“U.S. senators sought on Wednesday to ban Moscow-based cyber security firm Kaspersky Lab’s products from use by the military because of fears the company is vulnerable to ‘Russian government influence,’ a day after the FBI interviewed several of its U.S. employees as part of a probe into its operations,” Dustin Volz and Joseph Menn report for Reuters.
“Federal Bureau of Investigation agents visited the homes of Kaspersky employees late on Tuesday in multiple U.S. cities, although no search warrants were served, according to two sources,” Volz and Menn report. “The interviews were followed on Wednesday by the release of a defense spending policy bill passed by the Senate Armed Services Committee, which would prohibit the U.S. Defense Department from using Kaspersky software platforms because the company ‘might be vulnerable to Russian government influence,’ according to a summary of the legislation.”
“Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen, who amended the spending bill to include the Kaspersky language, said in a statement that ‘ties between Kaspersky Lab and the Kremlin are very alarming,'” Volz and Menn report. “A consensus in Congress and among Trump administration officials believed Kaspersky ‘cannot be trusted to protect critical infrastructure, particularly computer systems vital to our nation’s security,’ Shaheen said.”
“Last month, senior U.S. intelligence officials said in testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee that they were reviewing government use of software from Kaspersky Lab,” Volz and Menn report. “Lawmakers raised concerns that Moscow might use the firm’s products to attack American computer networks, a particularly sensitive issue given allegations by U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia hacked and leaked emails of Democratic Party political groups to interfere in the 2016 presidential election campaign. Russia denies the allegations.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: As we wrote back in March 2015:
Things that make you go “hmmm.” Yet another reason why we’re glad we use Macs!
And, as we wrote back in April 2010:
Eugene Kaspersky is a transparent, self-serving, disingenuous leech who seems to consider tech users to be gullible fools.
SEE ALSO:
Kaspersky Lab has close ties to Russian spies – Bloomberg News – March 19, 2015
Kaspersky Lab Director: Over 98% of mobile malware targets Android because it’s much, much easier to exploit than iOS – January 15, 2015
Kaspersky: If Apple doesn’t open up iPhone (to malware), it will cease to exist in five years – April 29, 2010
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Jim-TIV” for the heads up.]
Leave it to the Obama government to use Russian technology whilst pandering to Samsung by overturning a verdict made in California to a judge with Korean background who then cuts the settlement in half (in favor of Samsung of course!)…while not using good ol’ Apple (USA) technology.
Are you telling us that Obama sold out to those backstabbing dog eaters? Keep your ignorant mouth shut. There is no proof of Obama going out of his way to help the Asians. He was for the people, the black community. If you actually read anything beyond your stupid comic books, you would know that Asians benefitted off of White Supremecy, by being the so-called “model minority”. They would walk all over us by opening their terrible Chinese restaurants in our communities, not hiring a single black person, and by throwing us under the bus even though our civil rights movement helped benefit them more than us! Get woke.
ack stabing Dog Eaters…. ???
How about taking a look at yourself in the mirror and reassessing who u are…. 👎
How about reasses race relations in America? I have every right to be angry with how this country treats blacks and Latinos, while keeping in place systematic racist policies that only benefit whites and Asians. Everyone I know agrees that Asians benefit the most off of white supremecist policies. The truth hurts.
You are nothing more than a hypocrite and a racist… your words speak for themselves.
Bingo!
By the way, we don’t find that title derogatory. Thanks for he compliment man, we ran the world all these god darn years.
It’s your title, your title that is dedoggatory, now can you get back in the back yard and out of these forums. Dogg?
Woooo! There’s a tinfoil hat nutjob loose on MDN!
Don’t start that crap again numbnuts. If you’re actually black I’m emperor of the friggin’ world. All you’re doing is getting your jollys stirring up shit and people are falling for it.
I’m for real, fool. I’ve been on this site for probably longer than you have and I’ve dealt with some of the most ignorant, racist people on this site, and in real life. I’ve actually experienced it, something your privileged ass never had to go through.
Complaining is a lot more effective if you:
– deal in concrete points
– cut out the name-calling
– and conduct yourself a lot better than the people you’re complaining about.
Sometimes, Sean, people just feel like fighting back. Academic debates with bullet-point lists don’t cut it when the audience is jeering at you.
Then if you really are black you are the epitome of all that is abhorred in your kind. You deserve no respect because there is nothing in your nature to earn it. You have nothing but blame for everyone and everything but your own loathsome self. Enjoy your hatred and self-pity because that’s all you will ever have.
Why do you keep coming back. I seldom go where I’m not welcome, especially if it includes people I abhor.
Get off me you stupid racist
Exactly? We are privileged with honesty, decency, we are hard working folk, that doesn’t go around gunning people down, selling crack to kids that kinda…privileged. Is that what you meant?
If we are all equal…what’s your excuse.
BLM. Except for you, loser.
Who let the doggs out?
The Professional Victim.®
…a subsidiary of The Plantation Party, John Molesta, CEO.
