Russia Used Cellebrite on Jailed Activist's iPhone Months After Sales Cutoff

This report details how Russian authorities utilized Cellebrite's UFED forensic tools to access Andrey Pivovarov's iPhone 12 in June 2021, despite Cellebrite's subsequent announcement of a sales cutoff to Russia and Belarus in March 2021. The investigation, conducted by Citizen Lab, revealed the use of the tool to extract data related to opposition figures and organizations, highlighting a significant vulnerability in Cellebrite's post-sales support model. The incident underscores the ongoing risk posed by legacy hardware running with outdated software and without official support, particularly in sensitive environments like law enforcement custody.