FEDS KEEP CLOSE EYE ON KASPERSKY LAB
Woburn HQ under FBI scope
Employees of Kaspersky Lab, a Russian cybersecurity company with U.S. headquarters in Woburn, have been approached by federal investigators, the company confirmed, as authorities scrutinize the company’s ties to Russia.
“We can confirm that they have,” Kaspersky Lab spokeswoman Jessica Bettencourt said when asked if workers have reported being approached by FBI agents.
The company, founded by a former Russian intelligence agent, has been under increased scrutiny as top intelligence officials have raised concerns the company’s popular anti-virus software could be used to spy on Americans.
“As a private company, Kaspersky Lab has no ties to any government, and the company has never helped, nor will help, any government in the world with its cyberespionage efforts,” the company said in a statement yesterday. “Kaspersky Lab believes it is completely unacceptable that the company is being unjustly accused without any hard evidence to back up these false allegations. Kaspersky Lab is available to assist all concerned government organizations with any ongoing investigations, and the company ardently believes a deeper examination of Kaspersky Lab will confirm that these allegations are unfounded.”
The company said it has not been officially notified of an investigation.
A spokeswoman for the FBI declined to comment.
The founder of the company, CEO Eugene Kaspersky, was trained by a KGB-sponsored cryptography institute and worked for Russian military intelligence before starting the company in 1997.
Some of the nation’s top security officials have expressed doubts about the company’s products this year.
At a Senate hearing in May, six of the country’s intelligence heads said they would not feel comfortable with Kaspersky software on their computers.
“A resounding no for me,” Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said at the hearing.
The defense officials, which included Michael Rogers, director of the National Security Agency, and Andrew McCabe, acting director of the FBI, all said they thought Kaspersky Lab could pose a security threat.
“We are very concerned about it and we are focused on it very closely,” McCabe said at the time.
In response, Kaspersky defended the company in a Reddit post the same day.
“I think that due to political reasons, these gentlemen don’t have an option, and are deprived from the opportunity to use the best endpoint security on the market without any real reason or evidence of wrongdoing,” Kaspersky wrote. “I would be very happy to testify in front of the Senate, to participate in the hearings and to answer any questions.”
As of 2015, Kaspersky Lab employed about 300 people in North America, the majority in Woburn.