Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) is investing heavily in technology capable of unlocking and getting information from cellphones seized during criminal investigations, as police increasingly confront cases in which critical evidence is stored behind passwords and encryption.
The agency has purchased Cellebrite Inseyets, an Israeli-developed digital forensics system used by law enforcement agencies to access and analyze data from mobile devices. Public procurement records show that the OIJ made two purchases related to the technology in September 2025 totaling nearly $700,000. Another contract worth $382,700 was being processed in August 2026.
The purchases include software licenses as well as powerful computers, storage systems and equipment used to connect different phones and SIM cards. For investigators, the basic purpose is straightforward: when police legally seize a cellphone as evidence, the technology can help them get past a locked screen and recover information stored inside.
That can include messages, photographs, videos, application data and other information that could become evidence in a criminal case. The technology is particularly important as organized crime becomes more dependent on smartphones, encrypted messaging services and other digital tools. Drug trafficking groups, fraud networks, kidnapping cases and other investigations can all involve phones containing information that investigators otherwise may struggle to access.
Cellebrite says its Inseyets software can work with both Android and Apple devices and can extract information from encrypted phones. The company markets the technology specifically for digital forensic investigations. However, OIJ’s system is different from spyware that can secretly infect someone’s cellphone from a distance.
That distinction is worth noting because Cellebrite is an Israeli company, and Israel is also home to NSO Group, maker of the controversial Pegasus spyware that has been used in several countries to secretly monitor journalists, political opponents and other targets. Pegasus can be installed remotely and used to collect information from a phone without physically possessing the device.
The Cellebrite system purchased by the OIJ works differently. Investigators must already have the cellphone in their possession. According to information reviewed about the OIJ purchases, the extraction takes place locally at Judicial Branch facilities. Access to the information also requires judicial authorization.
That means the technology is intended to operate as part of a criminal investigation rather than as a system for remotely monitoring people’s phones. Once police seize a phone, it also becomes part of the formal chain of custody used for criminal evidence. Investigators must document how the device and the information extracted from it are handled so prosecutors can later use that evidence in court.
The procurement documents show that the system includes computers with 128 gigabytes of memory and a central server capable of storing 264 terabytes of information. That computing power can help investigators try different methods of getting through passwords and process the large amounts of information now routinely found on smartphones.
Costa Rica’s Ministry of Public Security has used other Cellebrite technology for years. The ministry purchased its first UFED forensic equipment in 2018 and has since paid for licenses and updates. The newer OIJ investment significantly expands the Judicial Police’s own ability to examine seized devices.
The spending also comes at a time when the OIJ has warned repeatedly that budget limitations are affecting its ability to fight organized crime. The Judicial Branch said in July that government budget reductions could affect investigations, technology upgrades and other police operations.
That makes the investment notable as while investigators face pressure to stretch their resources, cellphones have become one of the most important sources of evidence in modern criminal cases. A suspect may delete a message, lock a device or refuse to provide a password, but investigators increasingly have technology designed to retrieve information that once might have remained inaccessible.
For the OIJ, the challenge is now to use those tools while maintaining the court oversight and evidence safeguards required under Costa Rican law.
