Dr Joss Wright

Research

Current projects

• Oxford Martin Programme on the Illegal Wildlife Trade

  Participants: Dr Joss Wright

  This project will develop an international hub to track and analyse the global illegal wildlife trade, both online and offline, and develop strategies to reduce the threat of the trade through social policy interventions.

Past projects

• Economic Geographies of the Darknet

  Participants: Professor Mark Graham, Dr Joss Wright, Martin Dittus

  This project investigates the economic geographies of illegal economic activities in anonymous internet marketplaces.

• Digital Personhood: Being There: Humans and Robots in Public Spaces (HARPS)

  Participants: Professor Ian Brown, Dr Joss Wright, Guy Piers O'Hanlon

  This project considers the challenges of having robot proxies in public spaces. It will conduct experiments exploring trust in shared social settings, and develop a framework for understanding the impact of privacy / anonymity in human-robot interactions.

• Future Home Networks and Services

  Participants: Professor Ian Brown, Dr Joss Wright, Guy Piers O'Hanlon, Dr Andrew Martin

  This project is addressing home network and service security by researching and developing security frameworks for sharing between networks and devices, protocols to connect devices with cloud services, and security analysis of remote management systems.

• FRESNEL: Federated Secure Sensor Network Laboratory

  Participants: Professor Ian Brown, Dr Joss Wright, Guy Piers O'Hanlon

  FRESNEL aims to build a large scale federated sensor network framework with multiple applications sharing the same resources, where reliable intra-application communication is guaranteed, as well as a scalable and distributed management infrastructure.

• IMSK: Integrated Mobile Security Kit

  Participants: Dr Anne-Marie Oostveen, Professor Ian Brown, Dr Joss Wright

  IMSK integrates information from legacy and novel sensor technologies into common operational picture where information is fused into intelligence, in a mobile system suitable for rapid deployment at venues which temporarily need enhanced security.

• SUBITO: Surveillance of Unattended Baggage and the Identification and Tracking of the Owner

  Participants: Professor Ian Brown, Dr Joss Wright

  SUBITO is designed to research and further develop automated real time detection of abandoned luggage, fast identification of the individual responsible and his/her subsequent path and current location.

Teaching

• Subversive Technologies

  This course aims to provide students with an understanding of technologies that provide control over information flows and action on the internet, and those that resist or subvert that control.

• Internet Technologies and Regulation

  Exploring the interplay between social and technological shaping of the Internet, and associated policy implications. It outlines the Internet's origins and technical architecture and its embeddedness in a long history of communication technologies.

Videos

• MSc Course on Internet Technologies and Regulation: Technological Convergence (8)

  Recorded: 28 November 2012

  Duration: 00:39:10

  This lecture will cover the technology behind converging networks and diverging platforms, and the policy responses of regulators such as the US Federal Communications Commission, European Commission and UK Office of Communications.

• MSc Course on Internet Technologies and Regulation: Digital Identity and Authentication (7)

  Recorded: 21 November 2012

  Duration: 01:01:40

  This lecture will look at the range of centralised, federated and user-centric identity management technologies being developed and how governments and business are implementing them.

• MSc Course on Internet Technologies and Regulation: Privacy and Security (6)

  Recorded: 14 November 2012

  Duration: 00:54:27

  This lecture will cover key technological and legal trends in data protection and information security, and consider the two key drivers of security and efficiency in government use of personal data.

• MSc Course on Internet Technologies and Regulation: Content Regulation and Filtering (5)

  Recorded: 7 November 2012

  Duration: 00:58:29

  This lecture will cover the blocking technologies used and the policies being developed in a range of nations including the UK, the US, China and Australia.

• MSc Course on Internet Technologies and Regulation: Internet Architecture (1)

  Recorded: 10 October 2012

  Duration: 01:48:24

  This lecture covers the basic concepts and policy implications of the Internet technical architecture, including the end-to-end principle, the IP 'hourglass', and how real-time and best-effort reliable communications are carried over lossy networks.

