Our network security analysis of the popular social media app, RedNote, revealed a number of issues with both the Android and iOS versions of the app.
Our network security analysis of the popular social media app, RedNote, revealed a number of issues with both the Android and iOS versions of the app.
Our analysis of spyware covertly implanted on a phone returned to a Russian programmer after he was released from custody, finds that the spyware placed on his device allows the operator to track a target device’s location, record phone calls, keystrokes, and read messages from encrypted messaging apps, among other capabilities.
Building upon our prior research and the contributions of other scholars to this field, the aim of this novel study is to understand the security risks and harms caused by digital transnational repression against exiled and diaspora women human rights defenders.
We analyze the system Amazon deploys on the US “amazon.com” storefront to restrict shipments of certain products to specific regions. We found 17,050 products that Amazon restricted from being shipped to at least one world region. – While many of the shipping restrictions are related to regulations involving WiFi, car seats, and other heavily regulated product categories, the most common product category restricted by Amazon in our study was books.
The Citizen Lab is an interdisciplinary laboratory based at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto, focusing on research and development at the intersection of information and communication technologies, human rights, and global security. Learn more.
In an opinion piece in the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, Noura Aljizawi, senior researcher at The Citizen Lab, sheds light on the growing threat of disinformation in Syria, even after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime. While the end of Assad’s authoritarian rule was celebrated as a victory, Aljizawi warns that disinformation—once the… Read more »
In an opinion piece for The Globe and Mail, The Citizen Lab’s Emile Dirks, Siena Anstis, Noura Aljizawi, and Ron Deibert, argue that while the final report of the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions (the Hogue Commission) found no evidence of Canadian MPs collaborating with foreign states to… Read more »
In a Q&A for the Digital Front Lines report by Foreign Policy Analytics, The Citizen Lab director Ron Deibert and human rights activist Carine Kanimba talk about the psychological impact of being targeted by mercenary spyware and the growing threat of surveillance technologies being misused by both state and non-state actors. They discuss how spyware… Read more »
Ron Deibert discusses the growing risks of tech-driven authoritarianism and the deregulation of the AI industry in this episode of Beyond the Headlines (BTH). This episode explores the critical dynamics of how tech giants have come to dominate political discourse, featuring the Citizen Lab’s director Ron Deibert, and Prof. Andres Kasekamp of the Department of… Read more »
China’s DeepSeek AI chatbot has raised serious privacy concerns. Speaking with Kevin Collier at NBC News, The Citizen Lab’s director, Ron Deibert, remarks that the privacy problems regarding DeepSeek are not limited to Chinese platforms, and that personal information is also used by U.S. artificial intelligence platforms. Read the article here.
Ron Deibert, director of The Citizen Lab, discusses his new book, Chasing Shadows, with CityNews journalist Faiza Amin, offering insights into his experiences and the world of surveillance. Chasing Shadows dives deep into the world of digital espionage and misinformation, revealing how authoritarian governments monitor individuals through an insecure digital ecosystem in an attempt to… Read more »
