Kaspersky Lab becomes first Russian company added to US "national security threat" blacklist

[midian182]

What just happened? Cybersecurity giant AO Kaspersky Lab has become the first Russian company added to the FCC list of entities deemed an unacceptable threat to US national security. The move comes soon after the German government advised users of Kaspersky software that they could be susceptible to cyberattacks or snooping.

Kaspersky Lab joins Chinese telecom firms Huawei Technologies Co and ZTE Corp on the list, along with China Mobile (USA) and China Telecom (Americas), both of which were added at the same time as the Russian company.

Earlier this month, the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) issued a warning to Kaspersky users following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, warning that the company could "carry out offensive operations itself, be forced against its will to attack target systems, or be spied on as a victim of a cyber operation without its knowledge or as a tool for attacks against its own customers."

Moscow-based Kaspersky Lab argued that the German advisory is based on political motivations and not technical assessments. While the FCC made no mention of Russia's invasion of Ukraine or President Biden's recent warning for US firms to bolster their cyber defenses in preparation for inevitable Russian attacks, Kaspersky Lab said the decision was "made on political grounds." It added that the move was "a response to the geopolitical climate rather than a comprehensive evaluation of the integrity of Kaspersky's products and services."

If a company is placed on the list, money from the FCC's $8 billion annual Universal Service Fund cannot be used to purchase or maintain its products.

ITWire notes that vulnerability coordination and bug bounty platform HackerOne stopped doing business with Kaspersky Lab on March 16.

We welcome the start of negotiations to resolve the current situation in Ukraine and hope that they will lead to a cessation of hostilities and a compromise. We believe that peaceful dialogue is the only possible instrument for resolving conflicts. War isn't good for anyone.

— Eugene Kaspersky (@e_kaspersky) March 1, 2022

In 2017, Kaspersky Lab faced claims over a possible compromise of its source code by Moscow. President Trump banned the use of its antivirus products on federal government machines in the same year, for which Kaspersky Lab filed a lawsuit. The company says it moved its data-processing infrastructure to Switzerland in 2018 and has continuously denied it has any links to or could be coerced by the Russian government. But the fact co-founder Yevgeny (Eugene) Kaspersky previously worked for the Russian military and was educated at a KGB-sponsored technical college hasn't helped its cause.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/93946-kaspersky-lab-becomes-first-russian-company-added-national.html

 

[Achaios]

I know plenty of ppl who were educacted in Jesuit-sponsored (Roman Catholic Church Society of Jesus) educational institutes that not only are not Christian but they are anything but.

So too, I know plenty of regular canonical Jesuits who are only nominally Christian and contradict basic tenets of Christianity daily.

The fact that Kaspersky or w/e was educated in a state-sponsored technical institution shouldn't lead one to conclusions. As he's a dinosaur, at his time there were hardly any non-state sponsored computer science oriented educational institutes.

In short, he's getting screwed just b/c he's Russian. The other day some ridiculous persons in some Slavic Eastern Euro country refused to play Tchaikovsky just b/c he's Russian, others took down a series of Dostoevsky or Tolstoy plays b/c they were Russian and today I saw that Belgian authorities had a statue of Yuri Gagarin covered just b/c he's Russian.

We are fast approaching Third Reich type Generalplan Ost Racial Laws wherein any Russian person whether living or dead will be auto-cancelled because of this new Rassenkampf.

 

[fps4ever]

This really sucks. We use it here at work and it is really, really good at network/workstation protection. Time to research. Thanks .gov for helping us waste thousands in having to switch.

 

[Geralt]

Western governments are crazier and more aggressive than the government they intend to punish for being crazy and aggressive.

 

[maxxcool7421]

Well they stole the EQUATION group tools using the Kaspersky submission system from that utter complete dumb as rocks NSA contractor who should be shot into the sun ... soooooo it is a legit issue.

 

[emmzo]

Hating the Russians because of Putin is so stupid, like hating the Germans because of Hitler. However this is not about that, an antivirus has the potential to collect sensitive information and do all kinds of harm, so being basically, at cyber war with Russia, the West has a right to be suspicious.

 

[corvard]

Western governments are crazier and more aggressive than the government they intend to punish for being crazy and aggressive.

Is every place on the Internet infested with Kremlin bots nowadays?

 

[fps4ever]

Is every place on the Internet infested with Kremlin bots nowadays?

Kremlin, US, China, Iran...pick your espionage partner. Kind of hypocritical isn't it. I understand why but it puts private companies into an instant and expensive bind. Because politics...

 

[Geralt]

Hating the Russians because of Putin is so stupid, like hating the Germans because of Hitler. However this is not about that, an antivirus has the potential to collect sensitive information and do all kinds of harm, so being basically, at cyber war with Russia, the West has a right to be suspicious.

Ban the matryoshkas too because they could contain cameras and mics.

 

[Geralt]

Is every place on the Internet infested with Kremlin bots nowadays?

In the past, I had to ban the entire Ukraine because of their hackers attacking my websites. So many hackers came that I was forced to remove the whole country.

 

[emmzo]

Western governments are crazier and more aggressive than the government they intend to punish for being crazy and aggressive.

Russian army flattening cities, bombing hospitals, killing more than a thousand civilians, the West banning an antivirus. Yeah, crazier, right?

 

[Geralt]

Russian army flattening cities, bombing hospitals, killing thousands civilians, the West banning an antivirus. Yeah, crazier, right?

I never saw a humanitarian war. Did you see one? It's not only about Kaspersky but about the aggressive Western attitude in general. In my book that's just adding fuel to the fire, and especially with the Russians who are stubborn like hell. Peace is about being peaceful, IMO.

