Privacy Pulse

Feb 9, 2025: US Data Hoarding, Big Brother Britain, and the DOGE Coup

• Privacy Pulse Podcast • Season 1 • Episode 1

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Introducing Privacy Pulse, your weekly update on the fast-moving world of online privacy, cybersecurity, and digital rights. 

  • Part 1: The DOGE Coup - 13 States Sue Elon Musk Over Federal Payment System Grab
  • Part 2: Big Brother Britain - The UK Secretly Orders Apple to Hand Over Global User Data
  • Part 3: The U.S. Government is Hoarding Your Data–And Paying for the Privilege
  • Part 4: Why You Need a Privacy-First Messaging App Like Signal in 2025

If you enjoyed this podcast and found it useful or informative, please consider leaving us a positive review on your podcast store of choice and sharing it with friends and colleagues. Thank you for listening.

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You're listening to privacy pulse your weekly update on The fast moving world of online privacy, cyber security and digital rights, from breaking hacks and data leaks to the latest government regulations and corporate surveillance tactics, we dive deep into the stories shaping the future of your digital life. Each episode unpacks the most important news with expert insights, real world implications and a no nonsense take on who's protecting your data and who's exploiting it, whether you're a privacy advocate, a tech professional, or just someone who wants to stay informed. Privacy pulse aims to help you in the fight for online freedom. So tune in, stay aware and Take control of your digital footprint you part one, the doge coup, 13 states Sue Elon Musk over federal payment system. Grab Elon Musk might be the closest thing we've got to a real life super villain, but it turns out not everyone is willing to let him hijack the US government like it's another one of his pet projects. On Thursday, a coalition of democratic attorneys general from 13 States announced they're suing Musk's department of government efficiency, aka Doge, because apparently running Tesla SpaceX and Twitter wasn't enough, and now he wants to play king of federal payment systems at stake, access to sensitive personal data and control over the very systems that keep Social Security, Medicare and other federal payment systems flowing. You know, little things that million of Americans rely on to well survive the AGs led by New York's Leticia James aren't having it. Quote, As the richest man in the world, Elon Musk is not used to being told no, but in our country, no one is above the law. Translation, just because you can build rocket ships doesn't mean you get the nuclear codes. The lawsuit aims to block Doge from what they call a blatant privacy violation and a thinly veiled power grab. Because, surprise, surprise, Musk idea of efficiency looks a lot like shutting down anything he personally doesn't like, including federal payments to agencies he deems unnecessary, you know, human aid, social safety nets, and probably anything with the word regulation in it. A federal judge tossed a small wrench into Musk's plans, ruling that while two of his allies can have read only access to the Treasury Department's payment system, Musk himself has to stay out, at least for now. The ruling came after federal workers unions filed their own lawsuit, basically yelling, hey, maybe don't let the guy who posts memes about taking over governments actually take over the government. If you're wondering how exactly Musk got his hands on Doge in the first place. Look no further than President Donald Trump, who thought, Who better to shrink the government than the guy who thinks traffic tunnels under la are a great idea and shrink he did by steamrolling taxpayer data access and allegedly orchestrating the shutdown of US aid the government's primary international humanitarian aid agency. Doge managed to worm its way into the Treasury Department's payment system after the Acting Deputy Secretary of the Treasury mysteriously resigned under pressure, shocking. Democratic lawmakers are sounding the alarm, warning that musk, an unelected billionaire with an itchy Twitter finger, I mean, x finger, has way too much influence over the government, and these concerns aren't exactly unfounded, given Musk himself has openly bragged that Doge will cut off payments. Off payments to agencies he doesn't like. But in classic Musk fashion, he's laughing it off on X or Twitter or whatever the hell we're calling it these days, claiming Doge is just saving taxpayers millions. Sure, because when has given unchecked power to a billionaire ever gone wrong? For now, we wait. The lawsuit is brewing. The states are gearing up for battle, and Musk is probably drafting a meme about how he's being oppressed. So grab your popcorn. This saga is just getting started. You. Part Two, big brother Britain, the UK secretly orders Apple to hand over global user data. The British government has come up with an unprecedented demand straight out of an Orwellian nightmare. According to The Washington Post, the UK has secretly ordered Apple to build a back door into its encrypted iCloud storage, granting the government unrestricted access to user data worldwide. That's right, not just British users, but everyone everywhere. This covert order issued last month came via a technical capability notice a shadowy directive authorized under the UK's Investigatory Powers Act, or IPA of 2016 better known as the snoopers charter. The law allows the government to demand tech companies break their own security features to assist in surveillance. Apple, of course, isn't allowed to talk about it. The IPA makes it a crime to even acknowledge such a demand exists. When asked, an apple spokesperson declined to comment, while the UK Home Office stated, quote, We do not comment on operational matters, but of course, you don't, but make no mistake, this isn't just about the UK. One security consultant who advises the US government on encryption described the move as shocking, noting that the UK is essentially demanding global spying rights on Apple's users without even notifying their respective governments. A former White House Security Advisor confirmed the existence of the order, possibly because in