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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Aisha Down

Russia used Israeli firm’s tool to crack phone months after ties severed, report finds

Andrei Pivovarov gestures during a court session in Krasnodar in June 2021.
Andrei Pivovarov gestures during a court session in Krasnodar in June 2021. Photograph: AP

Russian authorities used tools from the Israeli company Cellebrite to break into the phone of a political prisoner, months after the company said it cancelled its contracts with Russia, an investigation by the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab research unit has found.

The case raises questions about how much control Cellebrite has over its own software, which allows users to easily break into phones and examine their contents. The tools are sold worldwide and widely used by police forces in the UK and the US.

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