Return Of The Cyberunderground

This summer will definitely be a hot one!

May 19, 2025

⚡️ Welcome Back

Hey everybody — we took a short break, not to rest, but to build something massive.

Over the last month, I’ve been preparing for #100DaysOfAI, a challenge to showcase real-world and beneficial AI use cases at my consulting company. But while we were building, the world didn’t slow down. It accelerated.

So, here’s your catch-up briefing.

📡 INTEL DROP: What You Might’ve Missed

🏛️ Politics: Surveillance Expands, Rights Shrink

🔹 FISA 702 Reauthorized
The U.S. quietly renewed warrantless spying on Americans through the reauthorization of FISA Section 702. Critics warn it's mass surveillance in a fresh wrapper.
🔗 Lawfare: What the reauthorization really means

🔹 Border Tech Push Escalates
Bipartisan support grows for new surveillance at the border including drones, biometric gates, and predictive AI systems.

🔹 EU Moves Toward Digital ID Wallets
The European Commission pushes ahead with centralized identity wallets across member states. Critics call it a soft entry into digital authoritarianism.
🔗 EC Regulation Overview

🪧 Protests: Rising Dissent, Rising Repression

🔹 U.S. Campus Protests Escalate
Protests erupt on campuses over Gaza, AI militarization, and surveillance ties. Police respond with arrests, suspensions, and tracking of organizers.

🔹 France Declares Climate Activists 'Terrorists'
Grassroots climate groups are being outlawed, with some now labeled eco-terror threats. Digital repression tactics follow physical crackdowns.
🔗 Courthouse News Coverage

🎥 MUST WATCH: Border Raid Breakdown (Open Source Investigation)

DHS agents raided a Tennessee home over 300 miles from the southern U.S. border. Officially, it was “targeted.”
But this open-source investigation tells a different story.

🤖 AI & Disinfo: Warnings from Inside the Machine

🔹 Eric Schmidt Says AI Might Escape Human Control
The former Google CEO compares AI risks to nuclear weapons, warning that it could soon become uncontainable and unaccountable.
🔗 Vanity Fair TED Report

🔹 AI Disinformation Campaigns Surge
From elections to protests, fake news videos and deepfakes powered by AI are flooding timelines. Russia’s “Operation Overload” is just the beginning.
🔗 Washington Post Exposé

🕵️ Digital Surveillance: The Noose Tightens

🔹 NYPD Launches Drone-Based Patrols
Drones are now responding to 911 calls in NYC. Activists warn this normalizes citywide aerial surveillance.
🔗 The Record: Surveillance in the Sky

🔹 Amazon Expands Palm-Print Payment to Healthcare
Amazon’s biometric payment system moves into hospitals and clinics. Your hand is now your wallet — and your tracker.
🔗 Payments Journal Report

🔹 Receipts Are Poisoned — Literally
New research finds store receipts contain high doses of BPS, a hormone-disrupting chemical absorbed through skin contact.