America, we pretty much ignore silly things like rules these days, and in this case, we might be better for it, because at least we can confirm this order exists, rather than betray its users, Apple is reportedly considering shutting down encrypted iCloud services in the UK altogether. That would mean UK users lose access to Apple's Advanced Data Protection feature, which provides end to end encryption for photos, notes, voice memos, messages and device backups. But here's the kicker, the UK government's order won't just apply to users in Britain. It could also apply to everyone else, including those of us in the United States. Apple has already warned before that it might pull services like iMessage and FaceTime from the UK if forced to compromise encryption. This could be the moment they make good on that threat. Google, which has offered default encryption for Android backup Since 2018 was asked whether any government has requested a similar back door. Their response a slick corporate dodge. Google spokesperson Ed Fernandez simply stated quote, Google cannot access Android end to end encrypted backup data, even with a legal order translation. If the UK came knocking, Google would have nothing to give the UK Government has been gunning for encryption for years. In 2023 they even updated the IPA to give themselves the power to ban encrypted services outright. At the time, Apple called it an unprecedented overreach and warned that the UK could secretly veto future security updates for the entire world. Tim Cook, Apple's CEO, has repeatedly refused the compromise on encryption, warning that any backdoor built for the good guys would eventually be exploited by the bad guys. In other words, most governments in 2025 cybersecurity experts agree, once you create a secret access point. It's only a matter of time before hackers foreign governments and criminals find it. The US has been waging its own war on encryption for years, but its focus has recently shifted to massive cyber attacks by Chinese state backed hackers. In December, top US agencies, including the FBI, NSA and Cyber Security and infrastructure security agency advised Americans to use end to end encrypted communication whenever possible. So to recap, the same governments warning you to use encryption to protect yourselves against cyber threats are also secretly demanding companies give them back door access to your data. Big Brother. Watch a UK based digital rights group slammed the order stating, quote, this misguided attempt at tackling crime and terrorism will not make the UK safer, but it will erode the fundamental rights and civil liberties of the entire population. Apple now faces a decision comply with the UK's demands and betray its users, or pull services from Britain and hold the line on encryption. Either way, the battle over digital privacy just escalated to a whole new level, as if the rest of us didn't have enough to think about this year, and it's only February. You. Part Three, the US government is hoarding your data and paying for the privilege. The US government has been quietly stockpiling a massive treasure trove of personal data on its own citizens, and they're not doing it with wire taps or secret warrants. They're just buying it from the same shady data brokers that pedal your online life to advertisers. A newly declassified report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, or ODNI, confirms what privacy advocates have been warning for years the government doesn't need back doors when it can just cut a check in late 2021 ODNI asked a team of advisors to investigate just how deep the relationship rabbit hole goes when it comes to intelligence agencies and commercial data brokers, and what they found was a dystopian nightmare for privacy. The report details how intelligence agencies are legally sidestepping the Fourth Amendment, scooping up sensitive data on Americans, including location tracking by simply purchasing it if corporations are willing to sell good old Uncle Sam considers it publicly available and fair game. Quote, this report reveals what we feared most, says Sean vitka, a policy attorney at Demand Progress, intelligence agencies are flouting the law and buying information about Americans that Congress and the Supreme Court have made clear, the government should not have translation if they can't hack your privacy away, they'll simply buy it instead, the report lays bare What happens when Congress drags its feet on privacy protections, outdated surveillance laws check loopholes big enough to drive a convoy of data mining trucks through double check. Oregon State Senator Ron Wyden has been sounding the alarm for years, but intelligence agencies are exploiting legal gray areas to justify buying up everything from phone records to browsing history, no warrant required. And the best part, it's your tax dollars funding this surveillance spree, perhaps the most chilling part of the odnis report, the government knows exactly where you are all the time, since they're buying location data, instead of demanding it directly from telecom providers, they argue that tracking millions of Americans movements isn't a Fourth Amendment violation. Their logic is, if they had forced companies to hand it over, it would be illegal. But because companies sell this data freely, and because a massive number of us Americans allow these companies to continue to do so, they claim it's fair game. This is the same type of data that can be used to identify every single person who attended a protest or visited a specific doctor for a particular type of medical procedure. If you catch the meaning, even if this data is anonymized, it's trivially easy to unmask identities. The report issues a stark warning, the same data hoarded by intelligence agencies today could be weaponized against Americans tomorrow, political blackmail, stalking, harassment. These aren't hypotheticals. These are tactics that have been used by our government before, and the potential risks only increase under a reckless presidential administration that is all too eager to let pretty much anyone play with our personal data from COINTELPRO to the Snowden revelations, History proves that surveillance always creeps further than advertised, and now, thanks