In August we discussed the intense conflict between Kaspersky and the US government. The FBI issued a recommendation to abandon all its products, but according to the latest report from the Wall Street Journal, it’s already too late. The report says a group of hackers linked to the Russian government successfully extracted classified data from a contractor connected to the NSA, who was using Kaspersky’s antivirus.
A New Phase in the Conflict
In the last days of August, the FBI discouraged the installation and use of the solutions sold by the Russian company, and even contacted several corporations and energy providers. In mid-September, the Department of Homeland Security doubled down by stating that all federal agencies had to identify, discontinue and remove Kaspersky products within 90 days. The Trump administration’s position is that Kaspersky has become an “unacceptable risk” to national cybersecurity, since according to its interpretation of Russian law, companies like Kaspersky must cooperate with Moscow (whether mandatory or voluntary).
The Wall Street Journal Report
The latest addition to the fire came from the Wall Street Journal with an article describing an organized attack by hackers linked to Russian intelligence. The attack took place at some point in 2015, when an NSA contractor took classified material from its network and copied it to a personal computer protected by Kaspersky antivirus. The hackers reportedly exploited the presence of the antivirus to identify the classified files and complete their objective. The information contained details on NSA penetration techniques used in foreign networks, part of the code used in espionage, and defense procedures applied to its internal networks. The breach was discovered in the first quarter of 2016.
Now, there’s a crucial element that can’t be ignored: there’s no evidence. The Wall Street Journal article cites “anonymous sources” and “people familiar with the matter”, but nothing has been analyzed and studied by independent journalists. In fact, it also doesn’t rule out the possibility that the hackers exploited a vulnerability in the antivirus to obtain the material. Eugene Kaspersky anticipated two hours before publication that a new “conspiracy theory” was going to appear in the media. The company rejected the accusations and considers itself trapped in a geopolitical fight. Regardless of the lack of proof, it’s likely that Washington has sealed the fate of Kaspersky and its business.
