Breach
Signal hacks the phone-cracking box
2021Signal's creator published vulnerabilities in Cellebrite's extraction software, arguing its reports could be tampered with — undermining its reliability as court evidence.
Phone Forensics
Cellebrite
Headquartered in Israel; large US law-enforcement footprint
Cellebrite's UFED devices and Premium software unlock and extract data from seized phones — messages, photos, locations, and deleted content — for thousands of US agencies. It has since moved into AI-driven investigation software (Cellebrite Guardian, Pathfinder) and, in December 2025, acquired virtualization firm Corellium for about $170 million. Included here because, though foreign-based, it is one of the most widely deployed phone-forensics tools against people in the United States.
◍ Petah Tikva, Israel · US: Tysons, VirginiaEst. 1999NASDAQ: CLBT
People & money behind it
Agencies & customers
FBIICEDEAUSSSLocal LE
Products (13)
UFED→Cellebrite Premium / Inseyets→Physical Analyzer→Cellebrite Guardian→Cellebrite Inseyets→Cellebrite UFED (Universal Forensic Extraction Device)→Cellebrite Premium→Cellebrite Physical Analyzer (PA / PA Ultra)→Cellebrite UFED Cloud→Cellebrite Pathfinder→Cellebrite Guardian→Cellebrite Endpoint Inspector→Cellebrite Digital Collector→
Abuses & incidents
Investigation
Sold to authoritarian regimes
2021Cellebrite's tools were sold to governments including Belarus, Myanmar, and Russia and used against activists and journalists, prompting later sales restrictions.