It seems that the government is still up to no good, they can’t seem to stop finding new ways to spy on others.
Israeli-based company Cellebrite creates hardware and software that unlock smartphones, and to no one’s surprise, they have thousands of customers in the U.S. government…
Cellebrite initially worked only with law enforcement agencies, but now, they’ve begun to broaden the availability of their software in the private sector.
Albert Fox Cahn, the executive director of the nonprofit advocacy group Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, has called out the lack of oversight on the use of mass surveillance tech. in the government.
“There are few guidelines on how departments can use our data once they get it. We can’t allow every federal department to turn into its own spy agency.”
“Not only is there no justification for agencies like the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to use this sort of invasive technology, it’s deeply alarming to see agencies use these devices in more and more low-level cases,” he added.
Federal purchasing records and Cellebrite documents have revealed that several U.S. Cabinet departments such as Agriculture, Veterans Affairs, the CDC, education, and Social security have bought from Cellebrite in the last few years.
There are also claims that six of the largest big pharma companies and six of the largest oil refiners in the world have also been Cellebrite’s clients.
