

Smartphones power 97% of cases, AI demand is surging, and digital complexity is overwhelming teams—dive into the key findings in Cellebrite’s 2026 Industry Trends Report.
#Cellebrite cut off #Serbia citing abuse of its phone unlocking tools. Why not others?

Cellebrite, which makes phone unlocking and hacking tools, stopped sales to countries that allegedly abused its tools. But after new allegations in Jordan and Kenya, the company has changed its approach.
"The Kenyan authorities returned the devices seized during the July 19, 2025 raid to Mwangi on September 4, 2025. Mwangi immediately observed that the Samsung phone had its password protection removed and could now be opened without a password. He states that he never provided the device’s password to the authorities.
Researchers at the Citizen Lab analyzed artefacts collected from Mwangi’s devices shortly after they were returned to Mwangi and performed an analysis for evidence of compromise.
Our analysis of the Samsung Android phone confiscated by the Kenyan police belonging to Mwangi shows signs that Cellebrite was used on the phone on or around July 20, 2025 and July 21, 2025. The device was in the custody of the Kenyan police during this timeframe.
We observed traces of an application named com.client.appA on the Android phone. The Citizen Lab associates this application name with high confidence with Cellebrite’s forensic extraction technology. Other sources have also linked this indicator with Cellebrite’s forensic extraction technology.
The use of Cellebrite could have enabled the full extraction of all materials from Mwangi’s device, including messages, private materials, personal files, financial information, passwords, and other sensitive information.
Our analysis on artefacts from this and other devices seized in this case is ongoing."
https://citizenlab.ca/research/cellebrite-used-on-kenyan-activist-and-politician-boniface-mwangi/
#Kenya #Cellebrite #HumanRights #Surveillance #ForensicExtraction #Activism

Following the widely-condemned arrest in July 2025 of prominent Kenyan opposition voice Boniface Mwangi, the Citizen Lab analyzed artefacts from devices seized during the arrest. We found that Cellebrite’s forensic extraction tools were used on his Samsung phone while it was in police custody. This case adds to the concerning pattern of the misuse of Cellebrite technology by government clients.

Following the widely-condemned arrest in July 2025 of prominent Kenyan opposition voice Boniface Mwangi, the Citizen Lab analyzed artefacts from devices seized during the arrest. We found that Cellebrite’s forensic extraction tools were used on his Samsung phone while it was in police custody. This case adds to the concerning pattern of the misuse of Cellebrite technology by government clients.
From #Protest to Peril: #Cellebrite Used Against Jordanian Civil Society

Through a multi-year investigation, we find that the Jordanian security apparatus has deployed forensic extraction products manufactured by Cellebrite against civil society devices. We release these findings alongside reporting from the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) which includes interviews with a few of the victims.