Cellebrite Suspends Serbia as Customer After Claims Police Used Firm's Tech To Plant Spyware

Cellebrite says it has stopped Serbia from using its technology following allegations that Serbian police and intelligence used Cellebrite's technology to unlock the phones of a journalist and an activist, and then plant spyware. From a report: In December 2024, Amnesty International published a report that accused Serbian police of using Cellebrite's forensics tools to hack into the cellphones of a local journalist and an activist. Once their phones were unlocked, Serbian authorities then installed an Android spyware, which Amnesty called Novispy, to keep surveilling the two.

In a statement, Cellebrite said that "after a review of the allegations brought forth by the December 2024 Amnesty International report, Cellebrite took precise steps to investigate each claim in accordance with our ethics and integrity policies. We found it appropriate to stop the use of our products by the relevant customers at this time."

Re: Amnesty became a Russian asset

[vbdasc]

It's worth mentioning that Russia likes the current Serbian government.

Invoice

[TwistedGreen]

"Cellebrite took precise steps to investigate each claim in accordance with our ethics and integrity policies"

In other words, they wanted to make sure they got paid.

In the garbage

[RitchCraft]

If your phone is confiscated by an authority, leaves your line of sight, and then is given back to you the first thing you do is find a sledgehammer, bash it to bits, and then purchase a new phone. Even if you didn't give your pass code always assume it's been compromised. Always.

Re:In the garbage

[ihavesaxwithcollies]

You mean the repressive regime that wants to quash dissenters, declare itself a king with no checks/balances and let its cronies (leon/project 25) do whatever they want, while siphoning off taxpayer money?

why do we tolerate this company

[opakapaka]

Cellebrite is a company which hunts for serious bugs and provides brute force password guessing technology. Then, instead of responsibility disclosing the bugs, they exploit the bugs, build software around the bugs, and sell the exploit software to the highest bidder.

Re:

[tlhIngan]

Who said anything about tolerating them? They keep those bugs very close to their chest, which is why their machines are very expensive and they restrict their usage. After all, they don't want their methods known.

And they really restrict who is allowed to own the units in an attempt to prevent Apple or Google from acquiring them and figuring it out. It's why they charge around $100K to a million per install.

And they charge that much because they are always a software update away from losing access as Googl

Weapons company shocked-

[locater16]

-over allegations it's products were used to kill people.

Re:

[I've Got Three Cats]

Of course that kind of ridiculous self-contradictory virtue signalling is for the idiot masses.

I imagine the EULA has a section titled "If You Get Caught Using Our Products" where they indicate the consequences which may include termination of the user license agreement.

Awesome

[nehumanuscrede]

So, a company whose entire reason for existing is to help folks break / hack into things that doesn't belong to them
wants us to believe they have some sort of ethics or morals ?

Regardless of how they might want to put themselves up on a golden pedestal, they absolutely have to know that
their products are being used in an unethical or immoral manner on a daily basis.

... without paying the higher fee for that

[fafalone]

Because what other reason exists for a company that makes their money like Cellebrite and sells to far worse than Serbia.