UK Edition
US government bans Kaspersky Labs software from federal computers amid concerns over Kremlin ties
The US government has banned the use of Kaspersky Lab security software within federal agencies, following concern that the company has ties to state-sponsored cyberespionage activities.
Elaine Duke, the acting homeland security secretary, gave the agencies three months to remove the software. Around six federal agencies are believed to use the software; the ruling does not apply to the military, but they are not thought to be Kaspersky Labs clients.
“The department is concerned about the ties between certain Kaspersky officials and Russian intelligence and other government agencies, and requirements under Russian law that allow Russian intelligence agencies to request or compel assistance from Kaspersky and to intercept communications transiting Russian networks,” the department said in a statement.
“The risk that the Russian government, whether acting on its own or in collaboration with Kaspersky, could capitalise on access provided by Kaspersky products to compromise federal information and information systems directly implicates US national security.”
On July 11 the federal General Services Administration, the agency in charge of government purchasing, removed Kaspersky from its list of approved vendors – suggesting that Kaspersky could have an internal weakness which could give the Kremlin backdoor access to the systems the company protects.
The company’s founder, Eugene Kaspersky, graduated from a KGB-supported cryptography school and had worked in Russian military intelligence.
Kaspersky Labs said in a statement issued on Wednesday that they had no ties to the Kremlin.
"Kaspersky Lab doesn’t have inappropriate ties with any government, which is why no credible evidence has been presented publicly by anyone or any organisation to back up the false allegations made against the company.
“The only conclusion seems to be that Kaspersky Lab, a private company, is caught in the middle of a geopolitical fight, and it’s being treated unfairly even though the company has never helped, nor will help, any government in the world with its cyberespionage or offensive cyber efforts.”
“Kaspersky Lab has always acknowledged that it provides appropriate products and services to governments around the world to protect those organizations from cyberthreats, but it does not have unethical ties or affiliations with any government, including Russia.”