MIA to Purchase Cellbrite Forensic Data Extraction Tools
The Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) plans to spend GEL 6,800,000 (about USD 2,500,000) to buy specialized forensic tools and licenses from Israeli Cellbrite to access and process data from mobile phones and laptops.
The contract between MIA and Communal Technology Ltd, Cellebrite’s official representative in Georgia, lists the products that MIA plans to purchase. It includes a suite of Cellebrite Inseyest devices and software tools that can access and extract data from locked and encrypted smartphones, including iPhones and Android devices, as well as laptops. The advanced tools can uncover critical digital evidence and thoroughly analyze data. Some tools can access cloud-based evidence from multiple sources, including social media platforms. In addition, the list includes a dedicated tool designed to simplify and centralize the forensic operations of all other tools in use. The Georgian MIA is seeking a 3-year license to use these tools. In total, it will pay GEL 6,796,092. Once the contract is signed, the products will be delivered within 20 days. The procurement agency has not yet approved the contract.
Governments use Cellebrite’s products in criminal investigations. But in Serbia, for example, authorities reportedly used these forensic extraction tools to target activists and journalists during recent protests. Similar concerns may be relevant in Georgia, where police have conducted dozens of controversial searches of activists’ homes amid ongoing protests.
The Ministry wants to complete the purchase as soon as possible because Georgia could be blocked from buying the company’s equipment “at any time this year,” Cellebrite’s sales director Albert Katzir stated in a letter to the MIA representative dated February 13. He advised the MIA that if it planned to make a purchase this year, it should do so “as early as possible.”
The deputy head of the MIA’s economic department, Akaki Kharebava, reported on the matter to the deputy minister, Giorgi Butkhuzi, on February 24 and asked for a government recommendation to make the purchase “in the shortest possible time.”
Also Read:
- 10/02/2025 – GYLA Calls for Probe Into MIA’s Expanding Use of Facial Recognition
- 07/02/2025 – RFE/RL’s Investigation Explores Concerns Over Georgia’s Expanding Surveillance System
- 08/02/2024 – Privacy and Security Risks of CCTV Surveillance in Georgia
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