February 28, 2025
Following an investigation by Cellebrite, manufacturer of the Cellebite UFED tool for legitimate digital forensics, the company suspended the use of its products in Serbia on 25th February.
This Israeli company has access to its own technology that’s in use in Serbia and has confirmed last December’s findings of Amnesty International and BIRN that the Serbian police and Security Information Agency (BIA) used Cellebrite equipment to spy on activists and journalists without the authorisation of prescribed procedures and criminal investigations.
The company’s statement didn’t name specific users, but an investigation conducted by Amnesty International, which also included the participation of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN), showed that the Serbian police and BIA used Cellebrite UFED to forcibly unlock the phones of journalists and activists without their knowledge.
The police and BIA had previously categorically denied the findings of last December’s investigation.
