How to Follow The Citizen Lab's Latest Research and News

Updated

The Citizen Lab publishes its research through a dedicated publication directory, a news and events section, and a newsletter you can subscribe to. To keep up with new findings, start with the "Our Work" and "Research Publication Directory" sections on citizenlab.ca, then subscribe to the newsletter for updates delivered to you. The site also offers tools and resources, expert insights, and media coverage for broader context.

Where the research lives on the site

The Citizen Lab is an interdisciplinary research unit at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto. Its site organizes output into a few main entry points:

  • Research Publication Directory – the full archive of reports and research notes.
  • Tools & Resources – practical material connected to its investigations.
  • News & Events – announcements, event listings, and coverage.
  • Expert Insights and In the Media – commentary and press appearances.

If you want the primary sources rather than summaries, the publication directory is the place to browse.

Focus areas to track

The site groups its work under defined focus areas, so you can follow the topics most relevant to you:

Focus area What it covers
App Security & Privacy Security and privacy issues in applications
Artificial Intelligence AI-related research
Censorship Online censorship and filtering
Digital Transnational Repression Cross-border digital threats
Disinformation Influence operations and false information campaigns
Law & Policy Legal and policy dimensions of digital threats
Mass Surveillance Large-scale monitoring
Targeted Surveillance Spyware and device-level attacks

Recent findings that show the output style

The homepage highlights current work, which gives a sense of what following the Lab looks like in practice:

  • BlackCore's Influence Operations for Hire (Disinformation, September 17, 2026) – a research note examining the digital infrastructure of BlackCore, an Israeli influence-for-hire company, including a campaign that provided a training program to government employees in Angola and launched a supervised influence operation.
  • Pegasus Spyware Infection of Serbian Pro-Democracy Student Activist (Targeted Surveillance, September 2, 2026) – in collaboration with the SHARE Foundation, the Lab confirmed that the iPhone of a member of Serbia's student protest movement was infected with Pegasus spyware.
  • Espionage Against the European Parliament (Targeted Surveillance, July 3, 2026) – former Member of the European Parliament Stelios Kouloglou was found to have been hacked with Pegasus while serving on the PEGA committee, which investigated spyware abuses in Europe; forensic analysis indicated attackers could have accessed confidential documents and committee deliberations.

These examples show the Lab mixes technical forensics with policy and civil-society collaboration, so following it means tracking both reports and the partnerships behind them.

How to subscribe and search

Two practical tools make ongoing tracking easier:

  1. Newsletter – the site offers a "Subscribe to our newsletter" option. Use it to receive the latest research without checking the site manually.
  2. Site search – a keyword search box lets you look up specific topics, companies, or technologies across the site.

A simple routine: subscribe to the newsletter for alerts, then use the publication directory and search when you need the full report behind a headline.

What to expect if you're deciding whether to follow

The Lab's work is research-driven and often tied to investigations involving spyware, disinformation, and surveillance. If your interest is academic, journalistic, or policy-related, the publication directory and focus areas give you a structured way in. If you mainly want periodic updates, the newsletter is the lowest-effort option. Note that the site lists a "Donate" option alongside its research sections, but no pricing or access restrictions are described in the available material, so treat the research pages as the primary resource and check the site directly for any current terms.