Security concerns over Russian-made Kaspersky anti-virus software

It seems our anti-virus cybersecurity protection software may apparently be putting us at risk. This juxtaposition is reportedly shared by the British Government who will avoid using the Russian-made Kaspersky anti-virus software over national security concerns.

The software works by accessing a lot of information; scanning it all for malicious coding. It’s this access to large amounts of information that is apparently worrying the British government.

Based in Moscow, Kaspersky lab is the largest Russian software agency operating in the U.K. – a fact that appears to make the British Government sweat a little under the collar. Ciaran Martin, Director of the U.K. National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), believes Russia has intentions to, “target U.S central Government and the U.K.’s critical national infrastructure.”

Martin has written to Whitehall chiefs, recommending that Russian software shouldn’t be used in systems for dealing with confidential information related to national security. He also labelled Russia as a, “highly capable cyber threat actor“, which uses cyberspace for, “espionage, disruption and influence operations.”

The security director has been engaging with Kaspersky Lab to, “develop a framework that we and others can independently verify”; essentially asking the Russian software company to prove it can be trusted.

To be fair though, instead of infiltrating Government systems through sneaky software hidden in anti-virus programs, perhaps the Russians can just look around residential streets of London for confidential information that could compromise state security. Only a couple of months ago, an unencrypted USB stick was found in West London containing masses of secret information about our largest airport’s security, including secret tunnels underneath the airport and anti-terrorism staff’s rotor schedule!

Russia has been blamed for multiple ‘state-sponsored’ hacks as well as allegedly tampering with the presidential election in America that saw unlikely candidate Donald Trump elected as the U.S.’s Head of State. Kaspersky Lab has had to fight a lot of criticism and accusations from Americans after its competitors launched marketing campaigns to raise suspicions over the Russian cyber-securities ties with its homeland.

CEO of Kaspersky Lab, Eugene Kaspersky, is keen to deny any ties to the Russian government and any snooping they’re accused of. The Russian cybersecurity expert went as far as to say he would leave Russia if he was ever asked by his homeland to compromise his business by handing over information.

Kaspersky admitted that his company had a “strong relationship” with the Russian cyber police, but denied engaging in any form of espionage. He said that spying for the Kremlin, “would simply kill our business”.

The CEO also denied rumours that the Russian Federal Security Service had compromised his company’s network.

Cybersecurity by Kaspersky Lab is widely used by private individuals and businesses all over the world. The U.K. Security Director’s recent remarks could influence people’s decision to install the security software, especially in light of all the recent data breaches that have swept the modern world. Barclays bank has reportedly already stopped offering free Kaspersky software to its customers as a precautionary measure.