Gardaí have used controversial Israeli-made decryption technology to prove a man murdered his wife in Dublin two years ago.
Stephen Mooney (52) had previously denied murdering Anna Mooney (46) at their home on Kilbarrack Road, Kilbarrack, Dublin 5, on June 15th, 2023.
Last month Garda technical specialists were able to use a device made by Cellebrite to finally extract data from his phone, having previously been unable to bypass its encryption.
Using the Cellebrite device, gardaí found video and audio footage of the murder of Ms Mooney, a Ukrainian mother of two. Following the development, Mooney pleaded guilty to murder in the Central Criminal Court on Monday.
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Based in Petah Tikva, Israel, Cellebrite, which has close ties with the Israeli military, manufactures devices and software capable of breaking into encrypted mobile phones and extracting data.
Gardaí have been using the technology since at least 2015 when it proved crucial in extracting data from the phone of Graham Dwyer, leading to his conviction for the 2012 murder of childcare worker Elaine O’Hara.
Cellebrite’s Universal Forensics Extraction Device (UFED) has largely replaced the XRY forensic technology previously used by the Garda.
An Garda Síochána pays the company large amounts of money every year for use of its services. Last August, it paid Cellebrite just under €500,000 for decryption equipment and software, according to documents released under Freedom of Information and published on the Garda website.
This included premium subscriptions for device updates to bypass security systems on newer versions of iPhones and Android devices.
This service proved vital in investigating the Mooney case.
When gardaí first seized Mooney’s phone in June 2023, their Cellebrite device was unable to get past its security.
However, Cellebrite recently issued an update to its devices, allowing gardaí to finally gain access last month. On the phone, they found “highly relevant video and audio of the minutes leading up to the fatal incident and the fatal incident itself”, the Central Criminal Court heard yesterday.
Cellebrite technology is also used by the Garda Ombudsman Commission, according to reporting by The Currency website.
Since the war in Gaza began in October 2023, Cellebrite has been widely used by Israeli military and intelligence agencies to identify potential targets among Hamas militants.
Last year, the Irish government banned future purchases of military equipment from Israel due to the actions of the Israeli government in Gaza. However, this ban did not apply to An Garda Síochána.
Cellebrite technology has previously been used by repressive regimes, including Russia, China and Belarus, against political opponents.
Russian authorities used it against associates of political dissident Alexei Navalny’s group while in Hong Kong it was used against pro-democracy activists.
The technology has been criticised by privacy advocates as it grants law enforcement access to the entire contents of a device, not just the sections that may be relevant for an investigation.
Cellebrite, which was acquired by the Japanese company Sun Corporation in 2012, has said Russia had no permission to use its technology against dissidents.
Cellebrite has said it does not sell to countries sanctioned by the US or EU and that it takes steps to prevent its technology being used improperly or illegally.
