Israel’s Cellebrite: The Company That Can Open Any Phone

Cellebrite isn’t just another tech vendor. It’s an Israeli digital forensics firm whose tools are used to break into phones, siphon data, and feed it into police, intelligence, and military systems around the world. What looks like a niche cybersecurity company is, in reality, a global surveillance — one with deep military roots, a long list of authoritarian customers, and a business model built on harvesting the intimate lives of millions.Origins: Built by Israeli IntelligenceCellebrite was founded in 1999, but its modern identity took shape after it was acquired by the Japanese conglomerate Sun Corporation in 2007. The company’s growth came from one product line: UFED — Universal Forensic Extraction Device, a machine designed to crack locked phones.Multiple investigations (Amnesty International, Haaretz, The Intercept) have documented that Cellebrite’s leadership and engineering talent comes from Unit 8200, Israel’s elite signals intelligence division — the same unit responsible for mass surveillance of Palestinians and global cyber operations.Unit 8200 alumni dominate Israel’s cybersecurity sector. Cellebrite is one of the most commercially successful branches of that ecosystem.Military TiesCellebrite openly markets its products to militaries. Israeli outlets like Calcalist and Haaretz have reported:* Former Unit 8200 officers hold senior engineering roles * The company collaborates with Israeli defense bodies on “national security” projects * Its tools are used by the Israeli army for field interrogations and intelligence gathering This isn’t a civilian tech company that happens to sell to governments. It’s a surveillance contractor shaped by military doctrine.128 Government ContractsAccording to U.S. federal procurement records (USASpending.gov), Cellebrite has:* 128 U.S. government contracts * Across FBI, DHS, ICE, Secret Service, DEA, ATF, and local police departments These contracts include:* Phone unlocking hardware * Cloud extraction tools * Training for digital forensics * “Enterprise solutions” for mass data ingestion This is only the U.S. Globally, the number is far higher.Customers: From Democracies to DictatorshipsCellebrite’s tools have been documented in use by:* Australia (state and federal police) * India (police and intelligence agencies) * Russia (before sanctions) * Belarus (used against protesters) * Hong Kong police (during the 2019 protests) * Saudi Arabia (including during the Khashoggi period) * UAE * Myanmar (military junta) * Vietnam * Bangladesh Rapid Action Battalion * Mexico (police and military) * Brazil * Kenya * Uganda Amnesty International and Access Now have repeatedly called out Cellebrite for selling to regimes with documented histories of torture, political repression, and unlawful surveillance.Capabilities: What UFED Actually DoesCellebrite’s flagship tools can:* Break into locked iPhones and Androids * Extract deleted messages, photos, and files * Pull cloud backups * Recover WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram data * Map social networks * Build behavioral profiles * Create searchable databases of extracted data * Export everything into police intelligence systems UFED can pull:* GPS history * WiFi networks * Browser logs * App usage * Contact graphs * Deleted media * Metadata trails * Authentication tokens * Cloud passwords If your phone touches it, Cellebrite can take it.GazaIsraeli military operations in Gaza rely heavily on digital intelligence. While Cellebrite does not publicly confirm battlefield use, Israeli investigative reporting (Haaretz, +972 Magazine) indicates:* UFED devices are used in field interrogations * Phones seized from Palestinians are routinely extracted * Data is fed into Unit 8200 systems * Profiles are built for targeting and surveillance Australia: The Place They Tested How Much They Could Get Away WithAustralian police forces have become major customers:* NSW Police * Victoria Police * Australian Federal Police * Border Force Investigations by The Guardian Australia and Crikey show:* Cellebrite tools were used without public oversight * Data extraction occurred on minors * Devices were used in immigration detention * Police refused to disclose how often UFED was used Australia is a democratic country — but the secrecy around Cellebrite mirrors authoritarian patterns.The Data Question: Where Does It All Go?Cellebrite insists it “does not store user data.” This is technically true — but misleading.Here’s what actually happens:* UFED extracts the data * Cellebrite software processes and categorizes it * The data is uploaded into police or intelligence databases * Those databases often sync with national or international systems Cellebrite doesn’t keep the data. But it creates the pipeline that allows governments to keep it forever.And because UFED can pull cloud tokens, agencies can access ongoing backups — meaning extraction isn’t a one‑time event.Is Cellebrite Collecting Everything?Not directly. But its tools enable:* Mass phone seizures * Bulk data extraction * Cross‑agency sharing * Integration with intelligence platforms * Long‑term retention * AI‑driven profiling Cellebrite is the harvester, not the warehouse.Recommendations (from digital rights groups)* Ban sales to regimes with documented human rights abuses * Require public reporting of every extraction * Mandate judicial warrants for UFED use * Prohibit cloud token harvesting * Audit all data pipelines created by UFED * Restrict military collaboration * Enforce transparency on international salesCellebrite operates in the shadows of global policing. It sells to democracies and dictatorships alike. It builds tools that invade into the last thing people think is still theirs — their phone. It has military DNA, intelligence ties, and a business model built on access to human lives.We are a fully reader - and subscriber - supported publication. We feature citizen journalists unapologetically. Help us grow and fuel honest, citizen journalism by becoming a paid member.📽️ https://youtu.be/8GqZ073kP00?si=n6uXG9iYWNuhS-3B Get full access to Manufacturing Dissent at mandissent.com/subscribe