In an attempt to overturn an order by President Trump to ban the use of its products of government machines, the Russia-based company said there is no evidence of wrongdoing by the security firm.
President Trump escalated the U. S. government’s war against Kaspersky Lab last week with an order banning the use of all of the security firm’s antivirus software on government machines. In an attempt to clear its name, the Russian company has decided to appeal in order to overturn the decision.
The appeal, filed in U. S. federal court, was coupled with an open letter to the Department of Homeland Security from founder Eugene Kaspersky, which opened with:
Kaspersky said that it has made numerous efforts to work with the government to allay any fears that it is working with the Kremlin in an effort to subvert the U. S. government.
In the letter, Kaspersky claims that the DHS has relied on unsubstantiated media reports of it being a security risk without any actual evidence. He also said that arguments leveled against it could apply to all antivirus software:
The order by Trump and the subsequent appeal are just the latest salvo in the war between DHS and Kaspersky. In July, the government removed Kaspersky as an approved vendor for IT services within U. S. agencies around the same time that the company offered to open its source code up for Congress to show it posed no threat. In August, the FBI accused the company of being filled with Russian spies and advised other companies to drop the software. Then in October, Israeli hackers accessed Kaspersky’s network and reportedly found that Russian hackers were using the software as a «Google for sensitive information,» such as information at the NSA. Kaspersky Lab again tried to offer transparency with a move to open its software up for independent review.
Despite the ban, Kaspersky said it will continue to do its job of tracking down malware. «Kaspersky Lab remains committed to continuing its mission and business of protecting customers in the United States and around the world from cyber threats by providing market leading anti-virus software, threat intelligence and analytics.»
The next step now lies with the courts, but as always, use any software, even antivirus protection, at your own risk.
Source: Reuters
