On Mar 5, join director and founder of The Citizen Lab @rondeibert in conversation with award-winning national security reporter Ellen Nakashima at the International Spy Museum.

Attend in-person or virtually.

🎟️ Register: https://bit.ly/41w6dK3

New legal commentary by The Citizen Lab’s Cynthia Khoo and Kate Robertson warns of the constitutional dangers posed by a potential Canada-U.S. CLOUD Act agreement. If signed, this would extend the reach of U.S. law enforcement into Canada’s digital terrain to an unprecedented extent.

Read it here: https://citizenlab.ca/2025/02/canada-us-cross-border-surveillance-cloud-act/

⚠️ New legal analysis by The Citizen Lab’s Cynthia Khoo and Kate Robertson warns of the constitutional dangers posed by the Canada-U.S. #CLOUDAct.

If signed, the agreement would extend the reach of U.S. law enforcement into Canada’s digital terrain to an unprecedented extent.

Read it here: https://citizenlab.ca/2025/02/canada-us-cross-border-surveillance-cloud-act/

✒️Even after Assad’s fall, #disinformation in #Syria is thriving. In an opinion piece The Citizen Lab’s @noura discusses how new trends and tactics have emerged, and how foreign powers and non-state actors exploit social media to manipulate narratives and spread fear.
Read more here: https://timep.org/2025/01/30/truth-in-transition-disinformation-in-post-assad-syria/

In an opinion piece for @globeandmail The Citizen Lab’s Emile Dirks , @sanstis @noura and @rondeibert underscore how the #HogueCommission’s report missed an opportunity to address transnational repression. Read it here 👇🏽
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-the-final-hogue-report-was-a-missed-opportunity-to-tackle/

In a Q&A for the Digital Front Lines report by Foreign Policy Analytics (@foreignpolicy) human rights activist Carine Kanimba and The Citizen Lab director @rondeibert discuss the human toll of spyware and call for collaboration between civil society, tech firms, and governments to combat its abuse.
https://digitalfrontlines.io/2025/01/31/spyware-human-toll-cyber-mercenaries/
#spyware

Last week CityNews journalist Faiza Amin sat down with @rondeibert to discuss his new book Chasing Shadows and the dangerous rise of unregulated mercenary surveillance. Watch it here:
https://toronto.citynews.ca/video/2025/02/05/new-book-details-concerning-global-cyber-security-issues/

We disclosed these security issues to RedNote, and the related software development kit vendors NEXTDATA, and MobTech, but as of yet, have not received a response from any party.

These vulnerabilities leave user data exposed to potential eavesdropping, device attacks, and network surveillance. High-risk users should avoid using the app until these vulnerabilities are addressed.

We also found that RedNote transmits device metadata, such as location, description, and serial number with insufficient encryption. This can potentially expose sensitive information to network attackers.

Both the #iOS and #Android versions of RedNote fetch viewed images and videos without encryption, leaving millions of users’ data vulnerable to network eavesdroppers.

Our first network security analysis of the popular social media app, #RedNote, has revealed some major red flags 🚩🚩🚩. The app is used by over 300 million users worldwide - but its network encryption falls short. Read the report: https://citizenlab.ca/2025/02/network-security-issues-in-rednote/

Imagine having your home address splattered all over the internet. Meryem, an activist living in the US, knows exactly what that’s like. She faces relentless online harassment from Chinese state-backed trolls as she fights for #Uyghur rights. Her fight is made even harder because she is a woman. Learn about the price she’s paid: https://citizenlab.ca/case-studies/meryem-a-human-rights-activist-from-xinjiang-china/ #digitaltransnationalrepression

Dounia is an exiled journalist living in France. After exposing Morocco's use of #spyware against politicians, she became the target of physical and sexual harassment, spread across both traditional media and social platforms. Even while in #China, #Morocco continued to harass her, forcing her to flee to #France, where the online attacks continued.
Read her story of resilience: https://citizenlab.ca/case-studies/dounia-filali-a-journalist-from-morocco/ #digitaltransnationalrepression

After Fatima fled to the UK, the Syrian state-sponsored attacks continued. Both the regime and anti-regime groups continue to target her, both online and offline, making her journalism a high-risk endeavour. With her family used as leverage, she has been pressured to self-censor. Learn how these attacks impact her life and work: https://citizenlab.ca/case-studies/fatima-a-journalist-from-syria/ #digitaltransnationalrepression

President Trump delayed the U.S. #TikTok ban, but is his executive order legally sound? The Citizen Lab’s @penney writes for the @globeandmail questioning whether the move addresses privacy and national security issues or is purely about political power.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-the-tiktok-ban-is-already-dead-in-the-water/

After playing a key role in the #Yemenuprising, Arwa sought refuge in the EU. But digital threats know no borders. From leaked personal photos to family shaming, Arwa’s experienced a flurry of online attacks since fleeing home. Read Arwa’s story to learn how she continues to fight for human rights through a new medium, art 🎨 https://citizenlab.ca/case-studies/arwa-an-activist-from-yemen/
#digitaltransnationalrepression

Mariam is an exiled human rights activist living in Denmark. She was targeted by the Bahraini government with intense gendered online attacks, surveillance, and defamation campaigns in an attempt to silence her voice. Despite this, she remains undeterred in her pursuits to fight back against state-sponsored repression. Read her story ✊🏽 https://citizenlab.ca/case-studies/mariam-alkhawaja-a-human-rights-activist-from-bahrain/
#digitaltransnationalrepression

Fighting for the truth usually comes at a high cost. For women human rights defenders, it puts a target on their backs as well as their families’. Forced to flee their home countries, the harassment stops at no borders. From online to offline, they face intense repression, yet remain resilient. Read their courageous stories here: https://citizenlab.ca/category/research/targeted-threats/dtr/
#digitaltransnationalrepression

📢 Work with us! The Citizen Lab is looking for a Systems & Security Technical Lead to join our team. This is a unique opportunity to shape the strategic and tactical approach to risk management, systems security & compliance at The Citizen Lab. Apply by February 20 👉 https://citizenlab.ca/2025/01/job-posting-systems-sec-tech-lead/