Is Kaspersky Anti Virus Providing a Back Door

15 Sept 2017 · 2 min

Watch on YouTube

2:22

The segment reports on a newly issued Homeland Security directive that gives U.S. federal agencies 90 days to remove Kaspersky Lab products due to concerns about possible ties to Russian intelligence. The ban triggers a ripple effect, prompting Best Buy to stop selling Kaspersky software. Cybersecurity expert Robert Siciliano of Hotspot Shield expresses skepticism about the likelihood of a backdoor, noting that competitors like McAfee or Symantec would have discovered it if it existed. An earlier NBC interview with Kaspersky founder Eugene Kaspersky reveals he attended a KGB-run technical school at age 16, but he denies any current collaboration with Russian intelligence, asserting zero contacts with offensive agencies. The piece juxtaposes government action, commercial response, expert opinion, and the company’s own rebuttal, highlighting the ongoing debate over Kaspersky’s trustworthiness.

Chapters

Reaction to the Trump administration's decision to ban the government from using of products made by Kaspersky Lab. That's a Russian-based cybersecurity firm that has its US headquarters in Woburn, Massachusetts. And that's where NBC Boston's Alicia Palumbo joins us live tonight. Alicia?
Well, the Homeland Security directive impacting Kaspersky here in Woburn and beyond was issued yesterday and gives federal agencies 90 days to implement plans to remove Kaspersky products from their systems. The federal government's decision to stop using Kaspersky Labs cybersecurity products over concerns of possibly unethical ties to Russian intelligence is having a ripple effect throughout the Moscow-based company, including here at its US headquarters in Woburn. Even though Kaspersky has called the allegations completely unfounded and said the Russian policies and laws are being misinterpreted, already Best Buy has announced it will no longer sell Kaspersky software.
If there is even a breadcrumb of evidence that Kaspersky may be meddling with the Russian government, then obviously that is a problem for the feds.
But Robert Siciliano, a cybersecurity expert with Hotspot Shield, is skeptical that Kaspersky could get away with doing something like that.
If in fact there was some type of backdoor in Kaspersky's technology, don't you think McAfee or Symantec would have found it already? Their biggest competitors.
In an exclusive interview with NBC News reporter Richard Engel earlier this summer, billionaire Kaspersky owner Eugene Kaspersky addressed his reported ties to the KGB.
He went to a KGB-run school for technical— Yeah, when I was 16. That was 16, yes.
But denied that his company is involved in any Russian spying.
Is all of this just a front for Russian intelligence? Zero contacts with offensive agencies in Russian intelligence.
In a statement this week in response to the federal order, Kaspersky Labs said that it, quote, has never helped nor will help any government in the world with its cyber espionage or offensive cyber efforts And it's disconcerting that a private company can be considered guilty until proven innocent due to geopolitical issues. Now, Kaspersky says it hopes to work with Homeland Security to avoid this. At Kaspersky's U.S. headquarters in Woburn, Alicia Palumbo, NBC Boston.