Jessica Shurson
@jessicashurson.bsky.social
Law academic @ University of Sussex. Research interests: cybercrime and criminal law; digital surveillance, investigations & evidence; privacy law. 🇺🇸 in 🇬🇧. (Views are my own.)
issuesincybercrimelaw.substack.com
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2775-2136
issuesincybercrimelaw.substack.com
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2775-2136
Reposted by Jessica Shurson
Meta are never afraid to say the quiet bit out loud, but also, um WTAF?
Facebook plans to put facial recognition in its glasses and they think we’re too stupid to fight back.
Their internal memo: “We will launch during a dynamic political environment where many civil society groups that we would expect to attack us would have their resources focused on other concerns.”
Their internal memo: “We will launch during a dynamic political environment where many civil society groups that we would expect to attack us would have their resources focused on other concerns.”
Meta Plans to Add Facial Recognition Technology to Its Smart Glasses
www.nytimes.com
February 13, 2026 at 12:54 PM
Meta are never afraid to say the quiet bit out loud, but also, um WTAF?
Reposted by Jessica Shurson
While we await hearing whether a mooted GRANITE Act federal blocking statute materialises, everything you need to know about extraterritoriality and the transatlantic free speech wars. #OnlineSafetyAct www.cyberleagle.com/2026/02/extr...
Extraterritoriality and the transatlantic free speech wars
The transatlantic free speech wars continue to rage. The US House Judiciary Committee was in action again last week , taking aim at the Euro...
www.cyberleagle.com
February 12, 2026 at 7:26 PM
While we await hearing whether a mooted GRANITE Act federal blocking statute materialises, everything you need to know about extraterritoriality and the transatlantic free speech wars. #OnlineSafetyAct www.cyberleagle.com/2026/02/extr...
Depending on what kind of music you like: Winona Judd, Will Hoge, or Ke$ha
(Or probably just Ashley Judd)
(Or probably just Ashley Judd)
Who's the most famous alum of your high school?
I'll go first: David Draiman of Disturbed
I'll go first: David Draiman of Disturbed
guys i just found out i went to the same high school as howard lutnick. please respect my privacy at this time.
February 12, 2026 at 4:11 PM
Depending on what kind of music you like: Winona Judd, Will Hoge, or Ke$ha
(Or probably just Ashley Judd)
(Or probably just Ashley Judd)
Reposted by Jessica Shurson
Reposted by Jessica Shurson
Yeah I’m looking for my dog (girlfriend who has a restraining order against me and she has a dog) and here’s the picture of the dog (she walks this dog and I can use it to figure out her schedule) thanks for sending all footage my way
February 9, 2026 at 4:13 AM
Yeah I’m looking for my dog (girlfriend who has a restraining order against me and she has a dog) and here’s the picture of the dog (she walks this dog and I can use it to figure out her schedule) thanks for sending all footage my way
Reposted by Jessica Shurson
A scammer just tried exactly this on me via WhatsApp. Glad I saw a post here recently outlining the scam - it would be very easy to fall for. The “hotel” account had an unconvincing name, but they had my name, number & reservation dates. lifehacker.com/money/hotel-...
This New Hotel Reservation Scam Is Fooling People Who Use Sites Like Booking.com
If you've booked a hotel through a platform like Booking.com or Expedia, beware any communication that directs you to confirm your payment details to hold your reservation.
lifehacker.com
February 7, 2026 at 9:03 AM
A scammer just tried exactly this on me via WhatsApp. Glad I saw a post here recently outlining the scam - it would be very easy to fall for. The “hotel” account had an unconvincing name, but they had my name, number & reservation dates. lifehacker.com/money/hotel-...
Reposted by Jessica Shurson
As everyone knows, the only thing more viscerally exciting than a 3rd sector consultation response is a consultation response to a regulator's annual plan of work. But FIPR's response to Ofcom's recent consultation is worth a read - we cover some of the biggest policy issues facing the UK today.
