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US Senators Seek Military Ban on Kaspersky Lab Products Amid FBI Probe (reuters.com)

An anonymous reader shares a report: U.S. senators sought on Wednesday to ban Moscow-based cyber security firm Kaspersky Lab's products from use by the military because of fears the company is vulnerable to "Russian government influence," a day after the FBI interviewed several of its U.S. employees as part of a probe into its operations. Federal Bureau of Investigation agents visited the homes of Kaspersky employees late on Tuesday in multiple U.S. cities, although no search warrants were served, according to two sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the FBI probe. Kaspersky Lab confirmed in a statement on Wednesday that FBI agents have had "brief interactions" with some of its U.S. employees, discussions that the company described as "due diligence" chats. The interviews were followed on Wednesday by the release of a defense spending policy bill passed by the Senate Armed Services Committee, which would prohibit the U.S. Defense Department from using Kaspersky software platforms because the company "might be vulnerable to Russian government influence," according to a summary of the legislation.

7 of 96 comments (clear)

  1. wait... by Frederic54 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    the US military is using russian based software? you kidding me?

    --
    "Science will win because it works." - Stephen Hawking
  2. Guilt by being Russian. by SYSS+Mouse · · Score: 4, Insightful

    That's all.

  3. Better idea. by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Why not just cut to the heart of the issue and impose a ban on Microsoft products?

    --
    Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
  4. Re:Russia, the saga continues... by jellomizer · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Other countries have the right to not purchase US products if they are afraid that it would be used against their own personal benefit.

    Countries like Russia with their 3 letter agencies, seems be near a lot missing people who seemed to happen to say something that they don't like.

    While in America, we can bitch and complain about anything, including the President. Without fear of disappearing the next day.

    For the most part and the US isn't at all perfect at it, the US 3 Letter Agencies are actually focused on National Security, not keeping the current political party in good standings.

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    If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
  5. Re:Russia, the saga continues... by MightyMartian · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Because people in the West have it so good, relative to much of the rest of the world, I think that we have a tendency towards absurd hypercriticalness and outright hyperbole. I'm not saying the three letter agencies and their equivalents in other Western countries don't abuse their powers, and certainly the stores, for instance, of J. Edgar Hoover show us how it's important that there be oversight over the conduct of such agencies. But all in all, you're right. Imagine holding a big protest against the leadership in, say, China. In Thailand you can go to jail for insulting the King.

    There's always been a strong non-comformist streak in the United States, and it's right in its DNA with the English Non-conformists heading across the Atlantic to get away from what they viewed as the tyrannical interference of the English Crown. And that's a healthy thing... to a point, but more and more I'm seeing paranoia and conspiracy thinking moving into the normal discourse, to the point where when anything happens, many just leap over all the mundane explanations immediately to "the government is out to get us!" I'll admit on occasion even I fall into the trap. It's easy to do, because the human brain seems wired to some extent to commit Fundamental Attribution Errors, and from there it's a short jump to confirmation bias and all the fallacious errors that lead even the best of us at times into accepting absurd explanations of the conduct of others.

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    The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
  6. This is the best endorsement for using Kaspersky by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    This is the best endorsement for using Kaspersky ie. the US government is/was using them despite their being Russian. Also, lets be real...everyone already knows they are the best but this just about confirms it.

     

  7. Re:Embrace it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I am using operating system from USA, antivirus from Russia and backup program from China. This way I have achieved multiple, geographically diverse backups for all my important data. I still need to test the recovery process though.

    Your USA operating system was likely written in India as an added diversity bonus.