Indian Government to Acquire Legendary ‘Cellebrite’ iPhone Hacking Technology

India’s government-run Forensic Science Lab (FSL) in Gandhinagar is looking to acquire permanent rights to the same technology that the FBI reportedly used to crack the iPhone used by San Bernardino attacker Syed Farook.

The decryption technology is owned by Cellebrite, an Israeli company which was allegedly sought out by the FBI after Apple refused to assist the agency. The long and highly controversial legal battle between the FBI and Apple that ensued came to an abrupt end when the FBI reportedly paid Cellebrite roughly one million dollars to successfully break into the iPhone.

However, the legal and ethical issues raised by the imbroglio are still as relevant as ever. Apple maintains that it would be unethical for it to build a backdoor into its products.

According to the Economic Times, Cellebrite has a history of working with global law enforcement and government agencies, including India’s FSL. As such, the FSL could soon become the go-to destination for law enforcement agencies seeking to crack into iPhones and other smartphones with sophisticated encryption protocols that are notoriously hard to crack. Even other forensic labs in India would have to fork over a fee to use the technology.

“We are likely to have the technology within a month or so. India will become a global hub for cases where law enforcement is unable to break into phones,” said a senior FSL official to the Economic Times.