Circles is a surveillance firm that reportedly exploits weaknesses in the global mobile phone system to snoop on calls, texts, and the location of phones around the globe, and is affiliated with NSO Group, which develops the oft-abused Pegasus spyware. Using Internet scanning, we found a unique signature associated with the hostnames of Check Point firewalls used in Circles deployments, enabling us to identify Circles deployments in at least 25 countries.

The Citizen Lab is pleased to announce a fellowship program on issues related to surveillance, digital security, and race. 

CLSI brings together academics, researchers, activists, and frontline workers and asks them to address some of the most pressing issues at the intersection of digital security and human rights.

By now, issues of digital surveillance, government interference online, and programmatic targeting by businesses are common parlour talk. From Snowden to the recent and ongoing cases of government spying in Mexico, these acts have become a reality of the digital age. But what ethical, legal, and political questions and consequences lie at the intersection of digital governance and big data?

When the general public becomes increasingly aware of online surveillance attempts, how do they respond? Jon Penney, research fellow at Citizen Lab, looks into how individuals navigate this digital landscape and who is most likely to alter their behaviour.

The international investigation into the 2014 Iguala Mass Disappearance was targeted with infection attempts using spyware developed by the NSO group.

加拿大多伦多大学公民实验室（Citizen Lab）研究人员发现了多个假冒中文新闻网站的域名和网站。这些中文新闻网站包括中国数字时代 明镜新闻 大纪元新闻 香港01 和 博闻社，它们经常报道被中国政府认为是禁忌或具有争议性的话题。

This report reveals a campaign of reconnaissance, phishing, and malware operations that use content and domains made to mimic Chinese language news websites.

NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware and exploit framework were used in infection attempts against Mexican senators and senior politicians in June and July 2016.