Russia Used Cellebrite on Jailed Activist's iPhone Months After Sales Cutoff

Russian authorities utilized Cellebrite's UFED forensic tools to access the iPhone of detained opposition activist Andrey Pivovarov in June 2021. This occurred three months after Cellebrite announced it would cease sales of its tools and services to Russia and Belarus. The findings, detailed by Citizen Lab on June 25, are supported by digital evidence found on Pivovarov's phone and official Russian government records. The investigation revealed that the device was accessed using a Cellebrite Universal Forensic Extraction Device (UFED) system, specifically a model that was still operational and capable of extracting data from iPhones. Citizen Lab's report indicates that the Russian government likely acquired the tool through a third-party reseller or an intermediary, circumventing Cellebrite's stated sales cutoff. This incident raises concerns about the effectiveness of export controls and the potential for surveillance technology to be used against political dissidents, even after companies have publicly committed to restricting sales to certain regions. The specific version of the UFED system used was identified as capable of bypassing Apple's security measures at the time, enabling the extraction of sensitive data from the activist's device.