Kaspersky Lab is willing to go to extreme lengths to reassure the U.S. government about the security of its products:
Eugene Kaspersky is willing to turn over computer code to United States authorities to prove that his company's security products have not been compromised by the Russian government, The Associated Press reported early Sunday.
"If the United States needs, we can disclose the source code," said the creator of beleaguered Moscow-based computer security company Kaspersky Lab in an interview with the AP.
"Anything I can do to prove that we don't behave maliciously I will do it."
Also at Neowin.
In Worrisome Move, Kaspersky Agrees to Turn Over Source Code to US Government
Over the last couple of weeks, there's been a disturbing trend of governments demanding that private tech companies share their source code if they want to do business. Now, the US government is giving the same ultimatum and it's getting what it wants.
On Sunday, the CEO of security firm Kaspersky Labs, Eugene Kaspersky, told the Associated Press that he's willing to show the US government his company's source code. "Anything I can do to prove that we don't behave maliciously I will do it," Kaspersky said while insisting that he's open to testifying before Congress as well.
The company's willingness to share its source code comes after a proposal was put forth in the Senate that "prohibits the [Defense Department] from using software platforms developed by Kaspersky Lab." It goes on to say, "The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that any network connection between ... the Department of Defense and a department or agency of the United States Government that is using or hosting on its networks a software platform [associated with Kaspersky Lab] is immediately severed."
Jeanne Shaheen, a New Hampshire Democrat tells ABC News, that there is "a consensus in Congress and among administration officials that Kaspersky Lab cannot be trusted to protect critical infrastructure." The fears follow years of suspicion from the FBI that Kaspersky Labs is too close to the Russian government. The company is based in Russia but has worked with both Moscow and the FBI in the past, often serving as a go-between to help the two governments cooperate. "As a private company, Kaspersky Lab has no ties to any government, and the company has never helped, nor will help, any government in the world with its cyberespionage efforts," an official statement from Kaspersky Labs reads.
Source: Gizmodo
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 04 2017, @08:45AM (6 children)
In reading about our red scares in text books it always feels like some distant world. How could an entire country become so unjustly paranoid and throw out all notions of innocent until proven guilty?
It feels as though we're now going down what must have already happened in the past. Notions of innocent until proven guilty are gradually being replaced with swinging wild allegations and just hoping something will stick. And invariably something will stick if only because of the 6 degrees of separation effect. And that coincidence is in turned used to justify the allegations and support even more extreme allegations and investigations. We're now reaching the point that parties, who I will presume are innocent as they most certainly have not been proven guilty, are now having to volunteer to lay themselves bare in front of congress just to try reclaim the presumption of innocence that's been tossed aside for no apparent reason other than paranoia and politics.
It's kind of terrifying how gradual and 'normal' this all feels. Red scares, literal witch hunts, the inquisition, and so on. I wonder... did they all feel similarly natural? At this point I'd be more willing to have The Forbin Project making decisions than humans. We're too incapable of sticking to our ethical guidelines when going against them feels so right and so natural.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by lx on Tuesday July 04 2017, @09:12AM (1 child)
If you haven't noticed, the scare has been underway for a long time now. It is sad to see all Russians lumped in with the criminals around Putin.
On the other hand, looking in from outside I often find it difficult to distinguish between Americans and the shit your government pulls. [reuters.com] (Random recent example. The efforts under Dronemaster Barry were pretty bad as well)
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 04 2017, @04:41PM
There is 48+ percent of Americans who AREN'T any different from the policy America is pushing those years.
The only real difference is which ~48 percent it is.
It wasn't until this past election that I realized how true it was/had become in America. But the country has basically devolved into two giant sports teams screaming epithets at each other while trying to undo the other's policies, with no actual attention paid to what is best for America domestically and/or what is best for America internationally, both in providing continued bilateral international trade, as well as sufficient political capital to stay on cool to friendly terms with most of the international community.
War may be good for the arms business, but it is lousy for sustained and interconnected economic growth between otherwise culturally opposed countries.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 04 2017, @09:32AM
the media does not mean the whole country for fuck sake. the MSM just has a hardon for ratings, nothing more. the fact that this baseless nonsense is being talked about constantly without a single shred of fucking evidence outside of he-said-she-said should tell you all you need to know.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 04 2017, @06:27PM (1 child)
The real problem is that this is proprietary software and no one should trust it anyway. If they can't even be bothered to give their users freedom, then they are worthless and abusive.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 05 2017, @04:27PM
yeah, the dumb whores in washington should be requiring source from all companies that want to sell software to tax payers. singling out kaspersky, under false pretenses, is disgustingly stupid. i've seen many indications in the past that, for slaveware peddlers, they at least try to do what they say they do (attempting to protect slaveOS).
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Wednesday July 05 2017, @03:22AM
Unjustly??
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3qkf3bajd4 [youtube.com]
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.