FBI Wants Companies to Drop Kaspersky Labs Like a Bad Habit
FBI officials are encouraging private sector companies to cease the use of Kaspersky Labs products immediately. Kaspersky Labs, a Russian-based security solution provider, has been under scrutiny recently due to concerns regarding alleged ties between the company and the Russian government. As a computer security provider, Kaspersky has access to every file on each device it is installed on. If this information was provided to the Russian government, it would be a matter of national security. Recently, the U.S. Congress was pushing legislation for a ban of Kaspersky Labs on military devices. Now, CyberScoop reports,
“The FBI’s goal is to have U.S. firms push Kaspersky out of their systems as soon as possible or refrain from using them in new products or other efforts.”
However, a major issue has been brought to light. Nearly half of Kaspersky’s 400 million users have no idea it is even on their devices. This is because of the ability to integrate the security program into other security packages, without using the actual company’s name.
If your business is using Kaspersky, perhaps you should heed the FBI’s warning. It is time to remove the Russian-based security solution from your devices and replace it with another security solution. A security solution that includes default-deny, also known as application whitelisting, is the best replacement. If you are uncertain if your security program includes Kaspersky, reach out to your managed service provider, value-added reseller, or the primary decision maker within the IT department, for confirmation.
