gypsyvegan

THREAT MODEL: CYBERSECURITY 🧑‍💻 for August 4th, 2026 by independent journalist @violetblue@mastodon.social

• Water systems in twelve US states targeted in a coordinated #cyberattack

• The “escaped AI” story gets worse

• Deliberately backdoored Android TV boxes belie a botnet

• How to combat intrusive #AI

• Hacker summer camp has begun! #BlackHat #BSidesLV #DEFCON34

• Far-right choads are making AI doxbots

• A look at The #ReligiousPredatorTrackingProject

• The @Bellingcat@mstdn.social Challenge hits 100

...and much more.

✨THREAT MODEL weekly newsletters are free to read -- please help keep them accessible to all by becoming a patron, even $1 a month makes a difference!✨

https://www.patreon.com/violetblue/posts/cybersecurity-4-165719362

#ThreatModel #ThreatModelCybersecurity #ThreatModelNewsletters #VioletBlue #infosec #cybersec #CovidIsNotOver

THREAT MODEL: COVID 🦠 for July 16th, 2026 by independent journalist @violetblue@mastodon.social

• #Cyclosporiasis outbreak, the largest in US history, soars past 5000 cases over at least 31 states

• #Ebola 's true infection count believed by the #WHO to be 2-4x official numbers

• #H5N1 cause of death for over 1.2M hens in Utah, as #Aotearoa #NewZealand beings vaccinating their endangered birds

• #Covid counts inch up worldwide as #SummerWave2026 starts its upward curve

• 2020-2022 study of 1.1M grandparents shows family birthday parties drive Covid risk

• New study shows #herpes simplex virus reactivation linked to #LongCovid

• Sunday 7/19: @AirSupportProject@forall.social online skillshare for those stressed about masking in a "post-Covid" world

...and much more.

✨THREAT MODEL is free to read -- please help keep it accessible to all by becoming a patron, even $1 a month makes a difference!✨

https://www.patreon.com/violetblue/posts/pandemic-roundup-163958948

#ThreatModel #ThreatModelCovid #ThreatModelNewsletters #VioletBlue #COVIDnews #PublicHealth #CovidIsNotOver

THREAT MODEL: COVID 🦠 for July 23rd, 2026 by independent journalist @violetblue@mastodon.social

• #Cyclospora : new additional outbreak found (source as yet unknown); total cases climb past 12k in 41 states

• #Ebola : 2400 confirmed cases with 100 deaths; WHO believes true numbers are 4x higher; 80% of new cases are outside known transmission chains

• #H5N1 : livestock cases fall in Idaho but rise in Utah and Texas; more wildlife cases found in Australia

• #Measles : cases-per-year hit 35-year high... in July

• #Covid : US summer surge continues to rise; new Canadian study on nosocomial (hospital-acquired) infections

• #LongCovid : a new #JuliaDoubleday piece; 450k Netherlands residents have LC; care webs in the face of gov't abandonment

...and much more.

✨THREAT MODEL is free to read -- please help keep it accessible to all by becoming a patron, even $1 a month makes a difference!✨

https://www.patreon.com/violetblue/posts/pandemic-roundup-164602073

#ThreatModel #ThreatModelCovid #ThreatModelNewsletters #VioletBlue #COVIDnews #PublicHealth #CovidIsNotOver

THREAT MODEL: COVID 🦠
for Apr. 16th, 2026
by independent journalist @violetblue@mastodon.social

- For those who stopped taking precautions: how to start again in #CovidYear7

- Processing the pandemic as a slow-motion Mass Casualty Incident

- Study: #LongCovid leaves a distinct immune signature in the blood

- Neurological damage from Covid can affect the brain's control over breath

- How clean air benefits attendance and learning in school settings

- High Covid transmission rates in #Delhi #India

- Alice Wong's impact on #DisabilityJustice through Long Covid advocacy

...and much more.

✨THREAT MODEL is free to read -- please help keep it accessible to all by becoming a patron, even $1 a month makes a difference!✨

https://www.patreon.com/posts/covid-april-16-155754741

#ThreatModel #ThreatModelCovid #ThreatModelNewsletters #VioletBlue #COVIDnews #PublicHealth #CovidIsNotOver

THREAT MODEL: COVID 🦠
for Apr. 30th, 2026
by independent journalist @violetblue@mastodon.social

- #HHS Director #RFKjr justifies defunding #mRNA vaccines by stating “Covid is gone” in testimony to Congress

- Acting #CDC Director Jay Bhattacharya blocks publication of a report showing Covid vaccine efficacy

- 78-year-old retired scientist and former aide to Dr. Fauci arrested by the FBI at gunpoint for “concealing federal records related to the debate about the origin” of Covid

- #WHO removes its tweet from 3/22/2020 that inaccurately stated “[hashtag]COVID19 is not airbourne”

- #WhoopiGoldberg raises the alarm about #LongCovid and CDC Covid information censorship on The View

...and much more.

