Dead Drop: Week of October 12

TIME TO CHOOSE YOUR TEAM: The Record, a publication by Recorded Future, reported on Friday that President Donald Trump has decided not to nominate Army Lieutenant General William Hartman, the current acting head of both the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command, to those posts permanently. The Record says they have four sources (none on the record of course) confirming the decision. What’s more, they say Hartman, when told he would not be getting the gigs, put in his retirement papers. Hartman not getting the job is a little confusing if, as The Record reports, he had the support of both Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. If this is all true, Hartman’s saboteur must have been someone with real clout. Hartman became acting DIRNSA and Cyber Commander after the previous occupant of those posts, Air Force General Timothy Haugh, was given the heave ho for unexplained reasons in April, as conservative social media influencer, Laura Loomer - who has exactly zero experience in anything remotely related to national security - took credit for his ouster. Truth be told, we have no idea who will be taking credit for this latest decision, but we do know that General Haugh (who is now a Cipher Brief Expert) will be appearing on CBS’ 60 Minutes to talk about the real threat that China is posing to U.S. critical infrastructure and the sinister reason why they are doing it. It might be time to actually choose who you would rather have on your side when China makes a move - folks like Laura Loomer or experts like General Haugh and Lt. General Hartman, who have spent decades playing for Team America.

ICE SPY: According to TechCrunch, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recently dropped a cool $825,000 on vehicles that can simulate cellphone towers and enable users to “spy on nearby phones.” A similar amount was dropped on a similar purchase in September 2024 – so the tactic is not unique to the current administration. Details are fuzzy, but the president of the company that sold the vehicles declined to provide any details due to “trade secrets.” TechCrunch invited readers to reach out to them via Signal and other means if they have information on ICE’s use of cell-site simulators. If you do – we recommend you do not use your cell phone to call them, however (just a thought).

THERE’S AN APP FOR THAT: We learned recently from The Atlantic that as of September 1, every new phone sold in Russia is required to include an app called “Max” that users can use to talk, text and route rubles to and from Russian banks. Akin to China’s “WeChat,” Max will offer users minimal assurances that their government is not spying on them. Putin and pals are pressuring folks who bought phones before September 1 to adopt Max too. Vlad is trying to stamp out WhatsApp which, several years ago, was designated an extremist organization in Russia. The Kremlin’s pitch is convenience, but the reality is obviously control. By forcing Russians onto a single state-approved platform, Putin is tightening his long-standing grip on the country’s digital sphere and taking a major step toward even more comprehensive surveillance. Or maybe we’re just missing something.