PUBLIC DEFENDER By Brian Livingston A new study says quantum computers now in development will enable hackers to steal bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies without knowing the passwords or even the names of the rightful owners. No quantum computers exist yet. But when they do, one estimate is that 32 percent of all bitcoins and a […]

ISSUE 23.36 • 2026-09-07 PUBLIC DEFENDER By Brian Livingston Spirit Airlines, an ultra-low-cost carrier that served nearly 90 destinations in the US, Latin America, and the Caribbean, went bankrupt and ceased all flight operations on May 2, 2026. Google, the search giant, won a competitive bidding process and will pay $10 million to buy Spirit’s […]

PUBLIC DEFENDER By Brian Livingston Public water utilities in several US states were hit with coordinated hacker attacks on July 26–27, 2026. The intrusions temporarily knocked Internet-connected control devices offline, forcing some agencies to warn customers to boil tap water. No permanent poisonings occurred, but the exploits may be a hacker group’s test run or […]

PUBLIC DEFENDER By Brian Livingston Realistic-looking videos that are the most-often recommended by the popular TikTok social media app regarding health care contain no real people 40 percent of the time, a new analysis of the site’s mini-movies has found. Many of TikTok’s top-rated videos on every topic are AI-generated but look exactly like actual […]

PUBLIC DEFENDER By Brian Livingston Millions of people around the world have installed Internet-connected “security cameras” to monitor foot traffic around their homes and offices. Unfortunately, many of these video devices make it easy for unwanted persons to see your live feed and record whatever comes into view. It’s convenient to know who’s at your […]

ISSUE 23.28 • 2026-07-13 Look for our BONUS issue on July 20, 2026!! PUBLIC DEFENDER By Brian Livingston Millions of people in the US and around the world are developing “tech neck,” a medical syndrome caused by prolonged hunching over smartphones, tablets, and other electronic devices. It’s hard to state the exact number of tech-neck […]

PUBLIC DEFENDER Don’t pay for bot-detection tools — use these free apps By Brian Livingston • Comment about this article We’re subjected every day to more and more “AI slop.” That’s the flat, droning pap that chatbots and large language models (LLMs) churn out with none of the vigor and vitality of human writing. You […]