent data to Facebook about their visitors.

1

50

107

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

2 years

This story was a collaboration with @wamu885 / @DCist

2

33

101

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

8 months

NEW: A medical ethics group has called on the SEC to investigate Elon Musk over his claims about the deaths of monkeys Neuralink did its tests on. Heres the story of a few of those monkeys:

Tweet card media

The Gruesome Story of How Neuralink’s Monkeys Actually Died

Elon Musk says no primates died as a result of Neuralink’s implants. A WIRED investigation now reveals the grisly specifics of their deaths as US authorities have been asked to investigate Musk’s...

0

58

102

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

2 years

Officials are unsure how long it will take to find and catch whoever is behind the calls. The calls have been happening since the spring and havent stopped. Meanwhile local LE and schools are scrambling to figure out how to deal. Read more here:

1

17

91

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

3 months

According to a court filing just published, prosecutors say the suspect is also responsible for swatting FBI agents in Pittsburgh, Oklahoma City, and San Antonio. Additionally the filing cites threats he made to swat 25 Senators and the Supreme Court

Tweet media one

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

3 months

For a year, the FBI has hunted the most prolific swatter in the US. Known online as Torswats, hes called hundreds of false reports of active shootings to schools, courthouses, and mosques. Last week they arrested a suspect. Story here, more to follow:

12

159

430

1

50

94

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

2 years

This story is a collaboration between @reveal and @themarkup . Big ups to @grace_c_oldham , @ByardDuncan , @suryamattu and all the editors who worked on it.

Tweet card media

Facebook and Anti-Abortion Clinics Are Collecting Highly Sensitive Info on Would-Be Patients – The...

The social media giant gathers data from crisis pregnancy centers through a tracking tool that works whether or not a person is logged in to their Facebook account

2

35

88

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

3 years

If you are a researcher looking into #epikfail and don't know where to start, it's kind of helpful to look at the bottom of the .bash_history or .mysql_history files to see what the hackers were interested in.

Tweet media one

@kcimc

Kyle McDonald

3 years

if you followed the parler leak, and are generally interested in decentralized coordination/vigilantism against fascists and white supremacists 👉 a 180GB torrent of user info just leaked, from the hosts of the texas abortion snitch site https://ddosecrets(.)com/wiki/Epik

Tweet media one

2

57

143

3

29

79

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

2 years

If you have any information about this email me at dhruv_mehrotra @wired .com. Or DM for Signal

0

10

74

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

2 years

Send me data. Send me leaks. Tell me about strange things you find on the internet. Is there an S3 bucket I should look at? Does your parole officer, landlord, or boss make you use a suspicious app? What am I wrong about and what am I missing? dhruv_mehrotra @wired .com

4

13

73

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

2 years

TFW a predictive policing company leaves millions of crime predictions sitting around on an unsecured server so you and your buds write about it so hard that you win an award.

@AndrewCouts

Andrew Couts

2 years

So, @Gizmodo and @themarkup just won an Edward R. Murrow award for investigative reporting for this piece: Huge congratulations to @dmehro @suryamattu @ASankin @dellcam @AnnieGilbertson @elarrubia and everyone else who made this story possible!

Tweet media one

9

9

87

7

11

61

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

1 year

True the Vote released a web-app called IV3 that uses data from the USPS to allegedly challenge hundreds of thousands of voter registrations. We got the code and took it apart.

Tweet card media

Inside the ‘Election Integrity’ App Built to Purge US Voter Rolls

True the Vote’s IV3 app is meant to catch election cheaters. But it has a fundamental flaw.

2

27

55

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

2 years

Looking forward to reading the inevitable story about how a Pixel on this form is sharing my social security number with Facebook

@WhiteHouse

The White House

2 years

Student Debt Relief Update: Today, the U.S. Department of Education is previewing the student debt relief application form. Here’s the latest:

914

10K

28K

4

19

55

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

2 years

The data for this story was in an unsecured s3 bucket full of pdfs, geospatial data, and html reports for 70 clients. Not all were U.S.-based. One was using PredPol to predict oil theft in Venezuela’s Boscan oil field. Another was using PredPol to predict protests in Bahrain.

Tweet media one

Tweet media two

1

16

53

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

2 years

Global Tel Link, a prison telecom monopoly that has eavesdropped on billions of minutes of calls from jails & prisons and has illegally recorded attorney-inmate calls, just filed a patent for a social media surveillance system.

Tweet media one

Tweet media two

2

36

53

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

3 years

CBP's new app for asylum seekers, has privacy implications that go beyond facial recognition. It's code suggests it intends to record all sorts of sensitive data: religion, blood type, fingerprints, and an assortment of biometrics

Tweet media one

2

41

50

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

2 years

Finally…for the love of god please do not pitch me your product, I give you my word that I’ll break it trying to figure out how it is spying on me.

