Citizen Lab Technical Advisor Morgan Marquis-Boire gave a plenary talk at the State Surveillance And Human Rights Camp in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on December 13.

The Citizen Lab announces the publication of a detailed post analyzing several pieces of malware targeting Bahraini dissidents, shared with us by Bloomberg News. The analysis suggests that the malware used is "FinSpy," part of the commercial intrusion kit, Finfisher, distributed by the United Kingdom-based company, Gamma International.

The use of remote surveillance software against activists has been a feature of the ongoing conflict in Syria. Today, the EFF and Citizen Lab report on the use of a new toolkit by a previously observed attacker. This actor has been circulating malware which surreptitiously installs BlackShades RAT on victims machines.

Citizen Lab joined a global coalition of NGOs to call for the withdrawal of censorship plans in Pakistan.

Citizen Lab Director Ron Deibert published an article titled Big Data Meets Big Brother.

“Research In Motion Ltd., maker of the BlackBerry smart phone, faces increasing challenges to its overseas expansion as developing countries tighten restrictions on mobile e-mail.

‘It’s a reflection of fears of cyber-security and espionage that now extend to mobile phones,’ said Ron Deibert, director of the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab, who helped colleagues uncover a plot against the Indian government that involved computers in China. ‘It’s the type of thing that will become more common for RIM as they grapple with public policy and ethical issues in emerging markets.'”

From San Francisco Chronicle

“The type of steps taken by the UAE are going to become more common in the future as governments struggle to gain control of cyberspace for national security reasons,” said Ronald Deibert, director of the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs.

“Just like Google has had to grapple with the pressures of China and other countries who censor search engines, RIM will find itself the centre of pressures from governments eager to tap encrypted mobile data streams.”

From The Globe and Mail