Neha Patil (Editor)

The SecDev Group

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Industry
  
Operational think tank

Headquarters
  
Ottawa, Canada

Founder
  
Rafal Rohozinski

Predecessor
  
Advanced Network Research Group

The SecDev Group is a cyber-research think tank based in Ottawa, Canada. The group previously operated out of Cambridge University under the name of the Advanced Network Research Group. Their research focuses on the intersection of cyberspace with social and political change, and draws on social media and public data sources, field research, and other monitoring tools.

The group's CEO is Rafal Rohozinski, who was also instrumental in the development of Psiphon, a software application that allows people living in closed societies to access censored information.

The SecDev group monitors and produces research reports on the cyber environment in diverse countries and regions, including in Syria, China and Latin America, and tracks "the emergence of cyberspace as a strategic domain." It is also one of the main institutional partners of the OpenNet Initiative.

One of SecDev's seminal reports is "Tracking Ghostnet," which was one of the first to uncover the details of Chinese actors' cyberespionage activities. The report, which was conducted jointly with researchers from the University of Toronto Citizen Lab, led to dozens of newspaper articles and preceded the more thorough exposition of cyberespionage activities by actors in China, including by hackers thought to be associated with the People's Liberation Army.

References

The SecDev Group Wikipedia