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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Iran Boasts It Can Shut Down Starlink. Where Is the Evidence?Digital Monitoring & Interception
6 min read
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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“Systematization” versus “Organization”Surveillance Policy & Regulation
13 min read
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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Identity Verification and State Surveillance in Iran: Instagram Advertising, Divar and the Power to Identify UsersCitizens Privacy Rights
16 min read
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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Iran’s Foreign Communications Registry Puts International Ties Under Security ScrutinyCitizens Privacy Rights
10 min read
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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Goorkan Appears on Los Angeles Freeway Sign as Website Threatens Iranian Government OpponentsCitizens Privacy Rights
13 min read
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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Tehran and Moscow’s Campaign to Normalize Internet FragmentationDigital Censorship & Repression
9 min read
A new Iran-Russia agreement suggests the normalization of Internet fragmentation and state sovereignty in cyberspace through international institutions.
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Chosen Brick: The MOIS-Linked Espionage Chain From Messaging Apps to Computer SurveillanceAdvanced Persistent Threats
21 min read
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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Alaj: Building Dossiers on Iranians WorldwideCitizens Privacy Rights
9 min read
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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Iran’s Anti-Infiltration Bill Restricts Lawful Freedoms in the Name of IndependenceCitizens Privacy Rights
22 min read
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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Saqeb: Inside the IRGC’s Windows Espionage PlatformDestructive Cyber Operations
11 min read
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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The World Through the Screens of Iran’s Intelligence Ministry HackersDestructive Cyber Operations
17 min read
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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Chabokran: The Android Trojan Behind a Fake Labor Ministry Employment SchemeDestructive Cyber Operations
20 min read
Chabokran, or the malicious “Kar” app, uses the promise of employment to steal SMS messages and one-time passwords.
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