Targeted Threats
Back to ResearchInvestigations into the prevalence and impact of digital espionage operations against civil society groups.
Featured in Targeted Threats
Digital Transnational Repression Explained
Citizen Lab produced an animated explainer video on digital transnational repression in Canada that also highlight some of the stories of the interviewees while also protecting their identities.
Latest Research
Familiar Feeling: A Malware Campaign Targeting the Tibetan Diaspora Resurfaces
Investigation of a malware campaign targeting the Tibetan community and discussion of the challenges in analyzing closed espionage ecosystems.
NSO Group Infrastructure Linked to Targeting of Amnesty International and Saudi Dissident
Citizen Lab validates Amnesty International investigation showing targeting of staff member and Saudi activist with NSO Group’s technology.
Spying on a Budget: Inside a Phishing Operation with Targets in the Tibetan Community
This report describes an inexpensive and technically simple phishing operation. It shows that the continued low adoption rates for digital security features, such as two factor authentication, contribute to the low bar to entry for digital espionage.
የኢትዮጵያ መንግስት ተቃዋሚዎች በአዲስ የስለላ ሶፍትዌር ጥቃት ዒላማ ስር
በዩናይትድ ስቴትስ ኦፍ አሜሪካ፣ በእንግሊዝና በሌሎች አገራት የሚገኙ የኢትዮጵያ መንግስት ተቃዋሚዎች የአዶቤ ፍላሽ ማሻሻያና የፒዲኤፍ ፕለግኢን በማስመሰል የተራቀቀ የስለላ ሶፍትዌር በያዙ ኢሜይሎች ዒላማ እንደተደረጉ የሚገልጽ ሪፖርት የሲትዝን ላብ ይፋ አድርጓል፡፡ ዒላማ ከተደረጉት መሀል መቀመጫውን በዩናይትድ ስቴትስ ኦፍ አሜሪካ ያደረገ የኢትዮጵያ ዲያስፖራ ብዙኃን መገናኛ፣ የኦሮምያ ሚድያ ኔትወርክ (OMN)፣ አንድ የፒኤችዲ ተማሪና አንድ የህግ ጠበቃ ይገኙበታል፡፡
Commercial Spyware: The Multibillion Dollar Industry Built on an Ethical and Legal Quagmire
Ethiopian’s penchant for commercial spyware is notorious, as is its pattern of digital espionage against journalists, activists, and other entities—many of which are based overseas—that seek to promote government accountability and are therefore viewed as political threats. Yet the Ethiopian government and others like it have faced little pressure to cease this particular strain of digital targeting.