Citizen Lab senior fellow Cynthia Khoo speaks with Resh Budhu, host of the Courage My Friends podcast, about the problems with Canada’s ‘national sprint’ on artificial intelligence. She notes, “It’s kind of a slap in the face to everyone who has either been harmed by these kinds of reckless approaches to technology, or who has […]
NSO Group, the firm behind Pegasus spyware, has a new executive chairman who plans to use his ties to the Trump administration to improve the company’s reputation in the U.S. Speaking with the Wall Street Journal and the Guardian, Citizen Lab senior researcher John Scott-Railton says that Pegasus creates “unbearable temptation for abuse” where “nobody […]
Citizen Lab senior researcher John Scott-Railton speaks with TechCrunch about the proliferation of spyware use, and the effects it has on democracy. While it is ostensibly used to monitor criminals, Scott-Railton says that government spyware “needs to be treated like the threat to democracy and elections that it is.” Read more in TechCrunch.
This event was held on November 26, 2025. A recording of the webinar is available below: This year marks the 25th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, a milestone recognizing women’s essential roles in peacemaking, conflict prevention, and post-conflict recovery. Yet, as the world celebrates this legacy, new realities challenge its celebration. Join us on […]
Another member of Italian civil society has gone public about being a target of Paragon spyware. Francesco Nicodemo, a prominent Italian communications executive and political advisor, is the fifth confirmed target of an ongoing spyware scandal in Italy. Citizen Lab first identified the abuse of Paragon’s Graphite spyware against Italian civil society in March 2025, […]
Citizen Lab researchers and director Ron Deibert have signed an open letter to the Canadian Minister of AI and Minister of Industry rejecting the “National Sprint” on AI strategy. The letter calls upon the ministers to extend the consultation deadline, rewrite the public survey, and create a more representative AI task force. Signatories of the […]
Citizen Lab director Ron Deibert is the recipient of the 2025 Sterling Prize in Support of Controversy by Simon Fraser University (SFU). The award recognizes his ongoing work at the intersection of global security, digital technologies, and human rights. SFU professor David Zandvliet says, “As chair of the Sterling Prize committee, I find his work to be both deeply […]
Citizen Lab senior researcher Alberto Fittarelli speaks with Negar Mortazavi, host of The Iran Podcast, about Israel-linked influence operations pushing for regime change in Iran. Fittarelli explains how an artificial network of users on X amplified calls for unrest, sometimes with the aid of AI-generated images and videos. The perpetrators of the operation were “trying to fake grassroots support […]
In an interview with Alex Culafi on the Dark Reading Confidential podcast, Citizen Lab director Ron Deibert speaks about changes in the digital ecosystem over the past 25 years. Deibert notes he is “heartened” by the growth of the digital rights community, but has concerns about the “golden age of surveillance” today. The lack of […]
AI is becoming a buzzword among Canadian policymakers, but should there be more focus on regulation than innovation? In a new article, Citizen Lab director Ron Deibert speaks with The Financial Post about the risks of AI. Generative AI is transformational technology, but lack of oversight poses ethical risks. “It’s astonishing how the industry is […]