Technology
The Trump campaign hacking scandal and leak resembles a repeat of 2016. This time, the media is reacting differently

This weekend Politico dropped an information bomb:An individual using only the name “Robert” provided the editorial staff with documents allegedly stolen from Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.
Since then now we have learned that New York Times AND The Washington Post I also heard from the same person and received several stolen documents. The document dump has the characteristics of a hack and leak operation, which usually involves malicious hackers stealing confidential information and strategically revealing it to harm the goal of the hack. The FBI said it was investigating the hack. Trump himself he accused Iran’s government about the breach. Longtime Trump confidante Roger Stone said his email account was breached, which likely began the whole operation, based on anonymous people who spoke to The Washington Post.
If this all sounds familiar, it’s because a nearly similar hack-and-leak operation before the US election happened before and will inevitably occur again. It’s value going back in time to the previous hack-and-leak operation to spotlight what we learned then and how those lessons apply now.
In the summer of 2016, a hacker who introduced himself as Guccifer 2.0 and described himself as a Romanian “hacker, manager, philosopher (and) woman lover” claimed to be behind the Democratic National Committee break-in. This got here as a surprise, as cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike he accused Russian intelligence agency behind the hack. In an ironic twist, Roger Stone, meanwhile, publicly disclosed was involved with Guccifer 2.0 and joined the hacker’s claims that he was attacking Democrats.
But because it turned out, after I began asking Guccifer 2.0 some specific questions in 2016, their mask quickly began to fallTwo years later, the FBI confirmed that Guccifer 2.0 was not the only Romanian hacker, but a person controlled by two agents working for the Russian military intelligence unit, the Main Intelligence Directorate or GRU. While I I pat myself on the backI also wish to be clear that in some ways it was easier for me to deal with Guccifer 2.0, his identity, and his motivations, than on the leaked documents, just because I used to be (and still am) a reporter covering cybersecurity moderately than politics.
At this point, and on this latest case, it’s unclear who “Robert” really is. However, early signs point to a repeat of the Guccifer 2.0 situation.
The day before the Politico report on the attack on Trump was published, Microsoft it was revealed that a hacking group supported by the Iranian government “sent a spear-phishing email in June to a high-ranking presidential campaign official from the compromised email account of a former senior adviser.” Microsoft didn’t say what the campaign was or name the “former senior adviser” who was targeted, but sources later said, The Washington Post AND Political that the FBI has been investigating the hacking of the Trump campaign since June.
IN latest report on wednesdayGoogle’s Threat Analysis Group, which studies hackers and government-backed threats, agreed with most of Microsoft’s assessment. Google said it had evidence that Iran-backed hackers were behind attacks on the personal email accounts of about a dozen people related to President Biden and former President Trump back in May.
To summarize: It appears that Iranian government hackers could have hacked Stone, used his email address to then goal and infiltrate the Trump campaign, stolen certain documents (to this point, we only learn about files related to the vetting process for Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance), and finally used someone named Robert to contact reporters in the hopes that they’d look into the leaked documents.
Contact us
Do you may have more details about the Trump campaign hack? Or other politically motivated hacks? From a non-work device, you’ll be able to safely contact Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai on Signal at +1 917 257 1382 or on Telegram and Keybase @lorenzofb or email. You can even contact TechCrunch via SecureDrop.
The difference from what happened in 2016 is how the media is presenting the whole story.
During this time, countless media outlets acquired Guccifer 2.0’s documents, and later also the stolen ones. from Hillary Clinton’s then campaign manager, John Podesta — and published stories that essentially reinforced the message the Russian government wanted the American public to deal with, namely allegations of corruption and abuse. Kathleen Hall Jamieson, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania who wrote a 2016 book about the hacking campaigns, he told the Associated Press this week it was found that the media had distorted some of the leaks in 2016 in a way that hurt Clinton greater than it must have.
This time, initial coverage of the Trump campaign hack and leak focused on the hack and leak itself, moderately than what was leaked, a undeniable fact that disinformation experts have praised.
“Politico and (its reporter) Alex Isenstadt deserve a lot of credit for turning this story into a story about a (weak, it seems) foreign disinformation effort, rather than reporting on leaked Trump campaign documents themselves.” Thomas Rid saidprofessor at Johns Hopkins and someone who closely monitored 2016 Russian hacking and disinformation campaign
It is essential to notice that this might all change, perhaps if or when “Robert” decides to disclose something that the media deems more newsworthy. It is also essential to keep in mind that as my former colleague Joseph Cox said written a few years agowere many matters hackers leaky information that was in the public interest. The data from these hacks and leaks deserved to be discussed and reported. That could also be true this time, too.
Regardless, it is essential for journalists to offer the full context of hacking and leak operations, whether or not they are carried out by hackers working for governments attempting to undermine elections or specific presidential candidates, or by hacktivists with well-intentioned intentions.
When Politico asked the hacker how he obtained the documents, Robert supposedly said: “I suggest you do not inquire where I got them from. Any answer to that question will compromise me and also legally prevent you from publishing them.”
Perhaps Robert himself knows that this time the journalists have drawn conclusions.
Technology
As Musk manages his growing family: WSJ

