Leah Figer: A lot of trillions which are currently not there in this budget.
Katie Drummond: Absolutely. So thinking about this very messy, very human business and Elon Musk and Donald Trump making decisions about it in a room, where you’re not really seeing a lot of empathy, you’re very sophisticated about people. Don’t think and see what people need. This is very stressful.
Leah Figer: Absolutely. And on the x-point, a slight devil’s advocate is that it depends on what the goal was. If the goal was actually to have X as this profitable business communication to the world, etc., then yes, of course, he failed. If the goal was to get Trump elected and put himself in power, then who cares about the money he lost?
Katie Drummond: Very good point.
Leah Figer: That’s a tenfold gain over the past week, with Tesla’s stock missing some potential government contracts and regulations. Which I guess is you’re subsidizing your communications, your media platforms to pay a profit later? I don’t know, maybe we’ll be having a different conversation a year from now if Musk is suddenly in charge of every US defense contract out there.
Katie Drummond: We definitely will. And that’s a very good point. I mean, it’s basically deficit funding that has become and increasingly a right-wing, conservative echo chamber that serves as a megaphone for the Trump administration and its cronies, then the work. Very well done.
Leah Figer: yes On another note, Trump has vowed to deport millions of people, jail his enemies. And to advance that agenda, his administration will exploit America’s digital surveillance machine. We’ve just published Wired’s guide to protecting yourself from surveillance inside Trump, with some steps you can take to avoid it all. Please see the link in our show notes. But beyond reading this extremely useful guide, what else should individuals and organizations be doing or simply thinking about as they approach cybersecurity in the age of Trump? All of them are very connected to me.
Katie Drummond: Wow, that’s a great question. And a lot of it is covered in this guide, which I’ll add is published outside the Wired paywall. This is an important journalism service and we want to ensure that as many people as possible have access to it. So please go and check it out. I mean, I think it’s a moment for individuals, whatever you do for a living, if you don’t work in a government agency, if you’re not a journalist, it doesn’t matter. I wouldn’t make any assumptions about your personal safety at this point because the truth is, you never know. You never know what situations you might find yourself in, where you wish you were better about digital security, better about your online hygiene and better about your online communications. I think we’ve seen this play out in other parts of the world that aren’t the United States yet, that one post on a website can land you in jail. So I think it’s really important for everybody to take a minute and think about what they have on the Internet, how they communicate with the people they love, the cloud. What is being shared with The answer is everything on your phone. All your text messages, all your photos, your videos, everything you write in your Notes app, your most personal details, your search history. Everything is there and so this is a good moment to deal with it. And even if it’s not because of the incoming Trump administration, it’s just good practice. And so if this serves as a wake-up call or a reminder to anyone who has become a little too complacent about how they conduct themselves in the context of digital security, it’s just a matter of time to reassess. It’s a good moment. And I think for people and institutions, I think it’s also an interesting moment to think about what your lines are. And for people, for families, for companies and institutions, I think it’s a moment to really think, once again, about whatever you do, whatever your organization does, whatever services you offer. Do, what lines will you cross and what will you not? And what risks are you willing to take to protect the red lines you’ve drawn? And it can have everything to do with providing access to reproductive health care for your employees. If you employ an immigrant on a visa, it may be about immigration. I’m really thinking, well, we need to spend some time with our lawyers and talk about the worst case scenario. I think everyone, the smart thing to do at this point is to think about every worst-case scenario that could possibly happen to you, your family, the company you run, the company you work for. can affect, and be prepared for the worst to happen and hope it doesn’t, but know you’re prepared if it does. I think internally at Wired as well, it’s something we’ve been talking about that obviously we intend to continue our journalism as we do, but we all It needs to be prepared for what is the worst possible scenario for this administration. Regarding the media? And if it shows up at the door of our parent company, what are we going to do about it?
