Desk Report
Publish: 17 Mar 2022, 04:04 pm
Kaspersky logo || Photo: Collected
Germany's cyber-security authority has warned against using
anti-virus software from Russian headquartered company Kaspersky.
The Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) issued the
statement in light of the conflict in Ukraine.
Russian information-technology businesses could be spied on
or forced to launch cyber-attacks, it said.
Kaspersky told BBC News the warning had been "made on
political grounds" and it had no ties to the Russian government.
'Offensive operations'
The BSI made no allegation of current problems with
Kaspersky's products but said the conflict in Ukraine and Russian threats
against the European Union, NATO and Germany brought with them the risk of
cyber-attacks.
"A Russian IT manufacturer can carry out offensive
operations itself, be forced against its will to attack target systems, or be
spied on as a victim of a cyber-operation without its knowledge or as a tool
for attacks against its own customers," the warning said.
The BSI recommends Kaspersky anti-virus products are
replaced with alternatives - but carefully, to avoid weakening defences.
In 2017, President Donald Trump signed legislation banning
Kaspersky software's use within the US government.
The same year, UK's National Cyber Security Centre announced
it would write to all government departments, warning against using Kaspersky
products for systems related to national security.
'Resolving conflicts'
Following the BSI's warning, Eintracht Frankfurt football
club spokesman Axel Hellmann told Bloomberg: "We have notified Kaspersky
management that we are terminating [our] sponsorship agreement effective
immediately.
"We very much regret the development."
Kaspersky said it would seek clarification from the BSI on
its decision, which was "not based on a technical assessment of Kaspersky
products", and how to address its concerns.
As a private global cyber-security company it "does not
have any ties to the Russian or any other government".
Its data-processing infrastructure had been relocated to
Switzerland in 2018
And "the security and integrity of our data services
and engineering practices have been confirmed by independent third-party
assessments".
"We believe that peaceful dialogue is the only possible
instrument for resolving conflicts," it said.
"War isn't good for anyone."
Similar remarks by founder Eugene Kaspersky two weeks ago attracted strong criticism.
"Better to have stayed silent than to have called an
invasion a 'situation' that requires a 'compromise'," Rik Ferguson, of
rival cyber-security company TrendMicro, tweeted._BBC
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Topic : Kaspersky Anti-virus software Russia Germany
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