Russian spies hacked anti-virus software
Anti-virus software widely used by people and businesses in Britain was reportedly hacked by Russian government spies to trawl for US secrets. Cyber spies allegedly hacked into software from the Russian firm Kaspersky Lab, used around the world, to improvise a search tool and look for the codenames of secret US programs. Discovery of the operation led the US government last month to order the removal of the software from its computers, The New York Times has reported.
POPULAR anti-virus software used by hundreds of thousands of people and businesses in Britain was reportedly hijacked by Russian government hackers to trawl for American secrets.
Cyber spies allegedly used software from the Russian firm Kaspersky Lab, which is installed on computers around the world, to improvise a search tool and look for the codenames of secret US programs.
Discovery of the operation led the US government last month to order the removal of the software from its computers, The New York Times reported.
The software is used by 400million people worldwide and is one of the most widely employed anti-virus tools in Britain, installed by households and businesses to protect their computers from cyber criminals.
Last night, the National Cyber Security Centre, an offshoot of GCHQ, said it did not give guidance on whether the software was safe to use.
Computer users must give their antivirus software widespread access to files so that they can be scoured for viruses. However, such access potentially makes the software a perfect “back door” for hackers, according to computer experts.
Kaspersky Lab has repeatedly denied accusations that it is complicit in Russian state cyber operations. Technical experts said hackers may have gained access to its software without the company knowing.
Yesterday, Kaspersky Lab said it had “never helped, nor will help, any government in the world with its cyberespionage efforts” and said its software “does not contain any undeclared capabilities, such as back doors, as that would be illegal and unethical”.
The scale of the intrusion was reportedly discovered two years ago when Israeli officials who had hacked into Kaspersky networks themselves saw evidence of Russian activity.
The Israelis warned America’s National Security Agency (NSA) that they had witnessed Russian hackers using Kaspersky’s access to search for US secret programs and had sent any findings back to Russian intelligence systems.
The Russian operation stole classified documents from one NSA employee who had stored them on his home computer, which was installed with Kaspersky software, it was said.
The NSA last month said it was ordering the software off its computers because of the “risk that the Russian government, whether acting on its own or in collaboration with Kaspersky, could capitalise on access provided by Kaspersky products”.
Kaspersky Lab would not say how many people or which companies use its software in Britain. UK consumer research from Mintel last year showed it was used by seven per cent of those using anti-virus software.
A statement said: “Kaspersky Lab was not involved in and does not possess any knowledge of the situation in question.
“As the integrity of our products is fundamental to our business, Kaspersky Lab patches any vulnerabilities that it identifies or that are reported to the company.”
It said it wants to work alongside the US authorities “to address any concerns they may have about its products as well as its systems”.