The U.S. government has confirmed it’s using a zero-click spyware — it hacks into cell phones without any user interaction.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has officially confirmed its active deployment of ‘Graphite,’ a highly sophisticated spyware tool capable of hacking mobile devices without any user interaction.

Developed by the Israeli cyber-surveillance firm Paragon Solutions, this ‘zero-click’ technology allows operators to bypass the end-to-end encryption of secure applications like WhatsApp and Signal.

Once silently installed on a device, the spyware extracts encrypted messages, location data, and other private records directly from the phone itself. Despite a previous pause under federal review, ICE’s $2 million contract for the software was quietly reactivated, sparking immense concern among privacy advocates and lawmakers alike.

The disclosure has intensified the national debate over the balance between national security and constitutional rights. While ICE authorities assert that the software is strictly deployed to intercept encrypted communications of fentanyl traffickers and foreign terrorist organizations, civil liberties groups warn of potential overreach. Activists and legal experts caution that without strict federal oversight, zero-click exploits could easily be leveraged to target domestic political dissidents, journalists, and immigrant communities. This ongoing tension highlights a growing, unregulated ecosystem of mercenary surveillance tools operating within the borders of democratic nations.

source: Knight First Amendment Institute. (2026). Knight Institute Urges Congress to Limit ICE’s Use of Spyware Technologies as Agency Confirms Expanded Deployment.

Solar Storm Disruption
Researchers Alarmed as GPS Readings Suddenly Veer Off by 33 Feet, Enough to Crash Self-Driving Cars
Here’s what happened.
https://futurism.com/space/researchers-alarmed-gps-self-driving-cars?fbclid=IwdGRjcAUGPNxjbGNrBQY8ynBkb2YFZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMzUwNjg1NTMxNzI4AAEeMPY5FH-nz5Jnv_fNWXzXGV_id0blOA4tIg1mAmFs0fmU1JvVaBxvOFv3IbM_aem_o1f62G1kuNkJ-lV2FuiKGg

In November of last year, scientists warned of a “severe” solar storm, the strongest in over two decades, colliding with the Earth.

Solar storms are the result of a surge in solar activity, with the Sun unleashing a barrage of charged particles that can trigger spectacular auroras — and wreak havoc with communications satellites and radio signals — when they reach the Earth’s magnetosphere.

Texas officials found Flock let others access their city data without their consent — 1.6 million times

The Pflugerville, Texas, City Council unanimously voted to terminate its $87,500 contract with surveillance firm Flock Safety after audit records exposed rampant, unauthorized data-sharing.

A local resident’s open-records request revealed that 459 outside law enforcement agencies conducted nearly 1.6 million searches of the city’s license plate reader network over a six-month span.

By comparison, local Pflugerville police ran just 5,078 searches, highlighting a massive imbalance in a system residents were previously told had disabled nationwide sharing.

Following the revelations, the city manager ordered staff to immediately turn off the network and physically cover all 28 camera lenses with plastic bags.

While Flock Safety claims the data-sharing occurred via a statewide network, local officials argued the system was operating as an unregulated, nationwide surveillance engine without their explicit consent. Pflugerville’s abrupt cancellation adds to a growing wave of pushback, as dozens of U.S. cities cancel similar contracts amid rising public outcry over police surveillance and privacy risks.

source: Community Impact. (2026). Pflugerville City Council votes to end Flock Safety contract.

https://communityimpact.com/pflugerville-hutto/government/pflugerville-city-council-votes-to-end-flock-safety-contract/?hl=en-US

https://mlq.ai/news/at-least-93-jurisdictions-ended-flock-relationships-in-august-as-surveillance-backlash-accelerates/?hl=en-US#:~:text=On%20August%2025%2C%20the%20City%20Council%20voted,nonpartner%20law%2Denforcement%20agencies%20to%20access%20Pflugerville's%20data.

Key Nuances & Minor Corrections
​Contract Termination vs. Non-Renewal: While often described as terminating a contract, the city’s annual $87,500 lease technically expired on July 31, 2026. The system remained operational on a temporary extension while negotiations were underway, but the council voted unanimously not to renew.
​”Plastic Bags” detail: Local reports confirm staff were ordered to physically cover all 28 camera lenses around town before the vote. While many visual reports show plastic bags or opaque wraps used for this purpose, official press statements specified that staff were instructed to “physically cover” the units to ensure no data was actively captured during the shutdown.

Nationwide Pushback: True. Pflugerville joins a growing list of municipalities (including nearby Austin, San Marcos, and Hays County in Texas) that have ended or opted not to extend contracts with Flock Safety due to data governance and privacy concerns.
https://www.reddit.com/r/InterstellarKinetics/comments/1vz3m44/outrage_the_city_of_pflugerville_texas_terminates/?solution=2a34a07472b6773e2a34a07472b6773e&js_challenge=1&token=7afd7253fec22262ff1c52b1703fe9ecfb99fbfb75191f2e74772c2362869a84&jsc_orig_r=&hl=en-US

For twenty-five years, “data” in security meant logs and events. But logs are a lossy representation of reality.

https://www.securityweek.com/the-future-of-ai-driven-security-depends-on-complete-data/

New training environments will teach AI models to distrust instructions arriving from other agents outside sanctioned channels.

https://www.securityweek.com/openai-agents-coordinated-via-makeshift-message-board-ahead-of-hugging-face-hack/

Nearly 130 tech and cybersecurity companies back a collective call to boost cyber defenses as AI-enabled attacks grow more sophisticated.

https://www.securityweek.com/tech-cybersecurity-giants-unite-behind-openai-led-cyber-defense-pledge/

CISA has added the exploited flaw, CVE-2026-53362, to its KEV catalog, alongside a JFrog vulnerability exploited by OpenAI agents.

https://www.securityweek.com/openai-agents-exploited-linux-kernel-flaw-on-companys-own-systems/

A cyberattack caused disruptions at the toy and game giant earlier this year and the company is now disclosing a data breach.