Serious Discussion No More Kaspersky in US !!!

[pvsurfer]

https://www.reuters.com/technology/biden-ban-us-sales-kaspersky-software-over-ties-russia-source-says-2024-06-20/

 

[Bot]

Thanks for sharing the link. It seems the US government is concerned about potential ties between Kaspersky and Russia. This could have significant implications for users and businesses relying on Kaspersky's software.

 

[cofer123]

How much of Kaspersky's market share does the US even represent?

 

[Sammo]

Does this ban the sale to individuals as well?

 

[Marko :)]

Good. Now I wish EU would do the same.

 

[Jonny Quest]

Does this ban the sale to individuals as well?

I couldn't find that either, but it only sounds like it's about businesses? But that ban has been in force for awhile, if I'm remembering correctly. So I'm not sure the US Kaspersky home user online store will be up and running or shut down?

The new restrictions on inbound sales of Kaspersky software, which will also bar downloads of software updates, resales and licensing of the product, kick in on Sept. 29, 100 days after publication, to give businesses time to find alternatives. New U.S. business for Kaspersky will be blocked 30 days after the restrictions are announced.

Under the new rules, sellers and resellers who violate the restrictions will face fines from the Commerce Department. If someone willfully violates the prohibition, the Justice Department can bring a criminal case. Software users will not face legal penalties but will be strongly encouraged to stop using it.

 

[Szellem]

https://www.reuters.com/technology/biden-ban-us-sales-kaspersky-software-over-ties-russia-source-says-2024-06-20/

Yeah, we should do the same to America. Ban all goods and products in the EU that come from there. Roots.

 

[Arequire]

Does this ban the sale to individuals as well?

I couldn't find a definitive answer, but even if it doesn't, you're still not going to want to continue using it:

will also bar downloads of software updates

So at minimum any vulnerabilities found in Kaspersky software won't receive patches, and presumably won't receive signature updates anymore.

 

[kailyn]

Does this ban the sale to individuals as well?

It is supposed to be a complete ban of not just sales but also usage.

How it will be implemented and tracked is not yet determined. More importantly, how the US government will police it and punish those that violate the federal rule(s) also remains to be seen. The US agency that is designated oversight for the rule(s) will largely determine how things shall be done. For example the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of State, and the Department of Commerce all do things differently.

Should the ban designate certain actions - such as ignoring or circumventing the ban - as criminal actions then users and companies will get visits from law enforcement. Theoretically, the revealing of secrets because you are running banned Kaspersky that grabbed files from your system - you could be charged under National Security laws. Then nobody can help you.

What I am guessing is that the US and other nations will use their ability to lock, seize, block or otherwise impede banking\payment platforms\money flows for Kaspersky until it voluntarily just stops selling or making Kaspersky products available in the US or elsewhere.

The US and European governments have intelligence regarding Kaspersky that they are not sharing openly. Nations that enact such restrictions do not do it lightly. It's not just about politics. When import or product bans are made, there are rather large economic consequences which translates into a lot of their own citizens\people losing their jobs. A ban of Kaspersky in the US will result in thousands losing their jobs and that has a negative economic impact that ripples throughout an industry. The US and other governments are not taking actions against Russian, Chinese, and other companies based in different countries on a whim.

Eugene should just completely relocate his business. I think he tried but the Russian government required him to keep a presence within its borders. Even if he relocated HQ and all major operation centers to the US, I think there would still be unresolved security concerns. For one, most of this is not about the software products themselves. It is about all the people that work within the Kaspersky empire.

A lot of Eugene's leaders and most capable personnel are all ex-KGB, FSB or other intelligence and counterintelligence agencies. So it has been argued that it does not matter where he relocates the company, which is of course, accurate. Relocation alone will not prevent the things that are a security vulnerability.

This is all publicly discussed many times in a bunch of different places.

