

UK government officials stressed they aren’t telling companies or members of the public to stop using the software but the loss of confidence has already started to have wider repercussions. Simply installing the software on your computer is an access pass to every corner of your network. And while Eugene Kaspersky denies his software contains a backdoor code that deliberately allows access to vulnerable information, a backdoor code isn’t really necessary says Bloomberg. Lubyanka is a reference to the Moscow office of the Federal Security Service and commonly referred to as the FSB whilst also successor to the KGB.Īccording to Bloomberg, Russian law requires service providers like Kaspersky to install communications interception equipment that allows the FSB to monitor all of a company’s data transmissions. Last year, Bloomberg reported on emails that were written in 2009 where Kaspersky’s staff were directed to work on a secret project requested by the “Lubyanka side”. The NCSC’s concerns are clearly not pure hysteria. However, non-government organisations are also taking heed of the warning. The warning was directed at government departments that use Kaspersky’s software for systems that support national security. That’s more than a month after the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) issued a warning based on risk analysis rather than hard evidence. UK Members of Parliament and security experts have now called for a blanket ban on the software. Kaspersky Lab denies any wrong-doing but suggestions that the company assisted Russia’s spies refuse to dissipate.


On-going coverage of the issue in the media has stoked fears that using the company’s software might open up any business or individual to some kind of cyber-attack. Better safe than sorry over Kaspersky riskĬoncerns about the safety of Kaspersky’s anti-virus software continue to circulate so it’s a good idea to think about switching to another provider.Better safe than sorry over Kaspersky risk24th March 2018 | Modified: 19th December 2022
