Kaspersky Antivirus Security Risks in the News

What Happened?

As reported by the Wall Street Journal and New York Times earlier this month, the Russian Government had used the Kaspersky Anti-Virus product to steal classified documents from an NSA contractor in 2015. The report suggests that the Russian Government was able to use Kaspersky as a giant search engine to comb through consumers computers for classified information. In another fairly incident, North Korea was able to gain access to a South Korean military database using a compromised anti-virus software. These two incidents have highlighted two points: that the anti-virus tools we trust to protect us have almost complete access to our files/data and that they have the potential to be used to steal sensitive information when either in the wrong hands or compromised.

What Should I Do?

Although it is not yet clear whether Kaspersky was complicit or negligent in this incident some have questioned whether they have shown the level of responsibility needed for a corporation who has complete access to your data. The Department of Homeland Security has ordered all federal agencies to remove Kaspersky anti-virus software from their computers and major retailers Best Buy and Office Depot have stopped selling the software. If you are weary of having Kaspersky installed on your computers or network, Insource recommends uninstalling it and replacing it with a comparable anti-virus product that meets your organization’s needs.

Should I Rethink Using Anti-Virus Software?

The short answer is no. You are far more likely to have your data stolen or your systems compromised via a virus or malware than you are with a hijacked anti-virus product. We do however recommend you research your anti-virus software provider, as you should all of your vendors, to get an understanding of their ownership, funding and technology. If you have highly sensitive data on an internal system the answer may be more nuanced. Overall the risk you run by not utilizing anti-virus software outweighs the risk of having it.

Unsure what this means for you and your data or need assistance in evaluating another anti-virus software option? We are here to help! Contact us at insource@insourceservices.com or (781) 235-1490.