Russia reportedly hacked dissident's phone with Cellebrite tools after company cut ties

Russian authorities allegedly hacked into the phone of a prominent political opponent while he was in custody, using technology made by forensics firm Cellebrite, according to a new report by The Citizen Lab. This incident raises questions whether Western tech companies can control how their tools are used once they are in the hands of foreign governments, according to a recent report by TechCrunch.

The report by The Citizen Lab found evidence that a Russian government investigative unit used Cellebrite's UFED tool to access the iPhone of opposition politician Andrey Pivovarov in June 2021. This occurred three months after Cellebrite announced it would "immediately" stop selling its technology to Russian government customers. Cellebrite claims that after March 2021, it could stop devices from functioning or receiving updates, but it is unclear why this reportedly did not happen in Pivovarov's case. The incident highlights the difficulty of reclaiming powerful surveillance technologies once they are sold, as they can potentially continue to be abused.

Eitay Mack, a human rights lawyer, argued that ceasing sales or revoking licenses does not prevent former customers from misusing the technology. John Scott-Railton of The Citizen Lab suggested that Cellebrite should implement remote disabling of tools and digital watermarks to trace data extraction. Cellebrite stated that any use of its hardware in Russia after March 2021 is unauthorized.