Every year, countless emails hit our inboxes telling us that our personal information was accessed, shared, or stolen in a data breach. In many cases, there is little we can do. Most of us can assume that at least our phone numbers, emails, addresses, credit card numbers, and social security numbers are all available somewhere on the internet.

But some of these data breaches are more noteworthy than others, because they include novel information about us, are the result of particularly noteworthy security flaws, or are just so massive they’re impossible to ignore. For that reason, we are introducing the Breachies, a series of tongue-in-cheek “awards” for some of the most egregious data breaches of the year.

If these companies practiced a privacy first approach and focused on data minimization, only collecting and storing what they absolutely need to provide the services they promise, many data breaches would be far less harmful to the victims. But instead, companies gobble up as much as they can, store it for as long as possible, and inevitably at some point someone decides to poke in and steal that data.

Once all that personal data is stolen, it can be used against the breach victims for identity theft, ransomware attacks, and to send unwanted spam. The risk of these attacks isn’t just a minor annoyance: research shows it can cause psychological injury, including anxiety, depression, and PTSD. To avoid these attacks, breach victims must spend time and money to freeze and unfreeze their credit reports, to monitor their credit reports, and to obtain identity theft prevention services.

This year we’ve got some real stinkers, ranging from private health information to—you guessed it—credit cards and social security numbers.

The Winners

• The Just Stop Using Tracking Tech Award: Kaiser Permanente
• The Most Impactful Data Breach for ’90s Kids Award: Hot Topic
• The Only Stalkers Allowed Award: mSpy
• The I Didn’t Even Know You Had My Information Award: Evolve Bank
• The We Told You So Award: AU10TIX
• The Why We’re Still Stuck on Unique Passwords Award: Roku
• The Listen, Security Researchers are Trying to Help Award: City of Columbus
• The Have I Been Pwned? Award: Spoutible
• The Reporting’s All Over the Place Award: National Public Data
• The Biggest Health Breach We’ve Ever Seen Award: Change Health
• The There’s No Such Thing As Backdoors for Only “Good Guys” Award: Salt Typhoon
• Breach of the Year (of the Decade?): Snowflake
• Tips to Protect Yourself
• (Dis)Honorable Mentions

The Just Stop Using Tracking Tech Award: Kaiser Permanente

In one of the year's most preventable breaches, the healthcare company Kaiser Permanente exposed 13 million patients’ information via tracking code embedded in its website and app. This tracking code transmitted potentially sensitive medical information to Google, Microsoft, and X (formerly known as Twitter). The exposed information included patients’ names, terms they searched in Kaiser’s Health Encyclopedia, and how they navigated within and interacted with Kaiser’s website or app.

The most troubling aspect of this breach is that medical information was exposed not by a sophisticated hack, but through widely used tracking technologies that Kaiser voluntarily placed on its website. Kaiser has since removed the problematic code, but tracking technologies are rampant across the internet and on other healthcare websites. A 2024 study found tracking technologies sharing information with third parties on 96% of hospital websites. Websites usually use tracking technologies to serve targeted ads. But these same technologies give advertisers, data brokers, and law enforcement easy access to details about your online activity.

While individuals can protect themselves from online tracking by using tools like EFF’s Privacy Badger, we need legislative action to make online privacy the norm for everyone. EFF advocates for a ban on online behavioral advertising to address the primary incentive for companies to use invasive tracking technology. Otherwise, we’ll continue to see companies voluntarily sharing your personal data, then apologizing when thieves inevitably exploit a vulnerability in these tracking systems.

Head back to the table of contents.

The Most Impactful Data Breach for ’90s Kids Award: Hot Topic

If you were in middle or high school any time in the ’90s you probably have strong memories of Hot Topic. Baby goths and young punk rockers alike would go to the mall, get an Orange Julius and greasy slice of Sbarro pizza, then walk over to Hot Topic to pick up edgy t-shirts and overpriced bondage pants (all the while debating who was the biggest poser and which bands were sellouts, of course). Because of the fundamental position Hot Topic occupies in our generation’s personal mythology, this data breach hits extra hard.

In November 2024, Have I Been Pwned reported that Hot Topic and its subsidiary Box Lunch suffered a data breach of nearly 57 million data records. A hacker using the alias “Satanic” claimed responsibility and posted a 730 GB database on a hacker forum with a sale price of $20,000. The compromised data about approximately 54 million customers reportedly includes: names, email addresses, physical addresses, phone numbers, purchase history, birth dates, and partial credit card details. Research by Hudson Rock indicates that the data was compromised using info stealer malware installed on a Hot Topic employee’s work computer. “Satanic” claims that the original infection stems from the Snowflake data breach (another Breachie winner); though that hasn’t been confirmed because Hot Topic has still not notified customers, nor responded to our request for comment.

Though data breaches of this scale are common, it still breaks our little goth hearts, and we’d prefer stores did a better job of securing our data. Worse, Hot Topic still hasn’t publicly acknowledged this breach, despite numerous news reports. Perhaps Hot Topic was the real sellout all along. 

Head back to the table of contents.

