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  "description": "Here's what happened when powerful hacking tools from one of the most trusted vendors ended up in the wrong hands.",
  "path": "/government-hacking-tools-are-now-in-criminals-hands-with-lorenzo-franceschi-bicchierai/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-04-27T14:02:44.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.404media.co",
  "tags": [
    "Apple Podcasts",
    "Spotify",
    "YouTube",
    "Inside the story of the US defense contractor who leaked hacking tools to Russia",
    "US military contractor likely built iPhone hacking tools used by Russian spies in Ukraine"
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  "textContent": "This week Joseph talks to Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai, a journalist at TechCrunch. Lorenzo has possibly the deepest understanding of one of the wildest cybersecurity stories in years: how an employee of Trenchant, a government malware vendor that is supposed to only sell to the ‘good’ guys, secretly sold a bunch of hacking tools to a Russian company. Those tools, it looks like, then ended up with the Russian government and possibly Chinese criminals too. It’s a really insane story about how powerful hacking tech can fall into the wrong hands.\n\nListen to the weekly podcast on Apple Podcasts_,_**** Spotify, or YouTube. Become a paid subscriber for access to this episode's bonus content and to power our journalism. **If you become a paid subscriber, check your inbox for an email from our podcast host Transistor for a link to the subscribers-only version! You can also add that subscribers feed to your podcast app of choice and never miss an episode that way. The email should also contain the subscribers-only unlisted YouTube link for the extended video version too. It will also be in the show notes in your podcast player.**\n\n0:00 - Guest Introduction: Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai\n\n02:52 – What Is Trenchant?\n\n03:52 – Secrecy & Evolution of Exploit Industry\n\n05:05 – Modern Spyware Industry Landscape\n\n08:34 – Discovery of Peter Williams\n\n10:31 – Apple Spyware Notifications Context\n\n13:03 – Early Reporting Strategy\n\n14:13 – Indictment & Confirmation\n\n15:34 – What Peter Williams Did\n\n18:17 – Economics of Zero-Day Market\n\n24:53 – Google Discovers “Corona” Exploit Kit\n\n28:11 – Shift to Mass Exploitation in China\n\n31:03 – How Did It Spread? (Speculation)\n\n34:36 – Link Back to Trenchant Leak\n\n36:27 – Security Failure & Industry Implications\n\n41:04 – Ethical Stakes & Real-World Harm\n\n43:15 – Motive & Final Reflections\n\n  * Inside the story of the US defense contractor who leaked hacking tools to Russia\n  * US military contractor likely built iPhone hacking tools used by Russian spies in Ukraine\n\n",
  "title": "Government Hacking Tools Are Now in Criminals' Hands (with Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai)",
  "updatedAt": "2026-04-27T14:02:45.054Z"
}