The Israeli forensics firm Cellebrite has announced a $33 million acquisition that it says will help it expand its forensics capabilities beyond smartphones. The company has acquired BlackBag Technologies, which is a separate forensics firm with a focus on computer forensics.
In a press release announcing the acquisition, Cellebrite co-CEO Yossi Carmil said that the deal will allow Cellebrite to accelerate and expand the forensics work it does with law enforcement agencies with the goal of building “safer communities.”
Cellebrite is a leader in terms of iOS forensics, offering things like the UFED forensics tool to law enforcement agencies. Cellebrite sells most of its technology as “on-premise,” which means police can purchase it and use it themselves as-needed, as many times as required. Cellebrite has primarily focused on smartphone and cloud security so far.
In fact, Cellebrite is the firm the FBI used to unlock the iPhone 5C used by the San Bernardino shooter. The FBI is believed to have paid Cellebrite around $1 million to do unlock the device. It’s incredibly likely that the FBI will again turn to Cellebrite for help unlocking two iPhones tied to the Pensacola Naval Air Station shooting from last month.
Apple has made security on the Mac a priority in recent years with its new T2 security chip, which offers numerous benefits for users. A security guide for the T2 chip described those benefits, including hardware prevention of microphone eavesdropping. BlackBag Technologies has published details on the T2 security chip in the past, including how its “MacQuisition” technology can work with the chip.
You can read the full press release announcing the acquisition below.
Cellebrite Acquires BlackBag Technologies and solidifies its position as the global leader in Integrated Digital Intelligence Solutions
PETAH TIKVA, Israel, Jan. 14, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Cellebrite, the global leader in Digital Intelligence Solutions for law enforcement, government and enterprise agencies, announced today it has concluded a definitive agreement to acquire BlackBag Technologies, an industry leader in Computer Forensic acquisition and analysis solutions.
The acquisition expands Cellebrite’s portfolio of Digital Intelligence solutions and upgrades its strategic commitment to provide its customers, in addition to its industry-leading products, a “one-stop-shop” offering and approach that is capable of meeting all of their digital investigation needs. The comprehensive scale and scope of Cellebrite’s market-leading Digital Intelligence Solutions will have a dramatic impact on how digital investigations are conducted. Cellebrite’s all in one solution will give public and private businesses a unified platform with access to all aspects of a digital investigation generating critical insights in a controlled and coordinated fashion while accelerating the investigative process.
This includes providing complete coverage of digital data collection tools and sources such as Mobile Devices, Computers, Cloud Data, and Call Data Records with unified analysis and review capabilities to generate a complete intelligence picture. It also means offering a broad array of field acquisition capabilities including consent-based evidence collection along with an integrated solution set that provides access, insight and evidence management to facilitate and control large-scale deployments and orchestrate the entire digital intelligence operation.
“The BlackBag Technologies team has built a remarkable business based on their passion to help law enforcement and corporations globally, by equipping officers and executives with the best of breed in Computer Forensics solutions,” said Yossi Carmil, Co-CEO of Cellebrite. “As the global leader in the field of integrated Digital Intelligence solutions, Cellebrite reinforces the two companies’ commitment to their customers and continues its strategy to further deepen and expand its capabilities in the field of Digital Intelligence to support the growing market needs.”
“Our mission has been clear since the beginning: to develop and deliver innovative solutions that help the law enforcement, corporate and consultant communities reveal the truth in their investigations,” stated Ken Basore, CEO of BlackBag Technologies. “There is an incredible synergy between the mission and culture of these two companies. Being part of Cellebrite will unlock huge value to our customers, through our ability to innovate faster and to provide an expanded set of Digital Intelligence solutions and insights.”
Yossi Carmil concluded: “This acquisition will allow Cellebrite to accelerate the delivery of new Digital Intelligence solutions and services that will empower our customers and allow them to maximize the efficiency and accuracy of their digital investigations. The acquisition is a major milestone in our journey to help our customers build safer communities and we welcome the BlackBag team to Cellebrite.”
About BlackBag Technologies BlackBag® Technologies offers innovative forensic acquisition and analysis tools for Windows, macOS, iOS and Android-based computers and mobile devices. Its forensic software is used by hundreds of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies around the world, as well as by leading corporations and consultants, to investigate all types of digital evidence associated with both criminal, civil and internal investigations. BlackBag also develops and delivers expert forensics training and certification programs, designed for forensics professionals. www.blackbagtech.com.
About Cellebrite Cellebrite is the global leader of Digital Intelligence solutions for the law enforcement, government and enterprise market. Cellebrite delivers an extensive suite of innovative software solutions and analytic tools designed to accelerate digital investigations and address the growing complexity of handling crime and security challenges in the digital era. Cellebrite’s Commitment to help its partners create a safer world is delivered through Cellebrite’s solutions and tools which are entrusted by thousands of leading agencies in more than 150 countries. https://www.cellebrite.com/en/home/
