Ronald J. Deibert (PhD, University of British Columbia) is professor of Political Science, and Director of the Canada Centre for Global Security Studies[1] and the Citizen Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto. The Citizen Lab is an interdisciplinary research and development "hothouse" working at the intersection of the Internet, global security, and human rights[2]. He is a co-founder and a principal investigator of the OpenNet Initiative and Information Warfare Monitor projects[3]. Deibert was one of the founders and (former) VP of global policy and outreach for Psiphon.
Deibert has published numerous articles, chapters, and three books on issues related technology, media, and world politics. He was one of the authors of the Tracking GhostNet: Investigating a Cyber Espionage Network[4] report that documented an alleged cyber-espionage network affecting over 1,200 computers in 103 countries, and the Shadows in the Cloud: Investigating Cyber Espionage 2.0[5] report, which analyzed a cloud-based espionage network.
He has been a consultant and advisor to governments, international organizations, and civil society on issues relating to Internet censorship, surveillance and information warfare. He presently serves on the editorial board of the journals International Political Sociology, Security Dialogue, Explorations in Media Ecology, Review of Policy Research, and Astropolitics.
Deibert is on the advisory board of Accessnow.org[6], Privacy International[7], and is a member of the board of directors of Lake Ontario Waterkeeper[8].
Deibert was awarded the University of Toronto Outstanding Teaching Award (2002), the Northrop Frye Distinguished Teaching and Research Award (2002), and the Carolyn Tuohy Award for Public Policy[9] (2010). He was a Ford Foundation research scholar of information and communication technologies (2002-2004).