✨THREAT MODEL is free to read -- please help keep it accessible to all by becoming a patron, even $1 a month makes a difference!✨

https://www.patreon.com/posts/covid-april-30-156948727

#ThreatModel #ThreatModelCovid #ThreatModelNewsletters #VioletBlue #COVIDnews #PublicHealth #CovidIsNotOver

THREAT MODEL: COVID 🦠 for July 30th, 2026 by independent journalist @violetblue@mastodon.social

• US #Cyclosporiasis cases pass 18k in 45 states with multiple #Cyclospora outbreaks now on record

• #DRC & #Uganda #Ebola outbreak cases are at 3,360 and deaths at 1,487, with affected areas experiencing serious food shortages and starvation

• #Covid summer surge is creeping up in multiple countries worldwide

• Massive study review concludes #Covid19 infection increases a “wide range of autoimmune diseases"

• #AmericanLungAssociation issues warning about #LongCovid in kids

• Long Covid may affect up to 5% of healthcare workers in hospitals

• Black Americans with Long Covid are less likely to get diagnosed than any other demographic

...and much more.

✨THREAT MODEL is free to read -- please help keep it accessible to all by becoming a patron, even $1 a month makes a difference!✨

https://www.patreon.com/violetblue/posts/pandemic-roundup-165235631

#ThreatModel #ThreatModelCovid #ThreatModelNewsletters #VioletBlue #COVIDnews #PublicHealth #CovidIsNotOver

THREAT MODEL: COVID for Feb. 19th, 2026 by independent journalist @violetblue@mastodon.social

• #CovidCautious Olympian wins Gold and breaks record

• #NIAID staffers ordered to remove #biodefense, #pandemic preparedness language on website

• The musicians making concerts safer with Covid precautions ( #Deerhoof! )

• #FDA reverses stance to review Moderna #mRNA flu shot application

• Study: Covid in 39% of hospital air samples during outbreaks

• France sees its first court case over death from Covid caught in hospital

• Footballer #JariLitmanen on battling #LongCovid

• It’s time to take Long Covid pacing seriously

• Tucson pilot wins Long Covid fight against #FAA

• The long US surge continues

...and much more.

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https://www.patreon.com/posts/covid-february-151134668

#ThreatModel #ThreatModelCovid #ThreatModelNewsletters #VioletBlue #COVIDnews #PublicHealth #CovidIsNotOver

THREAT MODEL: CYBERSECURITY 🧑‍💻
for July 7th, 2026
by independent journalist @violetblue@mastodon.social

- Rockstar gets Lapsus$ hacker sentenced to indefinite hospitalization

- Drama with The Intercept’s Signal tipline

- Spain’s government bans #Palantir over national security concerns

- #Facebook restarts tracking people off Facebook

- #Wisconsin residents within 30 miles new #Fairweather data center suing #Microsoft over the "not only excessive, but consistent and pervasive" noise

- Some really good advice about leaving #Flock cameras alone

- #ICE is going after online critics

- What an #AI “cyber nuclear war” would actually look like

...and much more.

✨THREAT MODEL weekly newsletters are free to read -- please help keep them accessible to all by becoming a patron, even $1 a month makes a difference!✨

https://www.patreon.com/violetblue/posts/cybersecurity-7-163134306

#ThreatModel #ThreatModelCybersecurity #ThreatModelNewsletters #VioletBlue #infosec #cybersec #CovidIsNotOver

THREAT MODEL: COVID
for Mar. 5th, 2026
by independent journalist @violetblue@mastodon.social

- It's International #LongCovidAwarenessMonth

- A list of locations worldwide lighting landmarks in teal for #LongCovid this month

- #PhysicsGirl @dianna@mas.to is back with her first science video in 3 years!

- US Covid hospitalizations, deaths 2x higher than RSV

- #Australia : Covid “leading cause of acute respiratory infection related mortality” across the majority of 2023–2025

- New research: Covid can directly infect heart tissue

- Study: people who’ve had Covid “more likely to develop kidney problems”

- Long-term taste loss (of sweet, bitter, and umami) after Covid is from “molecular and structural changes”

...and much more.

