European law enforcement agencies

POLITICO reports that European law enforcement agencies were using technology from a Russian surveillance company whose products were allegedly also being developed for and sold to Russian security services. The report raises concerns that Western police may have deployed tools built with or for Russian state surveillance capabilities, prompting questions about procurement vetting and the security of policing data in Europe.

A US-based data-extraction firm has reportedly been secretly run from Russia while working on EU-backed projects and selling its services to European law enforcement agencies. The claims come from documents seen by POLITICO, raising questions about how the company gained access to publicly funded European programmes and police contracts despite its alleged ties to Moscow.

Oxygen Forensics, a data-extraction company presented as U.S.-based, has been accused of being secretly run from Russia. According to documents seen by POLITICO reporter Antoaneta Roussi, the firm has worked on EU-backed projects and sold its services to European law enforcement agencies, raising concerns about how a company with alleged Russian ties gained access to sensitive police work across Europe.

A claim circulating on Mastodon argues that open source software is the only real guarantee of digital sovereignty, citing a Politico report that a Russian surveillance company infiltrated European law enforcement agencies. The story has fuelled concern that EU police bodies depend on opaque foreign technology, and renewed calls for open source procurement across European public institutions.