Jacob Riggs is a British ethical hacker[1] best known as founder of Deadswitch, a dead man’s switch designed to protect journalists, dissidents, and whistleblowers.[2]
Jacob Riggs | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation(s) | Ethical hacker, speaker |
| Known for | Deadswitch |
Notable achievements
editIn 2015, Riggs was credited with saving the life of a stab victim who had collapsed in the street with multiple stab-wounds to his left arm, chest and back.[3]
In 2016, he began working on Deadswitch, a cloud-based dead man’s switch intended to provide an immutable data insurance service for individuals at risk.[4]
In 2018, he supported a collaborative investigation into former Saudi Arabian royal court advisor Saud al-Qahtani and his involvement with HackingTeam and the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.[5]
In 2020, Riggs discovered a bug within Facebook and WhatsApp which provided unauthorized access to law enforcement portals used to submit sensitive data requests.[6]
In 2021, he received recognition from the National Cyber Security Centre - Netherlands (NCSC-NL), for his contributions to identifying and reporting vulnerabilities within their critical infrastructure. Riggs also received $100,000 in prize money that was funded by Huntress Labs, an American cybersecurity firm founded by Kyle Hanslovan.[7] He was presented with a vulnerability disclosure hacker coin from the UK National Cyber Security Centre on behalf of the UK Ministry of Defence.[8]
Riggs was credited with Hall of Fame recognition by the United Nations in 2021.[9]
In 2022, he was presented with a trophy and formal letter of appreciation from Belastingdienst on behalf of the Dutch government.[10] He was awarded a limited edition solid gold coin, commemorating the life and legacy of the mathematician and codebreaker Alan Turing for disclosing a security vulnerability to The Royal Mint.[11]
References
edit- ^ "Jacob Riggs | Champions Speakers". champions-speakers.co.uk. 2 January 2024.
- ^ "Jacob Riggs". The Cyber Security Speakers Agency.
- ^ "Plaistow man rushes to help stabbing victim". Newham Recorder. Archived from the original on 29 March 2020.
- ^ "Introducing Deadswitch: The World's Safest Data Insurance Strategy For Journalists, Dissidents And Whistleblowers". Dakota Digital. 21 April 2020.
- ^ Franceschi-Bicchierai, Lorenzo (29 October 2018). "How 'Mr. Hashtag' Helped Saudi Arabia Spy on Dissidents". Vice.
- ^ Franceschi-Bicchierai, Lorenzo (10 September 2020). "Here's How Police Request Data From WhatsApp and Facebook". Vice.com.
- ^ Corfield, Gareth. "DIVD raises $100k from Huntress Labs for national bug bounty". The Register.
- ^ "I hacked the Ministry of Defence so they sent me this coin". jacobriggs.io.
- ^ "Reporting a cyber security issue". UN Women – Headquarters.
- ^ "I hacked the Dutch Tax Administration and got a trophy". jacobriggs.io.
- ^ "The Royal Mint sent me a limited edition gold coin". jacobriggs.io.