Through a multi-year investigation, we find that the Jordanian security apparatus has deployed forensic extraction products manufactured by Cellebrite against civil society devices. We release these findings alongside reporting from the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) which includes interviews with a few of the victims.
Kamel Al-Shawareb
Kamel Al-Shawareb* is a research fellow at the Citizen Lab. (*pseudonym)
[Application deadline: Jan 30, 2026] Under the supervision of the senior legal advisor, the research officer will assist with building case databases, implement training workshops, and conduct legal research on methods used in digital accountability research as well as international humanitarian law and cyber technologies
Citizen Lab senior legal advisor Siena Anstis co-authored an article with Jillian Sprenger (McGill University) in the International Journal of Human Rights on the ways that members of civil society targeted by spyware attempt to seek remedy. Anstis and Sprenger analyze gaps and challenges that remain in obtaining a remedy for targets, suggesting areas for reform through which members […]
In an interview with the MIT Technology Review, Citizen Lab director Ron Deibert discusses the Lab’s impact, and his views on the deteriorating political situation in the United States. He notes the changing political atmosphere for academics and human rights defenders. “I do not believe that an institution like the Citizen Lab could exist right […]
Daniel Roethlisberger
Daniel Roethlisberger is a research fellow at the Citizen Lab. In his day job, Daniel is a seasoned security practitioner who has spent most of his career defending national critical infrastructure in Switzerland. Daniel is also a part-time university lecturer on security incident management and has a big tech security software engineering background.
Citizen Lab’s Gabrielle Lim, Noura Aljizawi, Shaila Baran, and Nicola Lawford recently published an article in Internet Policy Review on the methodology of digital rights governance research. Through a scoping review of 141 articles, the authors assess the relationship between interdisciplinary scholarship and single-, multi-, and mixed methods research. They find that interdisciplinary work is […]
Don’t miss this panel discussion at FT Live’s Global Boardroom digital conference featuring Citizen Lab director Ron Deibert in conversation with Meredith Whittaker, president of Signal, and Anne Neuberger, former deputy national security advisor for the United States. The session will explore critical lessons on the use of digital communications offered by the Signalgate scandal. Panellists will discuss […]
On November 18, Citizen Lab senior fellow Cynthia Khoo will present “Civil Rights and Modeling the AI Legislation We Need” at the Canadian Conference on AI Governance in Ottawa. The talk will be part of a one-day workshop focused on AI oversight and regulation informed by Indigenous and civil society consultation, research, and public concerns.
On November 12, Citizen Lab senior researcher John Scott-Railton will partake in the panel titled “From Stasi to Spyware: Old Tactics, New Technology” at Berlin Freedom Week. The session will explore how authoritarian surveillance mechanisms — then and now — affect those targeted, how societies can respond, how solidarity with victims can be strengthened, and what political […]
