Kaspersky software banned from US government agencies over alleged Russian intelligence...

[midian182]

Back in July, allegations that its source code may have been compromised by the Russian government led to Kaspersky Lab's removal from the list of approved federal vendors. Now, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a directive giving departments and agencies three months to identify any use of the software and replace it with alternatives.

The directive allows 30 days to identify any government systems that use Kaspersky, 60 days to come up with a plan for eliminating the software, and 90 days to start uninstalling it.

“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 DHS said in a statement.

“The risk that the Russian government, whether acting on its own or in collaboration with Kaspersky, could capitalize on access provided by Kaspersky products to compromise federal information and information systems directly implicates US national security.”

Kaspersky Lab has faced allegations of ties with the Russian government for some time. CEO and cofounder Eugene Kaspersky was educated at a KGB-backed school and previously served at the intelligence organization. But there’s no public evidence linking Kaspersky with Russian agencies. A spokesperson said “the accusations are based on false allegations and inaccurate assumptions.”

The company added that as 85 percent of its revenue comes from outside of Russia, it would be detrimental for the firm to work inappropriately with any government.

The DHS has asked Kaspersky to contact the agency and provide evidence that proves its innocence. In July, Kaspersky said he was willing to testify before congress and turn over the company’s source code “to prove that we don’t behave maliciously.”

While Kaspersky continues to deny any relationship with the Russian government, emails obtained by Bloomberg earlier this year show how it developed software for the Federal Security Service (FSB), one of the intelligence agencies that allegedly attempted to influence the US election. It's also said to have accompanied agents on raids.

The company said that the facts of the 2009 emails have been “misconstrued to fit in with the hypothetical, false theory.”

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https://www.techspot.com/news/70978-kaspersky-software-banned-us-government-agencies-over-alleged.html

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

Where there's smoke there's fire but the US government is probably just over reacting as they always do but it's better to over react at times than not react at all.

 

[captaincranky]

I still think the free version would be ideal for a machine dedicated to downing pr0n. Unless.......it's going to dime you out to those exquisite Ukrainian models.... (or possibly their bosses). "Vee have vays uf makingk U talk"

 

[SirChocula]

Here's a quick lesson in history. Anything the US government says, do the exact opposite. I'll happily continue using Kaspersky.

 

[gusticles41]

They have ZERO evidence of Kaspersky doing anything malicious.

"There’s no public evidence linking Kaspersky with Russian agencies. A spokesperson said “the accusations are based on false allegations and inaccurate assumptions."

Our government is tarnishing the reputation of one of the best AV companies around. They're concerned about security, but are going to force people to move to lesser virus protection. If offering up your source code and saying you'll testify in front of Congress isn't enough, wtf do they want?

Meanwhile, there's a guy sitting in the White House with stacks of evidence piling up against him regarding ties to Russia.

 

[David Belkin]

Here's a quick lesson in history. Anything the US government says, do the exact opposite. I'll happily continue using Kaspersky.

Finally, some sense.

 

[David Belkin]

Where there's smoke there's fire but the US government is probably just over reacting as they always do but it's better to over react at times than not react at all.

Where there's smoke there's fire but the US government is probably just over reacting as they always do but it's better to over react at times than not react at all.

Where there's smoke there's fire but the US government is probably just over reacting as they always do but it's better to over react at times than not react at all.

Like when the US accused Iraq of having WMDs?

 

[amstech]

Kaspersky actually works, that's probably why the US doesn't want it.

 

[OutlawCecil]

In all seriousness, they should probably have their own software made (not just antivirus) to ensure it's leak free. Anything you go with will come with some risk. Tapping the US government is a money maker for about anybody...

 

[DJMIKE25]

Kaspersky's software is fantastic, and you would be hard pressed to find something of better quality. This all just makes me laugh. As if I'm going to base my security off of the leaky faucet called the U.S. government.

 

[Puiu]

Here's a quick lesson in history. Anything the US government says, do the exact opposite. I'll happily continue using Kaspersky.

Kaspersky's software is fantastic, and you would be hard pressed to find something of better quality. This all just makes me laugh. As if I'm going to base my security off of the leaky faucet called the U.S. government.

Well, whether the allegations are true or not, their software is not really good for business as it's known to regularly get weird glitches or bugs. It also slows down your PC a lot while scanning. I would replace it with something like Bitdefender in a heartbeat.

 

[MoeJoe]

Kaspersky was always a mess and is still a colossal mess.

 

[texasrattler]

Kaspersky is taking a hit in the US. A lot of ppl are not going to use them. Something that some ppl may not know is that one major retailer has pulled ALL Kaspersky from their shelfs. Best Buy pulled all Kaspersky products about a week or so ago.

 

[Nobina]

Key word - alleged.

US government seems to not know anything despite all the surveillance, it's always alleged, may have been, assumed and so on.

 

[gusticles41]

Best Buy pulled all Kaspersky products about a week or so ago.

