Cellebrite suspends Serbia as customer after claims police used firm’s tech to plant spyware - TechCrunch

Cellebrite announced on Tuesday that it stopped Serbia from using its technology following allegations that Serbian police and intelligence used Cellebrite’s technology to unlock the phones of a journalist and an activist, and then plant spyware.  In December 2024, Amnesty International published a report that accused Serbian police of using Cellebrite’s forensics tools to hack into the cellphones of a local journalist and an activist. Once their phones were unlocked, Serbian authorities then installed an Android spyware, which Amnesty called Novispy, to keep surveilling the two. In a statement, Cellebrite said that “after a review of the allegations brought forth by the December 2024 Amnesty International report, Cellebrite took precise steps to investigate each claim in accordance with our ethics and integrity policies. We found it appropriate to stop the use of our products by the relevant customers at this time.” Contact Us Do you have more information about Cellebrite, or other similar companies? From a non-work device and network, you can contact Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai securely on Signal at +1 917 257 1382, or via Telegram and Keybase @lorenzofb, or email. You also can contact TechCrunch via SecureDrop. Cellebrite didn’t name the customer in this statement. However, in December, when it originally responded to Amnesty’s report, the company said it was aware of the nonprofit’s “findings on the use of surveillance technologies against civil society in Serbia.”  Cellebrite’s spokesperson Victor Cooper declined to comment when TechCrunch asked whether this is a permanent or temporary suspension, and whether there is anything the customer can do to be reinstated. “Withdrawing licences from customers who misused the equipment for political reasons is a critical first step,” Donncha Ó Cearbhaill, the head of the Security Lab at Amnesty International, said in a statement. “Now, Serbian authorities must urgently conduct their own thorough and impartial investigations, hold those responsible to account, provide remedies to victims and establish adequate safeguards to prevent future abuse.” Topics Amnesty, Amnesty International, Android, Cellebrite, hacking, Security, Serbia, Spyware Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai Senior Reporter, Cybersecurity Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai is a Senior Writer at TechCrunch, where he covers hacking, cybersecurity, surveillance, and privacy. You can contact or verify outreach from Lorenzo by emailing lorenzo@techcrunch.com, via encrypted message at +1 917 257 1382 on Signal, and @lorenzofb on Keybase/Telegram. View Bio June 9 Boston, MA Actively scaling? Fundraising? Planning your next launch? TechCrunch Founder Summit 2026 delivers tactical playbooks and direct access to 1,000+ founders and investors who are building, backing, and closing. REGISTER NOW Most Popular Apple quietly launches AirPods Max 2 The billionaires made a promise — now some want out US Army announces contract with Anduril worth up to $20B Honda is killing its EVs — and any chance of competing in the future Meta reportedly considering layoffs that could affect 20% of the company ‘Not built right the first time’ — Musk’s xAI is starting over again, again Lovable says it added $100M in revenue last month alone, with just 146 employees