ICE unit signs new $3M contract for phone-hacking tech - TechCrunch

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) law enforcement arm Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) has signed a contract worth $3 million with Magnet Forensics, a company that makes a phone-hacking and unlocking device called Graykey.   The contract, which appeared on Tuesday in a federal government procurement database, said it is for software licenses for the phone-hacking tech for HSI “to recover digital evidence, process multiple devices, & generate forensic reports essential to mission of protecting national security & public.”  While the contract doesn’t mention the name of the product, it’s likely referring to Graykey, a forensic system to unlock smartphones and extract data from them, which was originally developed by Grayshift. Magnet Forensics merged with Grayshift following an acquisition by private equity firm Thoma Bravo in 2023.  Contact Us Do you have more information about ICE and HSI use Graykey devices? From a non-work device, 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. Apart from this most recent contract, the procurement database shows ICE and HSI signed several other contracts with Magnet Forensics and its partner Panamerica Computers, including:  A subscription for Magnet Griffeye Enterprise, a platform that collects, processes, organizes, and analyzes data and evidence. The contract for HSI is worth $145,000 and was also signed on Tuesday.  GrayKey Premier software renewal licenses for “iOS and Android extractions of electronic devices for law enforcement investigations,” specifically for HSI in Detroit, a contract worth $90,000 and signed on September 5.   A purchase of software licenses for Graykey to help HSI “recover digital evidence on multiple devices for investigative operations,” worth $57,000 and signed on August 21.   A contract worth $12,000 for unspecified Magnet Forensics software licenses for HSI in Charlotte, signed on August 18.   Magnet Forensics did not respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment.   ICE did not respond to a series of questions about the contract, such as whether it is using Magnet Forensic’s Graykey devices to extract information from the devices of arrested migrants. After publication, ICE’s spokesperson Paige Hughes said that ICE does not provide “specifics on investigative techniques, tools, and/or ongoing investigations or operations, as doing so would put our law enforcement officers and operations at risk.”   ICE has an extensive arsenal of tech tools, including facial-recognition software provided by Clearview AI, cell phone spyware made by Paragon, and data analytics software made by Palantir, to support its mass deportations campaign.   Last year, ICE signed a contract with Magnet Forensics for Graykey, worth $5 million, as first reported by Forbes at the time. Graykey was launched in 2016 to compete with the more established phone-hacking system UFED, made by Israeli company Cellebrite. This story was updated to include comments from ICE’s spokesperson. Topics DHS, Exclusive, Graykey, Grayshift, Homeland Security Investigations, HSI, ICE, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Magnet Forensics, Privacy, Security, u.s. immigration and customs enforcement 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 Channel Surfer lets you watch YouTube like it’s old-school cable TV