Jacob Riggs

On 13 November 2019, during the course of his research as an ethical hacker, Riggs successfully identified and responsibly disclosed a critical vulnerability in the central UK Victim & Witness Care Unit database, which provided unrestricted access to data on thousands of vulnerable people. The vulnerability was fixed shortly thereafter by the UK National Cyber Security Centre.

In 2017, Riggs founded Subject Access, a data privacy web-based platform centred on GDPR law to assist UK/EU citizens with exercising their right of access through the use of interactive user-friendly web forms. In the same year, he joined The Guardian as a security consultant and was quickly promoted to a senior security specialist responsible for managing the security, safety, and operational effectiveness of journalists and sources.

Over the course of 2016, Riggs contracted with various charities such as Age UK, Alzheimer's Society, and The Children's Society to help improve their security posture. In 2016, Riggs also began work on Deadswitch, a cloud based zero-knowledge dead man's switch service designed to protect journalists, dissidents, and whistleblowers.

In 2015, Riggs was the Chief Architect of CryptKey, a non-profit mobile application project focused on developing authentication tooling and secure communication channels compatible with implantable RFID technology.

On 21 October 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.