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The Citizen Lab
@citizenlab.ca

1/ NEW RESEARCH: We find that Russian authorities used Cellebrite to gain access to activist Andrey Pivovarov’s phone. Full brief: citizenlab.ca/research/rus...

citizenlab.caRussia Breaks Into Human Rights Activist's Phone With Cellebrite - The Citizen LabWe analyzed Russian activist Andrey Pivovarov’s phone, finding that Russian authorities used forensic extraction tools made by Cellebrite to gain access to his device. A document prepared by Russian a...

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The Citizen Lab
@citizenlab.ca

2/ Our analysis is confirmed by a document prepared by Russian authorities showing that Cellebrite was used to extract information to aid in Pivovarov’s prosecution.

The Citizen Lab
@citizenlab.ca

3/ Importantly, we found that authorities continued to use Cellebrite for political repression even after the company had cancelled its contracts with Russian customers.

The Citizen Lab
@citizenlab.ca

4/ This is just the latest in a long line of abuses of Cellebrite’s technology by autocrats around the globe, including against activists in Kenya and Jordan earlier this year: citizenlab.ca/research/cel...

citizenlab.caNot Safe for Politics: Cellebrite Used on Kenyan Activist and Politician Boniface Mwangi - The Citizen LabFollowing the widely-condemned arrest in July 2025 of prominent Kenyan opposition voice Boniface Mwangi, the Citizen Lab analyzed artefacts from devices seized during the arrest. We found that Cellebr...