 

[cartaphilus]

Yeah, we should do the same to America. Ban all goods and products in the EU that come from there. Roots.

you are...you are banning all food that uses GMO.


Now my question is: The businesses that use Checkpoint Harmony w/ Kaspersky engine....will that also be blocked?

 

[cartaphilus]

It is supposed to be a complete ban of not just sales but also usage.

How it will be implemented and tracked is not yet determined. More importantly, how the US government will police it and punish those that violate the federal rule(s) also remains to be seen. The US agency that is designated oversight for the rule(s) will largely determine how things shall be done. For example the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of State, and the Department of Commerce all do things differently.

Should the ban designate certain actions - such as ignoring or circumventing the ban - as criminal actions then users and companies will get visits from law enforcement. Theoretically, the revealing of secrets because you are running banned Kaspersky that grabbed files from your system - you could be charged under National Security laws. Then nobody can help you.

What I am guessing is that the US and other nations will use their ability to lock, seize, block or otherwise impede banking\payment platforms\money flows for Kaspersky until it voluntarily just stops selling or making Kaspersky products available in the US or elsewhere.

The US and European governments have intelligence regarding Kaspersky that they are not sharing openly. Nations that enact such restrictions do not do it lightly. It's not just about politics. When import or product bans are made, there are rather large economic consequences which translates into a lot of their own citizens\people losing their jobs. A ban of Kaspersky in the US will result in thousands losing their jobs and that has a negative economic impact that ripples throughout an industry. The US and other governments are not taking actions against Russian, Chinese, and other companies based in different countries on a whim.

Eugene should just completely relocate his business. I think he tried but the Russian government required him to keep a presence within its borders. Even if he relocated HQ and all major operation centers to the US, I think there would still be unresolved security concerns. For one, most of this is not about the software products themselves. It is about all the people that work within the Kaspersky empire.

A lot of Eugene's leaders and most capable personnel are all ex-KGB, FSB or other intelligence and counterintelligence agencies. So it has been argued that it does not matter where he relocates the company, which is of course, accurate. Relocation alone will not prevent the things that are a security vulnerability.

This is all publicly discussed many times in a bunch of different places.

Don't worry, it's a Biden based ruling even though it was started during Trump Era. The far right and republicans will not see it as being started during their reign they will just see that it's being passed by Biden. So I would expect massive backlash from the capitol hill about this. Texas will most likely still allow Kaspersky because it would go against Biden.

There is no such thing as National Security anymore, there is just US vs Them.

 

[Szellem]

you are...you are banning all food that uses GMO.


Now my question is: The businesses that use Checkpoint Harmony w/ Kaspersky engine....will that also be blocked?

Of course. We don't need the GMS crap food.

 

[kailyn]

Don't worry, it's a Biden based ruling even though it was started during Trump Era. The far right and republicans will not see it as being started during their reign they will just see that it's being passed by Biden. So I would expect massive backlash from the capitol hill about this. Texas will most likely still allow Kaspersky because it would go against Biden.

There is no such thing as National Security anymore, there is just US vs Them.

Covered Applications and Prohibited Technologies | Texas Department of Information Resources

Overview On December 7, 2022, Governor Greg Abbott required all state agencies to ban the video sharing application TikTok and other prohibited technologies from all state-owned devices and networks over the Chinese Communist Party’s ability to use the application for surveilling Texans...

dir.texas.gov

 

[kailyn]

Now my question is: The businesses that use Checkpoint Harmony w/ Kaspersky engine....will that also be blocked?

Probably not. Checkpoint does not upload files on a user's system to Kaspersky servers under the control of, accessible by, or within the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation.

Israel-based security researchers - both civilian and military - are one of the primary sources regarding security vulnerabilities introduced by using Kaspersky products.

 

[KnownStormChaser]

That’s unfortunate, they will be missed. Wonder how long it will take for Canada to follow suit.

 

[CyberDevil]

Eugene should just completely relocate his business.

