The Metropolitan Police has stopped using digital forensics software supplied by Oxygen Forensics while it investigates US allegations that the company, marketed as an independent American business, was secretly owned by Russian nationals and developed its products in Moscow. Scotland Yard confirmed to The Times that it has paused use of the tool and begun a full review, saying the impact on ongoing investigations is expected to be extremely limited.
What the US prosecutors allege
According to The Register, US Department of Justice prosecutors last week accused Oxygen Forensics chief executive Lee Reiber and Russian national Oleg Sergeyevich Davydov of concealing the firm’s true ownership and the location where its software was actually written. The Department of Justice says the Alexandria, Virginia-based company was owned and controlled by five Russian nationals through a Cyprus-based holding structure, while the code itself was produced by Moscow-based MKO Systems, previously known as Oxygen Software.
MKO reportedly sold the same technology in Russia under different product names to customers including the Federal Security Service, the Russian Investigative Committee and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Oxygen’s US customer list has included Homeland Security Investigations, the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General and the Secret Service’s National Computer Forensics Institute.
How much of the Met’s work is affected
The Met signed a three-year agreement with Oxygen in December 2023. The software is used by digital forensics teams to extract and analyse data from phones and other devices seized during investigations. The force said the software runs on a closed IT system that is not connected to the internet, and that it was used in fewer than 0.2 per cent of the more than 23,000 actions carried out by its digital forensics team over the past year. The Met said it does not share investigation data with Oxygen Forensics Inc.
Wider fallout across Europe
The National Police Chiefs’ Council confirmed that other UK forces also use Oxygen products and have been encouraged to carry out their own proportionate assessments, stressing that the US authorities are not alleging the software contained malicious code or that customer data was accessed without authorisation. Romanian authorities have begun terminating their use of the products, while Latvia’s State Police has suspended the software pending an assessment.
Oleg Sergeyevich Davydov, 52, was arrested at Heathrow Airport last month while preparing to fly to Turkey. He appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, where a judge declined to grant bail, and the US is seeking his extradition.
ADVERTISEMENT
Why it matters
For UK policing, the case raises uncomfortable questions about supply-chain trust in the forensic tools that underpin criminal investigations. Even where no malicious code is alleged, the concern is about who ultimately controls a tool used to read seized devices, and whether any backdoor or undisclosed access route exists. Evidence obtained with such tools has to withstand scrutiny in court, and an unresolved question about provenance is exactly the kind of issue defence solicitors will press.
What happens next
The Met’s review is expected to establish whether any Oxygen-built software touched material in live investigations and whether re-examination is required. Other UK forces are expected to complete their own local assessments, and a decision on whether to terminate or replace the contracts will follow. Meanwhile the US extradition case against Davydov continues, and Oxygen Forensics has not responded to The Register’s request for comment.
We do not allow links of any sort in comments. No SPAM whatsoever. On topic comments only.