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DonViejo

(60,536 posts)
Wed May 23, 2018, 02:37 PM May 2018

Exclusive: U.S. Government Can't Get Controversial Kaspersky Lab Software Off Its Networks

Source: The Daily Beast



The law says American agencies must eliminate the use of Kaspersky Lab software by October. U.S. officials say that’s impossible—it’s embedded too deep in our infrastructure.

ANDREW DESIDERIO
KEVIN POULSEN

05.23.18 10:05 AM ET

Federal agencies are so far unable to comply with a law banning Kaspersky Lab software from U.S. government networks by October, The Daily Beast has learned. Multiple divisions of the U.S. government are confronting the reality that code written by the Moscow-based security company is embedded deep within American infrastructure, in routers, firewalls, and other hardware—and nobody is certain how to get rid of it.

“It’s messy, and it’s going to take way longer than a year,” said one U.S. official. “Congress didn’t give anyone money to replace these devices, and the budget had no wiggle-room to begin with.”

At issue is a provision of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) enacted last December that requires the government to fully purge itself of “any hardware, software, or services developed or provided, in whole or in part,” by Kaspersky Lab. The law was a dramatic expansion of an earlier DHS directive that only outlawed “Kaspersky-branded” products. Both measures came after months of saber rattling by the U.S., which has grown increasingly anxious about Kaspersky’s presence in federal networks in the wake of Russia’s 2016 election interference campaign.

America’s intelligence chiefs have, too, issued public warnings about Kaspersky software. When asked by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) at an intelligence committee hearing last year whether they would be comfortable using Kaspersky software on their computers, all six of the top intelligence leaders—from the Central Intelligence Agency chief to the director of National Intelligence—had the same answer: No.

Read more: https://www.thedailybeast.com/exclusive-us-government-cant-get-controversial-kaspersky-lab-software-off-its-networks?ref=home

36 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Exclusive: U.S. Government Can't Get Controversial Kaspersky Lab Software Off Its Networks (Original Post) DonViejo May 2018 OP
Paper ballots YessirAtsaFact May 2018 #1
ys we need paper ballots questionseverything May 2018 #12
Without SECURE paper ballots we are worse than Banana Republics quartz007 May 2018 #26
Really not surprised at all. n/t RKP5637 May 2018 #2
Try harder dalton99a May 2018 #3
Lol. nice pic. n/t Calista241 May 2018 #23
Holy SHIT...this is bad! PearliePoo2 May 2018 #4
It's like it's a virus. n/t PoliticAverse May 2018 #5
Almost like it was planned this way. byronius May 2018 #6
So, I don't understand. We have a russian mole installed as POTUS, and we don't want russian AV? erronis May 2018 #18
stick a crowbar in the bloated pentagon budget and start buying new computers. now. mopinko May 2018 #7
that was my first thought too. Kurt V. May 2018 #16
You don't know much about our government... noneof_theabove May 2018 #24
your argument seems to prove my point. mopinko May 2018 #28
sad thing is i liked the product. it worked well and customer service was top notch dembotoz May 2018 #8
What were they thinking... installing Russian software??!!! C_U_L8R May 2018 #9
Nobody who work in IT is surprised by this. B2G May 2018 #10
Reminds me of the PROMIS software US gave to allies. Had "backdoor" so we could monitor. Midnight Writer May 2018 #11
Always use more than one program... TomVilmer May 2018 #13
You mean to say that WE did basically the same thing then, to other countries??? dixiegrrrrl May 2018 #20
Do you have a credible link about this? If not, what a REALLY BAD time to Eliot Rosewater May 2018 #27
Some information to start. atreides1 May 2018 #30
Thank you, atriedes1. I am not a computer savvy person, and have no idea how to link Midnight Writer May 2018 #31
Those links are not documentation, but rumors! TomVilmer May 2018 #33
"At the moment, the creature is keeping him alive. If we remove it we risk losing Kane." muriel_volestrangler May 2018 #14
How in the world did it get there in the first place? BobTheSubgenius May 2018 #15
I have the same problem Louis1895 May 2018 #17
Apparently, there is a patch to remove Karpenski in MS Security Essentials. haele May 2018 #22
I had it for quite a while and really liked it. PoindexterOglethorpe May 2018 #19
Pay Kaspersky to remove it. miyazaki May 2018 #21
How the conversation went. OneBro May 2018 #25
What in the hell were they thinking? rockfordfile May 2018 #29
What do you bet that Kaspersky will be part of the Russian phase II election meddling? Kablooie May 2018 #32
I wonder if this would work meow2u3 May 2018 #34
Dumbasses Bradical79 May 2018 #35
When did the feds melm00se May 2018 #36

