Investigations into the prevalence and impact of digital espionage operations against civil society groups. For our research on Digital Transnational Repression, visit this page to explore our reports, media mentions, and resources.
Keir Giles, a prominent expert on Russia, was targeted with a new form of social-engineering attack that leverages App-Specific Passwords. Google links the operation to UNC6293, a Russian state-backed group.
On April 29, 2025, a select group of iOS users were notified by Apple that they were targeted with advanced spyware. Among the group were two journalists who consented to the technical analysis of their cases. In this report, we discuss key findings from our forensic analyses of their devices.
Our investigation of a spearphishing campaign that targeted senior members of the World Uyghur Congress in March 2025 reveals a highly-customized attack delivery method. The ruse used by attackers replicates a pattern in which threat actors weaponize software and websites aimed at preserving and supporting marginalized and repressed cultures to target those same communities.
Studies of Internet filtering, network interference, and other technologies and practices that impact freedom of expression online.
In this paper, the Citizen Lab’s Mohamed Amed and Jeffrey Knockel examine Chinese censorship bias in LLMs with a censorship detector they designed as part of the research. They warn that when LLMs are trained on state-censored texts, their output is more likely to align with the state. An Analysis of Chinese Censorship Bias in… Read more »
In this paper co-authored by the Citizen Lab’s Jeffrey Knockel, researchers investigate the secret relationships between VPN operators and the vulnerabilities these VPNs share. The authors warn that the obfuscation of these relationships prohibits consumers from making informed decisions about their digital security and misleads them about the security properties of the VPNs. Hidden Links:… Read more »
Irene Poetranto examines Indonesia’s use of domain name system (DNS) redirection as a method of internet censorship in a new essay published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. In Techno-Legal Internet Controls in Indonesia and Their Impact on Free Expression Poetranto explains how DNS redirection, a new type of DNS tampering, was introduced in… Read more »
Examinations of transparency and accountability mechanisms relevant to the relationship between corporations and state agencies regarding personal data and other surveillance activities.
In a submission to the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights, Citizen Lab researchers warn of the dangerous rhetoric of “birth registration and certification as a prerequisite for other rights” and the risks digital ID infrastructure could pose to human rights.
In a new piece for Policy Options, senior research associate Kate Robertson and legal extern Song-Ly Tran discuss how outdated protections in Canada’s decades old wiretap laws fail to protect people in Canada from abuse of spyware technologies.
Our preliminary analysis of Bill C-2 situates the legislation within the context of existing research by the Citizen Lab about two potential data-sharing treaties that are most relevant to the new proposed powers being introduced in Bill C-2: the Second Additional Protocol to the Budapest Convention (2AP) and the CLOUD Act. Both of which carry significant constitutional and human rights risks.
Research into privacy, security, and information controls of popular applications.
Researchers take a look at the analytics and first-party tracking ecosystem of WeChat Mini Programs.
New paper co-authored by researchers at the Citizen Lab and Princeton University explores the network security of Android apps.
Our network security analysis of the popular social media app, RedNote, revealed a number of issues with both the Android and iOS versions of the app.
Outputs related to the global community of practice that The Citizen Lab helps to cultivate through our Cyber Stewards Network, various fellowships, and events.
Findings from this study underscore that online and offline threats should not be viewed as separate phenomena, but rather as overlapping and mutually reinforcing.
Cyber Steward Network partner Asociación por los Derechos Civiles (ADC) will lead a public hearing at the 167 extraordinary period of session of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). Taking place on February 28 at 11:30 am EST, the hearing is titled “Digital Intelligence, Cybersecurity, and Freedom of Expression in America”. The topics to be addressed in… Read more »
Cyber Stewards Network organization Sula Batsu Cooperativa has been honoured with a 2017 EQUALS in Tech Award. Presented at the Internet Governance Forum at the United Nations in December, Kemly Camacho– Sula Batsu Coordinator– accepted the award on behalf of the group. They were recognized in the Leadership category for their work to create women-led… Read more »
While The Citizen Lab is primarily focused on high-level academic research, we also produce accessible tools and educational resources to help everyone better navigate their online lives. Below are some of the latest projects that are aimed at making everyone safer online.
