Latin America & the Caribbean
On June 19, 2017 Citizen Lab’s Reckless Exploit report received front page coverage on the New York Times. This research revealed that Mexican journalists and lawyers were the targets of sophisticated phishing attempts, using government-exclusive spyware produced by the NSO Group.
Uncovering an operation using NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware and Trident exploit framework to target Mexican journalists, lawyers, and even a minor child.
Cyber Stewards Network Partner Derechos Digitales has published a report in collaboration with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, titled “Who Has Your Back in Chile? First-Annual Report Seeks to Find Out Which Chilean ISPs Stand With Their Users.”
On February 12, 2017 Citizen Lab’s Bitter Sweet report received front page coverage on the New York Times. This research revealed espionage attempts made against public health officials who were opponents of a controversial Mexican soda tax.
This report describes an espionage operation using government-exclusive spyware to target Mexican government food scientists and two public health advocates.
Several Cyber Stewards Network Partners have contributed to the 2016 Global Internet Society Watch on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights on the Internet, a publication with 46 country reports and other topics.
Citizen Lab’s Cyber Steward Network Partners from Asia and Latin America have released reports and been interviewed in the media on key censorship and cybersecurity issues.
Cyber Stewards network Partners hosted workshops, launched reports, and attended programming at the 2016 Internet Governance Forum in Guadalajara, Mexico from December 6-9, 2016.
Citizen Lab Cyber Stewards Network Partner Asociación por los Derechos Civiles (ADC) has released a report titled “Surveillance and Intelligence in the Latin American Cybersecurity Agenda Comparative Report: Chile-Argentina.”
This report describes an extensive malware, phishing, and disinformation campaign active in several Latin American countries, including Ecuador, Argentina, Venezuela, and Brazil. The nature and geographic spread of the targets seems to point to a sponsor, or sponsors, with regional, political interests. The attackers, whom we have named Packrat, have shown a keen and systematic interest in the political opposition and the independent press in so-called ALBA countries (Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas), and their recently allied regimes.
