The Citizen Lab

1/ Citizen Lab researchers @katepundyk.bsky.social, @sanstis.bsky.social and @mmichae1sen.bsky.social discuss the rise of AI-enabled digital transnational repression in their piece for @justsecurity.org. www.justsecurity.org/159245/how-g...

2/ A recent report from Anthropic’s Threat Intelligence team gives direct evidence that generative AI is “being incorporated into the machinery of cross-border repression,” enabling authoritarian governments to identify, monitor, and target diaspora activists and exiled dissidents around the world.

1/“The assumption by government officials that technology companies can find “safe ways” to weaken critical cybersecurity protections badly misreads the current threat landscape,” writes @kate-ro.bsky.social about Bill C-22 for @theglobeandmail.com. www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...

3/The bill would force the stockpiling of all Canadians’ sensitive metadata, and everything from smartphones, smartwatches, banking apps, health apps, video game platforms, and public WiFi or CCTV networks could be accessed by law enforcement.

1/“The assumption by government officials that technology companies can find “safe ways” to weaken critical cybersecurity protections badly misreads the current threat landscape,” writes @kate-ro.bsky.social about Bill C-22 for @theglobeandmail.com. www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...

1/ NEW REPORT: Our latest research shows how data fueling the online advertising ecosystem is being used to profile millions of users and silently infect targets with zero-click mercenary spyware, a novel attack technique we call "Adfection." Read the report: citizenlab.ca/research/how...

Our research shows devices at international news network Al Jazeera were infected with mercenary spyware from Candiru (rebranded as “Integrity Labs”) via targeted online advertisements.

1/ NEW REPORT: Our latest research shows how data fueling the online advertising ecosystem is being used to profile millions of users and silently infect targets with zero-click mercenary spyware, a novel attack technique we call "Adfection." Read the report: citizenlab.ca/research/how...

In reality, it operates as an intermediary bridging the digital advertising ecosystem and mercenary spyware vendors (and their government customers) seeking to identify and track individuals with spyware.

1/ NEW REPORT: Our latest research shows how data fueling the online advertising ecosystem is being used to profile millions of users and silently infect targets with zero-click mercenary spyware, a novel attack technique we call "Adfection." Read the report: citizenlab.ca/research/how...

Psiphon, a software company spun out of the Citizen Lab that helps internet users living under oppressive regimes evade censorship, says it will leave Canada if Bill C-22 passes in its current form.

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: docs.un.org/en/A/HRC/63/52

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

1/ 🚨 NEW RESEARCH: We identified a training program provided to government employees in Angola by the Israeli influence-for-hire company BlackCore. Read the brief: citizenlab.ca/research/bla...

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.

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: techcrunch.com/2026/09/09/g...

1/ Citizen Lab researchers @noura.bsky.social, Shaila Baran, @mmichae1sen.bsky.social and @sanstis.bsky.social analyze how intersecting identities of gender and sexual orientation shape experiences of digital transnational repression in a special issue of the Journal of Online Trust and Safety.

1/ NEW: an investigation by our collaborator SHARE Foundation reveals widespread spyware targeting Serbia's pro-democracy student movement. The Citizen Lab confirms that an iPhone belonging to a student was infected with Pegasus spyware. Read more: sharefoundation.info/en/share-fou...

4/ 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.

1/ NEW: an investigation by our collaborator SHARE Foundation reveals widespread spyware targeting Serbia's pro-democracy student movement. The Citizen Lab confirms that an iPhone belonging to a student was infected with Pegasus spyware. Read more: sharefoundation.info/en/share-fou...

2/ This is the most recent public Pegasus case, and it comes amidst a critical series of elections in Serbia. At least 11 Serbian pro-democracy campaigners and opposition figures recently received Apple Threat Notifications.