"Uganda admits buying Israeli phone-hacking software, says tech not currently in use"

Human rights activists have asked the Israeli Defence ministry to stop permitting its company from selling phone hacking software to Ugandan authorities, claiming it is being used for human rights abuses.  The company, Cellebrite, which specializes in developing tools for digital forensic investigations, is reported to have sold its phone-hacking software known as Universal Forensic Extraction Device (UFED), to Uganda police and other security services. The software enables enforcement authorities to hack into password-protected cell phones and retrieve all the information they contain. Uganda police reportedly uses the same technology, the UFED cloud analyzer to extract data from online storage services like Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive and Apple’s iCloud. Although Cellebrite publications explain that remote access is only possible if the account holder provides the password...

Israeli human rights lawyer Eitay Mack is leading a campaign demanding the withdrawal of UFED from Uganda police. Mack, one of Israelis’ leading voices against arms sales to human rights violators is leading several human rights organizations which signed a letter to the Defense Ministry stating that Uganda is using the software to oppress critics. The Defense ministry’s Defense Export Control Agency monitors and approves sales of security technologies abroad.

The letter, which is also copied to Cellebrite, detailed murders, kidnappings, and torture of human rights activists, dissidents, and members of the opposition....

But Cellebrite said its products were sold to Uganda’s police and security services to fight serious crime and terror, according to a report by The Times of Israeli and haartez.com. The two publications quote Cellebrite saying that it always ensures that its tools are only used for legal and ethical purposes...“We have developed strict means of oversight that will ensure proper use of our technology in the context of investigations carried out under the law.”

The company has also insisted that it requires potential clients to demonstrate they have the authority to access an iPhone or Android devices before making their product available. It has also been saying the technology’s dependence on physically interfacing with the phones means it is unlikely to be misused. But critics have noted that Cellebrite has had difficulty ensuring kits it has sent to clients remain with the clients...