Israeli spies found Russians using Kaspersky for hacks

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Gingerbread Man
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Israeli spies found Russians using Kaspersky for hacks

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Kaspersky: We uploaded US documents but quickly deleted them
October 25, 2017
by Raphael Satter


[...]

But information security experts puzzling over the hints dropped by anonymous government officials are still wondering at whether Kaspersky is suspected of deliberately hunting for confidential data or was merely doing its job by sniffing out suspicious files.

[...]

Kaspersky's account still has some gaps. For example, why not alert American authorities to what happened? The newspaper reports alleged that the U.S. learned that Kaspersky had acquired the NSA's tools via an Israeli spying operation.

Kaspersky declined to say whether he had ever alerted U.S. authorities to the incident.

"Do you really think that I want to see in the news that I tried to contact the NSA to report this case?" he said at one point. "Definitely I don't want to see that in the news."

So did he alert the NSA to the incident or not?

"I'm afraid I can't answer the question," he said.

[...]

—————

Israeli spies found Russians using Kaspersky software for hacks: media
October 11, 2017
Reporting by Eric Walsh; editing by Grant McCool


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Israeli intelligence officials spying on Russian government hackers found they were using Kaspersky Lab antivirus software that is also used by 400 million people globally, including U.S. government agencies, according to media reports on Tuesday.

The Israeli officials who had hacked into Kaspersky’s network over two years ago then warned their U.S. counterparts of the Russian intrusion, said The New York Times, which first reported the story. nyti.ms/2yev8Vj

That led to a decision in Washington only last month to order Kaspersky software removed from government computers.

The Washington Post also reported on Tuesday that the Israeli spies had also found in Kaspersky's network hacking tools that could only have come from the U.S. National Security Agency. wapo.st/2i2clXa

After an investigation, the NSA found that those tools were in possession of the Russian government, the Post said.

[…]

Eugene Kaspersky, the company’s co-founder and chief executive, has repeatedly denied charges his company conducts espionage on behalf of the Russian government.

[…]
Last edited by Gingerbread Man on October 25th, 2017, 11:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Omega X
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Re: Israeli spies found Russians using Kaspersky for hacks

Post by Omega X »

Poor Kapersky. They were used as a backdoor and basically just got shut out of the U.S.. Stores are taking down Kapersky products and the Gov't just basically banned those products from ALL of their systems.
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Re: Israeli spies found Russians using Kaspersky for hacks

Post by morat »

Germany’s intelligence agencies say they’ve found “no evidence” to suggest these reports are true.

http://www.dw.com/en/a-40915126
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Grumpus
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Re: Israeli spies found Russians using Kaspersky for hacks

Post by Grumpus »

Some of the details in these articles would make it seem plausible if not a consideration.
Anonymous report
againski but newer

It seems to me where there's smoke there's fire and it's disappointing to see Kaspersky in this predicament.
It would also seem to raise questions about how really good is any security.
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GHM113
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Re: Using Kaspersky? Time to change ASAP!

Post by GHM113 »

I've always been 100% sure russian government uses Kaspersky as a surveillance tool. Unfortunately, I can't get rid of AV due to mental problems. I am also surprised american government used Kaspersky, why not to use Norton/Symantec/McAfee instead?
Sorry for my poor English.
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Re: Using Kaspersky? Time to change ASAP!

Post by Virtual_ManPL »

Ups, I don't know how I missed Israeli spies found Russians using Kaspersky for hacks thread ](*,)
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sciguyryan
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Re: Using Kaspersky? Time to change ASAP!

Post by sciguyryan »

ESET works a treat if you're looking for recommendations. I did test BitDefender a while back but it kept causing me problems so I had to take it out.
Cheers!

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James
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Re: Israeli spies found Russians using Kaspersky for hacks

Post by James »

merged newer thread into this one.
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Gingerbread Man
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Re: Israeli spies found Russians using Kaspersky for hacks

Post by Gingerbread Man »

I've edited the original post with an new article on the topic:
Kaspersky: We uploaded US documents but quickly deleted them
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Grumpus
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Re: Israeli spies found Russians using Kaspersky for hacks

Post by Grumpus »

Seems to me it's another case of blaming the hammer for hitting your thumb instead of bad aim on the part of a user.
Similar article Keygen Backdoor
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Omega X
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Re: Using Kaspersky? Time to change ASAP!

Post by Omega X »

sciguyryan wrote:ESET works a treat if you're looking for recommendations. I did test BitDefender a while back but it kept causing me problems so I had to take it out.
I had a similar experience with BitDefender. Its really inflexible/unstable and got in the way. I heard stories about ESET, not all good. I wanted to try FSecure but I know nothing about that company.
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