How the federal government built a massive database of license plate reader data through an anti-drug trafficking program.
Month: September 2026
FBI hunting the hackers who stole its employees’ sensitive data

Samuel Corum/Getty Images
In a video posted on social media, the assistant director of the FBI’s cyber division, Brett Leatherman, vowed Tuesday to hunt down the members of a cybercriminal group going by the name of ShinyHunters, the same group that last week claimed to steal reams of sensitive data from the FBI itself.
“You know how to find us, and we know how to find you,” Leatherman said in the video, encouraging the prolific group of loosely connected data extortionists to come forward and share information or face the consequences. “I suggest you reach out first while the choice is still yours.”
LINK: https://www.npr.org/2026/09/30/nx-s1-5985202/fbi-hack-shinyhunters
A startup wants to build a massive nuclear-powered data center on public land in Utah

Matthew Daly/AP
A startup whose founder has vowed to “make nuclear great again” is planning to place hundreds of reactors on federal land in Utah, according to documents reviewed exclusively by NPR.
LINK: https://www.npr.org/2026/09/30/nx-s1-5983482/valar-atomic-nuclear-data-center-project-beehive-utah