to smartphones, connected cars, and an Internet funded by tracking your every Move, we've created a surveillance apparatus more powerful than anything the government could ever have built on its own. The ODNI advisors admit that the US government now has a level of visibility into our private lives that blows past constitutional guardrails. But will that stop them? Not unless Congress acts fast. Advocates are calling for an immediate crackdown on data brokers and stricter limits on how intelligence agencies can acquire personal data if they don't, we're looking at a future where privacy is officially dead, not because the government stole it, but because they bought it right out from under us with our own money. You Part Four, why you need a privacy first messaging app like signal in 2025 governments, corporations and bad actors are watching everything. Data is the new oil, and you're the oil field if you're organizing, protesting or even just having a conversation you don't want in some government database, you need to be using a privacy first messaging app and not just any app you should be using signal except no substitute, as they say, surveillance has evolved. Ai powered facial recognition is standard in city. Cameras phone companies track your every move. Social media platforms harvest your private messages. Even secure messaging apps that claim end to end encryption still collect metadata, who you talk to, when and how often, and having access to this metadata is just as powerful as having access to the message itself. Meanwhile, governments worldwide have been ramping up their war on encryption. The UK's Online Safety Act, Australia's anti encryption laws and the US push for back doors and messaging apps mean that mainstream platforms are compromised. Apple's iMessage, Google messages, good luck trusting any of them when governments have them on speed dial. Signal isn't just another messaging app. It's designed for the very world we live in, a world where our privacy is under attack. 24/7, signal features real end to end encryption, not just for texts, but for voice and video calls. Not even signal servers can read your messages. There's no ads and no data harvesting. Unlike Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp or Telegram, signal doesn't mine your messages to serve you targeted ads or recommended content. It features disappearing messages. You can set your messages to self destruct on a timer if your phone gets taken by police or government authorities. There's nothing left to find if and when they're able to gain access to it. There's sealed sender technology. Even signal doesn't know who's messaging who. And lastly, signal is open source and independently audited. You don't have to trust signal. You can verify its security. The code is public, and experts constantly test it for vulnerabilities. If you're protesting, organizing or engaging in activism, you are a target. Law enforcement isn't merely monitoring public posts. They're infiltrating group chats, tracking movements and pulling phone records. If you're using a weak messaging app, you're handing them everything on a silver platter. Just look at what's happened in recent years. During the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, police subpoenaed Google for location data, sweeping up innocent bystanders. Hong Kong protesters switched to airdrop because China monitored telegram groups, and after the January 6 riots, the FBI used data from Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp to arrest participants. Think it won't happen to you. Think again. If you're on WhatsApp Messenger or even Telegram, your messages are not safe. Signal isn't just about hiding something, it's about protecting yourself from the next wave of digital authoritarianism. WhatsApp pretends to be private. But guess what? WhatsApp is owned by meta or Facebook, one of the biggest data harvesting corporations on the planet. It collects metadata, backs up chats to the cloud, where they're accessible to authorities, and complies with government requests for data. Telegram, not much better, despite its edgy reputation, Telegram doesn't have default end to end encryption. Group chats totally unencrypted. If law enforcement or a hacker were to gain access to telegram servers, they get your messages too. Just because telegram says they're protected doesn't mean they won't change their minds when they're served with the right subpoena signal. On the other hand, encrypts everything by default and stores nothing. Your data isn't a liability because it doesn't exist. Using signal is just the first step. If you're serious about privacy and security, here's what else you should do. Turn off cloud backups. If your messages are stored in Google Drive or iCloud, they're accessible to authorities, your brain is your best backup, however fallible it might be, enable disappearing messages. No logs mean no evidence. Use a VPN. We recommend Nord VPN, but that's another story for another time. Hide your IP address and your location, lock your phone. The old school way biometrics like face ID or thumb prints can be forced. Use a strong pass code instead, and don't give it to anyone. Use a burner number. If you can't, don't sign up for signal with your real phone number. Services like my pseudo or a prepaid SIM can keep your real identity separate from your signal identity. Most recent smartphones allow for more than one sim or esim. Use that to your advantage, and beware of infiltrators. Always assume someone in. Chat could be a snitch until they prove otherwise, verify all identities before sharing any sensitive information. They want you to believe that privacy is dead, that surveillance is for your safety. But here's the truth, privacy is freedom. Privacy is the difference between an oppressive state and a free society, between living openly and living in fear. Every movement that has ever fought for change, from civil rights activists to whistleblowers, has relied on secure communication in 2025 that means using signal you if you enjoyed this podcast and found it useful or informative, please consider leaving us a positive review on your podcast store of choice and sharing it with friends and colleagues. Thanks for listening. You.