The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a binding directive to all federal agencies, requiring them to stop using Kaspersky software within 90 days due to concerns about Russian ties. companywith the Kremlin.
In a statement, DHS gives federal organizations 30 days to locate Kaspersky Lab's products in their networks and remove them in the next 60 days.
"This action is based on the security risks of information presented by the use of Kaspersky products on federal systems," DHS said.
"The company's products and Kaspersky Anti-Virus παρέχουν ευρεία πρόσβαση σε αρχεία με αυξημένα προνόμια στους υπολογιστές στους οποίους έχει εγκατασταθεί το software which can be exploited by malicious users to compromise these systems.”.
According to DHS, there are regulations under Russian law that allow Russian intelligence services to request or force Kaspersky Lab to access communications via Russian networks.
"The risk is that the Russian government, either alone or in partnership with Kaspersky, could exploit the access provided by Kaspersky Lab's products to infringe federal information systems, which is of direct concern to US national security." .
DHS will allow Kaspersky to file a written request for any objections, and the Reuters reports that Kaspersky has already rejected allegations of espionage.
"There is no credible evidence publicly presented by any organization, and the allegations are based on false allegations and inaccurate assumptions," Kaspersky Lab said.
In July, the Trump administration has withdrawn Kaspersky Lab from two approved lists sellers who used government services to purchase technology equipment.
Reuters then said that Kaspersky's products were removed from the GSA's list of suppliers for contracts covering information technology services and digital photo equipment.
However, according to the guidelines, government agencies were still able to use Kaspersky's products purchased separately from the GSA procurement process.
The Department's move comes after accusations by US intelligence agencies that Russia managed to hack into Democratic Party emails, helping Donald Trump win the election, despite President Vladimir Putin διακηρύσσει ότι η χώρα του δεν έχει ασχοληθεί ποτέ με hacking δραστηριότητες, αλλά κάποιοι “πατριώτες.”
Speaking with reporters in Sydney in June, Eugene Kaspersky said he would not be surprised to learn that there was a Russian intervention in the recent US elections.
"It is not surprising that there was Russian intervention hackers, unfortunately I don't have data because we didn't participate in the research," said the head of Kaspersky Lab.