1

1

51

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

1 year

Officers have been investigated for: “online solicitation of an intellectually disabled adult”; passing information to drug traffickers; altering databases to assist family members; using detainee data to allegedly commit fraud Read the case summaries in the story:

Tweet media one

2

21

50

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

2 years

I discovered it on LAPD's website after searching for Predpol in a custom Google Search Engine of 5000 law enforcement sites that I made. I was just looking for any info on predictive policing - it felt like I won the lottery

0

9

48

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

1 year

We obtained records from an ICE disciplinary database that show that, in total, ICE employees or contractors have been investigated for misusing agency data or computers at least 414 times since 2016. Experts say this is almost certainly an undercount.

1

10

47

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

2 years

Internal Affairs found that: one cop indecently exposed himself to a woman outside a grocery store. Another responded to a call for service after drinking a pint of vodka. Another punched two women at a Hooters. Seven likely committed domestic assault. All are still on the force.

@reveal

Reveal

2 years

🧵 NEW: D.C. Metropolitan Police Department files show that the department tried to fire 24 officers for criminal misconduct from 2009 to 2019. In all but three of those cases, a powerful tribunal of three high-ranking officers overruled the terminations.

425

4K

5K

1

30

47

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

3 years

Today, with the @EconomicSecProj , we are releasing Big Tech Detective, a browser extension that reveals how much power a few tech monopolies have over our digital lives. Read all about it and try it out here:

Tweet media one

3

23

43

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

3 months

A private investigator working with the worlds biggest Twitch stars was instrumental in helping the FBI identify Torswats. He has been hunting torswats for nearly two years. Story to come

@cafrozed

Cafrozed

3 months

Happy to have been apart of this case 🙏

24

89

428

3

14

42

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

2 years

When Gizmodo/The Markup put out its years-long investigation into Predpol, we published all 7 million crime predictions so reporters/researchers could pick up where we left off. Today @caitlin_reports dug into one of the biggest mysteries in our dataset:

Tweet card media

Can Bahrain predict a protest?

Authoritarian Tech is a weekly newsletter tracking how people in power are abusing technology and what it means for the rest of us. Also in this edition: UK shops use Chinese facial recognition...

www.codastory.com

3

12

43

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

2 years

MPD has now started publishing a schedule for termination hearings. They are open to the public.

Tweet media one

@reveal

Reveal

2 years

🧵 NEW: D.C. Metropolitan Police Department files show that the department tried to fire 24 officers for criminal misconduct from 2009 to 2019. In all but three of those cases, a powerful tribunal of three high-ranking officers overruled the terminations.

425

4K

5K

1

21

40

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

1 year

Some Professional News: @Riteaid shared data about my upcoming booster appointment with Linkedin

Tweet media one

Tweet media two

3

4

39

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

2 years

This kind of work can be pretty technical. Sometimes I’m decompiling code to dig into the mechanics of an app. For example, in 2020 @molly__o and I examined the guts of a faulty parole app whose sloppy code had likely landed people back in prison.

Tweet card media

When Your Freedom Depends On an App

On the day Layla got out of prison and back to her home in Georgia, she was told she would need to purchase a smartphone—not an insignificant task for someone who’d just completed a sentence, but...

1

4

39

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

2 years

At Gizmodo, I found millions of crime predictions, made by a major predictive policing firm. With a team of reporters, we analyzed them and found serious issues with the software and how it was used. We won a Murrow Award for the investigation.

Tweet card media

Crime Prediction Software Promised to Be Free of Biases. New Data Shows It Perpetuates Them – The...

Millions of crime predictions left on an unsecured server show PredPol mostly avoided Whiter neighborhoods, targeted Black and Latino neighborhoods

1

3

39

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

1 year

We are publishing the data here:

Tweet media one

2

9

38

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

3 years

if i get another @ about g*enn greenwald im going to change the hed of the story to say Data Shows That Editors Stormed The Capitol

0

2

35

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

7 months

NEW: A university is fighting to keep secret the images of Neuralink experiments that maimed and ultimately killed at least 12 macaque monkeys. Does the public have the right to see them? Warning: graphic descriptions of animal suffering

Tweet card media

How Neuralink Keeps Dead Monkey Photos Secret

Elon Musk’s brain-chip startup conducted years of tests at UC Davis, a public university. A WIRED investigation reveals how Neuralink and the university keep the grisly images of test subjects hidden.

0

19

37

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

1 year

TLDR; the app ultimately uses an ineffective and unreliable methodology to determine who should remain on the rolls. Experts say that the app weaponizes public data and is more likely to remove eligible voters from the rolls than it is to find fraud.

2

8

35

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

2 years

I work for accountability: When MPD was hacked, I spent months reading thousands of pages from internal investigations to figure out why dozens of officers remained on the force even after the department found they had likely committed serious crimes.

Tweet card media

DC Police Tried to Fire 24 Current Officers for ‘Criminal Offenses.’ A Powerful Panel Blocked...

Disciplinary files obtained by Reveal and WAMU/DCist show how a panel of high-ranking officers – including the current police chief – kept troubled officers on the force.

1

2

34

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

1 year

In nearly half of those incidents, the misconduct triggered investigations by the Office of Professional Relations (OPR), a division responsible for investigating allegations of serious misconduct, both criminal and noncriminal.

1

6

34

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

3 years

If I were you, I'd probably avoid using this janky looking website that claims to "help you browse anonymously".... seeing as it once shared the same google analytics account ID as the FBI.

