The Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) wants to buy from Israeli cybersecurity company Cellebrite specialized forensic tools and licenses that will allow it to access and process data from mobile phones and laptops. It is ready to pay nearly GEL 6,800,000 (about USD 2,500,000) for the purchase.

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 are capable of uncovering critical digital evidence and thoroughly analyzing data. Some of the tools can also 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.

Law enforcement and governments use Cellebrite’s products in criminal investigations. But in Serbia, for example, authorities reportedly used Cellebrite’s 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 economic department of the MIA, 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."

Civil.ge