A House committee is cracking down on the use of anti-virus software supplied by Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Labs, with a letter sent out to 22 agencies calling for all information regarding any possible use of the company’s products, which is expected of potential ties to the Kremlin
House Science, Space, and Technology Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) sent his letter on Thursday to the secretaries and administrators of federal agencies and military departments requesting relevant documentation and communications related to Kaspersky to be supplied no later than August 11.
The Moscow-based Kaspersky’s CEO and Founder Eugene Kaspersky it believed to have close ties to Russian spies and its software products have been alleged as possible tools for espionage and sabotage, according to the letter. Smith cites a May congressional hearing with intelligence officials who had a consensus agreement on avoiding Kaspersky products and a June House subcommittee hearing with cyber security experts who detailed how anti-virus software can be used as a backdoor for entry into critical information systems, as key points to raising concern with software company.
“Cybersecurity is a greater threat to our nation than ever before. If these widely reported allegations prove true, then the American public has ample grounds on which to rest their concerns about the security of data stored and transmitted on federal information systems – especially those allegedly protected by Kaspersky Lab’s products,” Smith wrote in his letter. “In light of this increasing threat, the committee takes seriously its duty to ensure the NIST Cybersecurity Framework is properly equipped and adapted to safeguard our nation’s information.”
In the letter, Smith requests all documents and communications related to discussions, assessments or possible implementation of Kaspersky products from any point after January 2013. He also calls for a list of computers or systems that have utilized Kaspersky products, and any federal government contractors who would have worked with the anti-virus software.
The effort is part of the committee’s continued effort to work on the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework and refine the parts implemented by federal agencies.
Kaspersky is one of the largest cyber security companies in the world with over 400 million users worldwide. Several federal agencies and departments are believed to have used their products or services, according to the letter.