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 → External Publication

Civil Society and Access to Justice

Challenges of Seeking Remedy in the Global Fight Against Spyware

Citizen Lab senior legal advisor Siena Anstis co-authored an article with Jillian Sprenger (McGill University) in the International Journal of Human Rights on the ways that members of civil society targeted by spyware attempt to seek remedy. Anstis and Sprenger analyze gaps and challenges that remain in obtaining a remedy for targets, suggesting areas for reform through which members […]

January 6, 2026

Law & Policy Targeted Surveillance
research → Report

Same Sea, New Phish

Russian Government-Linked Social Engineering Targets App-Specific Passwords

In May 2025, Keir Giles, a well-known expert on Russian military operations, was targeted with a highly sophisticated and personalized phishing attack. Using a method not previously observed by the Citizen Lab, the attacker posed as a U.S. State Department employee to convince Mr. Giles to create and send app-specific passwords for his email accounts, bypassing multi-factor authentication. Google spotted and blocked the attack, attributing it to a Russian state-backed operator.

June 18, 2025

Targeted Surveillance
research → Brief

Graphite Caught

First Forensic Confirmation of Paragon’s iOS Mercenary Spyware Finds Journalists Targeted

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.

June 12, 2025

Targeted Surveillance