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

Tall Tales

How Chinese Actors Use Impersonation and Stolen Narratives to Perpetuate Digital Transnational Repression

In collaboration with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), we identified two distinct actors aligned with the People’s Republic of China that have been targeting and impersonating journalists and civil society. Our findings provide insight into the Chinese government’s practice of digital transnational repression and its shift to a system of state-sponsored attacks carried out by private contractors.

April 27, 2026

Digital Transnational Repression Targeted Surveillance
research → FAQ

Bad Connection

Research FAQ for the report “Bad Connection: Uncovering Global Telecom Exploitation by Covert Surveillance Actors”

April 23, 2026

Targeted Surveillance
research → Report

Bad Connection

Uncovering Global Telecom Exploitation by Covert Surveillance Actors

Our investigation uncovers two sophisticated telecom surveillance campaigns and, for the first time, links real-world attack traffic to mobile operator signalling infrastructure. The findings expose how suspected commercial surveillance vendors (CSVs) exploit the global telecom interconnect ecosystem, leverage private operator networks, and conduct covert location tracking operations that can persist undetected for years.

April 23, 2026

Targeted Surveillance