In a report published by The School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary, professor Ron Deibert argues that Canada has potential to be a global leader in cyber security, but this opportunity is being squandered because of the lack of a clear strategy in this area.

This post describes the results of a comprehensive global Internet scan for the command and control servers of FinFisher’s surveillance software. It also details the discovery of a campaign using FinFisher in Ethiopia that may have been used to target individuals linked to an opposition group. Additionally, it provides examination of a FinSpy Mobile sample found in the wild, which appears to have been used in Vietnam.

A new post written by Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan as part of the joint project by Privacy International, Agentura.Ru and the Citizen Lab on Russia’s surveillance state.

Citizen Lab Director Ron Deibert and Senior Researcher Sarah McKune authored a new article in CircleID on the often overlooked dimension of cyber threats and cyber espionage: the targeting of civil society actors.

This report details Iran’s increasing Internet controls since 2009, when protests against the victory of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad rocked the country. The election protest campaign–dubbed the “Green Movement”–was marked for the high use of social media and other information and communication technologies (ICT) to organize protests and disseminate information.

Titled “Teachers’ pension plan invests in Internet surveillance firm,” the Toronto Star editorial connects the investment group that manages the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan (OTPP) with Blue Coat Systems.

Titled “800 Titles but no policy – Thoughts on Cyber Warfare,” the piece examines the cyber arms race and government responses to cyber warfare threats.

In a piece for the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX), Google Policy Fellow Kieran Bergmann wrote about Internet governance and the role of the Internet Governance Forum.

Blue Coat Devices capable of filtering, censorship, and surveillance are being used around the world. 61 of these Blue Coat appliances are on public or government networks in countries with a history of concerns over human rights, surveillance, and censorship. Our findings support the need for national and international scrutiny of Blue Coat implementations in the countries we have identified, and a closer look at the global proliferation of “dual-use” information and communication technologies.

This appendix contains countries of interest in which Blue Coat devices were located.