In a joint investigation with Access Now, we found that seven Russian and Belarusian-speaking independent journalists and opposition activists based in Europe were targeted and/or infected with NSO Group’s Pegasus mercenary spyware.
In a joint investigation with Access Now, we found that seven Russian and Belarusian-speaking independent journalists and opposition activists based in Europe were targeted and/or infected with NSO Group’s Pegasus mercenary spyware.
In this report, we examine cloud-based pinyin keyboard apps from nine vendors (Baidu, Honor, Huawei, iFlyTek, OPPO, Samsung, Tencent, Vivo, and Xiaomi) for vulnerabilities in how the apps transmit user keystrokes. Our analysis found that eight of the nine apps identified contained vulnerabilities that could be exploited to completely reveal the contents of users’ keystrokes in transit. We estimate that up to one billion users could be vulnerable to having all of their keystrokes intercepted, constituting a tremendous risk to user security.
A network of at least 123 websites operated from within the People’s Republic of China while posing as local news outlets in 30 countries across Europe, Asia, and Latin America, disseminates pro-Beijing disinformation and ad hominem attacks within much larger volumes of commercial press releases. We name this campaign PAPERWALL. We attribute the PAPERWALL campaign to Shenzhen Haimaiyunxiang Media Co., Ltd., aka Haimai, a PR firm in China based on digital infrastructure linkages between the firm’s official website and the network. These findings confirm the increasingly important role private firms play in the realm of digital influence operations and the propensity of the Chinese government to make use of them.
As part of our ongoing project monitoring changes to Chinese search censorship, we tracked changes to censorship following Li Keqiang’s death across seven Internet platforms: Baidu, Baidu Zhidao, Bilibili, Microsoft Bing, Jingdong, Sogou, and Weibo. We found that some keyword combinations in search queries triggers hard censorship whereas others trigger soft censorship. Our results demonstrate China’s ongoing efforts to push state-sanctioned narratives concerning politically sensitive topics, impacting the integrity of the online information environment.
The Citizen Lab is an interdisciplinary laboratory based at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto, focusing on research and development at the intersection of information and communication technologies, human rights, and global security. Learn more.
The Citizen Lab’s director Ron Deibert and researchers Lex Gill and Noura Al-Jizawi are slated to speak at CBC Ideas Week, part of the Stratford Festival, on July 18 and July 20. In panel discussions moderated by CBC Ideas’ host Nahlah Ayed, they will explore efforts throughout history to imagine new possibilities and make them… Read more »
Activists and dissidents living in Canada are impacted by digital transnational repression (DTR) – a tool used by authoritarian governments to continue to harass and intimidate individuals online, even after leaving their country of origin. Join this online event hosted by the Montreal Institute of Genocide and Human Rights Studies (MIGS), where the Citizen Lab’s… Read more »
“What separates benign foreign influence from malign interference? And if foreign-owned platforms like TikTok are used for both interference and influence, how should we respond?” In this piece for Brookings, Diana Fu, associate professor of political science at the University of Toronto and Emile Dirks, research associate at the Citizen Lab, discuss issues like soft… Read more »
The annual Privacy Enhancing Technologies Symposium (PETS) 2024 is underway in Bristol, UK and online, a gathering of privacy experts from around the world to discuss recent advances and new perspectives on research in privacy technologies. On July 16, former Citizen Lab Open Technology Fund (OTF) Information Controls Fellowship Program fellow Benjamin Mixon-Baca will be… Read more »
In response to the United Nations’ call for input to the report of the Special Rapporteur, we made a submission underlining the challenges faced by women human rights defenders (WHRDs) who live in exile or in the diaspora, and the threats they encounter.
The Citizen Lab, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto, is hiring an Informatics Security Analyst and Network Administrator. Reporting to the Systems and Security Technical Lead, the incumbent is responsible for carrying out a range of system and network administration duties which include assisting in the management and oversight of… Read more »