The Only Stalkers Allowed Award: mSpy

mSpy, a commercially-available mobile stalkerware app owned by Ukrainian-based company Brainstack, was subject to a data breach earlier this year. More than a decade’s worth of information about the app’s customers was stolen, as well as the real names and email addresses of Brainstack employees.

The defining feature of stalkerware apps is their ability to operate covertly and trick users into believing that they are not being monitored. But in reality, applications like mSpy allow whoever planted the stalkerware to remotely view the contents of the victim’s device in real time. These tools are often used to intimidate, harass, and harm victims, including by stalkers and abusive (ex) partners. Given the highly sensitive data collected by companies like mSpy and the harm to targets when their data gets revealed, this data breach is another example of why stalkerware must be stopped. 

Head back to the table of contents.

The I Didn’t Even Know You Had My Information Award: Evolve Bank

Okay, are we the only ones  who hadn’t heard of Evolve Bank? It was reported in May that Evolve Bank experienced a data breach—though it actually happened all the way back in February. You may be thinking, “why does this breach matter if I’ve never heard of Evolve Bank before?” That’s what we thought too!

But here’s the thing: this attack affected a bunch of companies you have heard of, like Affirm (the buy now, pay later service), Wise (the international money transfer service), and Mercury Bank (a fintech company). So, a ton of services use the bank, and you may have used one of those services. It’s been reported that 7.6 million Americans were affected by the breach, with most of the data stolen being customer information, including social security numbers, account numbers, and date of birth.

The small bright side? No customer funds were accessed during the breach. Evolve states that after the breach they are doing some basic things like resetting user passwords and strengthening their security infrastructure. 

Head back to the table of contents.

The We Told You So Award: AU10TIX

AU10TIX is an “identity verification” company used by the likes of TikTok and X to confirm that users are who they claim to be. AU10TIX and companies like it collect and review sensitive private documents such as driver’s license information before users can register for a site or access some content.

Unfortunately, there is growing political interest in mandating identity or age verification before allowing people to access social media or adult material. EFF and others oppose these plans because they threaten both speech and privacy. As we said in 2023, verification mandates would inevitably lead to more data breaches, potentially exposing government IDs as well as information about the sites that a user visits.

Look no further than the AU10TIX breach to see what we mean. According to a report by 404 Media in May, AU10TIX left login credentials exposed online for more than a year, allowing access to very sensitive user data.

404 Media details how a researcher gained access to the company’s logging platform, “which in turn contained links to data related to specific people who had uploaded their identity documents.” This included “the person’s name, date of birth, nationality, identification number, and the type of document uploaded such as a drivers’ license,” as well as images of those identity documents.

The AU10TIX breach did not seem to lead to exposure beyond what the researcher showed was possible. But AU10TIX and other companies must do a better job at locking down user data. More importantly, politicians must not create new privacy dangers by requiring identity and age verification.

If age verification requirements become law, we’ll be handing a lot of our sensitive information over to companies like AU10TIX. This is the first We Told You So Breachie award, but it likely won’t be the last. 

Head back to the table of contents.

The Why We’re Still Stuck on Unique Passwords Award: Roku

In April, Roku announced not yet another new way to display more ads, but a data breach (its second of the year) where 576,000 accounts were compromised using a “credential stuffing attack.” This is a common, relatively easy sort of automated attack where thieves use previously leaked username and password combinations (from a past data breach of an unrelated company) to get into accounts on a different service. So, if say, your username and password was in the Comcast data breach in 2015, and you used the same username and password on Roku, the attacker might have been able to get into your account. Thankfully, less than 400 Roku accounts saw unauthorized purchases, and no payment information was accessed.

But the ease of this sort of data breach is why it’s important to use unique passwords everywhere. A password manager, including one that might be free on your phone or browser, makes this much easier to do. Likewise, credential stuffing illustrates why it’s important to use two-factor authentication. After the Roku breach, the company turned on two-factor authentication for all accounts. This way, even if someone did get access to your account password, they’d need that second code from another device; in Roku’s case, either your phone number or email address.

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The Listen, Security Researchers are Trying to Help Award: City of Columbus

In August, the security researcher David Ross Jr. (also known as Connor Goodwolf) discovered that a ransomware attack against the City of Columbus, Ohio, was much more serious than city officials initially revealed. After the researcher informed the press and provided proof, the city accused him of violating multiple laws and obtained a gag order against him.

Rather than silencing the researcher, city officials should have celebrated him for helping victims understand the true extent of the breach. EFF and security researchers know the value of this work. And EFF has a team of lawyers who help protect researchers and their work. 

Here is how not to deal with a security researcher: In July, Columbus learned it had suffered a ransomware attack. A group called Rhysida took responsibility. The city did not pay the ransom, and the group posted some of the stolen data online. The mayor announced the stolen data was “encrypted or corrupted,” so most of it was unusable. Later, the researcher, David Ross, helped inform local news outlets that in fact the breach did include usable personal information on residents. He also attempted to contact the city. Days later, the city offered free credit monitoring to all of its residents and confirmed that its original announcement was inaccurate.

