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When I launched this newsletter a year ago, I never imagined this community would grow so strong—and so fast. What started as a way to share stories and insights has become one of the best parts of my week. I look forward to every issue, building content and picking stories that I hope you enjoy as much as you learn from.

From the beginning, I’ve kept Spies, Lies, and Cybercrime free, with a simple mission: to build a community of readers who want to stay safe online, think like spies, act like spy hunters, and—together—make the world safer from cyberattacks, one subscriber at a time.

Thank you for being here for the first 50 issues. The mission isn’t over—it’s just getting started. If you’ve found value here, please share it with friends and family. The more spy hunters we have, the safer we all become.

In This Issue

Title Story

Celebrating Labor Day Like a Spy Hunter

Yesterday was Labor Day—a Monday where America hits pause. We grill out, spend time with family, maybe take one last swim before the pools close. It’s the unofficial end of summer.

Here in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., the season shift is obvious. The local pool shut its gates, the humid haze gave way to weather that feels almost San Diego-like, and the return of traffic jams announced that everyone’s back in the office grind.

September has its own rhythm. College football has kicked off (War Eagle!), the NFL is right behind it (HTTR), and soon summer’s green will give way to fall’s riot of color. School buses fill the streets. Carpool lines snake around the block. “New driver” bumper stickers suddenly appear everywhere—including on our family car.

It’s been a packed year for me. I’ve spoken at events across the country, sat for countless interviews and podcasts, launched this newsletter—which somehow has now reached its 50th issue—and, maybe most significant, I stepped fully into the entrepreneurial life. Running my own businesses, working from a home office, reporting only to myself. It’s been as rewarding as it has been exhausting. Burnout is real.

That’s why, before August closed and the flood of emails returned, I pulled the plug. My family and I headed to Alaska. We boarded the grand old Celebrity Summit for an interior cruise, trading noise for stillness. Days were filled with hikes, helicopter rides to glaciers, and watching bears, moose, and even wolves in the wild. Evenings were quieter, sometimes dramatic—like the night we pushed through a storm at sea. I found hours to just sit on deck, listen to Brad Thor’s The Lions of Lucerne, and let the world drift by.

We went mostly offline. Cruise ship internet costs a small fortune, which made it easier to unplug. I bought a single internet plan and set up a small travel router in our stateroom. When the kids needed to check in with friends or finish summer homework, they’d come to our room. (I’ll highlight the router in today’s tech section—it’s a surprisingly good tool for securing hotel or ship WiFi, layering in a VPN, and managing a family’s connection safely.)

Coming back, I realized the bigger lesson wasn’t just about escaping to Alaska—it was about creating boundaries. Post-pandemic, many of us work hybrid or fully from home. The line between office and life has blurred to nothing. That’s dangerous. Without boundaries, burnout creeps in fast.

Here’s what I’ve learned about keeping the balance when your commute is just a walk down the hall:

• Draw the line between work and home. Protect your schedule. When the last call ends, shut the laptop. Work will wait.

• Stop checking email at night. After 8:00 pm, let it go. New problems can wait until morning. Give your brain the chance to wind down.

• Take back your mornings. Wake up early enough to own the day before work owns you. Hug your family, get outside, move your body. For me, it’s sitting in my favorite chair, catching a news podcast, and organizing email before I even open the laptop.

• Make today’s list—and tomorrow’s. Write down what you’ll tackle now, and what can wait. When you finish your list, you’re done. ADHD or not, it’s the single best productivity hack I know.

• Exercise is non-negotiable. When you take care of your body, your body takes care of you. Simple, but true.

Labor Day is behind us, the fall rush is here, and the work will only keep coming. But Alaska reminded me: the world doesn’t stop spinning if you take time to step back, recharge, and set boundaries.

Because in the end, no one else is going to guard that line for you—you have to.

Cybersecurity Tip of the Week

Labor Day Scams Don’t Retire on Tuesday

Cybercriminals love long weekends, and Labor Day is a favorite. But here’s the catch: the scams don’t end when the grills cool off. They often extend through the entire week—and then morph into the next holiday con.

