The Citizen Lab is an interdisciplinary laboratory based at the Munk School of Global Affairs, at the University of Toronto, Canada focusing on advanced research and development at the intersection of digital media, global security, and human rights. Read more »

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Wired Battlefield

October 23, 2010 – 5:45 pm

Cyber security is at the top of the agenda for nation-states such as the U.S., France, Britain, and China. This major issue is also an increasing priority for international organizations such as NATO and the European Union. Will these security concerns compromise the open foundations of the Internet?

The National Post engages Citizen Lab Director Professor Ron Deibert on the “arms race in cyberspace.”

From National Post

Cyber attacks already launched

October 23, 2010 – 5:07 pm

Although cyberwar is commonly viewed as a threat that has yet to strike, prominent instances of cyber attack have been identified as early as the year 2007. An infamous example of cyberwar is Estonia in the spring of 2007. Following political controversy, the eastern European country experienced massive denial of service attacks. The cyber attacks targeted critical infrastructure of the country including financial and governmental sectors.

Citizen Lab Director Professor Ron Deibert discusses the complexities of identifying the culprits of cyberwar with the National Post.

From National Post

Liberation vs. Control in Cyberspace

October 21, 2010 – 3:28 pm

Ron Deibert and Rafal Rohozinski have co-authored an article in the October 2010 edition of Journal of Democracy, entitled “Liberation vs. Control in Cyberspace”. The article explores the complexities of cyperspace governance.The article focuses on the shifting nature of cyber-crime, such as social-networking malware, as well as cyber espionage, as identified in the Shadows in the Cloud Report published by Information Warfare Monitor this past April.

Read the article from Journal of Democracy

Media Coverage on RIM Monitoring Project

October 21, 2010 – 3:01 pm

Information Warfare Monitor (joint-activity of both the Citizen Lab and the SecDev Group) recently announced the launch of RIM Check. The RIM Check project is inspired by a broad need to monitor the activities of private sector actors that own and operate cyberspace, particularly as they come under increasing pressure to cooperate with governments on national surveillance and censorship laws, policies, and requests. Researchers of the Information Warfare Monitor project will analyze the data collected from the Web site over an extended period of time.

Information Warfare Monitor (Citizen Lab and SecDev Group) Announces RIM Monitoring Project

October 21, 2010 – 2:32 pm

The RIM Check project is inspired by a broad need to monitor the activities of private sector actors that own and operate cyberspace, particularly as they come under increasing pressure to cooperate with governments on national surveillance and censorship laws, policies, and requests. Decisions taken by private sector actors, often at the behest of governments seeking access to their data or assistance blocking Web sites, can have major consequences for human rights. These decisions can lack transparency and public accountability. This project is meant to address that lack of transparency.



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psilabPsiLab is a joint activity of the Citizen Lab and Psiphon Inc, oriented around advanced research of circumvention technologies, threat analysis, and the consideration of political and legal issues surrounding their use in denied environments. psi-LAB

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