Unfortunately, the city also filed a lawsuit, and a judge signed a temporary restraining order preventing the researcher from accessing, downloading, or disseminating the data. Later, the researcher agreed to a more limited injunction. The city eventually confirmed that the data of hundreds of thousands of people was stolen in the ransomware attack, including drivers licenses, social security numbers, employee information, and the identities of juvenile victims, undercover police officers, and confidential informants.

Head back to the table of contents.

The Have I Been Pwned? Award: Spoutible

The Spoutible breach has layers—layers of “no way!” that keep revealing more and more amazing little facts the deeper one digs.

It all started with a leaky API. On a per-user basis, it didn’t just return the sort of information you’d expect from a social media platform, but also the user’s email, IP address, and phone number. No way! Why would you do that?

But hold on, it also includes a bcrypt hash of their password. No way! Why would you do that?!

Ah well, at least they offer two-factor authentication (2FA) to protect against password leakages, except… the API was also returning the secret used to generate the 2FA OTP as well. No way! So, if someone had enabled 2FA it was immediately rendered useless by virtue of this field being visible to everyone.

However, the pièce de resistance comes with the next field in the API: the “em_code.” You know how when you do a password reset you get emailed a secret code that proves you control the address and can change the password? That was the code! No way!

-EFF thanks guest author Troy Hunt for this contribution to the Breachies.

Head back to the table of contents.

The Reporting’s All Over the Place Award: National Public Data

In January 2024, there was almost no chance you’d have heard of a company called National Public Data. But starting in April, then ramping up in June, stories revealed a breach affecting the background checking data broker that included names, phone numbers, addresses, and social security numbers of at least 300 million people. By August, the reported number ballooned to 2.9 billion people. In October, National Public Data filed for bankruptcy, leaving behind nothing but a breach notification on its website.

But what exactly was stolen? The evolving news coverage has raised more questions than it has answered. Too bad National Public Data has failed to tell the public more about the data that the company failed to secure.

One analysis found that some of the dataset was inaccurate, with a number of duplicates; also, while there were 137 million email addresses, they weren’t linked to social security numbers. Another analysis had similar results. As for social security numbers, there were likely somewhere around 272 million in the dataset. The data was so jumbled that it had names matched to the wrong email or address, and included a large chunk of people who were deceased. Oh, and that 2.9 billion number? That was the number of rows of data in the dataset, not the number of individuals. That 2.9 billion people number appeared to originate from a complaint filed in Florida.

Phew, time to check in with Count von Count on this one, then.

How many people were truly affected? It’s difficult to say for certain. The only thing we learned for sure is that starting a data broker company appears to be incredibly easy, as NPD was owned by a retired sheriff’s deputy and a small film studio and didn’t seem to be a large operation. While this data broker got caught with more leaks than the Titanic, hundreds of others are still out there collecting and hoarding information, and failing to watch out for the next iceberg.

Head back to the table of contents.

The Biggest Health Breach We’ve Ever Seen Award: Change Health

In February, a ransomware attack on Change Healthcare exposed the private health information of over 100 million people. The company, which processes 40% of all U.S. health insurance claims, was forced offline for nearly a month. As a result, healthcare practices nationwide struggled to stay operational and patients experienced limits on access to care. Meanwhile, the stolen data poses long-term risks for identity theft and insurance fraud for millions of Americans—it includes patients’ personal identifiers, health diagnoses, medications, insurance details, financial information, and government identity documents.

The misuse of medical records can be harder to detect and correct that regular financial fraud or identity theft. The FTC recommends that people at risk of medical identity theft watch out for suspicious medical bills or debt collection notices.

The hack highlights the need for stronger cybersecurity in the healthcare industry, which is increasingly targeted by cyberattacks. The Change Healthcare hackers were able to access a critical system because it lacked two-factor authentication, a basic form of security.

To make matters worse, Change Healthcare’s recent merger with Optum, which antitrust regulators tried and failed to block, even further centralized vast amounts of sensitive information. Many healthcare providers blamed corporate consolidation for the scale of disruption. As the former president of the American Medical Association put it, “When we have one option, then the hackers have one big target… if they bring that down, they can grind U.S. health care to a halt.” Privacy and competition are related values, and data breach and monopoly are connected problems.

Head back to the table of contents.

The There’s No Such Thing As Backdoors for Only “Good Guys” Award: Salt Typhoon

When companies build backdoors into their services to provide law enforcement access to user data, these backdoors can be exploited by thieves, foreign governments, and other adversaries. There are no methods of access that are magically only accessible to “good guys.” No security breach has demonstrated that more clearly than this year’s attack by Salt Typhoon, a Chinese government-backed hacking group.

Internet service providers generally have special systems to provide law enforcement and intelligence agencies access to user data. They do that to comply with laws like CALEA, which require telecom companies to provide a means for “lawful intercepts”—in other words, wiretaps.

The Salt Typhoon group was able to access the powerful tools that in theory have been reserved for U.S. government agencies. The hackers infiltrated the nation’s biggest telecom networks, including Verizon, AT&T, and others, and were able to target their surveillance based on U.S. law enforcement wiretap requests. Breaches elsewhere in the system let them listen in on calls in real time. People under U.S. surveillance were clearly some of the targets, but the hackers also targeted both 2024 presidential campaigns and officials in the State Department. 

