Hacker NewsSunday, February 22

The author verified their LinkedIn identity through Persona, a third-party company, which collected extensive biometric and personal data including passport scans, facial geometry, and behavioral patterns. This data is shared with 17 US-based subprocessors including AI companies like OpenAI and Anthropic, and is subject to US surveillance laws through the CLOUD Act despite being stored in Germany. The author warns that users unknowingly become training data for AI systems and their biometric information could be accessed by US authorities without their knowledge, all for a simple LinkedIn verification badge.

A diving instructor and platform engineer discovered a critical vulnerability in a major diving insurer's portal while on a dive trip. The system used sequential user IDs and a shared default password, exposing personal data including minors' information. Despite following responsible disclosure protocols, the company responded through lawyers, threatened legal action, and demanded he sign a declaration taking liability. The vulnerability was eventually fixed but users may not have been notified of the breach.

The author argues that Dependabot creates excessive noise by generating thousands of false positive security alerts for vulnerabilities that don't actually affect projects. They recommend replacing Dependabot with govulncheck, a more precise vulnerability scanner that filters based on actual code reachability, and using scheduled GitHub Actions to test against latest dependencies without automatically updating them. This approach reduces alert fatigue while maintaining security.

Discussion centers on how archive.today reliably bypasses paywalls, with speculation ranging from paid accounts to Googlebot impersonation. Users debate the technical feasibility of different methods and note the service's effectiveness compared to alternatives.

Civilians across the US are destroying Flock surveillance cameras that conduct warrantless vehicle tracking and share data with ICE, with incidents reported in at least five states. Despite public opposition at city council meetings, municipalities continue contracts with the $7.5 billion company, leading to widespread sabotage campaigns supported by online communities who view the cameras as constitutional violations.

The article describes San Francisco's tech culture through the lens of Cluely, a controversial AI-powered cheating tool startup. The city is portrayed as dystopian, with bizarre B2B advertisements contrasting sharply with homeless people on streets. Cluely's founder Roy Lee represents a new "agentic" overclass that Silicon Valley believes will thrive in an AI-dominated future, while others become obsolete. The company helps people cheat in job interviews and social situations using AI, embodying concerns about a future where humans simply follow machine instructions rather than thinking independently.

At age 12, Les Earnest and his friend created a code based on a cryptography book. When Earnest lost his glasses case containing the code key, the FBI investigated him as a suspected Japanese spy during WWII. The investigation cost thousands of dollars before agents discovered he was just a child. Years later, when applying for security clearance, a security officer advised him to conceal this FBI investigation to avoid clearance problems.

MuMu Player Pro for macOS secretly collects comprehensive system data every 30 minutes, including all network devices, running processes, installed apps, and kernel parameters. This extensive surveillance is tied to your Mac's serial number and sent to Chinese analytics servers, none of which is disclosed in their privacy policy or necessary for Android emulation functionality.

PayPal disclosed a data breach affecting its Working Capital loan application that exposed customers' personal information including Social Security numbers for nearly 6 months in 2025. The software error affected approximately 100 customers, with unauthorized transactions detected on some accounts. PayPal has fixed the issue, reset passwords, and is offering two years of free credit monitoring to affected users.

Nvidia and OpenAI have abandoned their unfinished $100 billion deal and instead opted for a $30 billion investment arrangement. This represents a significant scaling back from their original ambitious partnership plans in the artificial intelligence sector.