Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

The Citizen Lab @citizenlab.ca · 6d

For a deeper dive, see Haaretz’s reporting on PRISONBREAK and other active disinformation networks with an Israeli nexus 👉 www.haaretz.com/2025-10-01/t...

The Israeli influence operation in Iran pushing to reinstate the shah monarchy

Citizen Lab Found That an Online Network Pushed Out Deepfake Videos During Israel's Airstrikes on Tehran's Evin Prison. An Investigation by TheMarker and Haaretz Reveals the Persian-language Online Ca...

www.haaretz.com

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The Citizen Lab @citizenlab.ca · 6d

Evidence suggests a strong link between PRISONBREAK and the Israeli state, leading us to the hypothesis that Israel is behind the network as part of a larger goal of destabilizing the Islamic Republic of Iran.

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The Citizen Lab @citizenlab.ca · 6d

Our analysis of the network’s posting activity shows close alignment with the Israel Defense Force’s military campaign against Iranian targets in June 2025 during the #12DayWar. View the timeline: citizenlab.ca/2025/10/ai-e...

We Say You Want a Revolution: PRISONBREAK - An AI-Enabled Influence Operation Aimed at Overthrowing the Iranian Regime - The Citizen Lab

We investigate a coordinated network of inauthentic X accounts that is spreading AI-generated content to induce revolt in Iran. The network has been active since 2023, but increased activity during th...

citizenlab.ca

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The Citizen Lab @citizenlab.ca · 6d

With the help of #AI, PRISONBREAK produced and spread deepfake videos, misleading images, as well as falsified content from trusted news sources - all with the apparent intent of causing unrest in Iran.

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The Citizen Lab @citizenlab.ca · 6d

NEW REPORT: We uncovered a coordinated network of fake X profiles that is spreading AI-generated content to induce revolt in #Iran. We call this network “PRISONBREAK”.

Read the report 👉 citizenlab.ca/2025/10/ai-e...

We Say You Want a Revolution: PRISONBREAK - An AI-Enabled Influence Operation Aimed at Overthrowing the Iranian Regime - The Citizen Lab

We investigate a coordinated network of inauthentic X accounts that is spreading AI-generated content to induce revolt in Iran. The network has been active since 2023, but increased activity during th...

citizenlab.ca

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The Citizen Lab @citizenlab.ca · 29d

The Information Security Program Manager will be responsible for providing strategic leadership to develop and implement our Information Security Programs as well as advising other units at the @utoronto.ca.

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The Citizen Lab @citizenlab.ca · 29d

JOB ALERT: We are recruiting for the newly created role of Information Security Program Manager.

Apply by Sept 30.

citizenlab.ca/2025/09/job-...

Job Opportunity: Information Security Program Manager - The Citizen Lab

The Information Security Program Manager will be responsible for providing strategic leadership to develop and implement Information Security Programs for the Citizen Lab as well as other units at the...

citizenlab.ca

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Reposted by The Citizen Lab

Ron Deibert @rondeibert.bsky.social · 29d

NEW: Spyware installed on Kenyan filmmakers' phones in police custody @citizenlab.ca confirms cpj.org?p=516177

Spyware installed on Kenyan filmmakers' phones in police custody - Committee to Protect Journalists

New York, September 10, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists is gravely alarmed by the installation of spyware on two Kenyan filmmakers’ phones while the devices were in police custody, and calls...

cpj.org

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The Citizen Lab @citizenlab.ca · Sep 8

"Canada's new Minister of AI must not be naive to its harms"
@rondeibert.bsky.social's latest oped in @theglobeandmail.com

Ron Deibert @rondeibert.bsky.social · Sep 8

"A tsunami of AI-enabled disinformation is already upon us, polluting the public sphere and seeping back into the language models that AI systems feed upon. What to do?"

My latest oped in @theglobeandmail.com 👇

www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...

