Passwork password manager linked to Russian FSB

An investigation by OCCRP, the Irish Times and other partners found that Passwork, a password‑manager marketed as a European solution and used by Irish public agencies, shares its source code, update schedule and documentation with a Russian‑branded version certified by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB). The probe traced the origins of the software to a domain registered in Arkhangelsk in 2014, followed by the creation of a Finnish holding in 2017 and a Russian company established in 2022 that serves sanctioned Russian firms. Both the European and Russian editions run on the same code base, and the Russian edition has been approved by the FSTEC, the Russian defence‑linked export control agency. The findings raise concerns about digital sovereignty and the security of sensitive data stored in the manager, including crypto‑wallet credentials and corporate credentials, especially for organisations that rely on Passwork for critical infrastructure access.