![]() ![]() ![]() Interpol, an international police organization based in France, signed an agreement to further its cooperation with Kaspersky on Oct. ![]() "I still assess the risk as low for most people, but I certainly wouldn't put it on any machine I cared about," Williams said. Given recent reports, people with sensitive data might want to think twice about installing it. But there are a handful of antivirus software companies out there that aren't facing national scrutiny. Kaspersky still does its job well for most people, blocking ransomware, trojans and malware from your devices. On AV-Comparatives' monthly ranking from September, only Bitdefender, F-Secure, Panda, Tencent and Trend Micro blocked as many attacks as Kaspersky did. Again, you're much better off using Kaspersky's antivirus software than nothing at all.Īnd if you do get rid of Kaspersky, don't move to an antivirus tool that's not ranked as high. If you do uninstall Kaspersky's software, make sure you still have some kind of protection on your device. For the average person, there's no immediate danger, but it's worth considering. If you believe Russian spies have any reason to target you, yes. "The people this applies to are those who might be a target of a foreign government." So should I get rid of Kaspersky? "Your average person is probably pretty boring to the Russian government," said Jake Williams, founder of Rendition Security. While stores have removed Kaspersky from their inventories, if you're the type of person who buys antivirus software off a shelf, you're probably not someone who needs to worry about Russian hackers, security experts said. Nation-state hackers are acting in their country's interests, and that means launching attacks on targets with sensitive data, like NSA employees. The average person will likely never have to worry about KGB agents rummaging through his or her family vacation photos, but it's a different story if you're a government official. The same way that James Bond doesn't go around shooting everybody in the movies, international spies aren't exactly out to search for every single person's secrets. In September, the popular CCleaner software became part of a cyberattack after hackers quietly inserted codes to turn the cleaning program into malware. Last year, a Google researcher found security flaws with the antivirus software Symantec, which allowed potential hackers to run viruses without permission. "Why use a sledgehammer when you can just open the door?"īut antivirus tools aren't foolproof. "Compromising or pressuring a major AV vendor to steal data en masse is noisy, blatant," Carhart said. Often, cybercriminals will use simpler means to steal data, like getting victims to install malware disguised in an email. "The good ones know this and have exceptional security staff to mitigate." "AV companies will always be a high-profile target for adversaries for numerous reasons," said Lesley Carhart, a digital forensics expert. For a hacker looking for sensitive secrets, an antivirus program is one of the most valuable tools. It seems contradictory that software designed to block cyberattacks could itself be hacked, but antivirus tools are prime targets.Īntivirus scanners are designed to search through every file on your device and to block any threats. In 2015, the antivirus scanner picked up the NSA's hacking tools, which landed in the Kremlin's hands, according to the report. ![]() 5 that Russians had used Kaspersky's software to steal NSA secrets from a staffer's home laptop. The company's founder, Eugene Kaspersky, on multiple occasions has denied any connections to the Russian government, but Capitol Hill doesn't seem to be buying it. Stores like Best Buy, Office Depot and Staples followed suit and removed Kaspersky's software from their shelves. 13, the Department of Homeland Security ordered all federal agencies to remove Kaspersky software from their computer systems. In September, the Senate passed a bill banning Kaspersky software from all federal computers as part of the annual defense budget. "The strong ties between Kaspersky Lab and the Kremlin are alarming and well-documented." What has the US government done? Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat from New Hampshire, said in a statement. "The case against Kaspersky Lab is overwhelming," Sen. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |