Christopher Parsons

Christopher Parsons (he/him/his)

@christopher-parsons.com

1.5K followers 790 following 270 posts

Policy wonk. Street photographer. Torontonian. Not necessarily in that order.

Interests: privacy, national security, artificial intelligence, accountability, democratic governance.

Posts are mine, not my employer’s.

https://christopher-parsons.com .. more

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Political science 36%

Economics 28%

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Christopher Parsons (he/him/his) @christopher-parsons.com · Oct 21

For 2+ years I’ve been curating a public RSS feed on #cybersecurity, #AI, #privacy, #nationalsecurity, #criticalinfrastructure, & associated policy/legal updates.

Most recent 20 links are at: christopher-parsons.com/resources/li...

You can subscribe to the RSS feed at: raindrop.io/collection/2...

Links of Interest

Photo by Matheus Bertelli on Pexels.com I aggregate and share links to articles, reports, or other materials pertaining to my professional interests. Topics covered tend to include: cybersecurity, …

christopher-parsons.com

Reposted by Christopher Parsons

Ryan Naraine @ryanaraine.bsky.social · 10d

FULL SHOW youtu.be/EwMJsU8klZ0?...

OpenAI’s Dave Aitel talks Aardvark, economics of bug-hunting with LLMs

YouTube video by Three Buddy Problem

youtu.be

Reposted by Christopher Parsons

Kevin Beaumont @doublepulsar.com · Aug 27

. @ciaranm.bsky.social mentioned in this The Times piece about telecom hacks. He's absolutely on the money. A large part of the problem with UK telcos is attackers knowing SNMP strings (and default ones). SNMPv2 from 1995, btw. Then using it to redirect traffic.

Christopher Parsons (he/him/his) @christopher-parsons.com · Aug 16

Outlook 365 alternately autocompletes my name to “Christ” or (most recently) “Christmas” which is always fun to receive (and, once, accidentally sign off as….)

Reposted by Christopher Parsons

Suzanne Smalley @suzannesmalley.bsky.social · Aug 7

Germany's top court: Police can only use spyware to probe serious crimes due to its "exceptional reach" and "very serious interference" with individual rights

therecord.media/germany-spyw...

Germany’s top court holds that police can only use spyware to investigate serious crimes

The plaintiffs argued that a 2017 rules change enabling law enforcement to use spyware to eavesdrop on encrypted chats and messaging platforms could unfairly expose communications belonging to people ...

therecord.media

Reposted by Christopher Parsons, Greg Linden

Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · Aug 7

New from 404 Media: more than 130,000 Claude, Grok, ChatGPT, and other LLM chats are readable on Archive.org. It's similar to the Google indexing issue, but shows it impacts many more LLMs than just ChatGPT. Some chats contain API keys.

www.404media.co/more-than-13...

More than 130,000 Claude, Grok, ChatGPT, and Other LLM Chats Readable on Archive.org

The issue of publicly saving shared LLM chats is bigger than just Google.

www.404media.co

Reposted by Christopher Parsons, Brian Keegan, Kate Starbird , and 1 more Christopher Parsons, Brian Keegan, Kate Starbird, Alexandra Filindra

Joshua J. Friedman @joshuajfriedman.com · Aug 7

NEW: "The electronic case filing system used by the federal judiciary has been breached in a sweeping cyber intrusion that is believed to have exposed sensitive court data across multiple U.S. states, according to two people with knowledge of the incident."

Federal court filing system hit in sweeping hack

The identities of confidential court informants are feared compromised in a series of breaches across multiple U.S. states.

www.politico.com

Christopher Parsons (he/him/his) @christopher-parsons.com · Jul 28

CSE and NSERC to fund research on exploratory analysis of unstructured data www.canada.ca/en/communica...

CSE and NSERC to fund research on exploratory analysis of unstructured data - Canada.ca

The Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSE) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) are pleased to announce the funding of a new research community focus...

www.canada.ca

Reposted by Anna O. Law, Will Jennings, Justin H. Kirkland , and 9 more Anna O. Law, Will Jennings, Justin H. Kirkland, Lesley A. Hall, Efrén O. Pérez, Christopher Parsons, Peter Stoett, Ailsa Henderson, Michelle Dion, Toni Haastrup, Jeff Carter, Juliet Johnson

Matthew Lebo @matthewlebo.bsky.social · Jul 28

Political Science at Western University, Canada is searching for three tenure track assistant professors. There are two ads, one in International Politics (IR or comparative) and one in Comparative or Canadian. Ads are here: www.uwo.ca/facultyrelat...

Faculty (UWOFA)

Western University, in vibrant London, Ontario, delivers an academic and student experience second to none.

www.uwo.ca

Reposted by Christopher Parsons

Bill Robinson @billrobinson.bsky.social · Apr 5

Globe article on the Canadian security clearance process.

A few additional details:

- Cabinet ministers do not go through the regular clearance process, but they do get similar background checks. Polygraph is not used. Ministers' access to classified info expires when they leave Cabinet.
1/7

The Globe and Mail @theglobeandmail.com · Apr 5

What does it mean to have security clearance? Here’s how the process unfolds

Classified briefings can inform politicians’ approach to sensitive issues, experts say. Here’s what to know about who qualifies, and what the screening process entails

www.theglobeandmail.com

Reposted by Christopher Parsons

Horkos @wylienewmark.bsky.social · Apr 14

seinfeld characters as intelligence services: a thread

Reposted by Christopher Parsons

Matthew Green @matthewdgreen.bsky.social · Apr 24

It is insane how scary the threat models of encrypted messaging apps providers are.