How to Protect Yourself Like a Spy Hunter:

• Verify Deals Before Clicking: “Labor Day Sale” emails often lead to fake sites. Hover before you click.

• Doubt the Urgency: Scammers push “last chance” deadlines to rush you. Slow down. If it looks too good to be true, it likely is.

• Hang up, call back: If you get a suspicious call from “your bank,” hang up and call the number on the back of your card. Same rule for “tech support” “school” or “government” calls.

• Lock Down Personal Info: Never give payment, Social Security, or banking details unless you initiated the contact.

• Update Your Defenses: Refresh passwords, enable MFA, and patch devices this week.

Think like a spy: assume deception until proven otherwise. Act like a spy hunter: verify, confirm, then proceed.

Cybersecurity Breach of the Week

Ransomware Strikes Nevada 

Nevada was hit last week with a sweeping ransomware attack that forced the shutdown of state offices, websites, and phone lines—cutting off access to critical services like the DMV and social assistance agencies. Emergency services, including 911, remained online, but for most residents the state went dark.

Officials confirmed it was a sophisticated ransomware operation. Systems were isolated, recovery protocols deployed, and federal agencies including the FBI and CISA joined the investigation. Authorities acknowledged that data was stolen, though they’ve not said what type or how much.

This follows last week’s ransomware strike on Middletown, Ohio (highlighted in Issue 49)—proof that attacks on towns, cities, and states are accelerating. Cybercrime syndicates are clearly ramping up, planning for a big year-end payday in ransomware profits.

These aren’t abstract threats. They disrupt real lives, shutting down the everyday services people rely on. Nevada’s attack is just the latest—and it won’t be the last.

Tech of the Week

The TP-Link AX1500 Wi-Fi 6 Travel Router is small enough to slip in your pocket but powerful enough to replace the sketchy, sluggish networks most of us battle in hotels and on cruises. It delivers Wi-Fi 6 speeds up to 1.5 Gbps, has dual Gigabit ports, and can switch between modes—router, access point, hotspot, or range extender—depending on what you need. In short, it gives you control over your connection instead of relying on whatever random network you’re handed while traveling.

Where this device really shines is in security and savings. It supports VPN protocols like OpenVPN and WireGuard, giving you an encrypted tunnel even on risky public Wi-Fi. And instead of buying multiple internet plans—like cruise lines love to push—you can authenticate once through the router and let the entire family connect to your private network. That means stronger security, safer browsing, and one bill instead of five.

A.I. Trend of the Week

The Wizard of Oz at the Sphere

In 1939, The Wizard of Oz wowed audiences as the first film to dazzle in Technicolor. Now, 86 years later, Las Vegas’ futuristic Sphere has reimagined the classic on a jaw-dropping scale—and sparked a firestorm of controversy.

The Sphere is no ordinary theater. It’s a $2.3 billion, 366-foot-tall dome wrapped inside with a 160,000-square-foot, 16K LED screen and powered by 167,000 speakers. The venue seats 17,600 (20,000 with standing room) and enhances movies with haptics, fog, wind, pyrotechnics—even drone-piloted flying monkeys. It’s less like watching a movie, more like stepping into it.

The AI Twist

Here’s the catch: the original film wasn’t built for a wraparound screen. To fill the Sphere’s vast canvas, AI was used to “outpaint” missing visuals—extending Dorothy’s legs, expanding the poppy fields, even smoothing out hand-painted backdrops. Supporters call it innovation; critics call it desecration.

Purists argue the AI rewrites history, diluting the artistry of 1939 with synthetic gloss. One critic called it “visual vandalism.” Others see it as the natural next step—like colorization or IMAX conversions before it.

So, is this the future of storytelling—an immersive blend of cinema and simulation? Or is it crossing a line by rewriting sacred classics with AI filler?

I’ll admit—I’m torn. The technology is breathtaking, but it feels like the start of a larger trend: by 2026, most of what we see online may be AI-generated, whether we want it or not.

What do you think? Cool innovation—or has the Sphere gone too far?

Appearance of the Week

Check out this short from my recent appearance on the 3 Cops Talk Podcast. The full hour episode is available here.

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Eric

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