The Citizen Lab

Our first network security analysis of the popular social media app, #RedNote, has revealed some major red flags 🚩🚩🚩. The app is used by over 300 million users worldwide - but its network encryption falls short. Read the report: t.co/y8FLnwdInr

Imagine having your home address splattered all over the internet. Meryem, an activist living in the US, knows exactly what that’s like. She faces relentless online harassment from Chinese state-backed trolls as she fights for #Uyghur rights. Her fight is made even harder because she is a woman. Learn about the price she’s paid: t.co/ZPnuvFaw4Y #digitaltransnationalrepression

Dounia is an exiled journalist living in France. After exposing Morocco's use of #spyware against politicians, she became the target of physical and sexual harassment, spread across both traditional media and social platforms. Even while in #China, #Morocco continued to harass her, forcing her to flee to #France, where the online attacks continued. Read her story of resilience: t.co/oLmuorRoYI #digitaltransnationalrepression

After Fatima fled to the UK, the Syrian state-sponsored attacks continued. Both the regime and anti-regime groups continue to target her, both online and offline, making her journalism a high-risk endeavour. With her family used as leverage, she has been pressured to self-censor. Learn how these attacks impact her life and work: t.co/AH3cd5UAOy #digitaltransnationalrepression

After Fatima fled to the UK, the Syrian state-sponsored attacks continued. Both the regime and anti-regime groups continue to target her, both online and offline, making her journalism a high-risk endeavour. With her family used as leverage, she has been pressured to self-censor. Learn how these attacks impact her life and work: t.co/BfvtaGDnde #digitaltransnationalrepression

President Trump delayed the U.S. #TikTok ban, but is his executive order legally sound? The Citizen Lab’s @jon_penney writes for the @globeandmail, questioning whether the move addresses privacy and national security issues or is purely about political power. t.co/ut4Wxhrgsd

Meron, a Swedish-Eritrean activist, is relentlessly attacked online; accused of drug addiction and losing her children, even though she lives with them. The harassment doesn’t stop there; it spills into physical assaults. Read how the Eritrean government is trying to force her into silence. 🤐 t.co/VlmUZLeP41 #digitaltransnationalrepression

After playing a key role in the #Yemenuprising, Arwa sought refuge in the EU. But digital threats know no borders. From leaked personal photos to family shaming, Arwa’s experienced a flurry of online attacks since fleeing home. Read Arwa’s story to learn how she continues to fight for human rights through a new medium, art 🎨 t.co/O9iGsSFFNt #digitaltransnationalrepression

Fighting for the truth usually comes at a high cost. For women human rights defenders, it puts a target on their backs as well as their families’. Forced to flee their home countries, the harassment stops at no borders. From online to offline, they face intense repression, yet remain resilient. Read their courageous stories here: t.co/WSylIe7NMf #digitaltransnationalrepression

📢 Work with us! The Citizen Lab is looking for a Systems & Security Technical Lead. This is a unique opportunity to shape the strategic and tactical approach to risk management, systems security & compliance at The Citizen Lab. Apply by February 20 t.co/cYp2nCdjvl

Spyware attacks, censorship, social media hacking, DDoS attacks, surveillance, and smear campaigns are just some of the tactics used by the #Azerbaijani government to silence women activists. The regime is also notorious for exploiting intimate photos and videos to intimidate and publicly shame women dissidents and critics. Learn more about this growing threat: t.co/bJ6mAqOf2U

#Iran is a pertinent perpetrator of transnational repression, using a range of digital methods to silence dissent across borders. Phishing campaigns are used to steal personal information of targets, while state-run media spreads defamatory content aimed at discrediting women and their activism. This digital targeting escalates the risk to both their personal safety and their family’s. Read more about it here: t.co/oigIYj1ySk

China’s repression of #Uyghurs in #Xinjiang extends beyond borders to target women Uyghur activists and their families, using digital threats, harassment, surveillance, and smear campaigns to silence human rights advocacy on the suppression of the Uyghur culture and community . Read our country spotlight here: t.co/uB4Wbl2iso

The #Eritrean government uses digital transnational repression to silence women activists with online campaigns of gendered abuse, stalking, and doxxing, targeting their reputation, jobs, and families. This creates an environment of fear and mistrust within polarized diaspora communities. Read our country case study here: t.co/tL2G7wg3Ua