Eugene Kaspersky - graduated from the KGB academy, worked in a research institute under the USSR Ministry of Defense.

Andrei Tikhonov, Executive Director - Lieutenant Colonel in foreign intelligence (Kaspersky claims he was not in foreign intelligence, but in air defense)

Alexei Kuzyaev, Head of Security Service - former FSB officer (Kaspersky claims that he served in the USSR KGB Border Troops in the 1980s and graduated with the rank of junior sergeant).

Igor Chekunov, Director of Legal Affairs - former KGB officer (according to Kaspersky, he did his compulsory service in the Border Troops, which were subordinate to the USSR State Security Committee).

Mikhail Pribochiy, (!Former) Managing Director in Russia - a graduate of the FSB Academy

And I would also add that even if you look at the official website About Management Team | Kaspersky | Kaspersky there is not a single foreign employee in the main management team, which confirms the information about the unspoken ban of foreign employees in the management from one of the Russian publications.

Do you really think that these people can move their business to another country?

 

[kailyn]

Do you really think that these people can move their business to another country?

As I stated, relocation alone will not be enough due to the top leadership of Kaspersky all being ex-KGB, FSB, and other intelligence agencies.

The "drama" about Kaspersky has been happening from both ends - the Russian Federation and western nations. Russia accused, prosecuted, convicted, and sentenced Kaspersky or ex-Kaspersky employees for treason. They were declared to be "Enemies of the [Russian] State" by Russian government agencies.

Those that insist US and other countries actions is malicious purely on the basis of ideology, economics, or about anything other than security concerns is probably either completely ignorant or willfully ignorant.

"Stoyanov and Mikhailov "were known for one thing: both were middlemen," said Andrei Soldatov [former Kaspersky employee], an investigator and expert on Russia's security agencies. "Mikhailov -- between the Russian secret service and Western cyber law enforcement. Stoyanov -- a middleman between Western/Russian cyber law enforcement and the private sector."

"That made them uniquely positioned to be in a crosspoint of the most sensitive information in all cyberthings," he told RFE/RL in a text message."

In Moscow Treason Trial, A Major Scandal For Russian Security Agency

It's not the prison sentences handed down to an FSB colonel and a former Kaspersky Lab researcher that really matters. It's the intrigue surrounding what information was passed to whom -- and whether it implicates Russia in interfering in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

www.rferl.org

 

[Dave Russo]

I hope this doesn't go through, I sure hope the war will end, and that Kaspersky might be justified as a neutral product

 

[cartaphilus]

Covered Applications and Prohibited Technologies | Texas Department of Information Resources

Overview On December 7, 2022, Governor Greg Abbott required all state agencies to ban the video sharing application TikTok and other prohibited technologies from all state-owned devices and networks over the Chinese Communist Party’s ability to use the application for surveilling Texans...

dir.texas.gov

View attachment 283897

Well damn, I will eat my words. Honestly, I can't believe it. I have seen some things that really make me scratch my head living in TX but, Texas actually did something against Russia and China? Well I be darn.

 

[cartaphilus]

I hope this doesn't go through, I sure hope the war will end, and that Kaspersky might be justified as a neutral product

Kaspersky is not being ostracized because of the war, however the war does not help their cause. Kaspersky has been on DHS radar officially since 2015, and in 2017-18 (I believe), Kaspersky has been banned from any Federal IT system. All of this under the allegation of spying and data exfiltration.

Who knows if it's true or not. Personally, if I want to find any spyware on my system that has been planted by the US intel agency then I will use Kaspersky, if I want to find any that's been planted by Russian Intel I would use Norton, McAffee or ESET etc etc etc. But that's just me being me. I wrap my tinfoil hat with a layer of tinfoil.


I haven't purchased a Kaspersky product since 2010, and I boycott them because of the war. But honestly, just because of this event I might invest in a sub $10 lic just so we don't go gently into this good night.