Lex Gill, senior fellow at The Citizen Lab, delivered impactful comments to the Foreign Interference Commission at the public consultation hearing for the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions this October. She argues that concerns regarding foreign interference cannot be used to justify rights-infringing powers for Canada’s national security… Read more »

Key Findings  This joint investigation with First Department, a legal assistance organization, found spyware covertly implanted on a phone returned to a Russian programmer accused of sending money to Ukraine after he was released from custody. He describes being subjected to beatings and an intense effort to recruit him as an informant for the Russian… Read more »

Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit takes legal action to dismantle Russia-based threat actor COLDRIVER following a joint investigation by The Citizen Lab and Access Now. In August, The Citizen Lab, jointly with Access Now, in collaboration with First Department, Arjuna Team, and RESIDENT.ngo, published a report that uncovered two distinct spear-phishing campaigns targeting members of Russian… Read more »

المؤلفون: جيفري نوكل، جاكوب داليك، نورا الجيزاوي، محمد أحمد، ليفي ميليتي، وجاستن لاو. ملاحظة للقراء: هذا المستند هو ترجمة غير رسمية وهو نسخة مختصرة من التقرير الكامل تتضمن أقساماً مختارة. لذا يرجى الملاحظة أنه لا يشمل التحليل الشامل والمناقشات التفصيلية الموجودة في النسخة الأصلية. وكونه ترجمة غير رسمية، قد يحتوي على بعض الأخطاء أو التفسيرات… Read more »

We analyze the system Amazon deploys on the US “amazon.com” storefront to restrict shipments of certain products to specific regions. We found 17,050 products that Amazon restricted from being shipped to at least one world region. – While many of the shipping restrictions are related to regulations involving WiFi, car seats, and other heavily regulated product categories, the most common product category restricted by Amazon in our study was books.

As part of our ongoing project monitoring changes to Chinese search censorship, we tracked changes to censorship following Li Keqiang’s death across seven Internet platforms: Baidu, Baidu Zhidao, Bilibili, Microsoft Bing, Jingdong, Sogou, and Weibo. We found that some keyword combinations in search queries triggers hard censorship whereas others trigger soft censorship. Our results demonstrate China’s ongoing efforts to push state-sanctioned narratives concerning politically sensitive topics, impacting the integrity of the online information environment.

This report provides a comprehensive guide to geolocation-related threats sourced from 3G, 4G, and 5G network operators. Case studies, references, examples, and evidence are provided to give a complete and contextual understanding of mobile network-based location tracking in order to formulate policies and actions that protect civil society from current and future geolocation surveillance.

Citizen Lab examined a set of documents leaked to news outlet The Intercept that describe plans to develop and launch an Iranian mobile network, including subscriber management operations and services, and integration with a legal intercept solution. If implemented fully as envisioned, it would enable state authorities to directly monitor, intercept, redirect, degrade or deny all Iranians’ mobile communications, including those who are presently challenging the regime.

Police led mass iris scan collection in Qinghai, a region with a population that is 49.4% non-Han, including Tibetans and Hui Muslims. Iris scan collection is part of long-standing police intelligence gathering programs. Through this data collection, Qinghai’s police are effectively treating entire communities as populated by potential threats to social stability.

微信是一款具有多种功能的应用程序。之前，我们研究了小程序的隐私问题及其监视以及审查文本和图像消息。本研究重点研究微信的网络加密协议及其安全性。

微信有超過十億每月活躍使用者，我們分析了微信使用的主要網路協定 MMTLS 的安全和隱私特性，並發佈了首篇公開的研究報告。

微信是一個具有許多功能的應用程式。之前我們研究過圍繞小程式的隱私問題，以及微信對文字和圖片訊息的監視及審查。在這項研究中，我們主要關注微信的網路加密協定及其安全性。

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 »