US FBI Pressures US Companies to Abandon Russian own Kaspersky Antivirus

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The dispute between the United States government and Russian security vendor Kaspersky continues, and after US authorities banned the company’s antivirus, the FBI is now briefing the private sector with a request to remove the security product from their systems.

The FBI wants US-based companies to abandon Kaspersky software, as it considers the company to represent a “threat to national security,” according to a report from CyberScoop.

The agency first started pressuring US firms to uninstall Kaspersky security products from their systems earlier this year on a priority basis, with the source revealing via current and former senior US officials familiar with the matter (who asked not to be named because of obvious reasons) that firms in the energy sector and those using industrial control (ICS) and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems being at the top of the list.

Companies in the energy sector are receiving particular attention from the FBI, as US authorities are concerned following the recent attacks that took down the electric grid in Ukraine and linked with Russian hacking groups.

Additionally, the FBI has already contacted US tech companies having ongoing deals with Kaspersky, especially if their products are aimed at American businesses and consumers.

The reason for the FBI’s push to get rid of Kaspersky’s software is the alleged tie with Russia. The agency claims many of the current employees of the security company are former Russian intelligence agents, and Russian laws could allow the government to control a local firm and use it to spy on other nations.

Kaspersky: We’re not working with any government
Kaspersky has already replied to all these claims, explaining that there are no ties not only with Russia, but with any other governments, and the company has even offered to testify before the US Congress and have its source code inspected for any possible malware or surveillance code.

“If these briefings are actually occurring, it’s extremely disappointing that a government agency would take such actions against a law-abiding and ethical company like Kaspersky Lab,” the company told the aforementioned source.

“The company doesn’t have inappropriate ties with any government, which is why no credible evidence has been presented publicly by anyone or any organization to back up the false allegations made against Kaspersky Lab. The only conclusion seems to be that Kaspersky Lab, a private company, is caught in the middle of a geopolitical fight, and it’s being treated unfairly, even though the company has never helped, nor will help, any government in the world with its cyber-espionage or offensive cyber efforts.”

At this point, however, tech giants are the companies that seem to be the least receptive to FBI’s demands, but the priority currently appears to be firms in the energy and nuclear industries.