Opinion: Canada’s new Minister of AI must not be naive to its harms

AI is not just being deployed to expand human understanding, but to systematically subvert it as well

www.theglobeandmail.com

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Reposted by The Citizen Lab

Ron Deibert @rondeibert.bsky.social · Sep 5

Thanks @ronanfarrow.bsky.social for your excellent insights on this topic 👇

Ronan Farrow @ronanfarrow.bsky.social · Sep 4

ICE just reactivated its contract with an Israeli firm that makes phone-hacking spyware. Here's what you should know.
#ICE #NewsUS #Hacking #spyware

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Reposted by The Citizen Lab

John Scott-Railton @jsrailton.bsky.social · Sep 2

NEW: Mercenary spyware is coming to the US.

ICE just quietly unsuspended their contract with spyware maker #Paragon.

Remember them? Caught earlier this year being used to hack Italian journalists.

This is bad, let's talk about how we got here 1/

jackpoulson.substack.com/p/exclusive-...

Exclusive: ICE reactivated its $2 million contract with Israeli spyware firm Paragon, following its acquisition by U.S. capital

The cyber division of ICE's Homeland Security Investigations on Saturday quietly lifted a stop-work order put into place by the Biden administration in October.

jackpoulson.substack.com

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The Citizen Lab @citizenlab.ca · Aug 25

In a recent analysis, Robertson flagged that #BillC-2 could pose significant constitutional and human rights risks.

She points to the need for more transparency regarding its implications for data sharing with the US or other countries.

Read it here: citizenlab.ca/2025/06/a-pr...

Unspoken Implications: A Preliminary Analysis of Bill C-2 and Canada’s Potential Data-Sharing Obligations Towards the United States and Other Countries - The Citizen Lab

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 pro...

citizenlab.ca

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The Citizen Lab @citizenlab.ca · Aug 25

Join the Citizen Lab’s Kate Robertson on Aug 27 at a webinar co-hosted by @iclmg-csilc.bsky.social on Canada’s Bill C-2.

She will be joined by privacy & migrant rights experts to discuss what’s at stake with 🇨🇦's “Strong Borders” Act.

Register: iclmg.ca/webinar-stop...

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Reposted by The Citizen Lab

TechCrunch @techcrunch.com · Aug 7

Citizen Lab director warns cyber industry about US authoritarian descent

Citizen Lab director warns cyber industry about US authoritarian descent | TechCrunch

Ron Deibert, the head of the prominent digital human rights groups Citizen Lab, sounds the alarm at the Black Hat security conference about the "dramatic descent into authoritarianism," but one that the cyber community can help to defend against.

techcrunch.com

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The Citizen Lab @citizenlab.ca · Jul 29

"The impacts of transnational repression (TNR) are far-reaching, with detrimental effects on individuals' social, psychological, and physical well-being."

@noura.bsky.social, @sanstis.bsky.social, and Gözde Böcü examine the impacts of TNR in their new article: muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/articl...

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The Citizen Lab @citizenlab.ca · Jul 21

Writing for @policyoptions.irpp.org, the Citizen Lab’s Kate Robertson and Song-Ly Tran discuss how 🇨🇦 Canada’s outdated wiretap laws fail to protect Canadians from spyware abuse.

Read it here:
policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/ju...

Canada’s outdated laws leave spyware oversight dangerously weak

Canada’s laws lag far behind the spyware tools used by police — leaving civil liberties, privacy, and national security exposed.

policyoptions.irpp.org

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Reposted by The Citizen Lab

Ron Deibert @rondeibert.bsky.social · Jul 14

I am honoured and excited to be delivering a keynote @blackhatevents.bsky.social 🇺🇸 2025

Come hear about the history of @citizenlab.ca, our investigations into mercenary spyware and other abuses, and what keeps me up at night!

www.blackhat.com/us-25/briefi...

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The Citizen Lab @citizenlab.ca · Jul 7

🛰️ New article co-authored by the Citizen Lab's @gabriellelim.bsky.social discusses the risks of privatized space technology. Published in @techpolicypress.bsky.social

Read it here: www.techpolicy.press/a-match-made...

A Match Made in the Heavens: The Surveillance State and the “New Space” Economy | TechPolicy.Press

As private firms dominate space, satellites serve both aid and surveillance—raising urgent questions about power, privacy, and democratic control.

www.techpolicy.press

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The Citizen Lab @citizenlab.ca · Jul 4

New op-ed by our director @rondeibert.bsky.social takes a look at the G7 Leaders' Statement on transnational repression. Published today in @theglobeandmail.com

Ron Deibert @rondeibert.bsky.social · Jul 4

Canada 🇨🇦 makes many pledges re: regulating spyware, protecting victims of transnational repression, and protecting human rights.

