[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"branding":3,"analytics":7,"article-russia-used-cellebrite-tools-after-being-cut-off":10,"sections":34},{"siteName":4,"siteTagline":5,"publisherName":4,"contactEmail":6},"The Revision","Tech news, decoded.","editor@therevision.news",{"gaMeasurementId":8,"adsenseClientId":9},"G-ZW2MV82GYR","ca-pub-8533917693782264",{"article":11},{"id":12,"slug":13,"title":14,"dek":15,"body_md":16,"tags_json":17,"published_at":18,"created_at":19,"updated_at":20,"status":21,"review_note":22,"review_notes":23,"image_url":22,"persona_id":22,"persona_name":22,"section":24,"tags":25,"sources":29,"feedback":33,"feedback_at":22,"cost_usd":33,"total_tokens":33},2209,"russia-used-cellebrite-tools-after-being-cut-off","Russia Used Cellebrite Tools After Being Cut Off","Security researchers found evidence Russian authorities used Cellebrite phone-cracking hardware against a political opponent despite the company's stated ban.","Russia kept using Cellebrite gear to crack iPhones after Cellebrite said it had stopped selling to Russia.\n\nSecurity researchers uncovered evidence that Russian authorities used a Cellebrite device to break into the iPhone of a political opponent. The finding is notable because Cellebrite — the Israeli company best known for selling phone-unlocking hardware to law enforcement — announced it would cut off Russia following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The researchers did not specify how Russian officials obtained the device, but the implication is clear: export bans and voluntary cutoffs do not guarantee tools stay out of banned hands.\n\nThe case illustrates a persistent blind spot in the sanctions-and-cutoff model: hardware, unlike a software subscription, does not phone home and does not expire. Once a device is in the field — whether purchased before a ban, acquired through a third country, or obtained via gray-market resale — the selling company has little practical control over how it is used. For dissidents and journalists operating anywhere near Russian jurisdiction, that is not a hypothetical.\n\nCellebrite has faced similar scrutiny before; researchers have previously documented its tools appearing in authoritarian states the company claimed were off-limits. The pattern suggests that public commitments to cut off repressive governments are, at best, a starting point — and, without verifiable enforcement mechanisms, closer to marketing.","[\"security\",\"surveillance\",\"russia\",\"cellebrite\"]","2026-06-25T10:00:00.000Z","2026-06-25T10:47:57.386Z","2026-06-25T10:48:00.250Z","published",null,[],"security",[24,26,27,28],"surveillance","russia","cellebrite",[30],{"name":31,"url":32},"TechCrunch","https:\u002F\u002Ftechcrunch.com\u002F2026\u002F06\u002F25\u002Fcellebrite-said-it-cut-off-russia-but-russia-used-is-tools-anyway\u002F",0,{"sections":35},[36,41,46,50,55,60,65,70,75,80,85,90,95,100],{"name":37,"slug":38,"count":39,"latest_published_at":40},"AI","ai",544,"2026-06-24T22:35:15.000Z",{"name":42,"slug":43,"count":44,"latest_published_at":45},"Deals","deals",161,"2026-06-24T13:00:00.000Z",{"name":47,"slug":24,"count":48,"latest_published_at":49},"Security",152,"2026-06-25T12:10:00.000Z",{"name":51,"slug":52,"count":53,"latest_published_at":54},"Policy","policy",109,"2026-06-24T22:30:36.000Z",{"name":56,"slug":57,"count":58,"latest_published_at":59},"Hardware","hardware",93,"2026-06-25T13:36:41.000Z",{"name":61,"slug":62,"count":63,"latest_published_at":64},"Consumer Tech","consumer-tech",87,"2026-06-24T14:22:56.000Z",{"name":66,"slug":67,"count":68,"latest_published_at":69},"Software","software",65,"2026-06-24T21:57:30.000Z",{"name":71,"slug":72,"count":73,"latest_published_at":74},"Dev Tools","dev-tools",53,"2026-06-23T18:13:40.000Z",{"name":76,"slug":77,"count":78,"latest_published_at":79},"Science","science",40,"2026-06-24T21:41:03.000Z",{"name":81,"slug":82,"count":83,"latest_published_at":84},"Gaming","gaming",37,"2026-06-24T22:47:03.000Z",{"name":86,"slug":87,"count":88,"latest_published_at":89},"Startups","startups",34,"2026-06-24T20:51:38.000Z",{"name":91,"slug":92,"count":93,"latest_published_at":94},"General","general",27,"2026-06-24T08:50:14.000Z",{"name":96,"slug":97,"count":98,"latest_published_at":99},"Reviews","reviews",20,"2026-06-24T12:00:01.000Z",{"name":101,"slug":102,"count":103,"latest_published_at":104},"How-To","how-to",6,"2026-06-16T09:00:00.000Z"]