Cat Zakrzewski
Cat Zakrzewski is a writer at TechCrunch, where she covers policy and startup news.
Cat has worked for the Wall Street Journal in San Francisco, the Boston Globe in Washington, D.C., the Medill News Service, The Chicago Sun-Times and Northwestern Magazine. Her work has also appeared in USA TODAY and UPI.
She graduated from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism in 2015. During college she served as Web Editor of The Daily Northwestern.
Cat is originally from Ambler, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia.
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Latest from Cat Zakrzewski
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Pill + Lets You Share Sound Quality You Expect From Beats Headphones With Friends
In time for your Cyber Monday shopping, Beats has released its first portable speaker since Apple acquired the company — the Pill + wireless bluetooth speaker. Right down to the packaging, Apple’s influence on the product’s sophisticated design shines through. Opening the Pill + is a lot like unwrapping an Apple laptop or phone. Rather than the flashy colors we’ve come… Read More
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Privacy Advocates Celebrate The End Of The NSA’s Phone Record Collection Program
The NSA shut down its bulk phone record collection program yesterday, more than two years since former NSA contractor Edward Snowden exposed the program to journalists and prompted a global debate about surveillance technology. The program has been marked to sunset since Congress passed the USA Freedom Act earlier this year. But in light of the terror attacks that rocked Paris earlier this… Read More
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Federal Officials Are Warming Up To Self-Driving Cars
As self-driving cars rapidly develop, federal officials are beginning to rethink their stance on the technology. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced yesterday that an update would be coming to the nation’s self-driving car policy in coming weeks. “I want the posture of our agency to be obviously vigilant on the safety front, but I don’t want our agency to be… Read More
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The Encryption Debate Isn’t Taking A Thanksgiving Break
Lawmakers and Congressional staffers may be trickling out of their Hill offices and to the airports, the encryption debate is not taking a holiday this week. Following media reports that the terrorists responsible for the Paris attacks communicated via encrypted messaging platforms, both opponents and proponents of backdoors for law enforcement are speaking up. Yesterday Senator Ron… Read More
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Encrypted Messaging App SOMA Launches Group Voice And Video Calling
Secure messaging app SOMA announced the launch of group voice and video calling for up to four people. Users can now use the app to video chat with up to four friends from phones running both iOS and Android. According to the company, it is the only app to offer encrypted group video calling for free. Read More
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Immigration Bill Could Challenge Tech’s Ongoing Fight For Skilled Worker Visas
Even as immigration advocates push for increases to the H-1B visa quotas, calls for reform to the existing system are growing louder — from legislators and immigration advocacy groups alike. Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley and Senator Dick Durbin, a ranking Democrat, introduced a bill that would limit outsourcing of jobs by requiring companies to first attempt to hire U.S. citizens. Read More
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Our National Encryption Debate, In Quotes
The long-burning debate concerning encryption, its impact on both consumer privacy and the government’s ability to protect its citizens is back with a vengeance. The dialogue appeared to be dwindling after the White House said it would not require companies to breach the security of their products to provide the government with information. The Paris terror attack has thrust encryption… Read More
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Facebook Activates Safety Check In Nigeria Bombings
Mark Zuckerberg said on Tuesday night that Facebook had activated its Safety Check feature in Nigeria after a market bombing killed dozens. Zuckerberg’s announcement came after the platform faced criticism for turning on the Safety Check feature for the Paris terror attacks, but not for other tragedies like the suicide attacks the day before in Beirut. Facebook said over the weekend… Read More
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McCain Wants Legislation Mandating Government Access To Encryption
Senator John McCain on Tuesday told reporters that he would hold a series of hearings and eventually pursue legislation that would require companies provide the government with access to encryption. The encryption debate was fizzling out in Washington after the White House announced it would not seek legislation requiring technology companies to provide law enforcement with a back door to… Read More
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Live Video Streaming Service Firetalk Partners With TMZ, Announces Guest Feature
