Hyderabad, Sept. 27 -- Even as the Telangana government faces accusations of misusing voter data, a new government tender by the Telangana State Cyber Security Bureau (TGCBS) shows the police department seeking some very invasive tools to hack into phones and other devices. The tender also includes a bid for the Cellbrite hacking tool, which is owned by the Israeli company Cellbrite DI Ltd.

"These tenders are routine. The government cannot buy and use it directly from a foreign company, so it has to be done via a supplier. Among all of the software tools, every police officer uses Cellbrite. After phones are seized, when people don't give passwords, they use that particular software. Cellbrite breaks into phones, and it has different mod...