Serbian authorities installed wiretapping software on the phones of dozens of journalists and activists. The denunciation is made by the "Amnesty International" organization, in a report published on Monday that cites digital forensics data and testimonies from activists who have been hacked in recent months.
In two cases, software provided by the Israeli intelligence company Cellebrite DI Ltd. was used to unlock the phones before the hack. Then, the Serbian spying program, dubbed "NoviSpy" by Amnesty, took covert photos of phone devices, copied contacts and transferred them to a government-controlled server.
In many cases, activists and one journalist reported signs of suspicious activity on their mobile phones shortly after interviews with Serbian police or security authorities.
"One of the activists interviewed by the human rights organization claims that the contacts on his cell phone were exported immediately after a meeting he had with officials of the BIA intelligence agency," says Amnesty International.
The Ministry of the Interior in Serbia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the BIA did not respond to requests for comments. Israeli company Cellebrite's products have been widely used by law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, to unlock smartphones and use them as evidence.
According to Amnesty, Serbia had provided the Israeli equipment as part of a wider package aimed at helping Serbia meet the requirements for integration into the European Union.
In a response, the company said it was investigating the allegations in the report and that if the allegations were found to be true, they would constitute a violation of the license to use its devices. (A2 Televizion)
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