Reposted by Christopher Parsons

Joseph Menn @joemenn.bsky.social · Jul 20

A global zero-day attack on common SharePoint server software from Microsoft has breached hundreds or thousands of organizations worldwide, including some federal and state agencies, we report at the Post. It started with a bad patch. Gift link: wapo.st/3TRrqcP

Global hack on Microsoft product hits U.S., state agencies, researchers say

Unknown attackers exploited a “significant vulnerability” in Microsoft’s SharePoint collaboration software, hitting targets around the world.

wapo.st

Reposted by Christopher Parsons

Council of Canadian Academies/Conseil des académies canadiennes @cca-reports.ca · Jul 23

Interested in the intersection of science and public policy? Apply to be a Project Coordinator. We're looking for a motivated and enthusiastic individual who excels working in a fast-paced environment. #CdnSci #PoliSci

Find out more and apply: www.cca-reports.ca/careers/

Blue background with the text, we're hiring!

Christopher Parsons (he/him/his) @christopher-parsons.com · Jul 20

Ufffff…

Joseph Menn @joemenn.bsky.social · Jul 20

Global hack on Microsoft product hits U.S., state agencies, researchers say

Unknown attackers exploited a “significant vulnerability” in Microsoft’s SharePoint collaboration software, hitting targets around the world.

wapo.st

Christopher Parsons (he/him/his) @christopher-parsons.com · Jul 16

I’d anticipate this to be the case.

Christopher Parsons (he/him/his) @christopher-parsons.com · Jul 16

And with the heightened interest in the north, in particular, I can see reasons why the government may want to send less-militaristic Coast Guard vessels for intel collection vs warships or available underwater collection devices/vessels.

Christopher Parsons (he/him/his) @christopher-parsons.com · Jul 16

Anyways: this just seems like a little clause that isn’t subject to much discussion just yet. Though that may change over time with more eyes assessing and studying the legislation!

You can find the full bill at: www.parl.ca/DocumentView...

Government Bill (House of Commons) C-2 (45-1) - First Reading - Strong Borders Act - Parliament of Canada

www.parl.ca

Christopher Parsons (he/him/his) @christopher-parsons.com · Jul 16

(On 3. — I’m not a Coast Guard expert and so 100% just hypothesizing!)

Christopher Parsons (he/him/his) @christopher-parsons.com · Jul 16

It is also possible these amendments may help Canada to:
1. reach some of its NATO spending objectives
2. establish a statutory authority to expand intelligence collection if certain allied sources are cut off. 3. potentially, lend statutory protections for activities already being undertake.

Christopher Parsons (he/him/his) @christopher-parsons.com · Jul 16

The proposed powers look similar to those associated with the USA’s Coast Guard, which has an intelligence collection function (see, for example, www.dco.uscg.mil/Our-Organiza... or www.intelligence.gov/how-the-ic-w...)

www.dco.uscg.mil

Christopher Parsons (he/him/his) @christopher-parsons.com · Jul 16

The bill then further clarifies that “[i]n exercising the powers and performing the duties and functions assigned to them under section 41, the Minister (…) may collect, analyze and disclose information or intelligence.”

Christopher Parsons (he/him/his) @christopher-parsons.com · Jul 16

The amendments would, by my reading, expand the services offered by the Coast Guard to include:

> (f) security, including security patrols and the collection, analysis and disclosure of information or intelligence.

Christopher Parsons (he/him/his) @christopher-parsons.com · Jul 16

While it’s received understandable less attention by scholars, journalists, and civil society, I think it’s notable that Canada’s Bill C-2 will amend the Oceans Act, and specifically the section dealing with the Coast Guard.

#nationalsecurity #intelligence

Christopher Parsons (he/him/his) @christopher-parsons.com · Jul 9

Excellent news! Congratulations!

Christopher Parsons (he/him/his) @christopher-parsons.com · Jul 7

🤩

Reposted by Christopher Parsons, Daniel Zappala

Joseph Lorenzo Hall, PhD @josephhall.org · Jun 25

Excited to announce the Enigma Track program is now live for USENIX Security '25! Taking place August 13-14, this track delves into technology's societal impacts & future challenges: www.usenix.org/conference/u... 1/8

Christopher Parsons (he/him/his) @christopher-parsons.com · Jun 24

Again, you can find the newly published guardrails at: www.ipc.on.ca/en/resources...

Guardrails for Police Use of Investigative Genetic Genealogy in Ontario

While investigative genetic genealogy is a valuable tool for solving crimes and bringing closure to grieving families, there are no clear laws for how police can use it, and under what circumstances. ...

www.ipc.on.ca

Christopher Parsons (he/him/his) @christopher-parsons.com · Jun 24

3. Hold regular meaningful consultations with Indigenous and other equity-seeking groups, privacy and human rights advocates, victims' rights groups, and other parties to ensure consideration and integration of a broad range of perspectives on the privacy and human rights impact of police use of IGG

Christopher Parsons (he/him/his) @christopher-parsons.com · Jun 24

2. Localize IGG-related DNA sequencing to an accredited public forensic laboratory based in Ontario that is subject to Canadian law

Christopher Parsons (he/him/his) @christopher-parsons.com · Jun 24

We, also, recommend three additional measures to support public trust in police use of IGG. In summary:

1. Establish an independent, province wide IGG advisory committee with the requisite interdisciplinary expertise

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