Categories: Technology

The Swiss police have been using Russian software for years – Putin’s daughter also makes money

From St. Gall to Zurich and Bern, police specialists used special Russian software, even though this represented a huge IT security problem. Some police forces continue to do this.
Daniel Schurter

According to research by the “Tages-Anzeiger”, the Zurich Cantonal Police and other Swiss police authorities have been using special Russian software for years, the development company of which has excellent personal ties with the Kremlin and Vladimir Putin. And some police forces continue to use the program, even though it could be a gateway for Russia’s elite hackers.

The Russian development agency is supported by a Russian state foundation led by a Putin subsidiary. Like her father, she was sanctioned in the West for the criminal attack on Ukraine.

Watson summarizes the key points.

What kind of software is this?

The program is called Metaform (formerly PhotoScan) and is released from the company Agisoft in St.Petersburg.

The software is mainly used to secure evidence. It helps forensic experts model the respective locations in 3D after traffic accidents or crimes. This is known in technical language as photogrammetry.

According to the report, Agisoft is working with Geoscan Group, the largest drone manufacturer in Russia. And behind this company is Innopraktika, a state foundation run by Putin’s daughter Katerina Tikhonova.

The Tagi says:

“So if money flows to Agisoft, the drone manufacturer Geoscan and thus the state foundation of Putin’s subsidiary also benefit from it.”

It should be noted that Agisoft denied to the “Tages-Anzeiger” that it was “particularly close” to the largest Russian drone manufacturer.

Why is using Russian software dangerous?

The tagi writes:

“Isn’t the use of the software on Swiss police computers a security risk given the links with the Kremlin and Russian cyber attacks? What if the software had other functions and accessed data like a Trojan horse? What if a backdoor were built into the software that would allow direct access from St. Petersburg to Swiss computers?”

As has been known since March 2023 at the latest and the leaked Russian documents (“Vulkan Files”), the Russian secret services work closely with Russian IT companies. Unit 74455, or Sandworm, part of the Russian military intelligence service, has private IT specialists develop attack instruments, among other things.

The Green National Councilor and IT entrepreneur Gerhard Andrey from Freiburg now finds clear words:

“I don’t know the software and cannot assess the danger. “But we know that states are installing backdoors in applications or exploiting security holes to orchestrate espionage and cyber attacks.”

Is the software still used in Switzerland?

Yes.

The realization that Russian software represents a huge IT security problem does not seem to have been accepted by all those responsible.

According to Tagi research, the largest cantonal police authorities continued to use Russian software even after the attack on Ukraine:

  • The Police of the Canton of Bern According to its own information, the country relied on the Russian program from 2016 until the summer of 2023. Only then did they get out due to safety concerns on the part of those responsible.
  • The Cantonal Police of St.Gallen According to proprietary information, Metashape used “as the main photogrammetry software” from 2018 to 2023.
  • The Zurich Cantonal Police only admitted when asked that their specialists also used Russian software “until last year”.
  • The Lucerne Police I still use Metashape “to read old datasets”. However, the entire digital infrastructure is “extensively protected by various security measures”.
  • The The Basel Cantonal Police have been testing the program “since last year in a pilot phase”. Further use will be “decided in the coming months with the public prosecutor’s office in Basel-Landschaft”.

The report states that the software is also used by Swiss companies in the surveying, real estate and construction sectors. It should be noted that there are several similar products that do not come from Russia.

Even the Swiss reseller of the Russian software now has security concerns, writes the “Tages-Anzeiger”. The director says that the situation has been critically examined and that the switch to an alternative product has already been initiated. And:

“We have no general security guarantees from Agisoft or other software manufacturers.”

Daniel Schurter

Source: Watson

Leave a Comment
Share
Published by
Ella
1 year ago

Recent Posts

Terror suspect Chechen ‘hanged himself’ in Russian custody Egyptian President al-Sisi has been sworn in for a third term

On the same day of the terrorist attack on the Krokus City Hall in Moscow,…

1 year ago

Locals demand tourist tax for Tenerife: “Like a cancer consuming the island”

class="sc-cffd1e67-0 iQNQmc">1/4Residents of Tenerife have had enough of noisy and dirty tourists.It's too loud, the…

1 year ago

Agreement reached: this is how much Tuchel will receive for his departure from Bayern

class="sc-cffd1e67-0 iQNQmc">1/7Packing his things in Munich in the summer: Thomas Tuchel.After just over a year,…

1 year ago

Worst earthquake in 25 years in Taiwan +++ Number of deaths increased Is Russia running out of tanks? Now ‘Chinese coffins’ are used

At least seven people have been killed and 57 injured in severe earthquakes in the…

1 year ago

Now the moon should also have its own time (and its own clocks). These 11 photos and videos show just how intense the Taiwan earthquake was

The American space agency NASA would establish a uniform lunar time on behalf of the…

1 year ago

This is how the Swiss experienced the earthquake in Taiwan: “I saw a crack in the wall”

class="sc-cffd1e67-0 iQNQmc">1/8Bode Obwegeser was surprised by the earthquake while he was sleeping. “It was a…

1 year ago

Archives

Categories