✨THREAT MODEL is free to read -- please help keep it accessible to all by becoming a patron, even $1 a month makes a difference!✨

https://www.patreon.com/posts/covid-march-5-152269864

#ThreatModel #ThreatModelCovid #ThreatModelNewsletters #VioletBlue #COVIDnews #PublicHealth #CovidIsNotOver

THREAT MODEL: CYBERSECURITY 🧑‍💻
for Apr. 14th, 2026
by independent journalist @violetblue@mastodon.social

- Researcher rebukes #Microsoft disclosure process and drops unpatched #0day online

- The wild process of encrypting and decrypting biological material

- 30 #WordPress plugins were bought for six figures and then backdoored

- #Iran ’s hackers poke at US water/energy targets

- #France disavows US #BigTech data control and moves from Microsoft to #Linux

- #IBM to pay Trump admin $17M in punishment over its diversity initiatives

...and much more.

✨THREAT MODEL is free to read -- please help keep it accessible to all by becoming a patron, even $1 a month makes a difference!✨

https://www.patreon.com/posts/cybersecurity-14-155576671

#ThreatModel #ThreatModelCybersecurity #ThreatModelNewsletters #VioletBlue #infosec #cybersec #CovidIsNotOver

THREAT MODEL: COVID 🦠
for Mar. 19th, 2026
by independent journalist @violetblue@mastodon.social

- #LongCovid affects 18 million Americans (that we know of)

- Over 150,000 uncounted Covid deaths occurred 2020-2021

- Study of higher education during Covid shutdowns shows certain subjects are better taught online

- #UK Covid Inquiry report due out today; UK in “much worse position” than before Covid

- #RFKJr ’s ACIP/CDC vaccine advisory board is spreading a “report” that Covid vaccines cause a condition just like Long Covid

- This weekend: Covid safety for sex workers workshop (online)

- Netherlands experiencing record Covid lows

- NZ rejects WHO pandemic rule changes, aligning with RFK Jr

...and much more.

✨THREAT MODEL is free to read -- please help keep it accessible to all by becoming a patron, even $1 a month makes a difference!✨

https://www.patreon.com/posts/covid-march-19-153403657

#ThreatModel #ThreatModelCovid #ThreatModelNewsletters #VioletBlue #COVIDnews #PublicHealth #CovidIsNotOver

THREAT MODEL: CYBERSECURITY 🧑‍💻
for Apr. 28th, 2026
by independent journalist @violetblue@mastodon.social

- #SANS trains #ICE now

- How the US government evades data laws

- #SamAltman apologizes for more #AI deaths

- @lawfare@mastodon.social argues that AI companies should have a duty to inform/protect (like therapists)

- Claude AI deleted a whole company and said it knew what it did was wrong

- More revenge #Microsoft 0-days are in the wild now

- KitKat releases a Faraday cage

- Violet's debrief after #BlackHat Asia 2026

...and much more.

✨THREAT MODEL is free to read -- please help keep it accessible to all by becoming a patron, even $1 a month makes a difference!✨

https://www.patreon.com/posts/cybersecurity-28-156746057

#ThreatModel #ThreatModelCybersecurity #ThreatModelNewsletters #VioletBlue #infosec #cybersec #CovidIsNotOver

THREAT MODEL: COVID 🦠
for Mar. 26th, 2026
by independent journalist @violetblue@mastodon.social

- Up to 60% of health care workers may have long COVID 4 years after infection

- The dangers of repeat Covid infections

- Discussion on highly mutated BA 3.2 ("Cicada") from experts & variant trackers

- Study: COVID vaccines not tied to risk of sudden death

- The unknowns of having Long Covid while pregnant

- NHS workers with Long Covid feel abandoned by the system

- The challenge of trying to get a booster for #AotearoaNewZealand -ers under 30

- Disability justice advocate and author #AliceWong 's celebration of life

...and much more.

✨THREAT MODEL is free to read -- please help keep it accessible to all by becoming a patron, even $1 a month makes a difference!✨

https://www.patreon.com/posts/covid-march-26-153975461

#ThreatModel #ThreatModelCovid #ThreatModelNewsletters #VioletBlue #COVIDnews #PublicHealth #CovidIsNotOver

THREAT MODEL: COVID 🦠
for June 4th, 2026
by independent journalist @violetblue@mastodon.social

- 3 weeks after #WHO declaration, #Ebola outbreak spreads to 24 separate locations

- @STAT@newsie.social on Ebola: "...as of 6/1 there are 633 confirmed & suspected... #Uganda is now up to 15 cases.”

