Black Cube operation against Citizen Lab INVOLVES Black Cube
The operation against Citizen Lab involved Black Cube operatives and contractors.
Explicit Confidence 98% · Igor EP 99 Details
“I understand the agent is the operative from Black Cube”
Incident
incident:black_cube_operation_against_citizen_lab
Targeting operation involving a false identity, a fabricated business pretext, covert recording, and an attempted meeting with John Scott-Railton.
Targeting operation involving a false identity, a fabricated business pretext, covert recording, and an attempted meeting with John Scott-Railton.
“I think I was the target of some kind of an operation.”
“we decided that the best approach would be to play it into a meeting”
| Direction | Predicate | Other entity | Origin | EP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| outgoing | INVOLVES | Black Cube | Explicit | 99 |
| outgoing | TARGETS | Citizen Lab | Explicit | 99 |
| outgoing | INVOLVES | John Scott-Railton | Explicit | 99 |
| outgoing | INVOLVES | Bahr Abdul Razzak | Explicit | 99 |
| outgoing | INVOLVES | FlameTech | Explicit | 99 |
| outgoing | INVOLVES | CPW Consulting | Explicit | 99 |
| outgoing | INVOLVES | social engineering | Explicit | 99 |
| outgoing | INVOLVES | digital identity | Explicit | 99 |
| outgoing | INVOLVES | covert recording | Explicit | 99 |
| outgoing | INVOLVES | counter-surveillance | Explicit | 99 |
| outgoing | ASSOCIATED_WITH | NSO Group | Uncertain | 99 |
Black Cube operation against Citizen Lab INVOLVES Black Cube
The operation against Citizen Lab involved Black Cube operatives and contractors.
Explicit Confidence 98% · Igor EP 99 Details
“I understand the agent is the operative from Black Cube”
Black Cube operation against Citizen Lab TARGETS Citizen Lab
The operation sought information about Citizen Lab and potentially material that could discredit the lab's work.
Explicit Confidence 99% · John Scott-Railton EP 99 Details
“the main objective was learning about Citizen Lab’s work and then potentially finding something that could be used against the lab”
Black Cube operation against Citizen Lab INVOLVES John Scott-Railton
John Scott-Railton was the target of the Black Cube operation involving the false Michel Lambert identity.
Explicit Confidence 99% · Igor EP 99 Details
“He said, this is the target. So, this is who’s gonna be at the meeting who Black Cube is targeting.”
Black Cube operation against Citizen Lab INVOLVES Bahr Abdul Razzak
Bahr Abdul Razzak was approached in a meeting conducted under a false pretext as part of the operation.
Explicit Confidence 96% · John Scott-Railton EP 99 Details
“My colleague, Bahr Abdul Razzak, is a very thoughtful, smart guy. He immediately recognized that something was amiss”
Black Cube operation against Citizen Lab INVOLVES FlameTech
The operation involved the fabricated digital identity's purported company, FlameTech, which John describes as appearing fake.
Explicit Confidence 96% · John Scott-Railton EP 99 Details
“some company; FlameTech. But it all looked fake.”
Black Cube operation against Citizen Lab INVOLVES CPW Consulting
The operation involved the purported company CPW Consulting, which was challenged by Raphael Satter as apparently nonexistent.
Explicit Confidence 94% · Raphael Satter EP 99 Details
“I’d like to speak to you about your company, CPW Consulting.”
Black Cube operation against Citizen Lab INVOLVES social engineering
The operation used a false pretext about financial solutions for refugees and a fabricated identity to elicit information from Citizen Lab personnel.
Explicit Confidence 99% · John Scott-Railton EP 99 Details
“somebody who claimed to be interested in financial solutions in banking for refugees”
“this person is obviously coming under a false pretense”
Black Cube operation against Citizen Lab INVOLVES digital identity
The operation used a thin, apparently fabricated digital identity for the operative who approached Citizen Lab.
Explicit Confidence 99% · John Scott-Railton EP 99 Details
“the digital identity that the guy had created was almost paper-thin”
Black Cube operation against Citizen Lab INVOLVES covert recording
The operation involved attempts to record John Scott-Railton making embarrassing, racist, or antisemitic statements.
Explicit Confidence 98% · Igor EP 99 Details
“trying to get them to say something racist or antisemitic or something that’s embarrassing on tape”
Black Cube operation against Citizen Lab INVOLVES counter-surveillance
The operation included counter-surveillance intended to detect whether the Black Cube operative was being followed.
Explicit Confidence 99% · Igor EP 99 Details
“my job now involves a counter-surveillance role”
Black Cube operation against Citizen Lab ASSOCIATED_WITH NSO Group
The operation might have been connected to NSO Group, but Jack says there is no hard evidence definitively linking it to NSO.
Uncertain Confidence 91% · Jack Rhysider EP 99 Details
“It’s not clear exactly if it is and there isn’t any hard evidence which definitely links it”