While fewer than 150 people have been identified as targets so far, the number of people who were called or texted by those targets run into the “millions,” according to a Senator who has been briefed on the hack. What’s more, the Salt Typhoon hackers still have not been rooted out of the networks they infiltrated.

The idea that only authorized government agencies would use such backdoor access tools has always been flawed. With sophisticated state-sponsored hacking groups operating across the globe, a data breach like Salt Typhoon was only a matter of time. 

Head back to the table of contents.

The Snowballing Breach of the Year Award: Snowflake

Thieves compromised the corporate customer accounts for U.S. cloud analytics provider Snowflake. The corporate customers included AT&T, Ticketmaster, Santander, Neiman Marcus, and many others: 165 in total.

This led to a massive breach of billions of data records for individuals using these companies. A combination of infostealer malware infections on non-Snowflake machines as well as weak security used to protect the affected accounts allowed the hackers to gain access and extort the customers. At the time of the hack, April-July of this year, Snowflake was not requiring two-factor authentication, an account security measure which could have provided protection against the attacks. A number of arrests were made after security researchers uncovered the identities of several of the threat actors.

But what does Snowflake do? According to their website, Snowflake “is a cloud-based data platform that provides data storage, processing, and analytic solutions.” Essentially, they store and index troves of customer data for companies to look at. And the larger the amount of data stored, the bigger the target for malicious actors to use to put leverage on and extort those companies. The problem is the data is on all of us. In the case of Snowflake customer AT&T, this includes billions of call and text logs of its customers, putting individuals’ sensitive data at risk of exposure. A privacy-first approach would employ techniques such as data minimization and either not collect that data in the first place or shorten the retention period that the data is stored. Otherwise it just sits there waiting for the next breach.

Head back to the table of contents.

Tips to Protect Yourself

Data breaches are such a common occurrence that it’s easy to feel like there’s nothing you can do, nor any point in trying. But privacy isn’t dead. While some information about you is almost certainly out there, that’s no reason for despair. In fact, it’s a good reason to take action.

There are steps you can take right now with all your online accounts to best protect yourself from the the next data breach (and the next, and the next):

• Use unique passwords on all your online accounts. This is made much easier by using a password manager, which can generate and store those passwords for you. When you have a unique password for every website, a data breach of one site won’t cascade to others.
• Use two-factor authentication when a service offers it. Two-factor authentication makes your online accounts more secure by requiring additional proof (“factors”) alongside your password when you log in. While two-factor authentication adds another step to the login process, it’s a great way to help keep out anyone not authorized, even if your password is breached.
• Freeze your credit. Many experts recommend freezing your credit with the major credit bureaus as a way to protect against the sort of identity theft that’s made possible by some data breaches. Freezing your credit prevents someone from opening up a new line of credit in your name without additional information, like a PIN or password, to “unfreeze” the account. This might sound absurd considering they can’t even open bank accounts, but if you have kids, you can freeze their credit too.
• Keep a close eye out for strange medical bills. With the number of health companies breached this year, it’s also a good idea to watch for healthcare fraud. The Federal Trade Commission recommends watching for strange bills, letters from your health insurance company for services you didn’t receive, and letters from debt collectors claiming you owe money. 

Head back to the table of contents.

(Dis)Honorable Mentions

By one report, 2023 saw over 3,000 data breaches. The figure so far this year is looking slightly smaller, with around 2,200 reported through the end of the third quarter. But 2,200 and counting is little comfort.

We did not investigate every one of these 2,000-plus data breaches, but we looked at a lot of them, including the news coverage and the data breach notification letters that many state Attorney General offices host on their websites. We can’t award the coveted Breachie Award to every company that was breached this year. Still, here are some (dis)honorable mentions:

ADT, Advance Auto Parts, AT&T, AT&T (again), Avis, Casio, Cencora, Comcast, Dell, El Salvador, Fidelity, FilterBaby, Fortinet, Framework, Golden Corral, Greylock, Halliburton, HealthEquity, Heritage Foundation, HMG Healthcare, Internet Archive, LA County Department of Mental Health, MediSecure, Mobile Guardian, MoneyGram, muah.ai, Ohio Lottery, Omni Hotels, Oregon Zoo, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, Panda Restaurants, Panera, Patelco Credit Union, Patriot Mobile, pcTattletale, Perry Johnson & Associates, Roll20, Santander, Spytech, Synnovis, TEG, Ticketmaster, Twilio, USPS, Verizon, VF Corp, WebTPA.

What now? Companies need to do a better job of only collecting the information they need to operate, and properly securing what they store. Also, the U.S. needs to pass comprehensive privacy protections. At the very least, we need to be able to sue companies when these sorts of breaches happen (and while we’re at it, it’d be nice if we got more than $5.21 checks in the mail). EFF has long advocated for a strong federal privacy law that includes a private right of action.

You should be able to message your family and friends without fear that law enforcement is reading everything you send. Privacy is a human right, and that’s why we break down the ways you can protect your ability to have a private conversation. 