FIPR has submitted a response to the Ofcom consultation on its work plan for 2026, arguing that the UK needs an ambitious programme of technically-informed work on the digital rights, privacy, and information policy issues that we currently face. 1/7
February 6, 2026 at 8:57 AM
As everyone knows, the only thing more viscerally exciting than a 3rd sector consultation response is a consultation response to a regulator's annual plan of work. But FIPR's response to Ofcom's recent consultation is worth a read - we cover some of the biggest policy issues facing the UK today.
Reposted by Jessica Shurson
Part 2 of the Independent Review of the Criminal Courts has been published. There's a lot to take in but two positives in the recommendations to start with
i) MOJ collecting data on unrepresented defendants
ii) increasing lower and upper end of legal aid threshold:
www.gov.uk/government/p...
i) MOJ collecting data on unrepresented defendants
ii) increasing lower and upper end of legal aid threshold:
www.gov.uk/government/p...
February 4, 2026 at 9:31 AM
Part 2 of the Independent Review of the Criminal Courts has been published. There's a lot to take in but two positives in the recommendations to start with
i) MOJ collecting data on unrepresented defendants
ii) increasing lower and upper end of legal aid threshold:
www.gov.uk/government/p...
i) MOJ collecting data on unrepresented defendants
ii) increasing lower and upper end of legal aid threshold:
www.gov.uk/government/p...
Reposted by Jessica Shurson
Here’s a tell: when you point to their hypocrisy it doesn't move them.
Hypocrisy is a feature not a bug of autocracy. Because it proves that the rules apply to you but not to them.
Hypocrisy is a feature not a bug of autocracy. Because it proves that the rules apply to you but not to them.
February 2, 2026 at 9:17 PM
Here’s a tell: when you point to their hypocrisy it doesn't move them.
Hypocrisy is a feature not a bug of autocracy. Because it proves that the rules apply to you but not to them.
Hypocrisy is a feature not a bug of autocracy. Because it proves that the rules apply to you but not to them.
Reposted by Jessica Shurson
This is huge news. I have spent the past 6 months wondering wtf was up with Amazon: they filed 380,000 AI-related CyberTipline reports to NCMEC in the first half of 2025.
Turns out ALL of it was known CSAM they found by screening their AI training data. It's NOT AI-generated or AI-morphed CSAM.
Turns out ALL of it was known CSAM they found by screening their AI training data. It's NOT AI-generated or AI-morphed CSAM.
What happens when the AI race collides with child safety?
Amazon Found ‘High Volume’ Of Child Sex Abuse Material in AI Training Data
The tech giant reported hundreds of thousands of cases of suspected child sexual abuse material, but won’t say where it came from
www.bloomberg.com
January 30, 2026 at 1:24 AM
This is huge news. I have spent the past 6 months wondering wtf was up with Amazon: they filed 380,000 AI-related CyberTipline reports to NCMEC in the first half of 2025.
Turns out ALL of it was known CSAM they found by screening their AI training data. It's NOT AI-generated or AI-morphed CSAM.
Turns out ALL of it was known CSAM they found by screening their AI training data. It's NOT AI-generated or AI-morphed CSAM.
Reposted by Jessica Shurson
This is an incredible story and I think too many people in our industry undervalue the impact of romance/pig butchering scams.
This how much each crime is estimated to bring in a year:
Ransomware: $1.3 billion
Romance/pig butchering: $75+ billion.
Great reporting by @agreenberg.bsky.social
This how much each crime is estimated to bring in a year:
Ransomware: $1.3 billion
Romance/pig butchering: $75+ billion.
Great reporting by @agreenberg.bsky.social
Last year, a human trafficking victim trapped in a crypto scam compound in the Golden Triangle region of Laos contacted me. He then proceeded to leak to me a huge collection of the compound's internal materials.
Then he had to get out alive. This is his story.
🧵👇 www.wired.com/story/he-lea...
Then he had to get out alive. This is his story.
🧵👇 www.wired.com/story/he-lea...
He Leaked the Secrets of a Southeast Asian Scam Compound. Then He Had to Get Out Alive
A source trapped inside an industrial-scale scamming operation contacted me, determined to expose his captors’ crimes—and then escape. This is his story.
www.wired.com
January 30, 2026 at 2:37 PM
This is an incredible story and I think too many people in our industry undervalue the impact of romance/pig butchering scams.
