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Your Kapersky anti-virus software may be a Russian trojan...

How Israel Caught Russian Hackers Scouring the World for U.S.

QuoteIt was a case of spies watching spies watching spies: Israeli intelligence officers looked on in real time as Russian government hackers searched computers around the world for the code names of American intelligence programs.

What gave the Russian hacking, detected more than two years ago, such global reach was its improvised search tool — antivirus software made by a Russian company, Kaspersky Lab, that is used by 400 million people worldwide, including by officials at some two dozen American government agencies...


...The Russian operation, described by multiple people who have been briefed on the matter, is known to have stolen classified documents from a National Security Agency employee who had improperly stored them on his home computer, on which Kaspersky’s antivirus software was installed. What additional American secrets the Russian hackers may have gleaned from multiple agencies, by turning the Kaspersky software into a sort of Google search for sensitive information, is not yet publicly known...

Never liked that program.  I've used Norton, McAfee, AVG, and IOBit Malware Fighter.  AVG is German, but I don't think they are spying on us.  Not that they will find anything sensitive on my computer (unless Trombone Forum information or Merrimack Valley Philharmonic Orchestra information is of import.

Never trusted it myself.  I use F-Secure - also German.  Effective, affordable.  But who really knows?   

Apparently Google, Facebook, and Twitter were completely bamboozled by the Russkies, with important consequences to recent elections in the United States and Europe.   

A Russian security firm founded by a former KGB intelligence officer is selling software that spies on its users?  I'm shocked, I tell you, shocked!

Quote from: Todd Jonz on Oct 11, 2017, 10:15AMA Russian security firm founded by a former KGB intelligence officer is selling software that spies on its users?  I'm shocked, I tell you, shocked!


And then there's the vehement denials when they were called on it.

I get the feeling that US is behind the rest of the world when it comes to cyber espionage and international football.

Definitely the football.  Our best kids go into the American version, which favors brawn over agility; or baseball, or basketball.

Our businesses have just ignored cyber security because they haven't realized how burned they have been.   Our Military research, on the other hand...

Quote from: Ellrod on Oct 11, 2017, 11:06AMI get the feeling that US is behind the rest of the world when it comes to cyber espionage and international football.

The article notes that all the national intelligence services are probably doing similar things with Western software, whether the actual companies know it or not. It would be easy to get a helpful programming mole hired into one of these companies.

So, if your biggest fear is the US government watching you, then maybe the Kapersky software is the one to go with?

Quote from: robcat2075 on Oct 11, 2017, 11:48AMThe article notes that all the national intelligence services are probably doing similar things with Western software, whether the actual companies know it or not. It would be easy to get a helpful programming mole hired into one of these companies.

That didn't work out too well for this guy...

Quote from: robcat2075 on Oct 11, 2017, 11:48AMThe article notes that all the national intelligence services are probably doing similar things with Western software, whether the actual companies know it or not. It would be easy to get a helpful programming mole hired into one of these companies.

That didn't work out too well for this guy...