Learn how governments are able to read certain text messages, and how to ensure your messages are end-to-end encrypted on Digital Rights Bytes, our new site dedicated to helping break down tech issues into byte-sized pieces.  

Whether you’re just starting to think about your privacy online, or you’re already a regular user of encrypted messaging apps, Digital Rights Bytes is here to help answer some of the common questions that may be bothering you about the devices you use. Watch the short video that explains how to keep your communications private online--and share it with family and friends who may have asked similar questions! 

Have you also wondered why it is so expensive to fix your phone, or if you really own the digital media you paid for? We’ve got answers to those and other questions as well! And, if you’ve got additional questions you’d like us to answer in the future, let us know on your social platform of choice using the hashtag #DigitalRightsBytes.  

Get a head-start on your New Year's resolution to stay up-to-date on digital rights news by subscribing to EFF's EFFector newsletter! 

This edition of the newsletter covers our top ten digital security resources for those concerned about the incoming administration, a new bill that could put an end to SLAPP lawsuits, and our recent amicus brief arguing that device searches at the border require a warrant (we've been arguing this for a long time).

You can read the full newsletter here, and even get future editions directly to your inbox when you subscribe! Additionally, we've got an audio edition of EFFector on the Internet Archive, or you can view it by clicking the button below:

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EFFECTOR 36.15 - 10 Resources for Protecting Your Digital Security

Since 1990 EFF has published EFFector to help keep readers on the bleeding edge of their digital rights. We know that the intersection of technology, civil liberties, human rights, and the law can be complicated, so EFFector is a great way to stay on top of things. The newsletter is chock full of links to updates, announcements, blog posts, and other stories to help keep readers—and listeners—up to date on the movement to protect online privacy and free expression. 

Thank you to the supporters around the world who make our work possible! If you're not a member yet, join EFF today to help us fight for a brighter digital future.

Did you know that most printer ink isn’t even expensive to make? Why then is it so expensive to refill the ink on your printer? 

The answer is actually pretty simple: monopolies, weird laws, and companies exploiting their users for profit. If this sounds mildly infuriating and makes you want to learn ways to fight back, then head over to our new site, Digital Rights Bytes! We’ve even created a short video to explain what the heck is going on here.  

We’re answering the common tech questions that may be bugging you. Whether you’re hoping to learn something new or want to share resources with your family and friends, Digital Rights Bytes can be your one-stop-shop to learn more about the technology you use every day.  

Digital Rights Bytes also has answers to other common questions about device repair, ownership of your digital media, and more. If you’ve got additional questions you’d like us to tackle in the future, let us know on your favorite social platform using the hashtag #DigitalRightsBytes! 

Sure, buying your favorite video game, movie, or album online is super convenient. I personally love being able to pre-order a game and play it the night of release, without needing to go to a store. 

But something you may not have thought about before making your purchase are the differences between owning a physical or digital copy of that media. Unfortunately, there’s quite a few rights you give up by purchasing a digital copy of your favorite game, movie, or album! On our new site, Digital Rights Bytes, we outline the differences between owning physical and digital media, and why we need to break down that barrier. 

Digital Rights Bytes explains this and answers other common questions about technology that may be getting on your nerves and includes short videos featuring adorable animals. You can also read up on what EFF is doing to ensure you actually own the digital media you pay for, and how you can take action, too. 

Got other questions you’d like us to answer in the future? Let us know on your favorite social platform using the hashtag #DigitalRightsBytes. 

The Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) pledge period is underway and runs through January 15, 2024! If you're a U.S. federal employee or retiree, be sure to show your support for EFF by using our CFC ID 10437.

Not sure how to make a pledge? No problem--it’s easy! First, head over to GiveCFC.org and click “DONATE.” Then you can search for EFF using our CFC ID 10437 and make a pledge via payroll deduction, credit/debit, or an e-check. If you have a renewing pledge, you can also increase your support there as well!

The CFC is the world’s largest and most successful annual charity campaign for U.S. federal employees and retirees. Last year, members of the CFC community raised nearly $34,000 to support EFF’s work advocating for privacy and free expression online. That support has helped us:

• Push the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to find that geofence warrants are “categorically” unconstitutional.
• Launch Digital Rights Bytes, a resource dedicated to teaching people how to take control of the technology they use every day.
• Call out unconstitutional age-verification and censorship laws across the U.S.
• Continue to develop and maintain our privacy-enhancing tools, like Certbot and Privacy Badger.

Federal employees and retirees greatly impact our democracy and the future of civil liberties and human rights online. Support EFF’s work by using our CFC ID 10437 when you make a pledge today!

Now, of course, we’ve all dropped a cell phone, picked it up, and realized that we’ve absolutely destroyed its screen. Right? Or is it just me...? Either way, you’ve probably seen how expensive it can be to repair a device, whether it be a cell phone, laptop, or even a washing machine.  

Device repair doesn’t need to be expensive, but companies have made repair a way to siphon more money from your pocket to theirs. It doesn’t need to be this way, and with our new site—Digital Rights Bytes—we lay out how we got here and what we can do to fix this issue. 