Exiled #Russian activists, journalists, and dissidents have been facing escalating transnational repression since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Phishing attempts, sexist insults, mass trolling, and spyware attacks are rampant, with under-resourced women activists and indigenous voices being a primary target of #Russian state actors. Read more here: t.co/Qh47AVUPSC

Turkey frequently targets dissidents, exiled journalists, and activists worldwide with digital transnational repression. The #Turkish government uses digital tactics to intimidate critics, especially women, through online trolling, surveillance-by-proxy, and harassment from loyalist groups in the diaspora. #Turkiye Read our country spotlight here: t.co/0DB0jRBI6p

Speaking with @kevincollier @NBCNews, @RonDeibert cautions #DeepSeek users to be "particularly cautious if they have reason to fear Chinese authorities." “The same risks apply to all AI platforms, including those based in the United States," he adds. t.co/DXdg5NwWrd

For a deeper dive into the country-specific tactics of digital transnational repression, check out our spotlights on #Turkey, #Eritrea, #China, #Russia, #Iran, and #Azerbaijan. t.co/DWyDu0yw3c

In our latest report, co-authors @sienaanstis, @nouraaljizawi, and @mmichae1sen unpack the unique digital tactics used to silence women activists living in exile. Read the report: t.co/YhR651Gsqa

What is digital transnational repression (DTR) - and why should you care? DTR arises when governments use digital technologies to surveil, intimidate and silence exiled dissidents and diaspora communities.

📚 One week until the release of @RonDeibert's new book “Chasing Shadows”, published by @simonschusterca! Get your copy Feb 4 >> t.co/DnaaRtwiL1 t.co/HEzm73cLwv

In testimony before the @HoCCommittees 🇨🇦 #SDIR, @nouraaljizawi, senior researcher at The Citizen Lab, voices concern about the rise of digital transnational repression against exiled dissidents in Canada. Watch it here: t.co/SaThIEnTWp

📢@OpenTechFund’s 2025 Information Controls Fellowship Program, supporting researchers tackling internet #censorship & #surveillance, is accepting applications. As one of the host organizations, @citizenlab welcomes proposals. Learn more and apply by Feb 28: t.co/imscL4OXVi

Check out this talk from the Objective by the Sea 🍏- security conference. Citizen Lab senior researcher @billmarczak and @Microsoft's Christine Fossaceca discuss the discovery of QuaDream’s spyware and the zero-click exploit likely used to deliver it. t.co/yHFxyLVmB2

📹 In this episode of Zoom In Zoom Out on @taiwanplusnews, The Citizen Lab’s senior researcher Rebekah Brown (@PDXBek) talks about the commercial spyware industry, its misuse by governments, and the urgent need for regulation. t.co/qBwEJuhItm

Check out this powerful story from @CBCTheNational where host @adriearsenault speaks with the Citizen Lab’s @RonDeibert and @nouraaljizawi about the growing issue of foreign intimidation of exiled dissidents in Canada. t.co/qsmoDKymFs

Thailand’s role on the @UN_HRC is being called into question following its controversial deportation of six Cambodian dissidents. In an interview with @Diplomat_APAC, @mmichae1sen, senior researcher at the Citizen Lab, cautions that Thailand is now a dangerous territory for political exiles fleeing repression. Read the article: t.co/iU6Fk36ArJ #humanrights #transnationalrepression

🎧 In this episode of @CyberSecCenter’s Distilling Cyber Policy podcast, the Citizen Lab’s senior researchers @PDXbek and @jsrailton discuss the Citizen Lab’s “Rivers of Phish” report, which exposed a sophisticated phishing campaign targeting Russia’s perceived adversaries. t.co/moYZAKUYtR #cybersecurity #COLDRIVER

In an open letter to @melaniejoly, @DLeBlancNB & @viraniarif, NGOs and individual experts, including Citizen Lab’s @RonDeibert, @nouraaljizawi, @jon_penney, and @KateRobertson_, urge Canada to reject adoption of the UN’s draft Convention against Cybercrime. Read the letter on @OpenMediaOrg: t.co/1HDzQ7R9Gg #Cybercrime #humanrights #Canada

President-elect Trump’s notable shift in position on TikTok’s shutdown could have major implications for U.S.-China ties. Experts warn TikTok could potentially become a bargaining chip in the U.S.-China trade talks. Citizen Lab research associate @emiledirks points towards a key dilemma in balancing economic interests with national security concerns. @BobbyAllyn writes for @NPR: t.co/IMABwambMp