Antivirus software firm ‘ruled by Russian spies’
BRITAIN: Kaspersky Lab, which makes software used by millions globally, is controlled by Russian intelligence and has accessed the confidential files of at least one British company, according to a whistleblower.
MPs and security experts yesterday called for a blanket ban on the Russian antivirus software, which is installed in computers in sensitive sectors including energy and finance and at least four police forces. They spoke out after the GCHQ branch tasked with protecting critical systems from cyberattacks refused to extend a warning on use of the software by government departments to the public sector, industries and individuals.
Critics of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) stance said it was failing to protect the public, given its own recent warning that it was a matter of ‘‘when not if’’ there was a major cyberattack on national infrastructure.
Last year the antivirus software was banned for use by United States federal bodies after Israeli agents told the American authorities that Kaspersky Lab used a back door in its software to access files from the National Security Agency for Russian security services.
In the latest allegations, a former senior manager at Kaspersky told Latvian news site Meduza that there were originally two factions inside the company. One was close to the Russian security services, including the FSB, while the other was independent and West-leaning.
He claimed that after the kidnapping of founder Eugene Kaspersky’s son seven years ago, and his release by Russian special forces, managers linked to the FSB won control.
The source said that, after the incident, Kaspersky, a former Soviet military intelligence officer, ‘‘changed his business tactics, cancelled the [planned stockmarket listing] and got rid of American investors and the majority of senior expats’’.
The whistleblower said that he was present when employees demonstrated the company’s ability to access clients’ data by tapping into the computers of Gamma Group, a British company.
British security sources said yesterday that there were legitimate concerns about Kaspersky but the advice that nongovernment bodies could continue to use the software had not changed.
– The Times