--- title: "A Russian-owned phone-hacking vendor collapsed, and Cellebrite waits to inherit the vacuum" description: "Federal charges killed Oxygen Forensics, a Russian-owned supplier of phone-cracking software to the Secret Service and Pentagon, and police in Europe are halting use too. Cellebrite, the Israeli market leader, is the heir in waiting, but its own cut forecast shows a foreign-entity permit slowing its cloud deals." publisher: "The Inference" section: "Policy" published: 2026-10-14T21:05:10.183Z modified: 2026-10-14T21:05:10.183Z canonical: https://theinference.org/article/a-russian-owned-phone-hacking-vendor-collapsed-and-cellebrite-waits-to-inherit-the-vacuum language: en keywords: "Cellebrite, Digital Forensics, Surveillance, Russia, Law Enforcement, Security" --- # A Russian-owned phone-hacking vendor collapsed, and Cellebrite waits to inherit the vacuum > Federal charges killed Oxygen Forensics, a Russian-owned supplier of phone-cracking software to the Secret Service and Pentagon, and police in Europe are halting use too. Cellebrite, the Israeli market leader, is the heir in waiting, but its own cut forecast shows a foreign-entity permit slowing its cloud deals. ## A Russian-owned vendor collapsed inside the US government On September 23, 2026, federal prosecutors charged Lee Reiber, Oxygen Forensics' chief executive, and Oleg Davydov, a Moscow co-owner, with [conspiracy to commit wire fraud](https://www.courthousenews.com/feds-accuse-secret-service-software-provider-of-hiding-russian-ties/): the firm, they allege, sold phone-extraction software to the Secret Service, the Pentagon, the FBI and Homeland Security while hiding that five Russian nationals owned and controlled it [1][2][3]. US authorities [seized the company's website](https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-us-oxygen-software-hack-phone-hunter-biden-laptop/33870622.html) after the charges [1]. For investors the fallout runs through Cellebrite, the Israeli market leader listed on Nasdaq as CLBT and the heir in waiting for the displaced contracts [1][4][6]. The Secret Service's National Computer Forensics Institute had awarded Oxygen a five-year contract in September 2024 with a $12 million ceiling [2]. The agency discontinued the software in February 2026 over security risks, saying it ran only on air-gapped networks with no evidence of compromised data, while the State Department signed a new Oxygen contract in August, weeks before the arrests [1]. British and European police agencies are now halting use, and the complaint does not allege the code contained backdoors [1][3]. ## The heir has a permit problem Cellebrite sued Oxygen in 2015 and alleged then that its rival was Russian-controlled [1]. Its Inseyets extraction app pauses the [Apple](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/apple) 72-hour reboot timer that police race against, and its users include Customs and Border Protection and the Pentagon [4]. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, though, just [bought a rival tool, GrayKey Preserve](https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2026/10/08/ice-can-break-a-major-apple-security-protection/), from Magnet Forensics [4]. The vacuum cannot be booked yet. On August 13, Cellebrite reported second-quarter annual recurring revenue of $507.8 million, below its own $510–513 million projection, [cut the full-year figure by about $15 million](https://theinference.org/article/doj-charged-a-cellebrite-rival-with-hiding-russian-ownership-as-cellebrite-missed-its-own-arr-forecast) at the midpoint, replaced chief executive Tom Hogan with Shiv Ramji, and the shares fell 29% to $10.80 [5]. Management blamed "a foreign entity permit requirement, which is applied to cloud technology" for delaying deals [5]. The same foreign-vendor scrutiny appears to sit on both sides of this trade. *Chart: **Revenue has risen year over year for ten straight quarters; the Q3 guide asks the vacuum to show up** Line chart of Cellebrite quarterly revenue from Q1 2024 through Q2 2026, rising from $89.6M to $131.1M, with a dashed estimate point at the Q3 2026 guidance midpoint of $146.5M.* *Quarterly revenue in US$ millions from Cellebrite's SEC filings; the final point is the midpoint of company guidance of $145–148 million issued August 13, 2026. [6][8]* ## The number that decides it Revenue has still risen year over year for ten straight quarters [8]. DA Davidson, a brokerage, reiterated a Buy rating and a $15 target on September 15, and the board has [authorized a United States redomicile](https://investors.cellebrite.com/news-releases/news-release-details/cellebrite-initiates-plans-redomicile-united-states) by the first half of 2027 [6][7]. Kaplan Fox, a plaintiffs' securities law firm, is [investigating the August disclosure](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/markets/stocks/CLBT-Q/pressreleases/5344589/kaplan-fox-announces-an-investigation-of-cellebrite-di-ltd-nasdaq-clbt-on-behalf-of-long-term-investors/) on behalf of investors [5]. The first receipt is the November 11 report, guided to $145–148 million of third-quarter revenue [6]. The government that seized Oxygen's website is now the customer Cellebrite is waiting on [1]. ## Takeaway Federal charges over hidden Russian ownership have pulled Oxygen Forensics out of the phone-hacking market, but Cellebrite cannot book the displaced contracts yet: its own August guidance cut, blamed on a foreign-entity permit applied to cloud technology, shows the same vendor scrutiny on the winner, with the November 11 report the first test. ## Sources 1. [RFE/RL, Mike Eckel, Mark Krutov and Sergei Dobrynin, "Exclusive: Russian Computers, US Phones, Hunter Biden's Laptop, Cracked By Powerful Russian-Made Software. Who's Behind It?", 6 October 2026](https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-us-oxygen-software-hack-phone-hunter-biden-laptop/33870622.html) 2. [Courthouse News Service, Edvard Pettersson, "Feds accuse Secret Service software provider of hiding Russian ties", 23 September 2026](https://www.courthousenews.com/feds-accuse-secret-service-software-provider-of-hiding-russian-ties/) 3. [RFE/RL, Mike Eckel, "US Company That Sold Phone Hacking Software To Pentagon, Secret Service Lied About Russian Ownership, Officials Say", 24 September 2026](https://www.rferl.org/a/us-russia-software-hacker-cyber-oxygen-forensics/33863370.html) 4. [Forbes, Thomas Brewster, "ICE Just Bought A Hacking Tool Cops Use To Break A Major Apple Security Feature", 8 October 2026](https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2026/10/08/ice-can-break-a-major-apple-security-protection/) 5. [Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer press release via The Globe and Mail, "Kaplan Fox Announces an Investigation of Cellebrite DI Ltd. (NASDAQ: CLBT) on Behalf of Long-Term Investors", 9 October 2026](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/markets/stocks/CLBT-Q/pressreleases/5344589/kaplan-fox-announces-an-investigation-of-cellebrite-di-ltd-nasdaq-clbt-on-behalf-of-long-term-investors/) 6. [ad-hoc-news.de, "Cellebrite expands digital community as DA Davidson targets Cellebrite stock at USD 15.00", 13 October 2026](https://www.ad-hoc-news.de/boerse/news/nebenwerte/cellebrite-expands-digital-community-as-da-davidson-targets-cellebrite-stock-at-usd-15-00/70307563) 7. [Cellebrite press release, "Cellebrite Initiates Plans to Redomicile in the United States", 14 September 2026](https://investors.cellebrite.com/news-releases/news-release-details/cellebrite-initiates-plans-redomicile-united-states) 8. [Cellebrite quarterly figures from its SEC filings, retrieved 14 October 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001854587) --- A Russian-owned phone-hacking vendor collapsed, and Cellebrite waits to inherit the vacuum — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/a-russian-owned-phone-hacking-vendor-collapsed-and-cellebrite-waits-to-inherit-the-vacuum