The Metropolitan Police has stopped using digital forensics software from Oxygen Forensics while it reviews US allegations that the company was secretly controlled by Russian nationals and developed its products in Moscow. Scotland Yard said the pause would have "extremely limited" impact on investigations, noting the software was used in less than 0.2 percent of over 23,000 digital forensics actions in the past year and runs on an isolated IT system. The force also said it does not share investigation data with Oxygen.
US prosecutors allege Oxygen, based in Alexandria, Virginia, presented itself to government customers as an independent American firm but was owned by five Russians through a Cyprus-based holding company. They also claim the same individuals owned Moscow-based MKO Systems, where developers actually wrote the software. MKO sold the technology in Russia under different product names to customers including the FSB, the Russian Investigative Committee, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The DoJ is not alleging that the software contained malicious code or was used to access customer systems without authorisation.
The fallout extends beyond London. The National Police Chiefs' Council said other UK forces use Oxygen products and have been encouraged to conduct their own assessments. Romania has begun terminating its use of the software, and Latvia's State Police has suspended it pending review. Oxygen CEO Lee Reiber and Russian national Oleg Sergeyevich Davydov face US charges; Davydov was arrested at Heathrow Airport and refused bail.