Technologist Mag
  • Home
  • Tech News
  • AI
  • Apps
  • Gadgets
  • Gaming
  • Guides
  • Laptops
  • Mobiles
  • Wearables
  • More
    • Web Stories
    • Trending
    • Press Release

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest tech news and updates directly to your inbox.

What's On

Microsoft Reportedly Working on a Smart Mode for Copilot, Could Be Unveiled Alongside OpenAI’s GPT-5

28 July 2025

Redmi Note 14 SE 5G – Price in India, Specifications (28th July 2025)

28 July 2025

iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max Tipped to Offer 8x Optical Zoom, New Pro Camera App, More

28 July 2025

Review: Familiar Nebula Telescopic Thrust Suction Mount Dildo

28 July 2025

AI Mode in Search Shortcut in Google’s Android App Reportedly Rolling Out Widely

28 July 2025
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Technologist Mag
SUBSCRIBE
  • Home
  • Tech News
  • AI
  • Apps
  • Gadgets
  • Gaming
  • Guides
  • Laptops
  • Mobiles
  • Wearables
  • More
    • Web Stories
    • Trending
    • Press Release
Technologist Mag
Home » CBP Wants New Tech to Search for Hidden Data on Seized Phones
Tech News

CBP Wants New Tech to Search for Hidden Data on Seized Phones

By technologistmag.com3 July 20253 Mins Read
Share
Facebook Twitter Reddit Telegram Pinterest Email

United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is asking tech companies to pitch digital forensics tools that are designed to process and analyze text messages, pictures, videos, and contacts from seized phones, laptops, and other devices at the United States border, according to documents reviewed by WIRED.

The agency said in a federal registry listing that the tools it’s seeking must have very specific capabilities, such as the ability to find a “hidden language” in a person’s text messages; identify specific objects, “like a red tricycle,” across different videos; access chats in encrypted messaging apps; and “find patterns” in large data sets for “intel generation.” The listing was first posted on June 20 and updated on July 1.

CBP has been using Cellebrite to extract and analyze data from devices since 2008. But the agency said that it wants to “expand” and modernize its digital forensics program. Last year, CBP claims, it did searches on more than 47,000 electronic devices—which is slightly higher than the approximately 41,500 devices it searched in 2023, but a dramatic rise from 2015, when it searched just more than 8,500 devices.

The so-called request for information (RFI) comes amid a string of reports of CBP detaining people entering the US, sometimes questioning them about their travel plans or political beliefs, and at times collecting and searching their phones. In one high-profile incident in March, a Lebanese professor at Brown University’s medical school was sent back to Lebanon after authorities searched her phone and alleged she was “sympathetic” to the former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was assassinated in September 2024.

In the RFI, CBP said that the digital forensics vendor it chooses will sign a contract in the third fiscal quarter of 2026, which runs from April through June. CBP currently has eight active contracts for Cellebrite software, licenses, equipment, and training—worth more than $1.3 million in total—that will end between July 2025 and April 2026. CBP appears to use tools other than Cellebrite. The agency said in the recent listing that it uses “a wide variety of digital data extraction tools,” but it doesn’t name these tools.

CBP did not respond to requests for comment. When reached for comment, Cellebrite spokesperson Victor Cooper tells WIRED that the company is “unable to comment on active requests for information proposals.”

Three federal contract listings mention that CBP pays for Cellebrite’s Universal Forensic Extraction Device (UFED) 4PC, software designed to analyze data on a user’s existing PC or laptop. The listing for the “license renewal” doesn’t mention a specific product, but may have referred to the Investigative Digital Intelligence Platform, which is Cellebrite’s “end-to-end” suite of tools of analyzing data from devices.

Across Cellebrite’s intelligence platform, users have a wide range of capabilities. It can sort images based on whether they contain certain elements, like jewelry, handwriting, or documents. It can also go through text messages, as well as direct messages on apps like TikTok, and filter out messages that mention certain topics, like evidence obstruction, family, or the police. Users can also unveil photos “hidden” by a device owner, make social maps of friends and contacts, and plot the locations where a person sent text messages.

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Telegram Reddit Email
Previous ArticleTecno Spark 40 – Price in India, Specifications (3rd July 2025)
Next Article Trump Officials Want to Prosecute Over the ICEBlock App. Lawyers Say That’s Unconstitutional

Related Articles

Review: Familiar Nebula Telescopic Thrust Suction Mount Dildo

28 July 2025

What Is Qi2? The Wireless Charging Standard Goes Magnetic

27 July 2025

The Best Running Shoes

27 July 2025

Review: TCL QM8K TV

27 July 2025

A ‘Grand Unified Theory’ of Math Just Got a Little Bit Closer

27 July 2025

Gear News of the Week: Amazon Buys Bee, VSCO Has a New App, and CMF Debuts a Smartwatch

26 July 2025
Stay In Touch
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • Vimeo

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest tech news and updates directly to your inbox.

Don't Miss

Redmi Note 14 SE 5G – Price in India, Specifications (28th July 2025)

By technologistmag.com28 July 2025

Redmi Note 14 SE 5G mobile was launched on 28th July 2025. The phone comes…

iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max Tipped to Offer 8x Optical Zoom, New Pro Camera App, More

28 July 2025

Review: Familiar Nebula Telescopic Thrust Suction Mount Dildo

28 July 2025

AI Mode in Search Shortcut in Google’s Android App Reportedly Rolling Out Widely

28 July 2025

Oppo K13 Turbo Series Confirmed to Launch in India Soon; to Be Available on Flipkart

28 July 2025
Technologist Mag
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Advertise
  • Contact
© 2025 Technologist Mag. All Rights Reserved.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.