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Ron Deibert receives SFU’s Sterling Prize for his groundbreaking work at the intersection of global security, digital technologies and human rights.

Ron Deibert is the 2025 recipient of the Nora and Ted Sterling Prize in Support of Controversy in recognition of his ongoing battle at the intersection of global security, digital technologies and human rights, and for his counterintelligence work on behalf of civil society.

The founder and director of the  at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto, Deibert heads a team of digital detectives who expose cyber espionage and uncover threats to human rights in the digital space and hold governments and corporations accountable for their unethical use of information technology.

Deibert and the Citizen Lab detectives work on behalf of citizens to help better understand information technology threats to individuals and groups, like human rights activists. While the work is rewarding, it can be unnerving due to their success exposing bad actors around the world.

The award ceremony will be followed by an engaging and wide-ranging conversation between Deibert, lawyer and PHS Community Services Society CEO Micheal Vonn and journalist Charles Campbell. Together, they will explore the complex challenges of defending privacy, freedom of expression, and accountability in an age of surveillance, disinformation, and digital authoritarianism. The discussion will provide deeper insight into Deibert’s work and what’s at stake for civil society in an increasingly monitored and manipulated digital world.

Doors open at 6:00pm. The event will start promptly at 6:30pm, and will be followed by a reception, which all attendees are invited to join.

Iron Dog Books will be onsite during the event with a selection of books available for purchase. Following the event, Ron will be hosting a book signing session.

Registration is free and open to all.

Click here to read the SFU News story about Ron Deibert and this year's Sterling Prize!

91ÅÝܽ the Sterling Prize

The Nora and Ted Sterling Prize in Support of Controversy was first awarded in 1993 and remains committed to recognizing work that provokes and contributes to the understanding of controversy, while presenting new ways of looking at the world and challenging complacency. The prize recognizes work across disciplines and departments and is awarded annually by the Sterling Prize committee.