Researchers and rights groups say Russian authorities used Cellebrite’s UFED phone-forensics tool to access devices belonging to activist Andrey Pivovarov, helping support his prosecution and imprisonment. Citizen Lab says a Russian forensic report documented UFED use about three months after Cellebrite said it had stopped sales and services to Russia in March 2021; Cellebrite disputes that any post-exit use was authorized and says any legacy tools there are obsolete.
Bruce Schneier
2026.10.20
42% relevant
This appears related through the same vendor, Cellebrite, and adds leaked details about a possible new 2026 'Advanced Unlocks' product for iPhones, including an alleged after-first-unlock vector, support for Stolen Device Protection, and a radio-enabled appliance with roughly 8-meter range. But it does not clearly describe the same incident as the Russia/Pivovarov case.
SecurityWeek News
2026.06.26
97% relevant
This source is another report on the same event, adding that local agency documents showed Russian investigators used legacy Cellebrite deployments after 2021 and alleging the extracted Telegram and WhatsApp data may have supported later phishing against the activist’s contacts.
2026.06.25
99% relevant
This article is a direct report on the same underlying event and adds details on timing, the specific devices involved, how Citizen Lab tied the USB Host ID to Cellebrite, and Cellebrite’s response that any post-March 2021 use in Russia was unauthorized legacy use.
Donna Wentworth
2026.06.25
100% relevant
This article establishes a distinct surveillance-abuse story centered on documented Russian use of Cellebrite UFED against a named activist after the vendor publicly said it had terminated contracts and services in Russia.