US Government Still Installing Russian Software on Its PCs

[HAB911]

The intelligence community is aghast, but the rest of the federal government keeping buying anti-virus tools from Moscow-based Kaspersky.

Congressional concern is climbing—not for the first time—about government agencies using an anti-virus tool made by the respected but Russia-based security firm Kaspersky Lab. The dustup is a case study in why securing government systems is devilishly complicated.

The fracas comes as congressional Democrats are squaring off against President Donald Trump over possible collusion between Russian intelligence agencies and members of his campaign. It also follows a presidential campaign upended by a Russian government influence operation and amid a deluge of leaks from U.S. intelligence agencies.

The competing priorities of security, intelligence, diplomacy and budget constraints play a role in the melee. So, too, do the rival power centers of a government that’s struggled for years, often unsuccessfully, to manage cybersecurity and technology buying in a unified way.

http://www.defenseone.com/technology/2017/06/us-government-still-installing-russian-software-its-pcs/138708/?oref=DefenseOneTCO&utm_content=buffere853d&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

[Chasstev365]

1. Are you fucking kidding me?

[underpants]

5. It's like a ...Trojan horse... or something.

[shraby]

2. I would think the government has enough funds to develop their own security software.

[underpants]

4. Tech in the Federal Govt. is horrible

It's the common theme of stories over the last few years no one talks about.

Email systems are so bad that Sec of States (Powell-Rice-Hillary) use their own servers or gmail AND the IRS can only store emails for 6 months.

The IRS keeps return records on magnet tape.

Mnuchin actually mentioned upgrading tech at the IRS during his confirmation to which Sen. Hatch said he supported. Uh huh.

Data breach of Fed Employees records.

Etc.

There's even a mainframe in use at Secret Service that dates back to when "War Games" was in theaters.

[HipChick]

6. ..and hence the heavy use of contractors in this area

[MineralMan]

3. Kaspersky Anti-Virus is very good

at destroying viruses and malware that compete with Kaspersky's own viruses and malware. I would never install it on any of my equipment. Never have. Never would.

So, if the US Government is still using it, I have to wonder what the heck they're thinking, really.

[dalton99a]

7. Kaspersky has close ties to Russian military and intelligence officials:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-19/cybersecurity-kaspersky-has-close-ties-to-russian-spies

The Company Securing Your Internet Has Close Ties to Russian Spies
Kaspersky Lab has published reports on alleged electronic espionage by the U.S., Israel, and the U.K.—but hasn't looked as aggressively at Russia
by Carol Matlack, Michael Riley, and Jordan Robertson

Kaspersky Lab sells security software, including antivirus programs recommended by big-box stores and other U.S. PC retailers. The Moscow-based company ranks sixth in revenue among security-software makers, taking in $667 million in 2013, and is a favorite among Best Buy’s Geek Squad technicians and reviewers on Amazon.com. Founder and Chief Executive Officer Eugene Kaspersky was educated at a KGB-sponsored cryptography institute, then worked for Russian military intelligence, and in 2007, one of the company’s Japanese ad campaigns used the slogan “A Specialist in Cryptography from KGB.” The sales tactic, a local partner’s idea, was “quickly removed by headquarters,” according to Kaspersky Lab, as the company recruited senior managers in the U.S. and Europe to expand its business and readied an initial public offering with a U.S. investment firm.

In 2012, however, Kaspersky Lab abruptly changed course. Since then, high-level managers have left or been fired, their jobs often filled by people with closer ties to Russia’s military or intelligence services. Some of these people actively aid criminal investigations by the FSB, the KGB’s successor, using data from some of the 400 million customers who rely on Kaspersky Lab’s software, say six current and former employees who declined to discuss the matter publicly because they feared reprisals. This closeness starts at the top: Unless Kaspersky is traveling, he rarely misses a weekly banya (sauna) night with a group of about 5 to 10 that usually includes Russian intelligence officials. Kaspersky says in an interview that the group saunas are purely social: “When I go to banya, they’re friends.”

Kaspersky says government officials can’t associate his company’s data with individual customers and that he hasn’t had to worry about increased pressure to demonstrate loyalty to Vladimir Putin. “I’m not the right person to talk about Russian realities, because I live in cyberspace,” he says.

Nonetheless, while Kaspersky Lab has published a series of reports that examined alleged electronic espionage by the U.S., Israel, and the U.K., the company hasn’t pursued alleged Russian operations with the same vigor. In February, Kaspersky Lab researchers released a remarkably detailed report about the tactics of a hacker collective known as the Equation Group, which has targeted Russia, Iran, and Pakistan, and which cybersecurity analysts believe to be a cover for the U.S. National Security Agency. Kaspersky Lab hasn’t issued a similar report about Russia’s links to sophisticated spyware known as Sofacy, which has attacked NATO and foreign ministries in Eastern Europe. Sofacy was reported on last fall by U.S. cybersecurity company FireEye.