The FBI gained access to the latest technology to unlock the phone of a man identified as the attacker of former US President Donald Trump.
FBI agents turned to the Israeli-based company Cellebrite, which develops digital intelligence technologies for US federal agencies. This happened on Sunday morning when investigators were unable to access the suspect's phone. The goal was to extract data from the device to determine the motives for the attack at a rally on July 13 in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, where Trump was injured in the ear. Authorities identified the deceased attacker as Thomas Matthew Crooks.
The local FBI office in Pittsburgh had a license for Cellebrite software, which allows law enforcement to identify or bypass phone passwords. However, it did not work with Crooks' device, who owned a newer model Samsung with the Android operating system. Agents contacted the federal Cellebrite team, which collaborates with law enforcement agencies and government institutions.
Within hours, Cellebrite provided the FBI in Quantico, Virginia, with additional technical support and new software, which was still in the development stage. After receiving the Cellebrite software update, unlocking the phone took 40 minutes, as reported by Washington Post.
Cellebrite, a company listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange, says that about one-fifth of its work in the government sector is for federal clients. For the first quarter of 2024, the company reported an annual regular income of $89.6 million and claims to have worked on more than 5 million cases. Cellebrite is seeking to expand its business with US federal clients.
The company has repeatedly defended itself against criticism from privacy advocates who claimed that the use of such technology is unethical hacking and has been used by foreign governments against activists.
In 2021, Cellebrite informed federal regulators that it had ceased operations in certain regions, including China and Hong Kong, due to concerns expressed by human rights organizations. The company claims that its software is used to unlock seized phones only in legally sanctioned cases and never for surveillance.
Source: Bloomberg
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