 

[emmzo]

I never saw a humanitarian war. Did you see one? It's not only about Kaspersky but about the aggressive Western attitude in general. In my book that's just adding fuel to the fire, and especially with the Russians who are stubborn like hell. Peace is about being peaceful, IMO.

If you appease aggression, it's never going to stop. Russians are stubborn, but they're not stupid. At some point, hopefully, brighter people in the room will convince Putin, that his ambitions are too high and a deal will be made. Sooner will be better than later.

 

[BadThad]

With the MSM to focused on Ukraine, my heart goes out to the average Russian people whom are not involved in Putin's war. They are good, intelligent and hardworking people and shouldn't have to suffer due to a maniacal leader.....kind of like America these days.

 

[Geralt]

If you appease aggression, it's never going to stop. Russians are stubborn, but they're not stupid. At some point, hopefully, brighter people in the room will convince Putin, that his ambitions are too high and a deal will be made. Sooner will be better than later.

More than 5200 sanctions they received, but the war continues. When the Russians win, war will stop. I know Russian mentality. They can sacrifice one million soldiers to win. They do not care about costs.

 

[emmzo]

More than 5200 sanctions they received, but the war continues. When the Russians win, war will stop. I know Russian mentality. They can sacrifice one million soldiers to win. They do not care about costs.

They cared in Afghanistan and they will care now. The days of Stalinist Russia are long gone and Putin, try as he may, cannot take Russia back.

 

[maxxcool7421]

I never saw a humanitarian war. Did you see one? It's not only about Kaspersky but about the aggressive Western attitude in general. In my book that's just adding fuel to the fire, and especially with the Russians who are stubborn like hell. Peace is about being peaceful, IMO.

Ok so are pro dead kids and letting aggressor states go unchecked .... got it

 

[Geralt]

Ok so are pro dead kids and letting aggressor states go unchecked .... got it

Diplomacy is the key. That's why someone invented it. Come to an agreement with the Russians and they will stop.

 

[maxxcool7421]

Diplomacy is the key. That's why someone invented it. Come to an agreement with the Russians and they will stop.

Rewarding russia for killing and invading is not the answer. Might as well given Bin laden and Husain a handjob by that logic.

No. A bully is a bully until you beat him down.. even if it is by crippling their economy until their oligarchs and generals oust him.

 

[Geralt]

Rewarding russia for killing and invading is not the answer. Might as well given Bin laden and Husain a handjob by that logic.

No. A bully is a bully until you beat him down.. even if it is by crippling their economy until their oligarchs and generals oust him.

This is aggression. You can't fight aggression with aggression. You will only have more aggression, that is, WW3. Since I live in the 21st century, no thanks.

And Russia is NOT Bin Laden. It is a power with more than 6000 nukes. You cannot go there like a cowboy, you know. Not working.

 

[McMurdeR]

This is aggression. You can't fight aggression with aggression. You will only have more aggression, that is, WW3. Since I live in the 21st century, no thanks.

And Russia is NOT Bin Laden. It is a power with more than 6000 nukes. You cannot go there like a cowboy, you know. Not working.

Sanctions are a damned sight more passive than what the Russian military is doing in Ukraine.

This notion that the West is responsible for Russia's hostility toward its neighbours is unequivocally and demonstrably false.

These events have demonstrated that the Kremlin's only meaningful "power" lies in its possession of weapons that cannot be used without the absolute and total assurance of it's own destruction. And they've used that only to demand influence from the world, rather than earn it.

 

[Aaron Fox]

Closed-source software.

All the people selling closed-source software can do is say 'trust us'.

 

[Godel]

Well they stole the EQUATION group tools using the Kaspersky submission system from that utter complete dumb as rocks NSA contractor who should be shot into the sun ... soooooo it is a legit issue.

This is BS. They didn't steal anything. The facility to upload any dodgy looking files that they find on a subscriber's system for further analysis is common on most anti-virus programs as part of their normal functioning.

I have Kaspersky on my home system and I'm pretty sure I had to tick an approval box to specifically allow that to happen when I installed it. You don't think Microsoft's Defender is uploading all kinds of stuff without your knowledge or permission?

Although you're right about the NSA contractor being dumb as rocks.

 

[maxxcool7421]

This is aggression. You can't fight aggression with aggression. You will only have more aggression, that is, WW3. Since I live in the 21st century, no thanks.

And Russia is NOT Bin Laden. It is a power with more than 6000 nukes. You cannot go there like a cowboy, you know. Not working.

He is exactly like Husain and Bin laden.

billionaires don't want to die in a concrete bunker trying to survive fallout that will last 300+ years. Which is why *every* country will keep financially squeezing until all the people he put in power behind him stab him in the back to get back their money and power he gave them.

 

[maxxcool7421]

This is BS. They didn't steal anything. The facility to upload any dodgy looking files that they find on a subscriber's system for further analysis is common on most anti-virus programs as part of their normal functioning.

I have Kaspersky on my home system and I'm pretty sure I had to tick an approval box to specifically allow that to happen when I installed it. You don't think Microsoft's Defender is uploading all kinds of stuff without your knowledge or permission?

Although you're right about the NSA contractor being dumb as rocks.

I'm sure they do. I support an AV firm and we upload booty-loads of telemetry.

*however* in that case the telemetry was used flag the system to go back and gather samples of the tools, lots of them. We don't do that.. most AV partners don't either. It is bad business ..

scmagazine.com/news/security-news/apts-cyberespionage/nsa-worker-infected-computer-provided-access-to-equation-group-surveillance-code-kaspersky-says

bbc.com/news/technology-42009599