• Privacy-Preserving Data Analysis – Mechanisms and Formal Guarantees (EINS Summer School 2012)

  Recorded: 13 August 2012

  Duration: 01:18:05

  This lecture examines, from a technological angle, the problems involved with gathering, storing and accessing data about individuals in databases whilst preserving their individual privacy.

News

• Understanding consumer behaviour key to tackling illegal wildlife trade

  23 September 2016

  The OII's Joss Wright is a PI in a new programme at the Oxford Martin School that brings together academics from conservation science, social policy and cybersecurity to tackle the illegal wildlife trade.

Events

• Data Anonymisation, Partial Ownership, and Highly Correlated Data Sets

  12 February 2014

  This seminar will explore technical means by which data is traditionally anonymised and highlight how these anonymisation methods fail, particularly when compounded by various key features of genomic data.

• Towards a Practical Complexity-Theoretic Analysis of Mix Systems

  20 June 2011

  The mix architecture, proposed by Chaum in 1981, allows for messages to be sent and received anonymously in computer networks. This talk will introduce the mix architecture and some of the most well known attacks for identifying users.

Blog

• A Quick Investigation of EdgeCast CDN Blocking in China

  18 November 2014

  Author: Joss Wright

  This morning, GreatFire.org published a story stating that EdgeCast CDN, one of the more popular content distribution networks that handles content for a number ... Read More A Quick Investigation of EdgeCast CDN Blocking in China

• Open Rights Group Report: “Digital Surveillance”

  16 May 2013

  Author: Joss Wright

  The Open Rights Group have recently released “Digital Surveillance – Why the Snoopers’ Charter is the wrong approach: A call for targeted and accountable ... Read More Open Rights Group Report: “Digital Surveillance”

• Chinese Internet Filtering: The Curious Case of the Florida Pet Club

  23 December 2012

  Author: Joss Wright

  Of the various ways to filter the internet, manipulating DNS is probably the simplest and cheapest in terms of resources. DNS, the Domain Name ... Read More Chinese Internet Filtering: The Curious Case of the Florida Pet Club

• Workshop on Free and Open Communications on the Internet (FOCI’12)

  31 March 2012

  Author: Joss Wright

  Following on from the fantastically interesting FOCI workshop last year, I am co-chairing this year’s FOCI workshop along with Roger Dingledine of the Tor ... Read More Workshop on Free and Open Communications on the Internet (FOCI’12)

• Discussing Online Privacy in the Observer, with Tom Chatfield

  4 March 2012

  Author: Joss Wright

  I was recently approached by the Observer to take part in an email-based discussion with Tom Chatfield about online privacy and the direction that ... Read More Discussing Online Privacy in the Observer, with Tom Chatfield

• Presentation on Mapping Chinese Censorship

  29 December 2011

  Author: Joss Wright

  I recently presented my work on censorship mapping to my colleagues at the OII, including a couple of maps with early analysis of DNS ... Read More Presentation on Mapping Chinese Censorship

• Freedom of Communication on the Internet Workshop (FOCI): Fine-Grained Censorship Mapping — Information Sources, Legality and Ethics

  2 November 2011

  Author: Joss Wright

  This year saw the first workshop on Freedom of Communications on the Internet, co-located with USENIX Security in San Francisco. My contribution, co-authored with ... Read More Freedom of Communication on the Internet Workshop (FOCI): Fine-Grained Censorship Mapping — Information Sources, Legality and Ethics

• Experiences of Chinese Internet Censorship

  12 September 2011

  Author: Joss Wright

  I was recently invited to speak at Dalian Technical University, in Liaoning Province in Northern China, and took the opportunity afterwards to spend three ... Read More Experiences of Chinese Internet Censorship

• Freedom of Communications on the Internet (FOCI) Workshop

  27 February 2011

  Author: Joss Wright

  I’m on my way back from the Workshop on Free and Open Communication on the Internet (FOCI) that was held in the last few ... Read More Freedom of Communications on the Internet (FOCI) Workshop

• Contentious Connections

  6 January 2011

  Author: Joss Wright

  I have a comment piece in the Guardian today about network neutrality and BT’s Content Connect service. The online version is here. I’ll let ... Read More Contentious Connections

Press

• Apple and Russia face off over Telegram on App Store

  31 May 2018 BBC News

  
  

  Apple and Russia are locked in a stand-off over the company's App Store.