Check out our short one-minute video explaining why device repair has become so expensive and what you can do to defend your right to repair. If you’re hungry to learn more, we’ve broken up some key takeaways into small byte-sized pieces you can even share with your family and friends.  

Digital Rights Bytes also has answers to other common questions including if your phone is actually listening to you, ownership of your digital media, and more. Got any additional questions you’d like us to answer in the future? Let us know on your favorite social platform using the hashtag #DigitalRightsBytes so we can find it!

Don't be scared of your backlog of digital rights news, instead, check out EFF's EFFector newsletter! It's the one-stop-shop to keeping up with the latest in the fight for online freedoms. This time we cover our expectations and preparations for the next U.S. presidential administration, surveillance towers at the U.S.-Mexico border, and EFF's new report on the use of AI in Latin America.

It can feel overwhelming to stay up to date, but we've got you covered with our EFFector newsletter! You can read the full issue here, or subscribe to get the next one in your inbox automatically! You can also listen to the audio version of the newsletter on the Internet Archive or by clicking the button below:

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EFFECTOR 36.14 - EFF IS READY FOR WHAT'S NEXT

Since 1990 EFF has published EFFector to help keep readers on the bleeding edge of their digital rights. We know that the intersection of technology, civil liberties, human rights, and the law can be complicated, so EFFector is a great way to stay on top of things. The newsletter is chock full of links to updates, announcements, blog posts, and other stories to help keep readers—and listeners—up to date on the movement to protect online privacy and free expression. 

Thank you to the supporters around the world who make our work possible! If you're not a member yet, join EFF today to help us fight for a brighter digital future.

The short answer is no, probably not! But, with EFF’s new site, Digital Rights Bytes, we go in-depth on this question—and many others.

Whether you’re just starting to question some of the effects of technology in your life or you’re the designated tech wizard of your family looking for resources to share, Digital Rights Bytes is here to help answer some common questions that may be bugging you about the devices you use.  

We often hear the question, “Is my phone listening to me?” Generally, the answer is no, but the reason you may think that your phone is listening to you is actually quite complicated. Data brokers and advertisers have some sneaky tactics at their disposal to serve you ads that feel creepy in the moment and may make you think that your device is secretly taking notes on everything you say. 

Watch the short video—featuring a cute little penguin discovering how advertisers collect and track their personal data—and share it with your family and friends who have asked similar questions! Curious to learn more? We also have information about how to mitigate this tracking and what EFF is doing to stop these data brokers from collecting your information. 

Digital Rights Bytes also has answers to other common questions about device repair, ownership of your digital media, and more. Got any additional questions you’d like us to answer in the future? Let us know on your favorite social platform using the hashtag #DigitalRightsBytes so we can find it!

Need help staying up-to-date on the latest in the digital rights movement? You're in luck! In our latest newsletter, we outline the privacy protections needed for digital IDs, explain our call for the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down an unconstitutional age verification law, and call out the harms of AI monitoring software deployed in schools.

It can feel overwhelming to stay up to date, but we've got you covered with our EFFector newsletter! You can read the full issue here, or subscribe to get the next one in your inbox automatically! You can also listen to the audio version of the newsletter on the Internet Archive, or by clicking the button below:

LISTEN ON YouTube

EFFECTOR 36.13 - Digital ID Isn't for Everybody, and That's Okay

Since 1990 EFF has published EFFector to help keep readers on the bleeding edge of their digital rights. We know that the intersection of technology, civil liberties, human rights, and the law can be complicated, so EFFector is a great way to stay on top of things. The newsletter is chock full of links to updates, announcements, blog posts, and other stories to help keep readers—and listeners—up to date on the movement to protect online privacy and free expression. 

Thank you to the supporters around the world who make our work possible! If you're not a member yet, join EFF today to help us fight for a brighter digital future.

Like clockwork, September is here—and so is the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) pledge period!  

The CFC is the world’s largest and most successful annual charity campaign for U.S. federal employees and retirees. You can now make a pledge to support EFF’s lawyers, technologists, and activists in the fight for privacy and free speech online. Last year members of the CFC community raised nearly $34,000 to support digital civil liberties. 

Giving to EFF through the CFC is easy! Just head over to GiveCFC.org and use our ID 10437. Once there, click DONATE to give via payroll deduction, credit/debit, or an e-check. If you have a renewing pledge, you can increase your support as well! Scan the QR code below to easily make a pledge or go to GiveCFC.org! 

This year's campaign theme—GIVE HAPPY—shows that when U.S. federal employees and retirees give together, they make a meaningful difference to a countless number of individuals throughout the world. They ensure that organizations like EFF can continue working towards our goals even during challenging times. 

With support from those who pledged through the CFC last year, EFF has:

• Provided pro bono legal representation so an independent news outlet could resist an unlawful search warrant and gag order.
• Demonstrated how to spot election misinformation and protect your data from political advertisers. 
• Continued to make great strides in passing protections for the right to repair your devices in various states.
• Helped push the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to decide that geofence warrants are “categorically” unconstitutional.

Federal employees and retirees have a tremendous impact on the shape of our democracy and the future of civil liberties and human rights online. Support EFF’s work by using our CFC ID 10437 when you make a pledge today!