This is a huge loss for them. Kaspersky was always heavily pushed by Best Buy.

 

[amstech]

Kaspersky was always a mess and is still a colossal mess.

It's been one of the best (if not the best) Anti-Virus programs going on 5+ years.

 

[DJMIKE25]

Well, whether the allegations are true or not, their software is not really good for business as it's known to regularly get weird glitches or bugs. It also slows down your PC a lot while scanning. I would replace it with something like Bitdefender in a heartbeat.

That's interesting considering I we've deployed it to the majority of our clients and don't have any issues. Maybe you should do a little better when creating your policies in the security center. Replacing Kaspersky with bitdefender must be a joke, I can't even take that comment seriously. There is also ZERO evidence of information being stolen from users who have Kaspersky installed.

 

[captaincranky]

Like when the US accused Iraq of having WMDs?

Dude, I think you missed the point, Iraq and Afghanistan have been the US' advanced weapons proving grounds for decades

 

[Vulcanproject]

Russian trojans in the white house not in Kaspersky, get your priorities straight

 

[Puiu]

That's interesting considering I we've deployed it to the majority of our clients and don't have any issues. Maybe you should do a little better when creating your policies in the security center. Replacing Kaspersky with bitdefender must be a joke, I can't even take that comment seriously. There is also ZERO evidence of information being stolen from users who have Kaspersky installed.

You own experiences are irrelevant to others, including me. And the fact that Bitdefender is better than Kaspersky is not a secret, it's a known fact that pretty much everybody. From detection rates to stability and performance it's just better.
As for the bugs, you don't have to believe me, just can just simply google it. From serious exploits to small glitches like Kaspersky interfering with the 2-finger scroll in Chrome. Just 2017 alone has been... how should I put it... fun for the support and QA teams at Kaspersky

It has nothing to do with information being stolen since nobody here can prove it.

 

[DJMIKE25]

That's interesting considering I we've deployed it to the majority of our clients and don't have any issues. Maybe you should do a little better when creating your policies in the security center. Replacing Kaspersky with bitdefender must be a joke, I can't even take that comment seriously. There is also ZERO evidence of information being stolen from users who have Kaspersky installed.

You own experiences are irrelevant to others, including me. And the fact that Bitdefender is better than Kaspersky is not a secret, it's a known fact that pretty much everybody. From detection rates to stability and performance it's just better.
As for the bugs, you don't have to believe me, just can just simply google it. From serious exploits to small glitches like Kaspersky interfering with the 2-finger scroll in Chrome. Just 2017 alone has been... how should I put it... fun for the support and QA teams at Kaspersky

It has nothing to do with information being stolen since nobody here can prove it.

Bitdefender isn't at all a bad piece of software but, I prefer Kaspersky and the granularity that comes with it and the management suite. Bitdefender is light and cloud based which takes away many of the headaches of deployment , but you are sacrificing many options that I prefer in my AV Software. While my own experiences and opinions may be irrelevant to others, including yourself which is fine, they are built off of my real world experiences with the products from Kaspersky and that's all I've got to go off of.

 

[texasrattler]

This is a huge loss for them. Kaspersky was always heavily pushed by Best Buy.

True but Best Buy has actually pushed Webroot in the last few years verus any other AV. It's typically given free for 6 months and will be pushed even more. The other 3rd now 2nd choice is Trend Micro but most don't ever seem to want it or BB employees don't really push. Most seem to like Webroot. Also it doesn't hurt that Webroot is US based and I believe the only US based AV.

 

[JamesSWD]

They have ZERO evidence of Kaspersky doing anything malicious.

"There’s no public evidence linking Kaspersky with Russian agencies. A spokesperson said “the accusations are based on false allegations and inaccurate assumptions."

Our government is tarnishing the reputation of one of the best AV companies around. They're concerned about security, but are going to force people to move to lesser virus protection. If offering up your source code and saying you'll testify in front of Congress isn't enough, wtf do they want?

Meanwhile, there's a guy sitting in the White House with stacks of evidence piling up against him regarding ties to Russia.

Actually, there is no evidence against Trump, so stop it. Want to see a pile of evidence that's ignored, paddle over to the mountain behind Hillary.

 

[billk]

Now that the Executive Branch under Golden Hair openly declares its deep and abiding concern with the RED MENACE (cleverly camouflaged before the election), surely Mueller will smile in appreciation of his efforts and drop the whole investigation thing and move on to shining the light of day on those three million illegal Hillary voters who robbed Donald John of his rightful popular mandate. That commission has already been concocted by Trump and is headed by his stooge V.P.
And I note Trump die-hards continue to flog the Hillary straw horse. NO EVIDENCE AGAINST TRUMP? Even such a fabulous whopper is protected by the free speech amendment.

 

[Joe Blow]

Russia should ban McDonald's and Coca-Cola over alleged ties to the U.S. government.