Prof. Deibert is actively engaged in several different research projects.
His CV can be downloaded here (in Adobe Acrobat format).
The following are descriptions and links to some of Prof. Deibert's ongoing projects.
Citizen Lab is an interdisciplinary laboratory based at the Munk Centre for International Studies at the University of Toronto, Canada focusing on advanced research and development at the intersection of digital media and world civic politics. A "hothouse" that brings together social scientists, filmakers, computer scientists, activists, and artists, the Citizen Lab sponsors projects that explore the cutting-edge of hypermedia technologies and grassroots social movements, civic activism, and democratic change within an emerging planetary polity.
Website: http://www.citizenlab.org
The OpenNet Initiative (ONI) explores the relationship between censorship, technology and resistance using a technical analysis of state-imposed content filtering, blocking and monitoring schemes. As part of its mission, the OpenNet Initiative also acts as a "clearinghouse" that archives, assesses, and rates circumvention technologies produced locally and distributed throughout the Internet.
The ONI is a joint project of the Citizen Lab, an interdisciplinary laboratory based at the Munk Centre for International Studies at the University of Toronto, Canada, the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School and the Cambridge Programme for Security in International Society, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Website: http://www.opennetinitiative.net/
The Information Warfare Monitor
The Information Warfare Monitor is an advanced research project examining how states and non-state actors seek to exploit information and information systems to pursue political objectives through non-political means. The project seeks to examine this emerging dimension of global security on two levels:
Operational Case Studies -- by building a repertoire of grounded, multi-dimensional "case studies" of information warfare operations, and to do so by employing a cross-disciplinary fusion of advanced network monitoring/visualization tools and qualitative social science research methodologies.
Consequences for Global Security -- by using the case study data to assess emerging threats and consequences of information operations on global security in its military, political, economic, legal and human rights dimensions.
Website: http://www.infowar-monitor.net/
The CiviSec Project
The Internet is now an unavoidable necessity for state and non-state actors. At the same time there is a crisis brewing, as governments, corporations, civil society, and militant actors filter, monitor, censor and censure the activities and discussions of citizens worldwide. Although these censorship and surveillance practices take place in the realm of “cyberspace,” they can have real physical consequences as well. Filtering, monitoring and interception make it possible for hostile actors to find confidential and geographic information that may be used to cause harm. This new insecure environment impacts organizations working in countries that utilize Internet surveillance and filtering, creating an environment where organizations feel obliged to limit use of technologies or, due to lack of knowledge, continue to operate in an insecure manner.
The goal of the CiviSec Project is to address issues of Internet censorship, surveillance and infowar on three levels. First, it will address them by raising awareness through advocacy as to the prevalence and consequences of filtering practices and insecure communications around the world. Second, the CiviSec project will develop specific software and networking tools to allow non-expert users to detect filtering and/or insecure communications and to circumvent or mitigate these practices in the safest possible manner. Third, the project will develop online resources accessible to non-technical experts covering both methods and means for securing communications, as well as providing relevant background material. By bringing together software developers, researchers and civil society actors along each of these three levels, the CiviSec Project will create both software and instructional guides that empower organizations to determine their own specific needs and take informed action when implementing privacy and security solutions.
Psiphon
psiphon is a censorship circumvention solution that allows users to access blocked sites in countries where the Internet is censored. psiphon turns a regular home computer into a personal, encrypted server capable of retrieving and displaying web pages anywhere.
Website: Psiphon