Tweet media one

Tweet media two

1

4

32

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

2 years

Sometimes I just find shit on the internet - like when @molly_o and I found every wikipedia edit made by the NRA using metadata from their 990; or when @thetomzone and I found that schools are buying hacking-tech.

Tweet card media

U.S. Schools Are Buying Phone-Hacking Tech That the FBI Uses to Investigate Terrorists

A Gizmodo investigation has found that schools in the U.S. are purchasing phone surveillance tools from Cellebrite and companies that offer similar tools just four years after the FBI used it to...

1

9

32

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

2 years

Other times I’m using leaky APIs to learn about surveillance technology. In 2019 @dellcam and I used a flaw in Ring’s Neighbors app to map the spread of Amazon’s surveillance empire.

Tweet card media

Ring’s Hidden Data Let Us Map Amazon's Sprawling Home Surveillance Network

Gizmodo examined more than 20,000 Ring cameras to find a sprawling surveillance net covering the nation.

1

2

33

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

2 years

Example #2144058373 of the kinds of sensitive data that Facebook collects through its pixel: Earnest, a popular student debt refinancer, tells Facebook the exact dollar amount of your debt when you apply for an estimate for refinancing.

Tweet media one

2

7

31

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

11 months

This is some really important reporting from @marxjesse and @JakobMcwhinney for the @voiceofsandiego . Among their findings: ICE demanded that SDSU give up the medical records - including their Covid vaccination status - of two SDSU students.

1

22

31

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

2 years

Along with the story itself we are releasing all of the crime predictions as well as a detailed methodology that explains how exactly we obtained and analyzed the data. Check our work.

Tweet card media

How We Determined Predictive Policing Software Disproportionately Targeted Low-Income, Black, and...

A trove of unsecured data allowed the first-ever independent analysis of actual crime predictions across the U.S. by the self-described software leader, PredPol.

1

17

29

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

2 years

I also like to experiment: In 2019, I built @kashhill a custom VPN that blocked every request her devices made to companies like Amazon, Google and Facebook. She spent five weeks living without the tech giants to see what it was like. TLDR it sucked

Tweet card media

I Cut the 'Big Five' Tech Giants From My Life. It Was Hell

Week 6: Blocking them all

1

1

31

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

1 year

Crucially, we are showing our work. Here's our methodology for taking apart and testing the suspicion machine:

Tweet card media

Suspicion Machine Methodology

A detailed explainer on what we did and how we did it

www.lighthousereports.com

3

5

30

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

3 years

You can also see which domains had preservation requests. Some related to the SolarWinds hack and others related to January 6th investigations

Tweet media one

2

7

28

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

2 years

All of this work is, of course, collaborative. I couldn’t have done any it without people like @suryamattu , @AndrewCouts , @dellcam , @molly__o , @kashhill , Soo Oh, @elarrubia , andrea podob (not on twitter thankfully), and all the people who have lifted me up over the years.

3

1

30

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

1 year

More here:

Tweet card media

ICE Records Reveal How Agents Abuse Access to Secret Data

Documents obtained by WIRED detail hundreds of investigations by the US agency into alleged database misuse that includes harassment, stalking, and more.

1

7

29

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

1 month

@TropicalVertic1 Email me at Dhruv_mehrotra @wired .com would love to talk

1

0

28

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

3 years

🤡🤡

@dkhos

dara khosrowshahi

3 years

1/ Yesterday I read the following headline from the @washingtonpost : “You may be paying more for Uber, but drivers aren’t getting their cut of the fare hike.” This alarmed me so I called my team - I knew this wasn’t true but wanted to be sure.

218

53

370

1

5

29

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

2 years

We won an NABJ award. Really proud of this story and the whole team that worked on it.

Tweet card media

Crime Prediction Software Promised to Be Free of Biases. New Data Shows It Perpetuates Them – The...

Millions of crime predictions left on an unsecured server show PredPol mostly avoided Whiter neighborhoods, targeted Black and Latino neighborhoods

@themarkup

The Markup

2 years

This is a big deal. Thank you, @NABJ , and congratulations to the entire reporting team!

1

5

22

2

7

27

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

2 years

This story is likely the first to examine actual algorithmic crime predictions for law enforcement agencies around the country. It took us 1.5 years to complete and I’m so excited for you to read it.

1

1

27

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

2 months

NEW: For years a secretive company has been registering thousands of companies to people who, sources say, don’t exist.

Tweet card media

Inside the Shadowy Firm Pushing the Limits of Business Privacy

Registered Agents Inc. has for years allowed businesses to register under a cloak of anonymity. A WIRED investigation reveals that its secretive founder has taken the practice to an extreme.

1

10

28

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

11 months

@sirenmonorail Definitely, we get into it a bit in the article, but you are right. Experts say it could be a first amendment violation for the county to stop her from looking at legal pornography, or anything else she wants to look at on n the internet for that matter.

0

1

26

@dmehro

Dhruv Mehrotra

3 years

Among many things, the data also contains information from simultaneous protests occurring in other State Capitols.

Tweet media one

2

8

25