This how much each crime is estimated to bring in a year:
Ransomware: $1.3 billion
Romance/pig butchering: $75+ billion.
Great reporting by @agreenberg.bsky.social
This how much each crime is estimated to bring in a year:
Ransomware: $1.3 billion
Romance/pig butchering: $75+ billion.
Great reporting by @agreenberg.bsky.social
Reposted by Jessica Shurson
Spain: Prosecutors have been told they cannot rely on intercept evidence from the Sky ECC encrypted phone network in the absence of other evidence, unless they disclose the raw intercept data to defendants
By @billgoodwin.bsky.social
By @billgoodwin.bsky.social
Spanish court acquits suspects denied access to ‘raw’ Sky ECC intercepts in landmark decision | Computer Weekly
A Spanish court has raised questions about the validity and reliability of intercepted phone data, acquitting multiple defendants of drug trafficking charges in a case that relied solely on intercepte...
www.computerweekly.com
January 26, 2026 at 6:50 PM
Spain: Prosecutors have been told they cannot rely on intercept evidence from the Sky ECC encrypted phone network in the absence of other evidence, unless they disclose the raw intercept data to defendants
By @billgoodwin.bsky.social
By @billgoodwin.bsky.social
This. We live in completely different realities. Yes some actively cheer it on, but many more just don’t know what’s really happening.
Does anyone have any idea how we break the echo chambers? No Trump voter in my family will ever know what actually happened to Alex Pretti or Renee Good. They will believe the officers were justified. They will watch Fox News and that will be the end of it.
January 26, 2026 at 8:40 AM
This. We live in completely different realities. Yes some actively cheer it on, but many more just don’t know what’s really happening.
Reposted by Jessica Shurson
Microsoft is handing over Bitlocker keys to law enforcement. www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
Microsoft Gave FBI BitLocker Encryption Keys, Exposing Privacy Flaw
The tech giant said providing encryption keys was a standard response to a court order. But companies like Apple and Meta set up their systems so such a privacy violation isn’t possible.
www.forbes.com
January 23, 2026 at 1:59 PM
Microsoft is handing over Bitlocker keys to law enforcement. www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
Reposted by Jessica Shurson
I really loved speakigg bf to @stewartmotha.bsky.social about my book on interception powers, legal materialities, media theory and more for his excellent Cointersign podcast. Now online here:
countersignisapodcast.com
countersignisapodcast.com
Countersign – A podcast
Countersign is a podcast hosted by Stewart Motha, Professor of Law at Birkbeck. Stewart and guests discuss books, films, and other materials from across disciplines to consider new perspectives on law...
countersignisapodcast.com
January 24, 2026 at 6:28 AM
I really loved speakigg bf to @stewartmotha.bsky.social about my book on interception powers, legal materialities, media theory and more for his excellent Cointersign podcast. Now online here:
countersignisapodcast.com
countersignisapodcast.com
Reposted by Jessica Shurson
NEW: Ireland is working on a law to regulate the use of spyware by the police.
There's no details yet, but the Irish government promises to balance the need to fight serious crime with spyware, with the need to respect privacy and human rights.
techcrunch.com/2026/01/22/i...
There's no details yet, but the Irish government promises to balance the need to fight serious crime with spyware, with the need to respect privacy and human rights.
techcrunch.com/2026/01/22/i...
Ireland proposes new law allowing police to use spyware | TechCrunch
The Irish government announced that it wants to pass a law that would grant police more surveillance powers, such as using spyware to fight serious crime, while aiming to protect the privacy rights of...
techcrunch.com
January 22, 2026 at 4:51 PM
NEW: Ireland is working on a law to regulate the use of spyware by the police.
There's no details yet, but the Irish government promises to balance the need to fight serious crime with spyware, with the need to respect privacy and human rights.
techcrunch.com/2026/01/22/i...
There's no details yet, but the Irish government promises to balance the need to fight serious crime with spyware, with the need to respect privacy and human rights.
techcrunch.com/2026/01/22/i...