Apollonia: Wasn’t he the guy that said something like, I think there’s a point where you’ve made too much money? The same guy that’s enjoying (rightfully imo) millions from book advances/sales and hundreds of K’s from speeches? That is when he’s and his fam isn’t vacationing at places termed “for the rich and famous” by some in the press. He was for the people (your words) until some other people gave him more than the people you speak of. When you tell the Nation something, one better live by those words, or you’re a liar, fake or both. I’ll say you: “wake up.”
Ahh. You’ve officially won the MDN Racist of the year title. Congratulations you ignorant puke.
Stupid, idiotic comment. shut up.
“Eugene Kaspersky is a transparent, self-serving, disingenuous leech who seems to consider tech users to be gullible fools.” -MDN
So then you think he’s qualified to be President?
We just got rid of one those from the WhiteHouse.
You are indeed a blissful person!
“Moscow-based cyber security firm” – an oxymoron if ever there was such a thing. Why anyone would use Kaspersky Labs software is beyond me. Too many red flags.
Russian security experts are very good.
“Moscow-based cyber security firm” is not less of a oxymoron than any domestic security firm.
Surely you did not take my meaning that the Russians are not extremely competent in computer security. Of that there is no doubt. But with Vladimir Putin running the show in Moscow and Kaspersky’s possible government connections, you will have to forgive me if I doubt their allegiance to my data security.
Back stabing Dog Eaters…. ???
How about taking a look at yourself in the mirror and reassessing who u are…. 👎
I blame the guy that invented the computer. Because of him, there are cyber hacks!
It’s time to destroy the machines. /s
Definitely before it is too late.
You go first.
Perhaps she has.
Why aren’t you going to call her out on her comments then? Are you enabling her? Do you secretly agree with her? The amount of hate she spews on this site is abnormal, and you aren’t going to call her out on it. You’re a hypocrite just like AJ, admit it.
Actually floyd. I am not going to call her out on it because I do not know her history. Perhaps she actually had to use a “coloreds” only bathroom in her upbringing whereas I was shocked to see people being fire hosed in the south. Perhaps I arrived at my attitude through entirely different means and have a different perspective.
I generally don’t vote her up but as I said, I do not know her perspective. Wheter you accept it or not, I am a fair minded individual and my responses are based on 65 years of experience.
I forgot to add, I was shocked to see colored only bathrooms.
oh and floyd. In my experience, her alleged “hate” pales in comparison to the last 10 years of hate for a Black President who’s only fault was being black.
see, I’m one of those that evaluates the situation. Not like RWNJ’s and their lizard brains that can only react to stimulus from sexual predators, liars and … republicans.
oh and flloyd… 2 L’s?… I at least am not an anonymous coward and stand behind everything I say.
Oh and flloyd… I’ll be looking out for you calling out all the white racist on the site.
Reactionaries are coming out of the woodwork and they don’t even know they’re reactionary. They’re staunchly sticking up for decency and traditional values as they know them, even if they intemperately toss around incendiary language themselves.
No doubt.
I’ve always wondered about Kaspersky. Who knows, at least for now, if there is something to worry about there? Most of the comments so far demonstrate a remarkable willingness to cast blame without knowing the facts of how much Kaspersky software the government uses and under which administration(s) it was acquired.
The level of commentary on MDN has been deteriorating for some time. Seems like either Obama or Trump (depending upon your personal belief system) is personally responsible for just about everything in the world the particular commenter doesn’t like.
One-dimensional thinking is in preponderance around here, without a doubt.
This comes off as more of the same Trumpian paranoia. But it’s still a reasonable investigation. I’m no fan of Mr. Kaspersky.
http://mac-security.blogspot.com/2017/02/making-my-own-trouble-calling-out.html
That was weird. So the Mac with OSX is safe because hackers are not competent or able? I can’t be a mass murderer because I don’t have the skills?
I’m sure it’s possible to make viruses for Macs but apparently these hackers aren’t smart enough to make them. Making one for Windoze is easy to do, and Macs, UNIX, and other systems aren’t because of how well they are built.
I do know all that. Just seemed to be a strange excuse for lack of real security problems with the Mac.
That’s the key right there, Christopher—follow the money. A smart hacker will maximise his income based on computer usage patterns and other factors. Because he’s a businessman. His market analysis has told him that Windows hacking is more profitable than Mac hacking. Hacker culture is, however, far more than a way of making money. They real stars are like genius mathematicians trying to prove the Riemann hypothesis. There is hardly a more powerful rush than you get from solving a puzzle no one’s ever done before. Apple smartly appeals to their vanity by sponsoring competitions to break their OS security, with cash prizes, but the real incentive is earning insider cred – in other words, becoming The Man.
They probably should ban Chinese laptops and the Opera web browser while they are at it.
What about Parallels? Anyone look at its leadership? I’m surprised that Mac users would even touch that stuff.
That’s bullshit and a manifestation of the ever growing anti-neo-Commie-McCarthyist world view. I call those senators pricks for seeking an infusion of bribes from military contractors itching to amplify the wars so that they can convince the senators to merely sign legislation that they authored.
Kaspersky Lab does good work.
From a Rightwing point of view, their proposal is anti-Capitalist.
From a Socialist pont of view, it’s the 1%’s gambit to prevent the slow down of these economic colonialist wars, thereby preventing the slowdown of their profits.
End of story.
Hey how about google? Sergey Brin is high up there.