![]() ![]() Leaving some to question whether the threat is a real one or whether it is guilt by association.Īccording to the 2017 banning of Kaspersky products from federal networks, the FCC was specifically worried about provisions in Russian law concerning data sharing. Kaspersky operates from a headquarters in Russia and the other companies blacklisted on the same day are based in China. It remains unclear what the nature of the “unacceptable risk” cited by the FCC is. The US should immediately stop its unreasonable suppression of Chinese companies.” Purpose of the blacklist Officials at the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C., also issued a statement, saying the FCC had “abused state power and maliciously attacked Chinese telecom operators again without factual basis. The company claims the maneuver was “made on political grounds” and denounced the ban as an “unsubstantiated … response to the geopolitical climate rather than a comprehensive evaluation of … Kaspersky’s products”. The recent Russian aggressions in Ukraine were not mentioned in the FCC’s announcement, nor was President Joe Biden’s warning to the private sector about potential Moscow-backed cyber-attacks. ![]() In September 2017, US officials banned antivirus products made by Kaspersky from federally owned networks. Security against state-backed threatsįCC commissioner Brendan Carr said this decision is intended to “help secure our networks against threats posed by Chinese and Russian state-backed entities seeking to engage in espionage and otherwise harm America’s interests.”Īlthough this decision follows the Russian invasion of Ukraine – which began in late-February 2022 – the US government has banned Russian-made IT products before. When keeping a single office secure is challenging enough, eliminating variables in a problem as vast as national security seems attractive. There are no federal-level cyber security laws in the US, but this blacklist, called “List of Equipment and Services Covered by Section 2 of the Secure Networks Act”, is one mechanism with which the country defends its online infrastructure. ![]() ![]() Two Chinese-owned companies were added on the same day – China Mobile International and China Telecom Corp. Kaspersky joins a roster of companies which, according to the FCC, “pose an unacceptable risk to national security or the security and safety of United States persons”. On 25 March 2022 the FCC added Kaspersky.īecome a Cyber Security Hub member and gain exclusive access to our upcoming digital events, industry reports and expert webinars The FCC and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regularly amend the list of foreign IT vendors they consider threats to national security. The company offers antivirus, antimalware, password and endpoint management and other digital security products.ĭespite Kaspersky being a household name, US Federal Communcations Commission decided to blacklist the company. In 2021, Gartner named Kaspersky the third-largest provider of consumer-level IT products and the fifth-largest vendor of enterprise IT products. The company was founded in 1997, is operated by a holding company in the UK and is headquartered in Russia. “Any widely used software could be leveraged in the same way, not only AVs,” says Mohammad Mannan, a security researcher at Concordia University who has studied antivirus vulnerabilities.Those who know cyber security know Kaspersky Lab. But the time and effort it takes to successfully wield it means the likeliest victims of antivirus-based attacks are specific targets of nation-states or well-funded criminal syndicates. Ultimately, it’s just one of countless ways that bad actors could potentially access your data. "There's no reason why other foreign governments cannot compel the same type of cooperation from companies that are based in their territory."īut what makes antivirus potentially alarming is the same thing, oddly enough, that makes it relatively safe for personal use. "We know that the US government has solicited participation from technology vendors in the United States in the past, whether through official channels or more covert mechanisms such as National Security Letters," says Kuzma. And because of its all-encompassing powers, it's a likely target not just of Russia and North Korea, but any country with an advanced intelligence operation. Identifying compromised antivirus software can be exceedingly difficult, because antivirus by design acts aggressively. For governments or high-profile targets, using antivirus requires real caution to balance the potential risks with the benefits. ![]()
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