School is back in session, so prepare for your first lesson from EFF! Today you'll learn about the latest court ruling on the dangers of geofence warrants, our letter urging Bumble to require opt-in consent to sell user data, and the continued fight against the UN Cybercrime Treaty.

If you'd like future lessons about the fight for digital freedoms, you're in luck! We've got you covered with our EFFector newsletter. You can read the full issue here, or subscribe to get the next one in your inbox automatically. You can also listen to the audio version of the newsletter on the Internet Archive, or by clicking the button below:

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EFFECTOR 36.11 - Geofence Warrants Are 'Categorically' Unconstitutional

Since 1990 EFF has published EFFector to help keep readers on the bleeding edge of their digital rights. We know that the intersection of technology, civil liberties, human rights, and the law can be complicated, so EFFector is a great way to stay on top of things. The newsletter is chock full of links to updates, announcements, blog posts, and other stories to help keep readers—and listeners—up to date on the movement to protect online privacy and free expression. 

Thank you to the supporters around the world who make our work possible! If you're not a member yet, join EFF today to help us fight for a brighter digital future.

EFF is chugging along, continuing to push for your rights online! We're sending out a last call for supporters to tell Congress to vote NO on the Kids Online Safety Act, exposing the flaws of the UN Cybercrime Treaty, and continuing to update Privacy Badger to protect your privacy online.

It can feel overwhelming to stay up to date, but we've got you covered with our EFFector newsletter! You can read the full issue here, or subscribe to get the next one in your inbox automatically! You can also listen to the audio version of the newsletter on the Internet Archive, or by clicking the button below:

LISTEN ON YouTube

EFFECTOR 36.10 - Our Last Chance to Stop KOSA

Since 1990 EFF has published EFFector to help keep readers on the bleeding edge of their digital rights. We know that the intersection of technology, civil liberties, human rights, and the law can be complicated, so EFFector is a great way to stay on top of things. The newsletter is chock full of links to updates, announcements, blog posts, and other stories to help keep readers—and listeners—up to date on the movement to protect online privacy and free expression. 

Thank you to the supporters around the world who make our work possible! If you're not a member yet, join EFF today to help us fight for a brighter digital future.

Instead of relaxing for the summer, EFF is in first gear defending your rights online! Catch up on what we're doing with the latest issue of our EFFector newsletter. This time we're sharing updates regarding California law enforcement illegally sharing drivers' location data out-of-state, the heavy burden Congress has to meet to justify a TikTok ban, and the latest Supreme Court ruling regarding platforms first amendment right to dictate what speech they host on their platforms.

It can feel overwhelming to stay up to date, but we've got you covered with our EFFector newsletter! You can read the full issue here, or subscribe to get the next one in your inbox automatically! You can also listen to the audio version of the newsletter on the Internet Archive, or by clicking the button below:

LISTEN ON YouTube

EFFECTOR 36.9 - Decoding The Courts' Digital Decisions

Since 1990 EFF has published EFFector to help keep readers on the bleeding edge of their digital rights. We know that the intersection of technology, civil liberties, human rights, and the law can be complicated, so EFFector is a great way to stay on top of things. The newsletter is chock full of links to updates, announcements, blog posts, and other stories to help keep readers—and listeners—up to date on the movement to protect online privacy and free expression. 

Thank you to the supporters around the world who make our work possible! If you're not a member yet, join EFF today to help us fight for a brighter digital future.

Thanks to support from local advocates across the country, we’ve been able to have a few strong years for the right to repair. Both California and Minnesota’s right to repair laws go into effect today, and we've even made some headway convincing large companies, like Apple, to come out in support of the right to repair.

That’s why EFF is celebrating the right to repair movement on “Repair Independence Day.” And we’re keeping up the momentum with our newest member t-shirt, “Fix Copyright”:

Celebrate creativity as a whole family!

With this shirt design, we have our eyes set on pushing back against companies who threaten individuals' rights to repair the devices and equipment they own—specifically referencing the ongoing battle farmers are facing against John Deere to repair their tractors.

If you can’t fix it, you don’t own it. That’s why we’re working with local and national advocacy groups to get strong right to repair legislation passed across the country, and challenging copyright law to make ownership better for everyone.

Support our work and even grab a Fix Copyright t-shirt for yourself! This time, we even have a variety of kids sizes, so the whole family can celebrate creativity together.

This post was authored by the mysterious Raul Duke.

The weather was unusually cool for a summer night. Just the right amount of bitterness in the air for attorneys from all walks of life to gather in San Francisco’s Mission District for EFF’s 16th annual Cyberlaw Trivia Night.

Inside Public Works, attorneys filled their plates with chicken and waffles, grabbed a fresh tech-inspired cocktail, and found their tables—ready to compete against their colleagues in obscure tech law trivia. The evening started promptly six minutes late, 7:06 PM PT, with Aaron Jue, EFF's Director of Member Engagement, introducing this year’s trivia tournament.

