Pakistan's 'oppressive' security forces buy Israeli phone hacking technology

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and other police agencies in Pakistan have been using hacking tools produced by Israeli cybertechnology firm Cellebrite since at least 2012, Haaretz reported Thursday.

The tech sold by the Israeli firm to Pakistan enables law enforcement agencies to engage in digital forensic work by hacking into password-protected mobile phones. It then allows security forces to copy all the information stored on such devices, including pictures, documents, text messages, calling histories, and contacts.

Pakistan does not recognise Israel and has vowed to do so only when a legitimate Palestinian state is established in accordance with the UN-mandated two-state solution. Israeli goods are officially boycotted by the state and Pakistanis are prohibited by law from travelling to Israel.

The revelation of these transactions between the Pakistani state and an Israeli firm are unlikely to go down well in the South Asian country.

Cellbrite’s CEO Yossi Carmill claims that its tech is only sold to law enforcement agencies to be used to fight serious crime such as terrorism. However, over the years, there has been extensive evidence of Cellebrite technology being used by state organisations to oppress human rights activists, civil society groups, and minorities, according to Haaretz.

Despite the CEO’s claims, Cellebrite's clients include a host of oppressive regimes, some of whom are under sanctions, including China, Belarus, Venezuela and Russia.

The security forces in Pakistan are known to commit serious violations of human rights and freedom of expression, with the US State Department’s 2022 report on human rights highlighting their widespread use of extrajudicial killings, forced disappearances, and torture. 

As Israel’s government has shifted further and further to the right, the country is gaining a reputation as the go-to place for authoritarians seeking top-of-the-range spy technologies, according to analysts. These technologies are often honed by Israel against Palestinians in the Occupied Territories.

This "cyberdiplomacy" has seen it export digital weaponry, such as Pegasus spyware, to autocratic regimes such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE.