The Citizen Lab

Citizen Lab director @RonDeibert is quoted in @guardian's article about Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s increasing influence on AI dominance. “For the last 20 years, democracy has been in decline,” says Deibert. “That happens to coincide with an enormous expansion of digital surveillance capabilities for both commercial and national security purposes. The epicentre of a lot of this is the UAE. And where do all roads lead in the UAE? They lead to Sheikh Tahnoon.” t.co/GQGxoLRUpK

Oct 8: Join senior researcher Maia Scott at #Disinfo2026. She will be chairing a presentation on elections under attack in France. Learn more: t.co/ZWTmaqFwko

Join senior researcher @WolfieChristl at @republica in Vienna on October 2nd to learn how government agencies are accessing behavioural data from online advertising for surveillance purposes. Register here: t.co/QxVtJ1hbre t.co/kRnI3efIYg

1/ Two UN reports citing Citizen Lab submissions have been published this month. The first, from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, describes digital risks to human rights defenders. Read it here: t.co/olFSCnwgLb

2/ The second report from the Working Group on the use of mercenaries draws on Citizen Lab research to assess the human rights impacts of cybermercenaries. Read it here: t.co/HDJobA9LkF

The Citizen Lab submitted a response to a request for information from the Research Directorate at the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada on the issue of the connection between state surveillance and repression in China and the Chinese government’s monitoring activity abroad. Read it here: t.co/3NKEUkCu58

Join Citizen Lab director @RonDeibert in Toronto for his keynote speech at SecTor on October 7. He will be speaking about the Citizen Lab’s decades of work acting as “counterintelligence for civil society.” Register: t.co/n9JtG3nmZN t.co/0N5gsSrcT5

2/ Join senior research associate @KateRobertson_ on September 23 at 3:45 am EST to talk about upholding justice when law enforcement reaches across borders. Register: t.co/5rfKOx4emL

1/ Citizen Lab researchers are presenting at the @rightscon Continues Summit, a 24-hour online event on September 22-23! Senior researcher @jsrailton will be discussing the commercial spyware industry on September 22 at 4:15 pm CEST.

3/ A report from BlackCore celebrates the success of their Angola training program, demonstrating the damage the influence-for-hire industry can do to an online ecosystem.

2/ In our brief, we examine BlackCore’s digital infrastructure, including how they construct fake profiles and amplify content, and how they market themselves and their results to clients.

Thread 🧵 1/ 🚨 NEW RESEARCH: We identified a training program provided to government employees in Angola by the Israeli influence-for-hire company BlackCore. Full report: t.co/ABjWCO1jrr

Join senior fellow @Cyn_K tomorrow, September 15th at 7PM ET, for Civic Tech Toronto Meetup #560. She will present a recent joint brief by @citizenlab and @cancivlib that analyzes the privacy and human rights implications of Bill C-22. Register here: t.co/c29VALv6m6 t.co/fBGE6rPo8r

2/ The letter cites the Citizen Lab’s 2020 research into BellTroX’s hack-for-hire operation, which found that it conducted commercial espionage on behalf of clients. Read it here: t.co/LiYu5RbfvX

1/ A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers have called for three Indian companies that have hacked and stolen data from Americans to be added to the economic sanctions “entity list.” Read the TechCrunch coverage here: t.co/LLXOuqJViD

Citizen Lab researchers Noura Aljizawi, Shaila Baran, @mmichae1sen and Siena Anstis have a new paper in a special issue of @journalsafetech. Through the experiences of 25 exiled queer women activists from the Global Majority, they uncover a critical “protection gap” in mainstream digital security approaches. Read it here: t.co/TxLfXgjObZ

📣 Senior researcher Noura Aljizawi will present on taking a “queering cybersecurity” approach to digital transnational repression with the Journal of Online Trust and Safety tomorrow (September 8) at 11am ET. Join: t.co/UhSsYNsMHb 🔐 595654

Citizen Lab researchers Siena Anstis, @natynettle, and Kate Pundyk write in @lawfare about the U.K. Supreme Court’s ruling that Bahrain could not claim state immunity in a case involving the use of spyware against Bahraini dissidents living in the U.K. Read: t.co/s7w1jJ7vTg

2/ At least 11 Serbian pro-democracy campaigners and opposition figures recently received Apple Threat Notifications. Meanwhile, the team from @AmnestyTech has found that NoviSpy spyware is still being deployed against members of the student movement, and that the spyware has been modified in an attempt at greater stealth.

3/ Apple patched the iMessage exploit as of iOS iOS 18.4.1, but the continued Apple Threat Notifications indicate that the student movement continues to be aggressively targeted with mercenary spyware. If you are concerned your iPhone may be targeted with mercenary spyware, we encourage you to use Apple’s Lockdown Mode and seek expert guidance from trusted experts, such as the @accessnow digital security helpline. Read our investigation: t.co/r7jfmepmiM

1/ NEW: an investigation by our collaborator @shareconference reveals widespread spyware targeting Serbia's pro-democracy student movement. The Citizen Lab can confirm that an iPhone belonging to a student was infected with Pegasus spyware in a zero-click attack over iMessage. This is the most recent public Pegasus case, and it comes amidst a critical series of elections in Serbia 1/ Read more: t.co/5MyBdPHQij

🔈 Join senior researcher @irenepoet at Data for Policy 2026 on September 8-10. She will be presenting on how AI systems have facilitated the consolidation of state authority differently in India and Vietnam. Register: t.co/Xua6XHsyvh t.co/i8zzrPr4Kx

Senior researcher @jsrailton spoke to @techcrunch about the “unprecedented” number of Apple users who recently received notifications alerting them to suspected spyware attacks against their devices. Read: t.co/EvAH1SjqBc

📢 @OpenTechFund's 2026 Information Controls Research Program, supporting researchers tackling internet #censorship & #surveillance, is accepting applications. As one of the host organizations, we welcome proposals. Learn more and apply by September 7, 2026: t.co/QOAYPxfdrR

Coordinated false reporting is a censorship threat to civil society, and it’s nearly invisible. Senior researcher Alberto Fittarelli speaks to @OCCRP about this increasingly common tactic. Read: t.co/OATZ1FBfPy

Citizen Lab researchers Siena Anstis,@mmichae1sen, and Kate Pundyk write about immigration policy and transnational repression for @FPCThinkTank. "Host states cannot claim to counter repression across borders while ignoring the role their immigration policies play in enabling it.” Read: t.co/2pAE0mIctQ

Senior research associate @katerobertson_ speaks about Canada’s surprising decision to sign the UN Cybercrime Convention on @LawBytesPod, arguing that it has significant implications for human rights and internet freedom. Listen: t.co/bJNEvHnHxA

A recent investigation by @OCCRP found that the co-founder of NSO Group travelled to Panama in 2013 on an Israeli diplomatic passport. Senior researcher @jsrailton notes that it “raises questions about NSO’s connections to the [Israeli] state.” Read: t.co/gLZdvmxHcl

Senior fellow Gary Miller spoke with @capecelluar about the exploitation of mobile network vulnerabilities to track US personnel during the Iran war. Watch here: t.co/Ri34KbW8UW

Senior research fellow Gary Miller spoke to @FT about attempts to exploit mobile network vulnerabilities to track US personnel during the Iran war. Read: t.co/pOqj8CfISc