• This is why Russia’s attempts to block Telegram have failed

  28 April 2018 Wired

  
  

  The Telegram ban in Russia doesn't show any signs of slowing. But there may be consequences for the web at large.

• Millions of censored web pages discovered in massive study

  18 April 2018 New Scientist

  
  

  A huge swathe of web pages blocked by four countries has been discovered.

• Fentanyl Adds Deadly Kick to Opioid Woes in Britain

  4 February 2018 The New York Times

  
  

  Britain accounts for the largest number of fentanyl sales on the limited access darknet in Europe, with 1,000 trades being made in recent months, research by the Oxford Internet Institute found.

• UK accounts for largest share of darknet fentanyl sales in Europe

  16 October 2017 The Guardian

  
  

  The UK is the largest host of fentanyl sales on the darknet in Europe, with 1,000 trades being made in the last few months, OII research shows.

• Porn ID checks set to start in April 2018

  17 July 2017 BBC News

  
  

  A nine-month countdown to the introduction of compulsory age checks on online pornography seen from the UK has begun.

• Researchers are trying to map the dark web economy to the real world

  22 February 2017 The Outline

  
  

  Mark Graham and Joss Wright are planning to spend a year creating the most comprehensive picture yet of the dark web economy.

• A woman has been accused of live-streaming her boyfriend raping a teenage girl

  15 April 2016 Cosmopolitan

  
  

  Joss Wright comments on the impossibility of regulated live-streaming.

• Woman accused of live-streaming rape on Periscope

  14 April 2016 BBC News

  
  

  Joss Wright comments on the difficulties in regulating live-streaming.

• US attorney calls for access to Google and Apple phones

  18 November 2015 BBC News Technology

  
  

  Joss Wright characterises the demand by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office for lawmakers to have access to encrypted smart phone data as impractical. He says 'I think the harm it would do to security would be very great.'

• Our seven must-read IT stories this week: fantasy football foul-up, RBS data lake and Internet of Cillit Bang

  13 November 2015 Computing

  
  

  Joss Wright's comments made to a Committee of MPs on the draft Investigatory Powers Bill is one of Computing's top seven stories

• Apple tells US judge iPhones are ‘impossible’ to unlock

  21 October 2015 BBC News Technology

  
  

  Apple has said that it cannot access encrypted data on newer iPhones despite a request by the US Department of Justice to do so. Joss Wright says that the core encryption is nearly unbreakable and no-one can unlock a device without the key.

• The UK’s Piracy Battle Is an Ongoing Arms Race

  10 October 2015 VICE Motherboard

  
  

  The struggle between the copoyright holders in creative industries and illegal file sharers is described as an 'ongoing arms race' by Joss Wright who nonetheless doubts that creative industries are harmed by the practice.

• Edward Snowden: Smartphone users can do ‘very little’ to stop security services getting control of devices

  5 October 2015 The Independent

  
  

  Joss Wright's contribution to the recent BBC Panorama programme in which Edward Snowden gave his first British television interview is noted. Dr Wright told the programme that there is 'huge amount' of data transmitting the UK

• Edward Snowden: Spies and the Law

  5 October 2015 Panorama, BBC1

  
  

  Panorama talked to Edward Snowden in his first UK interview as part of an investigation into government surveillance and security. Joss Wright comments about the volume of data being transmitted hourly

• Profiled. From Radio to Porn, British Spies Track Web Users’ Online Identities

  25 September 2015 The Intercept

  
  

  Joss Wright points out that the cables that transport foreign communications also transport wholly British interactions allowing the UK, Government Communications Headquarters to monitor its citizens online activity.

• Profiled From Radio to Porn, British Spies Track Web Users’ Online Identities

  25 September 2015 Global Research

  
  

  Joss Wright points out that the cables that transport foreign communications also transport wholly British interactions allowing the UK, Government Communications Headquarters to monitor its citizens online activity.

