Serbia used Israeli firm’s tech to enable spy campaign, Amnesty says

James Pearson - Reuters - 16/12
Serbian officials installed homegrown spyware on the phones of dozens of journalists and activists, Amnesty International said in a report released on Monday, citing digital forensic evidence and testimony from activists who said they were hacked in recent months.
  • Serbian spyware covertly monitors journalists, activists' phones, Amnesty says
  • Israel's Cellebrite tools used to unlock phones during police detention, report says
  • Norwegian aid linked to purchase of phone-cracking tools
BELGRADE/LONDON, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Serbian officials installed homegrown spyware on the phones of dozens of journalists and activists, Amnesty International said in a report, opens new tab released on Monday, citing digital forensic evidence and testimony from activists who said they were hacked in recent months.
In two cases, software provided by Israeli surveillance company Cellebrite DI Ltd (CLBT.O), opens new tab was used to unlock phones prior to infection, the report said.
The Serbian spyware, dubbed “NoviSpy” by Amnesty, then took covert screenshots of mobile devices, copied contacts, and uploaded them to a government-controlled server, the report said.
“In multiple cases, activists and a journalist reported signs of suspicious activity on their mobile phones directly following interviews with Serbian police and security authorities,” Amnesty said.
Serbia’s interior ministry, foreign ministry and intelligence agency BIA did not respond to requests for comment made on Dec. 12.
Cellebrite products are widely used by law enforcement, including the FBI, to unlock smartphones and scour them for evidence. Cellebrite Chief Marketing Officer David Gee said it was investigating the Amnesty allegations.
“Should those accusations be accurate, that could potentially be in violation of our end user license agreement,” Gee told Reuters. If that were the case, Gee said, Cellebrite could suspend the use of its technology by Serbian authorities.
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