Kaspersky Lab Latest News, Rumors: FBI Meeting Companies to Warn Them About Apps Made by Antivirus Company?
Kaspersky Lab is still locked in a dispute with the United States government over their alleged involvement with the Russian government when reports surfaced that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has allegedly made a move which could affect the antivirus company's bottom line.
These reports come while Kaspersky is still negotiating with the U.S. government, even offering to open up its source code to scrutiny to clear the company's name. It looks like the FBI, however, is intent on pushing the private sector to stay away from Kaspersky apps, if sources are to be believed.
A few current and former senior U.S officials have reportedly revealed that the bureau has been meeting with private sector companies to share with them the threats that Kaspersky Lab poses to U.S. national security, according to their intelligence.
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FBI is moving to have U.S. firms be rid of all Kaspersky apps in their company systems, and stay away from them for future projects or new products, according to officials as reported by Cyberscoop. The bureau has been conducting these briefings since the start of the year, according to the report.
FBI's counterintelligence has been prioritizing companies involved in the energy sector, with industrial, supervisory and data acquisition firms also high up on their priority list.
So far, the bureau's efforts have reportedly been met with varying degrees of cooperation. Generally, companies in the energy sector were allegedly more cooperative compared to the traditional tech giants. These tech firms tend to view the FBI report with some hesitation, according to the report.
Kaspersky Lab reached out to Cyberscoop to comment on these alleged meetings. "If these briefings are actually occurring, it's extremely disappointing that a government agency would take such actions against a law-abiding and ethical company like Kaspersky Lab," a company representative said, echoing a similar statement made last month, according to Engadget.
"The company doesn't have inappropriate ties with any government," the Kaspersky Lab spokesperson added, further stating that no credible evidence has been brought up for the "false allegations" made against the company.
