About


Ryan Gallagher is a Scottish journalist presently based in and around South East England.

He regularly reports on surveillance technology, national security and privacy-related issues for Slate magazine. His work has appeared in the Guardian, the Financial Times, the Sydney Morning Herald, the Independent, the Big Issue in the North and New Statesman, among others. He is a Future Tense fellow at the New America Foundation and an associate editor of award-winning e-zine openDemocracy.net's UK section, OurKingdom.

Since 2011, Ryan has broken stories about secret mobile phone monitoring systems purchased by Britain's biggest police force, revealed the extent of a huge UK law enforcement database storing information about unconvicted citizens, uncovered links between Western technology firms and computer snooping attacks on activists in North Africa, and shed light on legally dubious satellite tracking tactics used by private investigators across the United States. He has reported from inside the world's largest arms fair, covered historic protests from Spain to London, disclosed levels of toxic chemicals being pumped into a major UK waterway, investigated shocking standards at hostels for homeless people in England, interviewed some of the world's most notorious and elusive cyber hackers, and much more. His stories have been syndicated and followed up internationally, with his work on companies manufacturing high-tech spy equipment sold to repressive regimes prompting Hillary Clinton's US state department to issue a rare public condemnation.

Ryan is an NCTJ accredited reporter and a proud alumnus of the University of Edinburgh (MSc; 2010) and the University of Abertay, Dundee (First Class BA (Hons); 2009).

You can contact him directly about stories, investigations, commissions or anything else by emailing ryan[at]rjgallagher.co.uk. Alternatively you can fill out this contact form. If you would prefer to use encrypted methods — recommended for sensitive issues or information — head over to this page.