Amid warnings about Russian cyber attacks, on March 25, 2022 the FCC added a Kaspersky Warning to its security threat list.
FCC puts Kaspersky on security threat list, says it poses “unacceptable risk” | Ars Technica
This should come as no surprise to anyone, since in December of 2017, President Trump signed a ban on Kaspersky software on US Government systems. Trump signs into law U.S. government ban on Kaspersky Lab software | Reuters
Kaspersky Warning – we made sure it wasn’t running on any client systems back in 2017
For some very interesting reading, check out this article Kaspersky reportedly modified its AV to help Russia steal NSA secrets | Ars Technica which gives the reasoning behind the 2017 decision. In a nutshell, there is either proof or high suspicion that Russian intelligence used Kaspersky software to look for classified info on the computers running it.
Well, suspicion is enough for us – we ran a scan of managed client computers and found no Kaspersky. If we had, it would have been removed in 2017. All software you run carries a risk and requires your trust in the software vendor. This is especially true with the actual security software you rely on.
There are plenty of other products to choose from. Great Lakes Tech Services recommends Webroot currently, although SentinelOne is under evaluation and may become our product of choice.
NOTE: If you are using Kaspersky for a personal (vs. business) computer, we strongly recommend replacing it immediately.
____
We welcome your comments, questions and suggestions. Please contact us with questions. Best to call, email or visit our site for the best response. We do invite you to engage with us on social media (just not for immediate needs).
As always, if you like, you will find us on the following social media sites, among many others:
Facebook
LinkedIn
Twitter