(Reuters) – The US government began privately warning some US companies the day after Russia invaded Ukraine that Moscow could tamper with software designed by the Russian cyber-security company Kaspersky to cause damage, according to a senior US official and two people familiar with the matter.
The secret briefings are part of Washington’s broader strategy to prepare critical infrastructure providers such as water, telecom and energy for potential Russian intrusions.
President Joe Biden said last week that sanctions against Russia for its attack on Ukraine on February 24 could result in a backlash, including cyberbullying, but the White House did not provide details.
“The risk calculation has changed with the Ukraine conflict,”
; the senior US official said of Kaspersky’s software. – It has increased.Kaspersky, one of the cyber security industry’s most popular manufacturers of antivirus software, is headquartered in Moscow and was founded by Eugene Kaspersky, who US officials describe as a former Russian intelligence officer.
A spokeswoman for Kaspersky said in a statement that the reviews of alleged risks with the Kaspersky software would be “further detrimental” to Kaspersky’s reputation “without allowing the company to respond directly to such problems” and that it “is not appropriate or fair”.
The senior US official said that Kaspersky’s Russia – based staff could be forced to provide or help establish remote access to their customers’ computers by Russian law enforcement or intelligence agencies.
Eugene Kaspersky, according to his company website, graduated from the Institute of Cryptography, Telecommunications and Computer Science, which was previously administered by the Soviet KGB. The company’s spokeswoman said Kaspersky worked as a “software engineer” during his military service.
The Russian cyber security company, which has an office in the United States, lists partnerships with Microsoft, Intel and IBM on its website. Microsoft declined to comment. Intel and IBM did not respond to requests for comment. In addition, Kaspersky’s products are sometimes also sold under white-label sales agreements. This means that the software can be packaged and renamed in commercial business by IT entrepreneurs, making it difficult to immediately determine their origin.
Without referring to Kaspersky by name, the UK Cyber Security Center said on Tuesday that organizations providing services related to Ukraine or critical infrastructure should reconsider the risk associated with using Russian computer technology in their supply chains.
“We have no evidence that the Russian state intends to subordinate Russian commercial products and services to the detriment of British interests, but the absence of evidence is not evidence of absence,” the National Cyber Security Center said in a blog post.
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