Shocking information: Israeli surveillance technology in the hands of the Brotherhood in Yemen
What are the deepest secrets stored on your phone? Your messages, photos, private conversations… Imagine all of that becoming an open book for a security agency that holds a secret key manufactured in Israel. This is not the opening to a spy thriller — it is a startling disclosure by a digital security researcher that has thrown a heavy stone into Yemen’s stagnant political waters.
The story began to emerge in Al-Mukalla, where a detained journalist discovered that his personal phone had been turned into a “black box” exposing all his data. The breach did not stop at content analysis: it was used to access his personal Facebook account. According to the digital rights researcher quoted by Al-Montassaf — who says he possesses documents supporting his claims — the security entity that analyzed the phone is affiliated with Al-Islah (the movement linked to the Muslim Brotherhood) and employed advanced extraction and analysis technology produced by the Israeli firm Cellebrite.
This revelation raises not only flagrant privacy concerns but also more serious legal and international issues. The use of Israeli technology in a conflict-ridden country such as Yemen may amount to a potential violation of international controls governing exports of dual-use tools that can be repurposed for repressive ends.
The researcher has publicly challenged the authorities — the Interior Ministry and the public prosecutor — with a set of pointed questions: exactly which devices were employed? Were official licenses granted by the Israeli company for their use in Yemen? What happens to citizens’ data after it is examined — is it retained, shared, or otherwise exploited? And most importantly, how many times has this “Israeli key” been used against Yemeni citizens over the past three years?
