Kaspersky Labs Banned From All Federal Government IT Systems Over Concerns of Russian Control

By streiff | 3:45 PM on September 13, 2017

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A sign above the headquarters of Kaspersky Lab in Moscow, Russia, on Monday, Jan. 30, 2017. Moscow has been awash with rumours of a hacking-linked espionage plot at the highest level since cyber-security firm Kaspersky said one of its executives with ties to the Russian intelligence services had been arrested on treason charges. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)

I’m sort of surprised this took this long to happen.

In a move likely to escalate tensions between Washington and Moscow, the Department of Homeland Security has ordered all federal agencies to stop using software made by the Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab, citing concerns that the Moscow-based firm’s software could give the Kremlin a foothold in the U.S. government.

The directive gives federal agencies 90 days to start removing the software from their networks.

And this won’t be the end of it. This requirement will be imposed upon federal contractors as well. It will also hit companies that integrate Kaspersky software into servers, firewalls, etc. They will either have to stop using that product or their own products will be outside US government purchasing channels.

For years it has been known that many of the key personnel in Kaspersky are “former” KGB/GRU/SVR/FSB personnel. Bloomberg revealed that Kaspersky is working on secret joint projects with the FSB. I’ve never understood why there was any credence given to Kaspersky’s claim of independence from the Kremlin–it has a major facility in Moscow–and this move is long overdue. The next step is a close hard look at the hardware coming out of Communist China.