Reposted by Jessica Shurson
peak UK to spend 5 years debating the Online Safety Act, 3 years enacting it, 1 month rendering it largely irrelevant before it's taken effect by banning the problem it was supposed to solve
January 22, 2026 at 2:27 PM
peak UK to spend 5 years debating the Online Safety Act, 3 years enacting it, 1 month rendering it largely irrelevant before it's taken effect by banning the problem it was supposed to solve
Reposted by Jessica Shurson
There should be a special place in bibliographic hell for people who don't put dates on their PDFs.
January 22, 2026 at 10:22 AM
There should be a special place in bibliographic hell for people who don't put dates on their PDFs.
Reposted by Jessica Shurson
i feel like the viral bus thread resonates because at every step of the way you're like "ok surely this will be resolved shortly, any second now," which seems like what all the passengers are also thinking. then the fact that the situation doesn't resolve and the bus just keeps going is an Allegory
January 20, 2026 at 5:02 PM
i feel like the viral bus thread resonates because at every step of the way you're like "ok surely this will be resolved shortly, any second now," which seems like what all the passengers are also thinking. then the fact that the situation doesn't resolve and the bus just keeps going is an Allegory
Reposted by Jessica Shurson
It’s worth reading every word of PM Carney’s speech to see that we live in a new world. www.weforum.org/stories/2026...
Davos 2026: Special address by Mark Carney, PM of Canada
Canadian PM Mark Carney stressed the end of the rules-based international order and urged middle powers to act together to counter the great power rivalry.
www.weforum.org
January 21, 2026 at 6:45 AM
It’s worth reading every word of PM Carney’s speech to see that we live in a new world. www.weforum.org/stories/2026...
Reposted by Jessica Shurson
Mark Carney's speech really is terrific: full text is here and very much worth your time.
The Carney doctrine
Open comment thread on the PM's Davos speech
paulwells.substack.com
January 20, 2026 at 5:52 PM
Mark Carney's speech really is terrific: full text is here and very much worth your time.
A really good post and also glad to see Paul back here!
It is even worse than it looks
The Old World Order is Dead
Unipolarity was given, not taken
open.substack.com
January 20, 2026 at 7:09 PM
A really good post and also glad to see Paul back here!
Reposted by Jessica Shurson
Irish government announces interception reform plans to:
* Extend interception to OTT services (WhatsApp, etc.);
* Legislate for IMSI catchers; and
* Legalise spyware as an alternative form of interception.
Announcement very vague on e2e encryption; seems to intend to require backdoors.
* Extend interception to OTT services (WhatsApp, etc.);
* Legislate for IMSI catchers; and
* Legalise spyware as an alternative form of interception.
Announcement very vague on e2e encryption; seems to intend to require backdoors.
Minister Jim O’Callaghan strengthens lawful interception powers
www.gov.ie
January 20, 2026 at 1:59 PM
Irish government announces interception reform plans to:
* Extend interception to OTT services (WhatsApp, etc.);
* Legislate for IMSI catchers; and
* Legalise spyware as an alternative form of interception.
Announcement very vague on e2e encryption; seems to intend to require backdoors.
* Extend interception to OTT services (WhatsApp, etc.);
* Legislate for IMSI catchers; and
* Legalise spyware as an alternative form of interception.
Announcement very vague on e2e encryption; seems to intend to require backdoors.
Reposted by Jessica Shurson
this is, literally, a wild ride
I just woke up from a nap and somehow while I was asleep, everyone on the bus has figured out we are not going to the right place
January 20, 2026 at 1:27 PM
this is, literally, a wild ride
Reposted by Jessica Shurson
"My ultimate vision... is that the eyes of the state can be on you at all times"
Also,
"This doesn't mean watching people who are non-criminals"
- yes, explicitly it does
Also,
"This doesn't mean watching people who are non-criminals"
- yes, explicitly it does
Shabana Mahmood here, and the vibes are not getting better.
January 20, 2026 at 8:02 AM
"My ultimate vision... is that the eyes of the state can be on you at all times"
Also,
"This doesn't mean watching people who are non-criminals"
- yes, explicitly it does
Also,
"This doesn't mean watching people who are non-criminals"
- yes, explicitly it does