Matt Goerzen is an alumnus of Data & Society, where he established a cohesive framework for discussing media vulnerabilities by importing terms-of-craft from computer security research. In 2016 he received an MA in Communications Studies, after a course of study with anthropologist Gabriella Coleman at McGill University. His thesis, “Critical Trolling,” advances a politically-neutral definition of trolling, before tracing the involved techniques back from early-internet gray hat hacking communities through to the pre-internet artistic avant-garde. Ultimately, it examines an emerging class of contemporary artist trolls who function in a decidedly liberal, “critical” mode, and differentiates them from the subcultural trolls common to communities like 4chan. Goerzen received a BFA from Concordia University and a BJ (Bachelor of Journalism) from Carleton University.
Matt Goerzen
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Featured Work
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report
Data & SocietyWearing Many Hats: the Rise of the Professional Security Hacker chronicles the largely untold history of the hacker-turned-professional. Through this seminal work, researchers Matt Goerzen and Gabriella Coleman collaborate to c... Read moreJanuary 2022 -
Longform
Logic MagazineHackers helped invent the field of computer security. Their ideas can help us revamp it for a new era. Read on Logic MagazineMay 2020 -
Academic Article
UsenixMatt Goerzen, Elizabeth Watkins, and Gabrielle Lim propose the new framework, "sociotechnical security." Read on UsenixAugust 2019 -
Academic Article
FATESMatt Goerzen and Jeanna Matthews connect the practices of trolling and hacking. Read on FATESDecember 2018