The biggest news in America this week struck like two timed missiles minutes apart on Tuesday afternoon. Though they appear at first blush unrelated to Russia’s hacking of the 2016 US election, they are likely to explode right in the heart of Robert Mueller’s investigation. First. Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to two felonies–implicating the president in both crimes in court–and then Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort[1] was found guilty of eight criminal charges. Robert Mueller expert Garrett Graff[2] explains what this means for the Russia investigation, and spells out the six biggest questions[3] now facing the administration, Congress, and the American people.
WIRED’s latest cover story[4] details the most devastating cyberattack in history. Andy Greenberg spent the better part of a year getting the full story of the NotPetya code, which took down the world’s cyber infrastructure in 2017. Greenberg reveals previously untold details about the devastation NotPetya caused, particularly at shipping giant Maersk, in breathtaking detail.
Of course there was more news in the security world. The Democratic National Committee thought a phishing test[5] was a real attack. Researchers discovered the ultrasonic sound[6] monitors make can reveal what’s on your screen. We explained how to protect yourself[7] from a SIM swap attack. Facebook and Twitter thwarted suspicious activity[8] coming from Iran, and Microsoft seized six domains[9] owned by Russian hacking group Fancy Bear—both of which were attempting to influence the midterm elections. With tech companies seemingly on the front lines of defending democracy from foreign aggressors, we wonder[10], why isn’t the government doing more? Should it really be up to Silicon Valley to defend