Research reports
Our collection of investigative and analytical reports on the state of the internet, digital rights, and online freedoms in Iran.
Featured Reports
How Iran’s National Information Network Works
With the internet in Iran shut down by the government of the Islamic Republic in January 2026, a familiar question resurfaced: Is the country becoming North Korea?
Policymaking and Institutional Mapping of Surveillance and Interception of Citizens under the Islamic Republic of Iran
How Centralized Authentication, Infrastructure Level Monitoring and Interception, Spyware Operations, and Street Level Surveillance Have Converged into a Unified System for Controlling, Suppressing, and Intercepting Citizens
Jamming in Iran: The Business of Disruption and the Defense Contractor Network
Examining the Role of Ofogh Saberin Co in Iranian Ministry of Defense Jamming Projects and the Export of Digital Repression Technologies
RAT-2Ac2: A Report on a State-Aligned Remote Access Tool
Examining the Organizational Logic, Operational Architecture, and the Role of a Modular RAT in Charming Kitten’s Covert Digital Surveillance
Charming Kitten (APT35) Modular Windows Trojan
Persistent Access and Covert Command and Control within the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Surveillance and Interception Architecture
Protection Bill 2025: The Birth of a New Extra-Legal Process for Filtering and Censorship in IRIB
Bill on Supporting and Addressing Violations in the Field of Pervasive Audio and Video in Cyberspace (Internet) in Iranian Parliament
Surveillance, Interception and Censorship in UN Human Rights report on Iran
The UN Special Rapporteur on human rights warned of internet shutdowns, systematic censorship, arbitrary surveillance and online and offline repression of Iranian activists and citizens.
Collision in Orbit
The Islamic Republic’s Legal and Technical Case Against Starlink at the UN
Say Cheeeese!
An Android spyware called Aks-e Yadegari (Souvenir Photo) is spreading through Telegram, targeting Iranian cryptocurrency exchanges.
The House That Tells on Itself
No matter where you live, there’s a vacuum cleaner, a smart TV, or an electric car out there that can find you and place you under the surveillance and intercept of the CCP.
Iran’s New Espionage Law and the Criminalisation of Starlink
What the Text Means for Users
Ravin Academy
The Talent Pipeline Behind Iran’s Cyber Warfare
Homes That Switch Off
A Privacy Alarm in the Age of Chinese Smart Devices
Irancell: The Backbone of Censorship and Digital Surveillance
An Examination of Irancell’s Role as the Economic-Intelligence Arm of the Islamic Republic
Iran’s Hybrid Surveillance Model
How the Islamic Republic Tracks Its Citizens, With Chinese Inspiration
The Hijab Law and Smart Repression of Iranians
Authoritarian Power and Religious Ideology in Strategies of Surveillance and Identity Verification
Oversight System in Cyberspace
The Islamic Republic’s Expanding Surveillance and Spying Infrastructure over Citizens’ Digital Lives
How Iran’s National Information Network Works
With the internet in Iran shut down by the government of the Islamic Republic in January 2026, a familiar question resurfaced: Is the country becoming North Korea?
Policymaking and Institutional Mapping of Surveillance and Interception of Citizens under the Islamic Republic of Iran
How Centralized Authentication, Infrastructure Level Monitoring and Interception, Spyware Operations, and Street Level Surveillance Have Converged into a Unified System for Controlling, Suppressing, and Intercepting Citizens
Jamming in Iran: The Business of Disruption and the Defense Contractor Network
Examining the Role of Ofogh Saberin Co in Iranian Ministry of Defense Jamming Projects and the Export of Digital Repression Technologies
RAT-2Ac2: A Report on a State-Aligned Remote Access Tool
Examining the Organizational Logic, Operational Architecture, and the Role of a Modular RAT in Charming Kitten’s Covert Digital Surveillance
Charming Kitten (APT35) Modular Windows Trojan
Persistent Access and Covert Command and Control within the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Surveillance and Interception Architecture
Protection Bill 2025: The Birth of a New Extra-Legal Process for Filtering and Censorship in IRIB
Bill on Supporting and Addressing Violations in the Field of Pervasive Audio and Video in Cyberspace (Internet) in Iranian Parliament
Surveillance, Interception and Censorship in UN Human Rights report on Iran
The UN Special Rapporteur on human rights warned of internet shutdowns, systematic censorship, arbitrary surveillance and online and offline repression of Iranian activists and citizens.
Collision in Orbit
The Islamic Republic’s Legal and Technical Case Against Starlink at the UN
Say Cheeeese!
An Android spyware called Aks-e Yadegari (Souvenir Photo) is spreading through Telegram, targeting Iranian cryptocurrency exchanges.
The House That Tells on Itself
No matter where you live, there’s a vacuum cleaner, a smart TV, or an electric car out there that can find you and place you under the surveillance and intercept of the CCP.
Iran’s New Espionage Law and the Criminalisation of Starlink
What the Text Means for Users
Ravin Academy
The Talent Pipeline Behind Iran’s Cyber Warfare
Tiered Internet in the Islamic Republic
Digital Discrimination Under Official Silence
Homes That Switch Off
A Privacy Alarm in the Age of Chinese Smart Devices
Security vs. Privacy in Iranian online taxis
Analysis of Urban Surveillance with the Installation of Cameras in "One Trip" Taxis, Affiliated with Babak Zanjani
Irancell: The Backbone of Censorship and Digital Surveillance
An Examination of Irancell’s Role as the Economic-Intelligence Arm of the Islamic Republic
Iran’s Hybrid Surveillance Model
How the Islamic Republic Tracks Its Citizens, With Chinese Inspiration
The Hijab Law and Smart Repression of Iranians
Authoritarian Power and Religious Ideology in Strategies of Surveillance and Identity Verification
Oversight System in Cyberspace
The Islamic Republic’s Expanding Surveillance and Spying Infrastructure over Citizens’ Digital Lives