What's happened
Amnesty International has reported that Serbian authorities used Cellebrite's spyware to hack a student activist's phone, exploiting vulnerabilities in the Linux USB kernel. This follows previous allegations of similar abuses against journalists and activists, raising concerns about state surveillance and human rights violations in Serbia.
What's behind the headline?
Key Insights
- Surveillance Concerns: The use of Cellebrite's tools against activists highlights a troubling trend of state surveillance in Serbia, undermining civil liberties.
- Widespread Vulnerabilities: The vulnerabilities identified affect a broad range of Android devices, potentially impacting over a billion users globally.
- Corporate Responsibility: Cellebrite's response to suspend sales indicates a recognition of the ethical implications of its technology, yet the effectiveness of this measure remains questionable.
- Future Implications: The ongoing use of such tools by state actors may lead to increased calls for regulation of surveillance technologies, as well as greater scrutiny of companies like Cellebrite.
- Activist Safety: The targeting of activists raises urgent questions about their safety and the need for protective measures in environments where state surveillance is prevalent.
What the papers say
According to Ars Technica, Amnesty International's report details how Serbian authorities exploited vulnerabilities in Android devices to surveil a student activist. The report emphasizes that these vulnerabilities are not limited to specific devices, potentially affecting a vast number of Android users. TechCrunch corroborates this, noting that the flaws were first identified in mid-2024 and were linked to previous cases involving journalists and activists. The ongoing misuse of Cellebrite's technology raises significant ethical concerns, as highlighted by Amnesty's call for thorough investigations into these practices. The contrasting perspectives from these sources underline the urgency of addressing the implications of surveillance technologies in democratic societies.
How we got here
In December 2024, Amnesty International accused Serbian police of using Cellebrite's tools to hack into the phones of activists and journalists. Following these allegations, Cellebrite announced it would suspend sales to relevant customers in Serbia, but new evidence suggests ongoing misuse of its technology.
Go deeper
- What specific vulnerabilities were exploited?
- How has Cellebrite responded to these allegations?
- What are the implications for digital rights in Serbia?
More on these topics
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Serbia, officially the Republic of Serbia, is a landlocked country situated at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe in the southern Pannonian Plain and the central Balkans.
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Amnesty International is a non-governmental organization with its headquarters in the United Kingdom focused on human rights. The organization says it has more than eight million members and supporters around the world.
