Analysis Archive:
Research & Reports
A comprehensive collection of technical reports, security analyses, and in-depth research. Exploring the depths of digital security with a critical lens.
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Digital Monitoring & Interception6 min read
Iran Boasts It Can Shut Down Starlink. Where Is the Evidence?
Iran’s top cyberspace official claims authorities can disconnect Starlink terminals. Public evidence shows disruption to some connections, but does not establish the ability to impose a sustained nationwide shutdown.
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Surveillance Policy & Regulation13 min read
“Systematization” versus “Organization”
A dispute between the government, parliament and the Supreme Council of Cyberspace exposes the fragmented authority behind Iran’s internet governance—and gives new meaning to Ali Khamenei’s complaint that cyberspace is “truly left unchecked.”
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Citizens Privacy Rights16 min read
Identity Verification and State Surveillance in Iran: Instagram Advertising, Divar and the Power to Identify Users
Requirements to register the identities of online advertisers, alongside Divar’s links between user accounts and identity and financial records, make digital activity easier to attribute to individuals. Combined with access to data and pressure on businesses, these connections can become instruments of control.
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Citizens Privacy Rights10 min read
Iran’s Foreign Communications Registry Puts International Ties Under Security Scrutiny
Parliament has tasked the Interior Ministry with building a registry of foreign activities and partnerships. The system will give security agencies access to records of academic, media, and professional relationships and make some activities subject to approval.
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Citizens Privacy Rights13 min read
Goorkan Appears on Los Angeles Freeway Sign as Website Threatens Iranian Government Opponents
Goorkan collects information on people who oppose the Islamic Republic and publishes dossiers about them, while threatening them with “punishment.” At the same time, the website’s address appeared on a digital sign along Los Angeles’s Interstate 405. It remains unclear who posted the message or how they accessed the sign’s system.
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Digital Censorship & Repression9 min read
Tehran and Moscow’s Campaign to Normalize Internet Fragmentation
A new Iran-Russia agreement suggests the normalization of Internet fragmentation and state sovereignty in cyberspace through international institutions.
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Advanced Persistent Threats21 min read
Chosen Brick: The MOIS-Linked Espionage Chain From Messaging Apps to Computer Surveillance
A new warning from the UK, the US, and the Netherlands details, one that begins by gaining a target’s trust and can end with stolen communications, audio surveillance, and the publication of personal information for further harassment.
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Citizens Privacy Rights9 min read
Alaj: Building Dossiers on Iranians Worldwide
Alaj is recruiting people to report Iranian Instagram users living abroad. Its promise—“You identify them. We take action”—raises urgent questions about who receives that information and what happens next.
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Citizens Privacy Rights22 min read
Iran’s Anti-Infiltration Bill Restricts Lawful Freedoms in the Name of Independence
Iran’s proposed “anti-infiltration” law would place ordinary contact with foreign universities, media outlets, civil-society groups and professional organisations under security scrutiny—even though Iran’s own Constitution says lawful freedoms cannot be taken away in the name of protecting national independence.
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Destructive Cyber Operations11 min read
Saqeb: Inside the IRGC’s Windows Espionage Platform
Leaked documents linked to Charming Kitten describe Saqeb as a modular Windows surveillance platform built for persistent access, remote commands, keylogging, Telegram session theft, Firefox credential harvesting, and file destruction.
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Destructive Cyber Operations17 min read
The World Through the Screens of Iran’s Intelligence Ministry Hackers
Two defensive simulations of MuddyWater operations show that the power of the Islamic Republic’s hackers does not lie in any single mysterious technology. It comes from combining close knowledge of the target, the exploitation of trust, and a handful of relatively simple technical tools.
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Destructive Cyber Operations20 min read
Chabokran: The Android Trojan Behind a Fake Labor Ministry Employment Scheme
Chabokran, or the malicious “Kar” app, uses the promise of employment to steal SMS messages and one-time passwords.
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