• Google overhauls privacy and security settings

  1 June 2015 BBC News Technology

  
  

  Whilst welcoming the changes being made to Google's security settings, Joss Wright has some reservations about the way the choices are presented.

• Medical Records Scheme May Identify Patients

  13 January 2015 Sky News

  
  

  Joss Wright demonstrates how private and publicly held data can be combined to reveal the identity of patients despite NHS anonymising medical records.

• Soon the internet will be impossible to control

  10 December 2014 Daily Telegraph

  
  

  Joss Wright comments in an in-depth article about who controls the internet and how users' online experience is controlled.

• Is the Internet broken, and can it even be fixed?

  3 November 2014 CNN

  
  

  In an in-depth article written for CNN Joss Wright discusses the shortcomings of the evolving nature of the internet and says that its future should be guided towards the benefits rather than risks.

• Location, location, location: how your smartphone knows exactly where you’ve been…

  28 October 2014 Evening Standard

  
  

  iPhone's keep track of places recently visited as well as how often and when visited. Joss Wright comments that localisation and data sharing are likely to increae.

• How can you tell what’s banned on the Internet?

  21 October 2014 Free Speech Debate

  
  

  Joss Wright describes the technical and ethical challenges in investigating online censorship.

• ‘Are decisions being made about me using data I never meant to give to a third party?’: WIRED’s Madhumita Venkataramanan on data-tracking companies

  6 October 2014 Evening Standard

  
  

  The personal data economy uses data from our private and public lives to identify our behaviour, location and interactions. Joss Wright comments that simply removing a name from a list does not make for anonymity.

• Inside the Dark Web

  4 September 2014 BBC 2

  
  

  Joss Wright is a major contributor to the 'Horizon' documentary on BBC2 discussing the challenges to the web posed by surveillance by governments and corporations and by the development of the so-called Dark Web.

• Uncertainty: technology’s secret weapon in encouraging us to explore

  1 September 2014 Guardian Technology

  
  

  The OII's Professor of Philosophy and Ethics of Information explains why a degree of healthy uncertainty is to be welcomed, in an in-depth article in Guardian Technology.

• The day the internet broke

  15 August 2014 Daily Telegraph

  
  

  Joss Wright provides extensive expert comment on the background to the Internet breakdown which affected major websites including eBay. ‘It's complicated’ he says. Fundamentally, no-one planned the Internet.

• Top websites crash as web ‘starts to run out space’: Fears major technical problems could become regular occurrence

  14 August 2014 Mail Online

  
  

  Article on major technical problems which brought down several web site, including eBay quotes Joss Wright's comments to the Daily Telegraph.

• Is the Internet full? Major sites brought down by technical problems

  13 August 2014 The Telegraph

  
  

  The eBay site was brought down this week and it has been predicted that this kind of failure will become more commonplace. Joss Wright comments.

• LG launches fridges, washers and cookers that chat

  7 May 2014 BBC News Technology

  
  

  New ‘smart-aware’ home appliances which allow owners to see what food is inside the fridge and control other home appliances are the stuff of classic nightmare stories warns Joss Wright, raising possibilities of a cooker being hacked at night.

• Robots will be on our streets within a decade

  10 March 2014 Oxford Mail

  
  

  Oxford's local daily paper writes about Ian Brown's work and the Oxford London lecture.

• Oxford University teaches robots to keep secrets

  6 March 2014 ITPRO

  
  

  When robots become more integrated with daily life, questions of security and privacy will become crucial. IT Pro reports on the work of Ian Brown and Joss Wright.

• Google block will not stop child porn, experts warn

  18 November 2013 Daily Telegraph

  
  

  Joss Wright explains why the Google and Microsoft ban on online child abuse sites are unlikely to be enough to deter users.

• NSA spying: Facebook, Google, Twitter demand controls

  9 November 2013 CBC News World

  
  

  Joss Wright says that 8 major technology companies which signed an open letter to President Obama have a strong interest in the free flow of information and face the risk of non-US countries imposing tougher privacy legislation.

