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Kaspersky Lab Banned From Advertising on Twitter Because of Its Alleged Ties With Russian Intelligence Agencies (cyberscoop.com)

Posted by msmash on from the tussle-continues dept.

An anonymous reader shares a report: Russian cybersecurity company Kaspersky Lab has been banned from advertising on Twitter due to its allegedly close and active ties between the company and Russian intelligence agencies, according to the social network. The ban is the latest blow in an ongoing saga for Kaspersky, which includes two ongoing legal battles with the U.S. government. Eugene Kaspersky, CEO of Kaspersky Lab, took to Twitter on Friday to condemn the ban. A Twitter spokesperson reiterated that the "decision is based on our determination that Kaspersky Lab operates using a business model that inherently conflicts with acceptable Twitter Ads business practices."

23 of 45 comments (clear)

  1. What, they're profitable? by xxxJonBoyxxx · · Score: 4, Informative

    >> Kaspersky Lab operates using a business model that inherently conflicts with acceptable Twitter Ads business practices

    What, they're profitable? (ducks)

    1. Re:What, they're profitable? by Humbubba · · Score: 1
      Fear of Kaspersky Lab's alleged ties to Russian Intelligence has raised the FUD* in me. If this is fake news, kudos to whoever for making malware that this antivirus company can't protect itself from.

      *FUD - Fear, Uncertainity and Doubt.

  2. If you're a Russian company ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If you're a Russian company, located in Russia, it would be almost impossible to believe you're not complicit with the Russian government.

    Likewise, if you're an American company, located in the US, it would also be impossible to believe you're not complicit with the American government.

    Because both governments have shown they're more than willing to engage/force tech companies to play ball.

    Kaspersky may well be completely above board, but it's impossible to verify that.

    1. Re:If you're a Russian company ... by oh_my_080980980 · · Score: 1

      Ah guilty until proven innocent...

    2. Re: If you're a Russian company ... by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 1

      I want Twitter to state that they're not under any NSL's currently.

      --
      My God, it's Full of Source!
      OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
    3. Re:If you're a Russian company ... by jarkus4 · · Score: 2

      Nope: guilty forever as you cant prove that something does not exist.

    4. Re: If you're a Russian company ... by RandomFactor · · Score: 1

      I want Twitter to state that they're not under any NSL's currently.

      Chances of Twitter not being under multiple NSLs approaches zero, so I doubt they'll ever make such a statement truthfully. (The ambiguous reference works either way.)

      --
      --- Mercutio was right.
  3. The way I see it... by admin7087 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Probably they have ties with Russian intelligence agencies, but they also seem to have pissed off American intelligence agencies by detecting their spyware or not "collaborating" with them...

    1. Re:The way I see it... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      they also seem to have pissed off American intelligence agencies by detecting their spyware or not "collaborating" with them...

      Bingo! And that is precisely why I use Kaspersky software. They simply must be better for me if they have western officials in such a lather.

      Makes me wonder what's really happening with Symantec, McAfee, Trend, etc.

    2. Re:The way I see it... by skids · · Score: 1

      And that is precisely why I use Kaspersky software.

      Something something frying pan something fire something.... dammit... now I want bacon!

      --
      Someone had to do it.
    3. Re:The way I see it... by tinkerton · · Score: 1

      It's a worthy goal to 'baconify' discussion threads so that as many people as possible end up thinking about bacon.

    4. Re:The way I see it... by AHuxley · · Score: 1

      1+ for why I use Kaspersky. Support the brands that help the world find and understand https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
      Stuxnet
      Flame
      Equation Group https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
      Android cyber-espionage by 60 governments.

      --
      Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
  4. A sudden disturbance in the twitterverse by RandomFactor · · Score: 3, Insightful

    As if millions of voices on social media censored without obvious cause or recourse cried out in sympathy and were suddenly silenced.

    "Kaspersky Lab considers this action â" an advertising ban without any valid reasoning or evidence of misconductâ" as being contradictory to Twitterâ(TM)s principles for freedom of expression. Therefore, the company is calling on Twitter to provide a more specific and detailed explanation of its decision,â

    --
    --- Mercutio was right.
  5. Exactly. That's why you should use... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    ...an AV that is not beholden to any government, whether Russian, American, etc. They can all be strong armed by their government into compromising your security. The solution?

    Open source AV. The Founding Fathers would have used this.

    That is all.

    1. Re: Exactly. That's why you should use... by xxxJonBoyxxx · · Score: 1

      Plus invaded the country that wrote the viruses, knocked them back to the stone age, and hauled their trophies home. (See "Barbary Pirates", etc.) So yes, FF/OS FTW.

    2. Re:Exactly. That's why you should use... by ckatko · · Score: 1

      > The Founding Fathers would have used this.

      That's an odd plug.

    3. Re:Exactly. That's why you should use... by Riceballsan · · Score: 2

      While I can agree with you... from what I've heard clamAV isn't anywhere near ready to be a main use AV, We really do need a good player in that field

    4. Re:Exactly. That's why you should use... by adri · · Score: 1

      wait, still? how long has it been?

  6. What Exactly Have they Done? by i_ate_god · · Score: 2

    I've seen a lot of controversy surrounding this company, but I have yet to see anything conclusive that says they relaying information back to Russian authorities.

    --
    I'm god, but it's a bit of a drag really...
    1. Re:What Exactly Have they Done? by AHuxley · · Score: 1

      The ability to see nation created malware and report on it in near real time.
      That needs a lot of users in the USA, Canada, the UK, Russia, Japan, the EU as way of detecting regional differences in real time.
      What the US, UK gov will use globally as malware but trust in their own nations would stand out.
      The regional collect it all efforts.
      What gov bailed malware, network patterns is not out in the wild in the USA, 5 eye nations then becomes what stands out globally.
      Understanding the internet, the movement of malware results by governments is not something the NSA, GCHQ wants to emerge as a real time protective product for consumers world wide.

      --
      Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
  7. US keeps advertising Kaspersky products by ffkom · · Score: 1

    to users everywhere outside of the US. Because the only plausible reason why Kaspersky is so massively attacked by the US is that it competes with the NSA trojans sold by US companies. Given the historically experienced economic impact of US espionage across the globe, I will probably prefer to be spyed upon by Russia or China.

  8. Popcorn Time! by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

    Slashdot will go Nucking fiuts over this. Tequila shots with ya popcorn anyone?

    --
    The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
  9. The hell with Twitter by AndyKron · · Score: 1

    Why would anybody waste their time on that censored piece of crap Twitter?