“The Trump administration on Wednesday told U.S. government agencies to remove Kaspersky Lab products from their networks, saying it was concerned the Moscow-based cyber security firm was vulnerable to Kremlin influence and that using its anti-virus software could jeopardize national security,” Reuters reports. “In a statement, Kaspersky Lab rejected the allegations, as it has done repeatedly in recent months, and said its critics were misinterpreting Russian data-sharing laws that only applied to communications services.”
“The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a directive to federal agencies ordering them to identify Kaspersky products on their information systems within 30 days and begin to discontinue their use within 90 days,” Reuters reports. “The order applies only to civilian government agencies and not the Pentagon, but U.S. intelligence leaders said earlier this year that Kaspersky was already generally not allowed on military networks.”
“Rob Joyce, the White House cyber security coordinator, said Wednesday at the Billington CyberSecurity Summit that the Trump administration made a ‘risk-based decision’ to orderKaspersky Lab’s products removed from federal agencies,” Reuters reports. “Asked by Reuters whether there was a smoking gun showing Kaspersky Lab had provided intelligence to the Russian government, Joyce replied: ‘As we evaluated the technology, we decided it was a risk we couldn’t accept.'”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: How about purging the government of shoddy operating systems that require such processor-sapping “anti-virus” crap in the first place?
SEE ALSO:
The FBI wants U.S. companies to stop using Kaspersky software – August 25, 2017
U.S. Senators seek military ban on Kaspersky Lab products amid FBI probe – June 29, 2017
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 readers too numerous to mention individually for the heads up.]
Long before the 2016 election and all the subsequent hoo-ha, fears that no Russian company could be truly independent of the country’s government kept me from putting Parallels on my Mac…
…and glad in retrospect that it’s free of Parallels AND Windows.
Kaspersky has offered its native code for an expertise, so what is the issue?
Also, after Snowden revelations the idea that Russian companies are somehow exclusive about being possibly dependent on the government is ridiculous. Whatever Russians are doing in this regard pales in comparison to the giant totalitarian spying infrastructure that NSA operates.
Torquemada Mueller to investigate!
lol, fat chance.
When you live in fear and paranoia, anything and everything is a threat to national insecurity.
In the age of high tech though all bets are off. Exercising caution is not bad thing. (Like not using Google products.)
Excellent point, a good portion of immoralware comes from companies of Apple’s home nation, Google, Minipotent and so many others bent of stifling humanity’s advancement. Fortunately Apple knows the benefits of traveling a moral road.
A commie pinko is a commie pinko. No matter that the iron curtain and wall came down, supposedly. Right. I’d trust Russia about the same as I trust China. -0-
The Kaspersky dump may well be political in nature.
On the other hand, Eugene Kaspersky has been no friend of Apple gear users. I called him out for bellowing baloney about macOS.
Making My Own Trouble: Calling Out Kaspersky
IOW: Fine with me!
Now, if only we could get #MyStupidGovernment to dump Microsoft. What would it take to shock them all into wakefulness regarding the nightmare of security that is anything Microsoft software?
Windows is the problem.
good luck selling American products elsewhere based on the same logic