Firetalk, a live streaming video platform, on Wednesday announced it would partner with entertainment news site TMZ as well as online performers. The service also announced the launch of a new feature, Guest, which allows audience members to join a broadcaster live in video. In addition to TMZ, Instagram’s singer and songwriter Maggie Lindemann, the Hollywood news site The… Read More
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Parrot Unveils Bebop Drone 2 With Twice The Battery Life
Parrot on Tuesday unveiled its Bebop Drone 2, a smaller version of its popular consumer model that has a 25-minute battery life — twice that of its predecessor. The Bebop 2 will hit stores and the skies on December 14 and retail at $550. Like the first Bebop drone, this model will be able to stream 1080p video to a tablet, phone or virtual reality headset. Its 14-megapixel camera is… Read More
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Hacking Collective Anonymous Declares Total War On ISIS Following Paris Terror Attacks
The hacking group Anonymous on Sunday declared “total war” against the Islamic State, the terror organization that claimed responsibility for the attacks on Friday that killed 132 Parisians. Make no mistake: #Anonymous is at war with #Daesh. We won't stop opposing #IslamicState. We're also better hackers. #OpISIS — Anonymous (@GroupAnon) November 15… Read More
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Paris Attacks Highlight Tech’s Elevated Role In Disaster Relief
As terror attacks put France into a national state of emergency on Friday, AirBnB, Facebook, Google, Skype, Twitter and Uber launched into disaster response mode. AirBnB contacted all hosts in Paris asking if they could take in those stranded in the city. Facebook let users alert their friends they were safe. Google offered free calls to Paris via Hangouts, as did Skype, Verizon and Sprint. Read More
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Facebook Says It Will Enable Safety Check During More Human Disasters, Following Criticism
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg committed to turning on Safety Check in more human disasters going forward, responding to criticism that the company turned on its safety feature for Paris but not for Beirut and other bombings. Zuckerberg explained that the Paris terror attacks marked the first time the company has enabled Safety Check for a human disaster, not a natural disaster like an… Read More
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Pressure In Congress Grows For GPS Tracking Reform After Supreme Court Passes On Cell Phone Case
Senators and House representatives this week are calling on Congress to act on bills that would limit location tracking and phone surveillance after the Supreme Court decided not to hear a cell phone case earlier this week. The justices on Monday declined to review a federal court’s decision from earlier this year that police do not need a warrant to seize and search cell phone records… Read More
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Facebook Sees 23% Spike In Law Enforcement Requests For Data In The United States
Facebook revealed it received 23 percent more requests from law enforcement between January and June 2015 than in the second half of 2014. From January to June 2015, Facebook received a total of 17,577 law enforcement requests, targeting 26,579 users and accounts. From July to December 2014, the company received 14,274 requests affecting 21,731 accounts and users. Read More
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Apple’s Encryption Fight Turns To The UK
After a major victory in the United States, Apple is facing an another threat to its encryption efforts on a different front: the United Kingdom. Though the Cupertino-based tech giant typically shies away from taking firm stances on specific policies, the company’s CEO Tim Cook today told students in Dublin that Apple is opposed to a new British proposal that would require it to provide… Read More
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Udacity Raises $105 Million Series D, Bringing Valuation To $1 Billion
Udacity, the coding education service, has sprouted a magical horn. The company announced on Wednesday it had raised a $105 million Series D round. With a total valuation of $1 billion, the company has now joined the growing ranks of unicorns. The round was led by international media, services and education company Bertelsmann with Scotland’s Baillie Gifford, Emerson Collective… Read More
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Three Men Indicted In U.S. Over Last Year’s Massive J.P. Morgan Hack
Three men were charged in a 23-count indictment in connection with the 2014 hacking of J.P. Morgan Chase and multiple other financial institutions. Gery Shalon and Ziv Orenstein were first arrested in Israel in July. The third man, Joshua Samuel Aaron, is a U.S. citizen who attended school in Florida and then lived in Tel Aviv and Moscow. Read More
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Federal Judge Doubles Down On Expiring Phone Record Collection Program
A federal judge called President Obama to immediately end the bulk collection of Americans’ phone metadata, just weeks before the program is scheduled to end. The decision from Judge Richard Leon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia said the program should be dismantled without waiting even a day because it has been almost two years since he first said the bulk… Read More
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