But words must be followed by actions.

My latest @theglobeandmail.com on the G7 Leaders' Statement on Transnational Repression

www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/3d51c5f...

The G7 condemned transnational repression, but will Canada meet its own commitments?

A statement against this practice was a welcome sight, but will mean very little without concrete action

www.theglobeandmail.com

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The Citizen Lab @citizenlab.ca · Jun 23

Why are governments around the world tightening laws on misinformation?

The Citizen Lab’s @gabriellelim.bsky.social examines the global surge of misinformation legislation in this new article👇

Gabrielle Lim @gabriellelim.bsky.social · Jun 20

In a short span of time there has been a global rise in "fake news" laws - legislation that purports to or is designed to curb the spread of false information. @sbradshaw.bsky.social, Monzima Haque, and I wanted to understand why.

"The Global Spread of Misinformation Laws" ijoc.org/index.php/ij...

True Costs of Misinformation| The Global Spread of Misinformation Laws | Bradshaw | International Journal of Communication

True Costs of Misinformation| The Global Spread of Misinformation Laws

ijoc.org

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Reposted by The Citizen Lab

Raphael Satter @raphae.li · Jun 18

Keir Giles has been targeted *again* by allegedly Russian hackers — this time using a clever new trick intended to bypass 2-factor authentication.

Over the years I’ve written about Giles an unusual amount, and I have an idea about why.

First, the coverage:
www.reuters.com/technology/s...

Suspected Russian hackers used new tactic against UK researcher

Suspected Russian hackers have deployed a new tactic to trick even wary targets into compromising their own accounts, a victim of the spy campaign and researchers said on Wednesday.

www.reuters.com

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The Citizen Lab @citizenlab.ca · Jun 18

NEW REPORT: Russia's state-backed hackers have a new trick.

In collab w/ Google Threat Intelligence Group, we investigated an attack against prominent Russian expert
@keirgiles.bsky.social & uncovered an elaborate attack targeting App-Specific Passwords (ASPs).

citizenlab.ca/2025/06/russ...

Same Sea, New Phish: Russian Government-Linked Social Engineering Targets App-Specific Passwords - The Citizen Lab

Keir Giles, a prominent expert on Russia, was targeted with a new form of social-engineering attack that leverages App-Specific Passwords. Google links the operation to UNC6293, a Russian state-backed...

citizenlab.ca

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Reposted by The Citizen Lab

Ron Deibert @rondeibert.bsky.social · Jun 18

I was encouraged to see the #G7 Leaders' Statement on Transnational Repression which also calls out mitigating harms around mercenary spyware 👇🇨🇦

www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/stat...

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Reposted by The Citizen Lab

Ron Deibert @rondeibert.bsky.social · Jun 12

And @raphae.li @reuters.com

www.reuters.com/business/med...

Second Italian journalist targeted with Paragon spyware, watchdog group says

A second Italian journalist was recently targeted by software made by U.S.-owned surveillance company Paragon, internet watchdog group Citizen Lab said, raising new questions about a surveillance scandal that has already led Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government and Paragon to part ways.

www.reuters.com

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Reposted by The Citizen Lab

Ron Deibert @rondeibert.bsky.social · Jun 17

There are plenty of reasons to be concerned about Canada's 🇨🇦 new proposed border security legislation

Fortunately we have @kate-ro.bsky.social @citizenlab.ca to untangle them for us. Details below 👇

Kate Robertson @kate-ro.bsky.social · Jun 16

NEW today from myself @citizenlab.ca, on the unspoken implications of Canada's Bill C-2 for data-sharing with the United States and other foreign countries:

citizenlab.ca/2025/06/a-pr...

Unspoken Implications: A Preliminary Analysis of Bill C-2 and Canada’s Potential Data-Sharing Obligations Towards the United States and Other Countries - The Citizen Lab

On June 3, 2025, the federal government tabled Bill C-2, An Act respecting certain measures relating to the security of the border between Canada and the United States and respecting other related sec...

citizenlab.ca

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