Ronald Deibert, director of the Citizen Lab, took extreme precautions in April 2025 when traveling to Illinois, purchasing new electronic devices upon arrival to mitigate the risk of surveillance. Deibert, who left his personal devices at home in Toronto, believes his work makes him a target. "I’m traveling under the assumption that I am being watched, right down to exactly where I am at any moment," he said.

Citizen Lab, a research center founded by Deibert in 2001 and housed at the University of Toronto, operates as a counterintelligence service for civil society. The institution investigates cyberthreats exclusively in the public interest, exposing digital abuses over the past two decades. Their work involves identifying and analyzing sophisticated spyware and other tools used to target journalists, human rights activists, and other members of civil society.

For years, Deibert and his colleagues considered the United States a benchmark for liberal democracy. However, this perspective is evolving, reflecting concerns about digital rights and privacy. Citizen Lab's investigations often involve reverse engineering malware, analyzing network traffic, and developing detection methods to identify victims of cyberattacks. The lab then publishes its findings, informing the public and policymakers about the threats.