Book Review: Chasing Shadows: Cyber Espionage, Subversion and the Global Fight for Democracy (2025). Ronald J. Diebert.

I previously reviewed a book called Pegasus (2023), by Laurent Richard and Sandrine Rigaud. It recounted the investigation by a small group of journalists and internet researchers into the now-notorious Pegasus software, which allows the operator to covertly take control of smartphones, download all their private data, and turn them into remote microphones, GPS trackers and cameras in a target’s pocket.

The Pegasus spyware app had been created by an Israeli cybersecurity firm called NSO as a tool to allow governments to spy on citizens, allegedly only to be sold to “good” governments trying to crack down on international terrorism and crime.

But in Pegasus, the authors exposed how NSO regularly violated their own stated policy of only selling to friendly democratic governments, and also sold the software tools to repressive regimes around the globe, who used it to terrorize political dissidents and opposition figures. The authors’ findings, and the dangerous process of uncovering the truth of NSO’s cyber-spying exploits, were the key ingredients of their story.

Chasing Shadows is a related book, by the founder and director of an organization in Canada called the Citizen Lab, which played an important role in the Pegasus investigation. It is to a limited degree an autobiography of the author, Ronald Diebert, and his role in launching this non-profit organization dedicated to exposing the dark secrets of authoritarian governments, and their rulers, who use the internet and cyber tools to spy on and control their adversaries.

But it is also an up to the minute, true-life spy thriller, full of case studies, dangerous situations, and exploits of the small but committed circles of journalists and tech savants at the Citizen Lab and around the world. It is the story of these few brave investigators, who try to coordinate, share resources, and work together to expose and disrupt authoritarian governments and their operatives, along with the dark cybersecurity companies like NSO that enable their dirty deeds. And it is also the story of some of the victims, and what they experienced as a result of the spyware attacks on their phones.

It's discouraging to read this, and realize the power and technological capabilities of the cyber surveillance tools that are now available to dictators and criminals to control others, and attempt to destroy their opposition.

But it’s encouraging and inspiring to realize that there are people who have accepted it as their life’s mission to investigate, expose and undermine these bad actors when they attempt to use these powerful spying tools against their adversaries. It’s also impressive how skillful these investigators, journalists and tech wizards have become in tracking and exposing the sales and use of these malicious tools, even with their limited resources, and the constant danger to themselves as well as the targets of malevolent surveillance.

You won’t sleep easier after reading Chasing Shadows, but it’s important to be aware of the current situation, and the nature of the high-tech surveillance threats we now face from the smartphones most of us carry with us all day. Recommended.