Elon Musk says his duty is to “make new people.” Now Investigation of WSJ He suggests that he could start greater than 14 known children, and the sources claim that the actual number will be much higher. The report also describes how Musk keeps these details within the package.
In the middle of all this, based on the report, there may be a longtime Fixer Jared Birchall, which runs the Muska’s family office, but additionally supports the logistics of the developing Muska family, including by developing Hush contracts and serving as a board for moms of some children.
For example, Musk reportedly asked the conservative influence of Ashley St. Clair for signing a restrictive agreement after she gave birth to their son last autumn. Agreement: $ 15 million plus an extra $ 100,000 per 30 days, so long as the kid is 21 in exchange for her silence. She refused; He says that the contract worsens with every treason perceived. (She told the journal that the Muska team sent her only $ 20,000 after they bowed to Musk to comment on his article).
As for Birchall, which can also be CEO Press-IMPLANTU-IMPLANTU VENTURE NEURALK IA partner In AI Venture XAI in Musk, Muska’s private life management can simply be the third full -time job. According to the journal, in a single two -hour conversation with St. Clair, Birchall told her that the transition “legal path” with musk “always, always leads to a worse result for this woman than otherwise.”
Technology
Lime scooter and Ebike batteries will be recycled by Redwood Materials

The joint company Micromobility Lime has reached an agreement on sending batteries utilized in scooters and electronic bikes to Sewoi materials that extract and recycle critical minerals, comparable to lithium, cobalt, nickel and copper.
The agreement announced on Monday makes Redwood Materials the only real battery recycling partner for common scooters and e-bike bikes situated in cities within the United States, Germany and the Netherlands. The contract doesn’t cover every region where lime worksAn inventory covering cities throughout Europe, Asia and Australia.
In Lime up to now he had other recycling partnerships, especially with Sprout through his suppliers. However, for the primary time, the joint company Micromobility had direct relations with battery recycling in North America, which might directly process the fabric for recovery and returns it to the availability chain.
Redwood Materials, The Carson City, Startup from Nevada founded by the previous CFO Tesla JB Straubel, will get better battery materials when they can’t be used. After recovering and recycling, the materials will be re -introduced within the battery production process. This production system of a closed loop-which can reduce the demand for extraction and refining of minerals-is on the Redwood Materials business center.
The effort can also be consistent with its own goals of limestone sustainable development. Lime is geared toward decarbonization of operations by 2030. The company has made progress in reducing the range 1, 2 and 3 of emissions by 59.5% in five years of basic years 2019. Wapno plans to report the outcomes of carbon dioxide emissions 2024 in May.
“This cooperation means significant progress in the establishment of a more round supply chain, helping our batteries not only to recycled responsibly after reaching the end of their lives, but that their materials are returned to the battery supply chain,” said Andrew Savage, vice chairman for balanced development in Lime.
Lime also has partnerships from Gomi in Great Britain and Voltr in France and other European countries to gather these live battery cells for “Second Life” applications, including, amongst others, in the sphere of consumer electronics, comparable to portable speakers and battery packages.
Redwood Materials has contracts with other micromobility corporations, including Lyft, RAD Power Bikes and bicycle batteries and scooters specialized in recycling. Redwood, which collected over $ 2 billion in private funds, announced at first of this month, opened the research and development center in San Francisco.
(Tagstranslat) ebikes
Technology
The Legal Defense Fund withdraws from the META civil law advisory group over Dei Rolback

On April 11, the Legal Defense Fund announced that he was leaving the external advisory council for civil rights regarding the fear that the changes in technology company introduced diversity, own capital, inclusion and availability in January.
According to those changes that some perceived as the capitulation of meta against the upcoming Trump administration, contributed to their decision To leave the advisory council of the technology company.
In January, LDF, along with several other organizations of civil rights, which were a part of the board, sent a letter to Marek Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, outlining their fears As for a way changes would negatively affect users.
“We are shocked and disappointed that the finish has not consulted with this group or its members, considering these significant changes in its content policy. Non -compliance with even its own advisory group of experts on external civil rights shows a cynical disregard for its diverse users base and undermines the commitment of the meta in the field of freedom of speech with which he claims to” return “.
They closed the letter, hoping that the finish would recommend the ideals of freedom of speech: “If the finish really wants to recommend freedom of speech, he must commit to freedom of speech for all his services. As an advisory group from external civil rights, we offer our advice and knowledge in creating a better path.”
These fears increased only in the next months, culminating in one other list, which from the LDF director, Todd A. Cox, who indicated that the organization withdraws its membership from the META civil law advisory council.
“I am deeply disturbed and disappointed with the announcement of Medical on January 7, 2025, with irresponsible changes in content moderation policies on platforms, which are a serious risk for the health and safety of black communities and risk that they destabilize our republic,” Cox wrote.
He continued: “For almost a decade, the NACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) has invested a lot of time and resources, working with META as part of the informal committee advising the company in matters of civil rights. However, the finish introduced these changes in the policy of the content modification without consulting this group, and many changes directly with the guidelines from the guidelines from LDF and partners. LD can no longer participate in the scope. ” Advisory Committee for Rights “
In a separate but related LDF list, it clearly resembled a finish about the actual obligations of the Citizens’ Rights Act of 1964 and other provisions regarding discrimination in the workplace, versus the false statements of the Trump administration, that diversity, justice and initiative to incorporate discriminates against white Americans.
“While the finish has modified its policy, its obligations arising from federal regulations regarding civil rights remain unchanged. The title of VII of the Act on civic rights of 1964 and other regulations on civil rights prohibit discrimination in the workplace, including disconnecting treatment, principles in the workplace which have unfair disproportionate effects, and the hostile work environment. Also when it comes to inclusion, and access programs.
In the LDF press release, announcing each letters, Cox He called attention Metal insert into growing violence and division in the country’s social climate.
“LDF worked hard and in good faith with meta leadership and its consulting group for civil rights to ensure that the company’s workforce reflects the values and racial warehouses of the United States and to increase the security priorities of many different communities that use meta platforms,” said Cox. “Now we cannot support a company in good conscience that consciously takes steps in order to introduce changes in politics that supply further division and violence in the United States. We call the meta to reverse the course with these dangerous changes.”
(Tagstranslate) TODD A. COX (T) Legal Defense Fund (T) META (T) Diversity (T) Equality (T) inclusion
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