Counterintelligence for civil society

Investigating novel threats to democracy, human rights, and global security in the digital ecosystem.

From Protest to Peril

Cellebrite Used Against Jordanian Civil Society

Targeted Surveillance

Through a multi-year investigation, we find that the Jordanian security apparatus has deployed forensic extraction products manufactured by Cellebrite against civil society devices. We release these findings alongside reporting from the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) which includes interviews with a few of the victims.

January 22, 2026

We Say You Want a Revolution

PRISONBREAK – An AI-Enabled Influence Operation Aimed at Overthrowing the Iranian Regime

Disinformation

The control and strategic manipulation of information has long played a role in the geopolitical and ideological competition between the Islamic Republic of Iran and its political adversaries, including Israel. Prior Citizen Lab research has uncovered Iranian disinformation efforts, however, in this investigation we focus on the “other side” of the geopolitical competition. We analyzed an influence operation we assess as most likely undertaken by an entity of the Israeli government or a private subcontractor working closely with it.

October 14, 2025

Same Sea, New Phish

Russian Government-Linked Social Engineering Targets App-Specific Passwords

Targeted Surveillance

In May 2025, Keir Giles, a well-known expert on Russian military operations, was targeted with a highly sophisticated and personalized phishing attack. Using a method not previously observed by the Citizen Lab, the attacker posed as a U.S. State Department employee to convince Mr. Giles to create and send app-specific passwords for his email accounts, bypassing multi-factor authentication. Google spotted and blocked the attack, attributing it to a Russian state-backed operator.

June 18, 2025

Counterintelligence for civil society

Investigating novel threats to democracy, human rights, and global security in the digital ecosystem.

Counterintelligence for civil society

Investigating novel threats to democracy, human rights, and global security in the digital ecosystem.

From Protest to Peril

Cellebrite Used Against Jordanian Civil Society

Targeted Surveillance

Through a multi-year investigation, we find that the Jordanian security apparatus has deployed forensic extraction products manufactured by Cellebrite against civil society devices. We release these findings alongside reporting from the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) which includes interviews with a few of the victims.

January 22, 2026

Read the full report

We Say You Want a Revolution

PRISONBREAK – An AI-Enabled Influence Operation Aimed at Overthrowing the Iranian Regime

Disinformation

The control and strategic manipulation of information has long played a role in the geopolitical and ideological competition between the Islamic Republic of Iran and its political adversaries, including Israel. Prior Citizen Lab research has uncovered Iranian disinformation efforts, however, in this investigation we focus on the “other side” of the geopolitical competition. We analyzed an influence operation we assess as most likely undertaken by an entity of the Israeli government or a private subcontractor working closely with it.

October 14, 2025

Read the full report

Same Sea, New Phish

Russian Government-Linked Social Engineering Targets App-Specific Passwords

Targeted Surveillance

In May 2025, Keir Giles, a well-known expert on Russian military operations, was targeted with a highly sophisticated and personalized phishing attack. Using a method not previously observed by the Citizen Lab, the attacker posed as a U.S. State Department employee to convince Mr. Giles to create and send app-specific passwords for his email accounts, bypassing multi-factor authentication. Google spotted and blocked the attack, attributing it to a Russian state-backed operator.

June 18, 2025

Read the full report

The Citizen Lab is an interdisciplinary research unit at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto. We apply our collective expertise in the fields of law, computer science, cybersecurity, political science, and social sciences to investigate complex issues of the 21st century.

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Explore focus areas

App Security & Privacy
Artificial Intelligence
Censorship
Digital Transnational Repression
Disinformation
Law & Policy
Mass Surveillance
Targeted Surveillance

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Recent news

Op-ed

What Carney didn’t say in Davos is what the world needed to hear most

The Toronto Star

In an op-ed for the Toronto Star, Jason Stanley and Ron Deibert write that Mark Carney must emphasize the importance of democratic values on the world stage.  “Canada is a healthy, pluralistic, and multicultural democracy,” making it “more essential now than ever that our prime minister stands up for the values our tolerant, multiracial society […]

January 23, 2026
In the Media

Evan Solomon Wants Canada to Trust AI. Can We Trust Evan Solomon?

The Walrus

Citizen Lab director Ron Deibert spoke with the Walrus about Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation Evan Solomon’s 30-day “national sprint” to inform Canada’s approach to AI development.  Deibert opted not to participate in the government process. “I don’t want to lend credibility to such flawed processes by participating,” he said, citing a need […]

January 23, 2026
Artificial Intelligence Law & Policy
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Chasing Shadows Out Now in Paperback

Buy here

Chasing Shadows, the best-selling book by Citizen Lab director Ron Deibert, is now out in paperback form on the one-year anniversary of its launch. This edition includes a new afterword describing “the disturbing descent into techno-fascism” that Deibert witnessed during his travels to the US in spring 2025, and includes an endorsement by Canadian novelist […]

January 20, 2026
In the Media

The Right to Remember

Memorializing in Syria
CBC Ideas

Senior researcher Noura Aljizawi speaks with Nalah Ayed from CBC Ideas about her personal experience of returning to Syria to grieve for the first time in 13 years following the fall of the al-Assad regime.  Aljizawi recalls how grieving publicly was not allowed in the wake of the 2011 revolution, despite the importance of collective […]

January 20, 2026
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