Claudio “Nex” Guarnieri is a security researcher, open source developer, and human rights advocate. He investigates cyber espionage and surveillance tech, and works on protecting targeted communities. Claudio previously founded and led the Security Lab at Amnesty International, and has held research roles in the private cybersecurity sector and the Citizen Lab.
Since 2012, Claudio has published dozens of groundbreaking reports exposing spyware abuses, uncovering state-backed cyber operations, and spotlighting the human rights impacts of invasive surveillance tools. His early work with Citizen Lab shed light on spyware vendors like Hacking Team and FinFisher. He later led critical research into Iranian cyber operations, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, helped expose serious security flaws and privacy risks in government contact tracing apps.
In 2021, he played a pivotal role in the Pegasus Project, a landmark investigative collaboration that revealed global abuse of spyware and won multiple international awards—including recognition from the European Parliament, George Polk Awards, and an Emmy-winning documentary.
Claudio’s work has been featured in The New York Times, The Guardian, Washington Post, BBC, Le Monde, and Die Zeit. He has spoken at global conferences such as Black Hat, CCC, and Re:publica. He’s been named among Wired Italy’s 50 People of the Year, a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, and part of the Citizen Lab team awarded the EFF Pioneer Award.
A passionate free software developer, Claudio is the creator of Cuckoo Sandbox and MVT, and a contributor to RFC 8280 on Human Rights Protocol Considerations.