- Trump-admin-planned Ebola quarantine center (for Americans) in Kenya on hold after protests turn deadly

- #hantavirus #ANDV cases remain at 13; five exposed passengers currently in gov't quarantine to leave early

- #FDA approves oral antiviral ensitrelvir (Xocova) as post-exposure Covid prevention treatment

- Study: association found between Covid infection & increased risk for #HPV -related cancers

- Study: atypical obstructive sleep apnea common in #LongCovid

...and much more.

✨THREAT MODEL is free to read -- please help keep it accessible to all by becoming a patron, even $1 a month makes a difference!✨

https://www.patreon.com/posts/ebola-hantavirus-160101251

#ThreatModel #ThreatModelCovid #ThreatModelNewsletters #VioletBlue #COVIDnews #PublicHealth #CovidIsNotOver

THREAT MODEL: COVID 🦠
for Mar. 12th, 2026
by independent journalist @violetblue@mastodon.social

- #USmilitary study concludes 42% of #Covid infections lead to #LongCovid "regardless of initial disease severity”

- RFK’s #MAHA Institute calls to eliminate all childhood vaccines

- A new Long Covid treatment guide

- Babies with Covid “develop more serious disease than those with RSV”

- Trump admin removes more Covid datasets

- #Aotearoa #NewZealand ’s new Covid report smothered by disinformation

- #AotearoaNZ vaccinologist: repeat infection is “accumulating damage”

- Study: #Metformin reduces Long Covid risk but not an effective LC treatment

- US survey: only 26 of 400 Long Covid clinics remain

...and much more.

✨THREAT MODEL is free to read -- please help keep it accessible to all by becoming a patron, even $1 a month makes a difference!✨

https://www.patreon.com/posts/covid-march-12-152830056

#ThreatModel #ThreatModelCovid #ThreatModelNewsletters #VioletBlue #COVIDnews #PublicHealth #CovidIsNotOver

THREAT MODEL: CYBERSECURITY
for Mar. 10th, 2026
by independent journalist @violetblue@mastodon.social

- New White House Cyber Strategy sounds a lot like the Iran “strategy”

- @defcon@defcon.social ’s new Almanack is here to drink milk and combat authoritarianism

- Misleading headline alert on all those Proton-FBI stories

- Russian state-sponsored hackers linked to ongoing @signalapp@mastodon.world & #WhatsApp phishing scheme targeting gov't officials, military personnel, journalists

- The wild post-disaster #Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant computer rebuild

- @npr@flipboard.com peels back #ICE ’s day-to-day use of surveillance data to terrify anyone they don’t like

- An interactive version of the famous #xkcd Dependency comic

...and much more.

✨THREAT MODEL is free to read -- please help keep it accessible to all by becoming a patron, even $1 a month makes a difference!✨

https://www.patreon.com/posts/cybersecurity-10-152676213

#ThreatModel #ThreatModelCybersecurity #ThreatModelNewsletters #VioletBlue #infosec #cybersec #CovidIsNotOver

🎯 🎯 🎯 🎯 🎯

Also: crypto, AI, and #theNetworkState have spent millions of dollars to manufacture what you think you know about Katie Porter. Don't give the technoligarchy free access to your mind.

THREAT MODEL: CYBERSECURITY
for Feb. 24th, 2026
by independent journalist @violetblue@mastodon.social

- People across the US are destroying #Flock cameras

- #Discord ’s “new” ID check tool was on a US government server

- #Arizona and #Colorado want ID scanning for all computer and phone use

- @wikipedia@wikis.world banned #ArchiveToday for DDoS attacks

- Some rando used #AI to hack #FortiGate

- @financialtimes@flipboard.com unmasked a Russian oil smuggling ring (from Kremlin-controlled Rosneft) through the ring’s use of a single email server

- Another major #AotearoaNewZealand health app breach

- #TimCurry reveals Clue’s secret ending

- BBC/BAFTA leave N-word intact on tape delay

...and much more.

✨ THREAT MODEL is free to read -- please help keep it accessible to all by becoming a patron, even $1 a month makes a difference! ✨

https://www.patreon.com/posts/cybersecurity-24-151516976

#ThreatModel #ThreatModelCybersecurity #ThreatModelNewsletters #VioletBlue #infosec #cybersec #CovidIsNotOver

THREAT MODEL: COVID 🦠
for Apr. 9th, 2026
by independent journalist @violetblue@mastodon.social

- New OECD analysis of the economics of #LongCovid

- How children may be at increased risk for BA.3.2 "Cicada"

- New study: Covid transmission in families with children is common

- #3Dprinting air purifiers

- The connection between Covid and "everyday antifascism"

- Eye symptoms may be a sign of higher-severity Long Covid

- Journalist @juliametraux@newsie.social of @motherjonesmag@threads.net is looking to interview #StillCOVIDing folks about their experiences with mask harassment and #maskbans

...and much more.

