The RCMP has moved to cut off computers running phone-hacking software allegedly developed in Russia and will not renew the licences, The Gazette has learned, after U.S. prosecutors accused the software company of concealing its Russian ownership.
Last week, The Gazette reported that both the RCMP and Montreal police spent tens of thousands of dollars in recent years on Oxygen Forensics, which says it is a U.S.-based company that makes software used by police to extract data from phones and other electronic devices. Both police forces renewed licences this year. Montreal police have yet to say whether they will continue using the software.
In a statement, an RCMP spokesperson told The Gazette: “The RCMP has no plan to renew licences for products from Oxygen Forensics and we have ensured any computers with this software are isolated from the RCMP network.”