Ryan Gallagher is an Edinburgh-based investigative journalist for Bloomberg News’ cybersecurity team, specializing in government surveillance, digital rights, and technology’s human rights impacts. With NCTJ accreditation and recognition from the Livingston and George Polk awards, his career combines technical analysis with ground reporting from conflict zones and marginalized communities.
Gallagher’s work remains essential reading for policymakers, cybersecurity professionals, and civil liberties advocates. His reporting continues to shape global debates about privacy in the digital age.
Ryan Gallagher is an award-winning investigative journalist based in Edinburgh, Scotland, currently reporting for Bloomberg News’ cybersecurity team. With a career spanning over a decade, Gallagher has established himself as a leading voice in uncovering government surveillance overreach, corporate espionage, and the ethical implications of emerging technologies. His work blends forensic technical analysis with human rights advocacy, often leveraging leaked documents to expose systemic abuses of power.
Gallagher’s career began at openDemocracy.net, where he served as associate editor of the UK section OurKingdom, focusing on civil liberties and democratic accountability[4]. This foundation in human rights reporting informed his later transition to investigative technology journalism at The Intercept, where he contributed to the Pulitzer Prize-finalist Drone Papers series documenting covert U.S. assassination programs[4]. His 2018 investigation into Google’s censored Chinese search engine project, which revealed blacklisting of terms like “human rights” and “peaceful protest,” sparked global backlash and congressional inquiries, ultimately leading Google to abandon the initiative[4].
“The tension between national security and individual privacy represents one of the defining battles of our digital age. When governments operate in secrecy while demanding unprecedented access to citizens’ lives, journalism becomes society’s last line of defense.”
This 2023 Bloomberg investigation detailed how Pegasus spyware targeted Elena Kostyuchenko, a journalist critical of Russia’s Ukraine invasion. Gallagher’s forensic analysis of network logs and interviews with cybersecurity experts revealed NSO Group’s tools were used despite the company’s claims of reforming its client vetting process. The piece underscored the global proliferation of mercenary surveillance tools and their chilling effect on press freedom[3][4].
As part of The Intercept’s 2015 investigative team, Gallagher analyzed classified military documents detailing the Obama administration’s drone warfare protocols. The series exposed how 90% of casualties in targeted strikes were unintended victims, challenging official narratives about surgical precision in counterterrorism operations. This work received the George Polk Award for National Security Reporting[4].
Gallagher’s 2011 ground reporting from Dale Farm combined census data analysis with firsthand accounts from Traveler families facing displacement. By contrasting local council rhetoric about “illegal settlements” with residents’ documentation of planning permission attempts, the piece highlighted systemic discrimination in UK housing policy[9].
Gallagher prioritizes stories demonstrating how surveillance tools disproportionately affect marginalized groups. A successful pitch might explore facial recognition’s use in refugee camps or algorithmic bias in predictive policing systems. His Bloomberg piece on NSO’s targeting of Russian dissidents exemplifies this approach[3][4].
Stories supported by internal documents from tech employees or government contractors receive particular attention. The Drone Papers investigation succeeded because it combined leaked military slides with interviews of drone operators experiencing moral injury[4].
While Gallagher reports on implemented AI systems (e.g., predictive policing algorithms), he avoids futurism about hypothetical technologies. Pitches should focus on deployed systems with documented civil rights impacts.
Stories bridging cybersecurity and international law, such as VPN crackdowns in authoritarian states or cross-border data sharing agreements, align with his Bloomberg beat. His analysis of EU-US Privacy Shield deficiencies demonstrates this focus[4].
Successful pitches include concrete pathways to interview surveillance victims, ethical hackers, or government accountability experts. Gallagher’s Dale Farm reporting gained depth through months of trust-building with Traveler communities[9].
The University of Michigan honor recognized Gallagher’s Google China investigation for demonstrating “exceptional promise” in international reporting. Judges noted his ability to translate technical documents into accessible narratives about corporate complicity in censorship[4].
Shared with The Intercept’s Drone Papers team, this prestigious award highlighted the series’ impact on public understanding of targeted killing programs. The investigation prompted congressional hearings about civilian casualty reporting standards[4].
Gallagher’s certification from the UK’s National Council for the Training of Journalists reflects his commitment to ethical reporting standards, particularly when handling classified information from whistleblowers[4].
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