Monday, Sep 28, 2026
1 US DOJ Arrests Oxygen Forensics Duo for Concealing Russian Ownership↩︎ 🔒 Cybersecurity Sep 24, 7:25 PM EDT 11/9
The US government has seized the official website, bank accounts and 57 domains of Oxygen Forensics after officials charged its top leadership with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. CEO Lee Reiber and co-founder Oleg Davydov allegedly misled agencies, including the Pentagon, FBI and Secret Service, by claiming the firm's phone forensics software was developed in America to secure millions of dollars in contracts. Prosecutors say five Russian nationals secretly controlled the company through a Cyprus holding company while a Russian-based team wrote the code.
The firm also provided a parallel version of the tool, Mobile Criminalist, to Russia's FSB, which used it to unlock a journalist's iPhone in 2023. A Politico investigation found the technology was also used by law enforcement in Germany, Spain and Italy, and by Moroccan authorities. Further investigations revealed an investor in the company's holding firm is Eduard Bendersky, a former FSB officer and father-in-law to the indicted leader of cybercriminal group Evil Corp, though the company's US CEO denies current ties to the FSB.