Scotland Yard Pauses Oxygen Forensics Tools Amid Russian Ownership Allegations
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The Metropolitan Police and other European agencies are reviewing digital forensics software after US prosecutors linked the Virginia-based firm to Moscow-based developers.
The Metropolitan Police has suspended its use of digital forensics software from Oxygen Forensics, as The Register first reported, following allegations from US prosecutors that the company was secretly owned and controlled by Russian nationals. The Met signed a three-year contract with the firm in December 2023 to extract and analyze data from seized devices.
US Department of Justice prosecutors allege that Oxygen, headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, claimed to be an independent American company while actually being owned by five Russian nationals via a Cyprus-based holding company. These same individuals reportedly owned MKO Systems (formerly Oxygen Software) in Moscow, where the software was developed. The Register reports that MKO sold this technology in Russia to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Russian Investigative Committee, and the Federal Security Service (FSB).
While the US Department of Justice is not alleging the software contained malicious code or was used for unauthorized data access, the fallout has triggered widespread reviews. The Metropolitan Police confirmed to The Times that it has launched a "full review," noting the software operated on a closed IT system and was used in less than 0.2 percent of the digital forensics team's 23,000+ actions over the last year.
Other agencies are reacting similarly. The National Police Chiefs' Council stated that other UK forces using Oxygen products have been encouraged to perform local assessments. Beyond the UK, Romanian authorities have started ending their use of the products, while Latvia's State Police has placed the software under suspension. In the US, customers included the Secret Service's National Computer Forensics Institute, the DHS Office of Inspector General, and Homeland Security Investigations.
Legal proceedings are ongoing. Oleg Sergeyevich Davydov, a Russian national and Oxygen CEO along with Lee Reiber, is accused of concealing the company's origins. Davydov was arrested at London's Heathrow Airport and denied bail by District Judge Anthony Calloway at Westminster Magistrates' Court.