RESEARCH → FOCUS AREA

Targeted Surveillance

Investigating abusive surveillance against journalists, human rights defenders, activists, and civil society.

Around the globe, civil society is under threat from digital espionage and surveillance. Surveillance tactics are used to stifle freedoms and rights, undermine free speech, and erode democratic values.

Our research examines the abuse of surveillance technologies against civil society, including ‘zero-click’ spyware that can silently acquire total access to a phone, sophisticated phishing attacks to gain entry into email accounts, and the manipulation of telecommunication systems to track location data.

We work closely with communities under threat and peer research organizations to identify and disclose security vulnerabilities to tech companies, leading to improved online security for billions of users worldwide. We seek to educate and inform policymakers, courts, and the public about the threats from the proliferation of surveillance technologies.

LATEST RESEARCH

research → Report

Uncovering Webloc

An Analysis of Penlink’s Ad-based Geolocation Surveillance Tech

Location data collected from mobile apps and digital advertising can reveal habits, interests and almost any other aspect of someone’s life. In this report, we uncover how a geolocation surveillance system called Webloc uses ad-based data to monitor hundreds of millions of people across the globe.

April 9, 2026

Mass Surveillance Targeted Surveillance
research → Brief

Not Safe for Politics

Cellebrite Used on Kenyan Activist and Politician Boniface Mwangi

Following the widely-condemned arrest in July 2025 of prominent Kenyan opposition voice Boniface Mwangi, the Citizen Lab analyzed artefacts from devices seized during the arrest. We found that Cellebrite’s forensic extraction tools were used on his Samsung phone while it was in police custody. This case adds to the concerning pattern of the misuse of Cellebrite technology by government clients.

February 17, 2026

Targeted Surveillance
research → Report

From Protest to Peril

Cellebrite Used Against Jordanian Civil Society

Through a multi-year investigation, we find that the Jordanian security apparatus has deployed forensic extraction products manufactured by Cellebrite against civil society devices. We release these findings alongside reporting from the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) which includes interviews with a few of the victims.

January 22, 2026

Targeted Surveillance