• Tech giants lash out at government snooping

  9 November 2013 Australia Associated Press

  
  

  Joss Wright says that major technology companies which signed an open letter to President Obama have a strong interest in the free flow of information and face the risk of non-US countries imposing tougher privacy legislation. (Also in Perth Now)

• Webcams taken over by hackers, charity warns

  20 June 2013 BBC Online, Technology

  
  

  BBC Radio 5 live has been investigating claims of webcam hackers using malicious software remote access sites that hack into webcams and can then exchange pictures and videos of people without their knowledge. Joss Wright comments.

• Hacktivist Attacks: Freedom Fighters of Freedom Violators?

  3 April 2013 Talk Radio News Service

  
  

  Joss Wright is quoted in an article on the US news service site on the hacktivist phenomenon. He says 'in one sense the actions of Anonymous are themselves ... censoring websites in response to positions with which they disagree'.

• Florida pet spa mystery link to China’s great firewall

  30 November 2012 New Scientist

  
  

  A report on Joss Wright’s work on internet censorship in China notes that among his findings on how censorship is applied was the surprising fact that visitors to one site that prevents online tracking were sent to the site of a pet spa in Miami.

• Tougher interception laws to reach Twitter

  9 May 2012 ZDNet

  
  

  Making policy on combined access to Internet interactions based on old communications technology is 'dangerously simplistic' says Joss Wright, quoted in ZDNet's coverage of the draft Communications Data Bill.

• The government’s proposal for data communications surveillance will be invasive and costly with minimal effectiveness

  8 May 2012 British Politics and Policy at LSE

  
  

  Joss Wright argues in a blog post that Government proposals to allow law enforcement officials unprecedented access to Internet communications will only be minimally effective and will be both expensive and invasive.

• Antisec hackers hit US police store after FBI arrests

  9 March 2012 BBC News

  
  

  The Antisec movement has reacted to an FBI crackdown on hackers by attacking the site of a company selling equipment to US law enforcers. Joss Wright says that the long term consequences of a symbolic victory for the FBI are hard to predict.

• As Google acts, the question is: have we lost our privacy to the internet?

  3 March 2012 The Observer

  
  

  Joss Wright exchanges views with Tom Chatfield on protecting our privacy on-line as Google unveils its new policy on use of personal information. He warns that "We do not yet fully understand the power of the data we have shared".

• What does Google know about you?

  1 March 2012 Channel 4 News

  
  

  The EU is concerned that Google's new policy on personal information may breach privacy. Although Internet abstinence is a sure way to avoid being watched, Joss Wright says that we are forced to use these services because they're so ubiquitous.

• Google changes enable ‘per country’ blog takedowns

  2 February 2012 BBC News

  
  

  Google can now selectively block access in individual countries after a legal removal request. Joss Wright told the BBC that these changes are a positive step, striking a good balance between free speech, legality and practicality.

• Israel tops cyber-readiness poll but China lags behind

  30 January 2012 BBC News

  
  

  A report on cyberdefence concludes that sharing of information globally is needed to keep ahead of threats. Joss Wright questions the likelihood of a change in military thinking from a culture of secrecy to one of sharing.

• Q&A: Copyright Enforcement vs. Censorship – impact of Megaupload case

  23 January 2012 Radio Free Europe

  
  

  Interviewed by Radio Free Europe, Joss Wright responds to questions about closing file sharing websites and proposed anti-piracy acts (SOPA/PIPA) by the US. "It's difficult to draw the line between what is censorship and what is enforcing our laws".

• Hackers retaliate over Megaupload website shutdown

  20 January 2012 BBC News

  
  

  The US government has been targeted by Anonymous in retaliation for the shutdown of the Megaupload file sharing site. Joss Wright says it might be argued that Anonymous themselves are censoring websites.

• Click On

  31 October 2011 BBC Radio 4

  
  

  As protest throughout the world is on the rise, so online activism is increasing. Joss Wright discusses hactivism and how it might affect the development of the Internet and government responses on Radio 4 (from 24:15 on the iPlayer clock).

Integrity Statement

In the past five years my research has been financially supported by the UK’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the Oxford Martin School, Google, and the Alan Turing Institute.