Counterintelligence for civil society

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

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

Weaponized Words

Uyghur Language Software Hijacked to Deliver Malware

Digital Transnational RepressionTargeted Surveillance

Our investigation of a spearphishing campaign that targeted senior members of the World Uyghur Congress in March 2025 reveals a highly-customized attack delivery method. The ruse used by attackers replicates a pattern in which threat actors weaponize software and websites aimed at preserving and supporting marginalized and repressed cultures to target those same communities.

April 28, 2025

Unspoken Implications

A Preliminary Analysis of Bill C-2 and Canada’s Potential Data-Sharing Obligations Towards the United States and Other Countries

Law & Policy

Our preliminary analysis of Bill C-2 situates the legislation within the context of existing research by the Citizen Lab about two potential data-sharing treaties that are most relevant to the new proposed powers being introduced in Bill C-2: the Second Additional Protocol to the Budapest Convention (2AP) and the CLOUD Act. Both of which carry significant constitutional and human rights risks.

June 16, 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.

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

Weaponized Words

Uyghur Language Software Hijacked to Deliver Malware

Digital Transnational RepressionTargeted Surveillance

Our investigation of a spearphishing campaign that targeted senior members of the World Uyghur Congress in March 2025 reveals a highly-customized attack delivery method. The ruse used by attackers replicates a pattern in which threat actors weaponize software and websites aimed at preserving and supporting marginalized and repressed cultures to target those same communities.

April 28, 2025

Read the full report

Unspoken Implications

A Preliminary Analysis of Bill C-2 and Canada’s Potential Data-Sharing Obligations Towards the United States and Other Countries

Law & Policy

Our preliminary analysis of Bill C-2 situates the legislation within the context of existing research by the Citizen Lab about two potential data-sharing treaties that are most relevant to the new proposed powers being introduced in Bill C-2: the Second Additional Protocol to the Budapest Convention (2AP) and the CLOUD Act. Both of which carry significant constitutional and human rights risks.

June 16, 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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NEWS + EVENTS

In the Media

Meet the Man Hunting Spies in Your Smartphone

MIT Technology Review

In an interview with the MIT Technology Review, Citizen Lab director Ron Deibert discusses the Lab’s impact, and his views on the deteriorating political situation in the United States..  He notes the changing political atmosphere for academics and human rights defenders. “I do not believe that an institution like the Citizen Lab could exist right […]

January 6, 2026
Podcast

The AI Hype-Machine

Canada’s Ill-Advised ‘National Sprint’ on Artificial Intelligence

Citizen Lab senior fellow Cynthia Khoo speaks with Resh Budhu, host of the Courage My Friends podcast, about the problems with Canada’s ‘national sprint’ on artificial intelligence. She notes, “It’s kind of a slap in the face to everyone who has either been harmed by these kinds of reckless approaches to technology, or who has […]

November 28, 2025
Artificial Intelligence Law & Policy
Event

Signalgate – The Rise of Alternative Communication Platforms

Held on December 11, 2025

Don’t miss this panel discussion at FT Live’s Global Boardroom digital conference featuring Citizen Lab director Ron Deibert in conversation with Meredith Whittaker, president of Signal, and Anne Neuberger, former deputy national security advisor for the United States. The session will explore critical lessons on the use of digital communications offered by the Signalgate scandal. Panellists will discuss […]

Mass Surveillance
In the Media

John Scott-Railton on New NSO Group Ownership

NSO Group, the firm behind Pegasus spyware, has a new executive chairman who plans to use his ties to the Trump administration to improve the company’s reputation in the U.S. Speaking with the Wall Street Journal and the Guardian, Citizen Lab senior researcher John Scott-Railton says that Pegasus creates “unbearable temptation for abuse” where “nobody […]

November 12, 2025
Targeted Surveillance
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