GCHQ cyber alerts rely on warnings from Moscow agency accused of spying on Britons

BRITISH spies have been using a controversial security company, which is run by a former KGB-trained intelligence expert, to help warn the public about cyber and hacking attacks.

GCHQ, the UK’s front line in cyber defence, has five times in the last year published “threat alerts” based on the Moscow agency Kaspersky Lab.

Last week, Kaspersky faced claims that its software may be being used by the Kremlin to spy on British banking customers. Yet, as recently as Nov 10, the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), which is part of GCHQ, issued a threat alert citing Kaspersky research about the dangers of dating apps. In August, it cited a Kaspersky report into cyber attacks involving hidden data in digital photos and videos. On three previous occasions Kaspersky was cited in NCSC alerts.

UK and US security chiefs have concerns that Kaspersky has been compromised by Vladimir Putin’s Federal Security Service.

Last night, Professor Anthony Glees, a national security expert at the University of Buckingham, said he found the NCSC’s reference to the Kaspersky material “totally baffling”.

On Wednesday, Ciaran Martin, the head of the NCSC, issued a general warning that Russian hackers had targeted UK telecoms and energy companies. He said the activities were a “cause for concern”. On Monday, Theresa May accused Russia of meddling in elections and planting fake stories in the media to sow discord in the West.

On Thursday, Kaspersky hit back at reports that it extracted sensitive files from a US National Security Agency worker’s computer, saying it was not deliberate and any classified documents were destroyed.

It has also denied that the Kremlin can use its software to spy on British citizens. In a previous statement, Kaspersky denied that it was linked to the Russian government.

A spokesman for the NCSC said that while threat reports were published to warn the public, it did not mean that the agency “endorsed” Kaspersky Lab.