Citizen's Lab
Citizen' Lab is a research group, associated with the University of Toronto, that looks into how technology affects human freedom.[1]
The group has been helping enhance the cyber-security of the Dalai Lama, and those working with him, since 2008.[2]
The group reports that their work analyzing spyware used to target opposition figures in South America has triggered death threats.[1][3] In September 2015 members of the group received a pop-up that said:
Analysis of a popular cellphone app called "Smart Sheriff", by Citizen Lab, and the German group Cure53, asserted the app represented a security hole that betrayed the privacy of the children it was claimed it protected, and that of their parents.[4][5] South Korean law required all cellphones sold to those under 18 to contain software designed to protect children, and Smart Sheriff was the most popular government approved app -- with 380,000 subscribers. The Citizen Lab/Cure53 report described Smart Sheriff's security holes as "catastrophic".[6]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Frank Bajak. South American hackers attacking journalists, opposition, U of T team finds, Toronto Star, 2015-12-15. Retrieved on 2016-01-09. “Researchers said Packrat sent a top Argentine journalist, Jorge Lanata, the identical virus that Nisman received a month before his death.”
- ↑ BPR Interview: Citizens Lab Director Ronald Deibert, Brown Political Review, 2012-10-21. Retrieved on 2016-01-09. “BPR interviewed Ronald Deibert, director of Citizens Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto, an interdisciplinary research organization focusing at the intersection of internet, global security and human rights. They have worked for the office of the Dalai Lama.”
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Packrat malware targets dissidents, journalists in South America, Citizen Lab finds: Probe started after Packrat targeted Argentine special prosecutor found dead of gunshot wound, CBC News, 2015-12-09. Retrieved on 2016-01-09.
- ↑ Max Lewontin. South Korea pulls plug on child surveillance app after security concerns: Government officials pulled Smart Sheriff, an app that lets parents track how their children use social media, from the Google Play store over the weekend, Christian Science Monitor, 2015-11-02. Retrieved on 2016-01-09. “But researchers from Citizens Lab, a research group based at the University of Toronto, and Cure53, a German software company, released two reports in September finding that Smart Sheriff had a variety of security issues that it made it vulnerable to hackers and put children and parents’ personal information at risk.”
- ↑ South Korea ditching Smart Sheriff child monitoring app over 'catastrophic' security woes, The Japan Times Online, 2015-11-02. Retrieved on 2015-11-04. “Pulling the plug on Smart Sheriff was “long overdue,” said independent researcher Collin Anderson, who worked with Internet watchdog group Citizen Lab and German software auditing firm Cure53 to comb through the app’s code. In a pair of reports published in September, Cure53 described the app’s security as “catastrophic.” Citizen Lab, which is based at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs, said the problems could lead to a “mass compromise” of all users.” mirror
- ↑ Raphael Satter, Youkyung Lee. South Korea shuts down child surveillance app over security concerns: The removal of the state-approved Smart Sheriff is a blow to South Korea's effort to keep closer tabs on the online lives of youth., Toronto Star, 2015-11-02. Retrieved on 2016-01-09. “Pulling the plug on Smart Sheriff was “long overdue,” said independent researcher Collin Anderson, who worked with Internet watchdog group Citizen Lab and German software auditing firm Cure53 to comb through the app’s code.”