Israel’s phone-hacking tech Cellebrite is helping Duterte on his war against drugs and media.
Last month, Israeli phone-hacking company Cellebrite launched a large-scale public relations campaign. This PR campaign uses billboards and video clips featuring the “Heroes Behind the Heroes” – or simply put, the company’s employees. The goal is to highlight the firm’s role in helping police forces across the globe.
What is Cellebrite?
Cellebrite is known for its flagship UFED products. These are physical devices and software that create a digital forensic suite. Mobile phones are plugged into the UFED. This then allows investigators to break into them and collect information stored in the devices. The service is allowed and supported by the Israeli government, specifically the Defense Ministry.
A letter sent by Eitay Mack, a human rights activist, to the company and the director-general of the Defense Ministry, Amir Eshel, exposed the dark corner of this industry. It also shows how Cellebrite serves oppressive dictators that provide security units with the technology to block protests. And for those who harm the freedom of expression and harass human rights activists and journalists.
Mack exposes that Cellebrite’s can take pride in their work’s indirect relation to the two 2021 Nobel Peace Prize winners. The prize was awarded to Maria Ressa, CEO of the Rappler website and a critic of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. The other winner is Dmitry Muratov. He’s the editor in chief of the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta. Plus, he’s also a known opponent of the Putin regime.
Ressa and Muratov were recognized “for their courageous fight for freedom of expression” in their countries, the Norwegian Nobel Committee said. The committee’s chairwoman also said that the two awardees are representatives of the media who stand up for this principle.
Last year, Cellebrite was forced to leave Russia and Belarus because of the disclosure of its devices and software sales to a Russian security unit called the “Investigative Committee.” Mack found out how the Israeli technology was used to hack into the phone of Lyubov Sobol, a candidate for the Russian parliament.
Cellebrite is helping the Duterte administration
Duterte’s government is infamous for its extrajudicial killings as his war against drugs. Amnesty International described this as a large-scale murder activity and urged the United Nations to investigate Duterte for crimes against humanity.
The media are also in Duterte’s sights. On the day he took oath into office in 2016, he said that as a journalist you are not exempted from assassination if he’s a bad person. The threat actually happened – 22 journalists have been killed in the Philippines since 2016.
Deceiving transparency
Mack and Haaretz did not find documentation citing that Cellebrite was used against Ressa or other journalists in the Philippines. But it is important to remember that government transparency in the Philippines can be deceptive.
Nonetheless, Mack carefully explained why the sale and supply of Cellebrite products still proves a threat to freedom of expression. His letter explains that the Cellebrite is helping Duterte and his government.
Haaretz report and Mack do not deny that a country like the Philippines could make good use of tech like those of Cellebrite. The country faces several challenges, from ISIS-affiliated terror cells to rampant crime. But, the essence of Duterte’s war on drugs has a trickling effect. It also resulted in disinformation campaigns through social media that have incited any government critic using the law as a threat.
Cellebrite’s side of the story
There are plenty of questions concerning the use of Cellebrite’s technology. Does Cellebrite not know what’s being done with its devices?
One could ask whether there might be a good reason for the lack of specific evidence connecting Cellebrite’s technology with the actions taken against the media in the Philippines. Perhaps the oversight investigation is working well, and the firm and the defense organization are working quietly to ensure the tech is not mishandled.
It seems that neither Israel nor Cellebrite cares about the misuse of its product. In its deals with Russia, Hong Kong, Bangladesh, or China, it is only after publication that Cellebrite looks concerned with how its tech is used.
Cellebrite has responded by noting the positive uses of its technology.
“Cellebrite is committed to creating a safer world while providing products to law enforcement organizations. We have formulated strict oversight mechanisms to ensure the appropriate use of our technology. The ethics committee that advises us includes human rights, international law, and technology.”
The firm also said that their solutions help law enforcement agencies convict those who harm public safety and bring justice to the victims of crime.
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