Met Police suspends use of phone-hacking software over Russian links

The Metropolitan Police has ceased using digital forensics software from Oxygen Forensics as investigators probe allegations that the company, ostensibly American, was secretly owned by Russians and developed its products in Moscow. Scotland Yard announced it had halted the use of Oxygen's tools and initiated a comprehensive review following US prosecutors' accusations last week.

The allegations involve Oxygen's CEO Lee Reiber and Russian national Oleg Sergeyevich Davydov, who are accused of concealing ownership and the actual software development location in Moscow. Oxygen's software, used by the Met to extract and analyze data from seized phones and devices, runs on a closed IT system with minimal internet connectivity and was employed in less than 0.2 percent of the Met's over 23,000 digital forensics actions in the past year.

The Met stated that the pause would likely have a limited impact on ongoing investigations. The US Department of Justice accused Oxygen of presenting itself as an independent American company while being controlled by five Russian nationals through a Cyprus-based holding company. US defense and homeland security agencies, including Homeland Security Investigations and the Secret Service's National Computer Forensics Institute, were among Oxygen's clients.

Davydov, arrested at London's Heathrow Airport last month, appeared in Westminster Magistrates' Court and was denied bail due to Russian citizenship and residence. Other UK forces, including those under the National Police Chiefs' Council, have been advised to conduct their own assessments regarding Oxygen products. Romanian authorities have also begun discontinuing their use of Oxygen products, and Latvia's State Police has suspended the software pending an assessment.