✨THREAT MODEL is free to read -- please help keep it accessible to all by becoming a patron, even $1 a month makes a difference!✨

https://www.patreon.com/posts/covid-april-9-155159308

#ThreatModel #ThreatModelCovid #ThreatModelNewsletters #VioletBlue #COVIDnews #PublicHealth #CovidIsNotOver

THREAT MODEL: COVID
for Feb. 26th, 2026
by independent journalist @violetblue@mastodon.social

- Tulane: #Covid causes “persistent brain inflammation and small blood vessel injury, even after the virus was no longer detectable”

- #LosAngeles recognizes #LongCovidAwarenessDay

- #LongCovid “represents an unprecedented case of patient-led illness definition”

- Retired ER doc pens plea for airborne Covid prevention in hospitals

- A pilot for a Covid-19 Defense Toolkit for adults with #cancer

- @bloomberg@flipboard.com covers “How Covid Quietly Rewires the Brain”

- @Vox@mstdn.social covers a year of Americans once again sheltering in place: The ICE pandemic

- Long Covid sufferer #ChristinaApplegate goes on #JimmyKimmel while infected with Covid, jokes about it

...and much more.

✨THREAT MODEL is free to read -- please help keep it accessible to all by becoming a patron, even $1 a month makes a difference!✨

https://www.patreon.com/posts/covid-february-151686773

#ThreatModel #ThreatModelCovid #ThreatModelNewsletters #VioletBlue #COVIDnews #PublicHealth #CovidIsNotOver

COVID-safe Bay Area Art, Performance, Livestreams, and Protests

🗓️ Week of April 19th - 25th 🗓️

by #CovidConscious SF journalist Charles S. Lewis III #CSL3

✨Please help support this community service and the independent journalist who compiles it each week, even $1/month would help a great deal!✨

https://www.patreon.com/posts/covid-safe-bay-155969598

#Covid19 #CovidIsNotOver #CovidSafeArts #CovidSafeEvents #CovidSafeFun #BayArea #SanFrancisco #PerformingArts #Activism #CSBAA

COVID-safe Bay Area Art, Performance, Livestreams, and Protests

🗓️ Week of March 1st - 7th 🗓️

by #CovidConscious SF journalist Charles S. Lewis III #CSL3

✨ Please help support this community service and the independent journalist who compiles it each week, even $1/month would help a great deal! ✨

https://www.patreon.com/posts/covid-safe-bay-151912858

#Covid19 #CovidIsNotOver #CovidSafeArts #CovidSafeEvents #CovidSafeFun #BayArea #SanFrancisco #PerformingArts #Activism #CSBAA

THREAT MODEL: COVID 🦠
for July 2nd, 2026
by independent journalist @violetblue@mastodon.social

- Confirmed totals for the Ebola outbreak, current but with reporting delays: 1333 cases, 399 deaths

- Healthcare workers at risk in the Ebola outbreak zone due to insufficient PPE; public health officials racing to combat misinformation and panic

- PBS New Jersey warns cat guardians to keep felines inside due to H5N1 prevalence

- Screwworm detections now up to 29

- RFK Jr. to end all Covid-19 Emergency Use Authorizations (EUAs) "for drugs & biological products & for medical devices"

- Study: fourfold increase in Tuberculosis observed in post-acute-COVID patients

- Long Covid's effect on the global workforce

- Wastewater hints at summer wave

...and much more.

✨THREAT MODEL is free to read -- please help keep it accessible to all by becoming a patron, even $1 a month makes a difference!✨

https://www.patreon.com/violetblue/posts/pandemic-roundup-162676753

#ThreatModel #ThreatModelCovid #ThreatModelNewsletters #VioletBlue #COVIDnews #PublicHealth #CovidIsNotOver

Video of @edzitron@surf.social 's interview on Bloomberg linked in the quoted post (which is very much worth a watch!):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbKDmkJPVvI

#AI

From @OlgaLautman@mstdn.social :

"Sweden confirms it intercepted a Russian drone approaching France’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle while it was in port. My latest…"

https://olgalautman.substack.com/p/sweden-jams-russian-military-drone

#Russia #Sweden #France #kleptocracy #MafiaState #ProjectRussia #ZonesOfInfluence