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At SecTor 2026 in Toronto, Citizen Lab director Ron Deibert warned that the US government and major technology companies are helping drive commercial spyware and surveillance. He described the political direction he sees as “techno-fascism”—his characterization, not a settled technical or legal classification.
What Deibert said at SecTor 2026
Deibert delivered the keynote at the Toronto security conference, held October 6–8, 2026. In its October 7 account, Dark Reading reported that he argued the US government and technology companies are contributing to the growth of commercial spyware and surveillance, and that the Trump administration’s alignment with some technology leaders reflects an authoritarian agenda.
Dark Reading quoted Deibert saying: “I’ve been studying authoritarianism my entire life. Political science is my area of expertise. And what is going on in the United States ticks every single box.” The statement expresses his political assessment; it should not be read as an independently established legal finding.
SC Media’s October 8 brief also summarized the warning and identified Dark Reading as its source.
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Why he pointed to commercial spyware
Deibert referred to Citizen Lab investigations of commercial spyware, including NSO Group’s Pegasus. Dark Reading reported that Pegasus was used against people connected to journalist and dissident Jamal Khashoggi. Khashoggi was murdered in 2018 by agents allegedly working on behalf of the Saudi Arabian government; the report’s account does not establish a causal link between spyware targeting and his murder.
The cases matter to Deibert’s argument because commercial spyware can give governments powerful surveillance capabilities while the companies that develop and sell it operate across borders. His warning concerned the broader relationship between state power and the spyware industry, rather than one product alone.
Policy and business developments behind the warning
Dark Reading connected Deibert’s concerns to several distinct developments. They are not equivalent: one involved government sanctions, another a reported government contract, and another a company leadership change following an acquisition.
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|---|---|---|
| US sanctions | The Biden administration sanctioned Intellexa and executives in 2024. | Deibert feared that progress against spyware firms could be reversed. |
| NSO Group leadership | Following an acquisition by US investors led by Robert Simonds, NSO Group appointed David Friedman executive chairman. Dark Reading described Friedman as a former Trump bankruptcy attorney and former US ambassador to Israel. | The reported appointment illustrated the US business and political connections Deibert highlighted. |
| Paragon Solutions contract | Dark Reading reported that ICE reactivated its contract with Paragon Solutions earlier in 2026, after a pause under President Biden. | The reported contract activity was an example of government procurement, distinct from sanctions or corporate leadership. |
How AI could amplify the risks
Deibert warned that AI-generated deepfakes and AI-enabled disinformation could intensify threats to civil society and vulnerable groups. Dark Reading quoted him saying: “All of the threats that the Citizen Lab has investigated for the last 25 years are suddenly now being super-charged thanks to AI.”
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That is a warning about potential amplification, not a quantified finding in the available coverage. The report provides no statistic measuring how much AI has increased spyware activity or disinformation.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What “techno-fascism” means in this report
Deibert used “techno-fascism” as a political characterization of what he sees as growing alignment between the US administration and technology leaders, alongside the expansion of surveillance. Dark Reading also quoted him calling the direction “straight out of the authoritarian playbook.” These are Deibert’s judgments, as reported by the outlet, rather than a technical category or a consensus classification.
The distinction matters: the report documents what Deibert argued and the examples he cited, but does not independently verify his broader political characterization. The article is best understood as coverage of a keynote warning about spyware, state power, and AI—not as a finding that a government or company has been legally classified as fascist.
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