Security

Sir, you've been using Kaspersky Lab antivirus. Please come with us, sir

US govt bans agencies from using Russian outfit's wares


The US government issued an interim rule this morning prohibiting agencies from using products or services that have pretty much anything to do with Kaspersky Lab.

The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) comes into effect from 16 July 2018 and is a result of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which prohibits any part of the US Federal government from using the antivirus vendor's wares.

The prohibition comes into effect from 1 October, and the FAR is a clear signal that, yes, it is really going to happen. Any solicitations issued on or after 16 July will include an anti-Kaspersky clause and anything issued before will need modifications to reflect the US government's stance.

The FAR for the Department of Defense (DoD), the General Services Administration (GSA) and NASA also applies to any companies contracted by the agencies. So anyone hoping to grab some taxpayer dollars should probably make sure Kaspersky Lab's products have been stripped from equipment doing government work.

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station will be relieved to know that they shouldn't have to perform any tricky uninstalling. In 2008, NASA used Norton (PDF), and ever since then it has used "an antivirus".

A source, who spent a substantial chunk of his career dealing with contracts for the UK's Ministry of Defence, told The Register that such clauses were nothing unusual and recalled rooms or even buildings full of workstations cleaned to government requirements, with snap audits by officials being commonplace.

As such, third parties may simply opt to play it safe and remove any trace of Kaspersky Lab in order to avoid a difficult chat with the men and women in black. This would, of course, be bad news for the Russian software vendor, which is already engaged in legal action against the prohibition.

Kaspersky Lab, battered by a European vote earlier this week, took the news badly. A spokesperson told El Reg:

Kaspersky Lab continues to maintain that the underlying statutory provisions of the interim rule, Sections 1634 (a) and (b) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018, violate the US Constitution by specifically and unfairly singling out the company for legislative punishment, based on vague and unsubstantiated allegations without any basis in fact. Through our appeal filed in federal appellate court, Kaspersky Lab will continue to challenge the constitutionality of these provisions.

The lack of concrete evidence of what Kaspersky Lab is actually alleged to have done to merit this action continues to vex the Russian outfit. Thanks to the secretive nature of intelligence agencies and the potential sensitivity of the alleged stolen data, that evidence is unlikely to be shared any time soon. ®

Send us news
41 Comments

FTC goes undercover to probe suspected antivirus scam, scores $26M settlement

Imagine trying to trick folks into buying $500 of unnecessary repairs – and they turn out to be federal agents

Ransomwared health insurer wasn't using antivirus software

PhilHealth blames government procurement rules for license expiry and issues phishing warnings

VirusTotal: We're sorry someone fat-fingered and exposed 5,600 users

File under PEBCAK

Microsoft: For better security, scan more Exchange server objects

Software giant takes some files and processes off the exclusion list

This Windows update is snarling up some endpoint security tools

Malwarebytes and Trellix upgrades to the rescue

Malwarebytes may not be allowed to label rival's app as 'potentially unwanted'

Legal prof warns: 'This case is like a wrecking ball for internet law'

Google's here to boost your cloud security and the magic ingredient? AI, of course

Send in the LLMs

Twenty years on, command-line virus scanner ClamAV puts out version 1

Used by millions – and the first official finished edition is here

Google euthanizes Chrome Cleanup Tool because it no longer has a purpose

Times have changed and unwanted software on Windows is a rarity (unless you count Windows itself)

Antivirus apps are there to protect you – Cisco's ClamAV has a heckuva flaw

Switchzilla hardware and software need attention, unless you fancy arbitrary remote code execution

The only Windows 10 updates for the year are coming. Spoiler alert: It's just security

What did you expect, HoloLens-ready Minesweeper and new skins for Calculator?

Botnet malware disguises itself as password cracker for industrial controllers

Can't get into that machine? No problem, just trust this completely sketchy looking tool