Kaspersky "RussiaWare" Banned By US Government

Trump Cybersecurity Coordinator Rob Joyce: ‘connection between Kaspersky and Russian intelligence’

Joyce, who is currently serving the Trump administration as Cybersecurity Coordinator has issued a sobering warning against use of Kaspersky anti-virus products.

Joyce was asked during a conversation with CBS News’ Jeff Pegues if he would recommend the use of Kaspersky products to his friends and family. Joyce replied, “I would not,” he continued, “I worry that as a nation state Russia really hasn’t done the right things for this country and they have a lot of control and latitude over the information that goes to companies in Russia. So I worry about that.”

Kaspersky founder Eugene Kaspersky, a Moscow native, has previously worked for the Russian military and received his education at a KGB-sponsored technical college. Kaspersky’s critics have accused him of using his company’s products to spy on users for Russian intelligence. Russian telecommunications companies, for example, are required by Russian Law to cooperate with the government’s military and spy operations if asked.

A curious wrinkle to this matter is the fact that China has banned it’s government computer systems from using Kaspersky products. China’s largest newspaper, the state-controlled People’s Daily, reported that the government agency responsible for software procurement for state networks, has barred Kaspersky Lab from Russia from its list of approved software vendors.

The Joyce revelation and his claim that the United States is lacking some 300,000 cybersecurity experts needed to defend the country is particularly troubling as governmental hacking has been such a point of discussion, specifically in regard to our last national election.

Michael Morrell, a former Deputy CIA Director opined, “There is a connection between Kaspersky and Russian intelligence, and I’m absolutely certain that Russian intelligence would want to use that connection to their advantage,”

It can be argued that the Russian Government can easily use legal channels to secretly force Kaspersky to turn over its data on American or other foreign or domestic users as a supplementation to its spy programs.

Our Federal government already banned the use of Kaspersky products, but Municipal and State governments commonly use the Russian software. In total, Kaspersky has more than 400 million users worldwide.

With research and development for security software carrying such a high cost, many are skeptical as to whether companies like Russia’s Kaspersky and Dr. Web, China’s QUO360 and Czechoslovakia’s Eset are funded with state money. The potential intelligence advantages that can be gained by bad actors should be more than enough for the Trump administration and private Americans to rethink their cybersecurity strategies.