U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) investigative branch, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), has signed a $3 million contract with Magnet Forensics for its phone-hacking tech.
The deal, spotted Tuesday in a federal procurement database , covers software licenses to help HSI unlock smartphones, recover digital evidence, process devices, and generate forensic reports for national security investigations.
The product isn’t named in the filing, but it’s likely referring to Graykey, a smartphone unlocking system originally developed by Grayshift. Magnet Forensics merged with Grayshift in 2023 after being acquired by private equity firm Thoma Bravo.
This is just the latest in a series of contracts between ICE and Magnet Forensics. Other recent deals include:
- $145,000 for Magnet Griffeye Enterprise, a data analysis platform.
- $90,000 for Graykey software renewals in Detroit.
- $57,000 for Graykey licenses in August.
- $12,000 for unspecified software in Charlotte.
Magnet Forensics did not comment, and ICE acknowledged outreach but declined to respond further.
ICE’s tech arsenal is extensive, it also uses Clearview AI’s facial recognition, Paragon’s spyware, and Palantir’s data analytics software to support its operations, including mass deportations.
Related: US Charges British Teen Thalha Jubair Over 120 ‘Scattered Spider’ Hacks
Last year, Forbes reported that ICE had already signed a $5 million contract for Graykey. The tool, launched in 2016, is a rival to Cellebrite’s UFED, another well-known phone-hacking system.