A lone Quizmaster, Kurt Opsahl, took the stage, noting that his walk-in was missing a key component, until The Blues Brothers started playing, filling the quizmaster with the valor to thank EFF’s intern fund supporters Fenwick and Morrison Forrester. The judges begrudgingly took the stage as the quizmaster reminded them that they have jobs at this event.

One of the judges, EFF’s Civil Liberties Director David Greene, gave some fiduciary advice to the several former EFF interns that were in the crowd. It was anyone’s guess as to whether they had gleaned any inside knowledge about the trivia.

I asked around as to what the attorneys had to gain by participating in this trivia night. I learned that not only were bragging rights on the table, but additionally teams had a chance to win champion steins.

The prizes: EFF steins!

With formalities out of the way, the first round of trivia - “General” - started with a possibly rousing question about the right to repair. Round one ended with the eighth question, which included a major typo calling the “Fourth Amendment is Not for Sale Act” the “First Amendment...” The proofreaders responsible for this mistake have been dealt with.

I was particularly struck by the names of each team: “Run DMCA,” “Ineffective Altruists,” “Subpoena Colada,” “JDs not LLM,” “The little VLOP that could,” and “As a language model, I can't answer that question.” Who knew attorneys could create such creative names?

I asked one of the lawyers if he could give me legal advice on a personal matter (I won’t get into the details here, but it concerns both maritime law and equine law). The lawyer gazed at me with the same look one gives a child who has just proudly thew their food all over the floor. I decided to drop the matter.

Back to the event. It was a close game until the sixth and final round, though we wouldn’t hear the final winners until after the tiebreaker questions.

After several minutes, the tiebreaker was announced. The prompt: which team could get the closest to Pi without going over. This sent your intrepid reporter into an existential crisis. Could one really get to the end of pi? I’m told you could get to Pluto with just the first four and didn’t see any reason in going further than that. During my descent into madness, it was revealed that team “JDs not LLMs” knew 22 digits of pi.

After that shocking revelation, the final results were read, with the winning trivia masterminds being:

1st Place: JDs not LLMs

2nd Place: The Little VLOP That Could

3rd Place: As A Language Model, I Can't Answer That Question

EFF Membership Advocate Christian Romero taking over for Raul Duke.

EFF hosts Cyberlaw Trivia Night to gather those in the legal community who help protect online freedom for tech users. Among the many firms that dedicate their time, talent, and resources to the cause, we would especially like to thank Fenwick and Morrison Foerster for supporting EFF’s Intern Fund!

If you are an attorney working to defend civil liberties in the digital world, consider joining EFF's Cooperating Attorneys list. This network helps EFF connect people to legal assistance when we are unable to assist.

Are you interested in attending or sponsoring an upcoming EFF Trivia Night? Please reach out to tierney@eff.org for more information.

Be sure to check EFF’s events page and mark your calendar for next year’s 17th annual Cyberlaw Trivia Night

Join EFF on a road trip through the information superhighway! As you choose the perfect playlist for the trip we'll share our findings about the latest generation of cell-site simulators; share security tips for protestors at college campuses; and rant about the surveillance abuses that could come from the latest UN Cybercrime Convention draft.

As we reach the end of our road trip, know that you can stay up-to-date on these issues with our EFFector newslettter! You can read the full issue here, or subscribe to get the next one in your inbox automatically! You can also listen to the audio version of the newsletter on the Internet Archive, or by clicking the button below:

LISTEN ON YouTube

EFFECTOR 36.8 - Opposing A Global Surveillance Disaster

Since 1990 EFF has published EFFector to help keep readers on the bleeding edge of their digital rights. We know that the intersection of technology, civil liberties, human rights, and the law can be complicated, so EFFector is a great way to stay on top of things. The newsletter is chock full of links to updates, announcements, blog posts, and other stories to help keep readers—and listeners—up to date on the movement to protect online privacy and free expression. 

Thank you to the supporters around the world who make our work possible! If you're not a member yet, join EFF today to help us fight for a brighter digital future.

It’s the weekend. You decide you want to do something fun with your family—maybe go to a local festival or park. So, you start searching on your favorite social media app to see what other people are doing. Soon after, you get ads on other platforms about the activities you were just looking at. What the heck?

That’s the reality we’re in today. As EFF’s Associate Director of Legislative Activism Hayley Tsukayama puts it, “That puts people in a really difficult position, when we’re supposed to manage our own privacy, but we’re also supposed to use all these things that are products that will make our lives better.”

Watch EFF’s Cory Doctorow, Eva Galperin, Hayley Tsukayama, and others in the digital rights community explain how your data gets scooped up by data brokers—and common practices to protect your privacy online—in Secrets in Your Data on NOVΛ. You can watch the premier or read the transcript here below:

Watch Secrets in Your Data on PBS.org

EFF continues pushing for a comprehensive data privacy law that would reign in data brokers' ability to collect our information and share it to the highest bidders, including law enforcement. Additionally, you can use these resources to help keep you safe online

• Install Privacy Badger, our cookie destroying browser plug-in.
• Check out our Surveillance Self-Defense guides to learn about protecting yourself from surveillance.
• Keep yourself up to date on the latest news by subscribing to our EFFector newsletter.