questionseverything

(9,654 posts)
12. ys we need paper ballots
Wed May 23, 2018, 02:59 PM
May 2018

counted openly and transparently in full view of the public

and a tight chain of custody for the totals

because....



no voting machines were ever checked





... Desi Doyen said on 10/17/2017 @ 4:00 pm PT...


Hi, Karen --- It was actually DHS, specifically acting undersecretary Jeanette Manfra, who acknowledged that DHS had not conducted a forensic examination on any individual voting machine during her testimony at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on June 21, 2017. The relevant segment starts at about 58 minutes:

https://www.c-span.org/v...ted-russia-2016-election

Here's Brad's article on it: http://bradblog.com/?p=12192. More on it can also be found here.

Desi

 

quartz007

(1,216 posts)
26. Without SECURE paper ballots we are worse than Banana Republics
Wed May 23, 2018, 07:08 PM
May 2018

Honduras has all paper ballots and extreme security on who votes. They use a national voter ID card. And it is a so called Banana Republic!

PearliePoo2

(7,768 posts)
4. Holy SHIT...this is bad!
Wed May 23, 2018, 02:42 PM
May 2018


I keep getting this mental image of disgusting ticks, burrowed in, sucking blood and spreading disease.

erronis

(15,257 posts)
18. So, I don't understand. We have a russian mole installed as POTUS, and we don't want russian AV?
Wed May 23, 2018, 04:47 PM
May 2018

WTF?

Maybe because the Kaspersky AV was actually working? (I know the mole is just channeling command-and-control.)

mopinko

(70,103 posts)
7. stick a crowbar in the bloated pentagon budget and start buying new computers. now.
Wed May 23, 2018, 02:47 PM
May 2018

jesus h christ on a pogo stick.
think of the economic stimulation that will result, and just do it. dont waste f'ing money trying to clean up old computers.

noneof_theabove

(410 posts)
24. You don't know much about our government...
Wed May 23, 2018, 06:31 PM
May 2018

A close friend, part of our Linux User Group in South Texas is retired Navy.

A $15 would end up costing about $150 when you put the human time for 15 steps of signatures over typically 6 months.
See why things don't get done, the user has a dead mouse that will be 3-6 months to replace.

Now we get to the real meat.
The DoD is still running mostly on Windows XP because it takes 10 years for the OS and most software to get full approval.

BTW, my friend has some high levels of clearance, working databases and crypto, so don't pass this as "fake news".

mopinko

(70,103 posts)
28. your argument seems to prove my point.
Wed May 23, 2018, 07:11 PM
May 2018

and i actually know a fair about how it all works. i have a nephew who recently retired from a high army post.

yeah, i know they are idiots there. did you ever see the hbo movie 'the pentagon wars'? basically a true, and thoroughly ridiculous story about a new tank, the abrams iirc.

but all the more reason to demand that our government get up to god damned steam.

dembotoz

(16,804 posts)
8. sad thing is i liked the product. it worked well and customer service was top notch
Wed May 23, 2018, 02:47 PM
May 2018

they actually helped me

C_U_L8R

(45,002 posts)
9. What were they thinking... installing Russian software??!!!
Wed May 23, 2018, 02:50 PM
May 2018

Unless of course, these dopes were welcoming a hacking invasion

 

B2G

(9,766 posts)
10. Nobody who work in IT is surprised by this.
Wed May 23, 2018, 02:56 PM
May 2018

You can't just yank this shit out in less than a year.

Management: 'Have it done by October!'

IT: "Lol. You're cute'.

TomVilmer

(1,832 posts)
13. Always use more than one program...
Wed May 23, 2018, 03:32 PM
May 2018

One from USA to keep KGB out of your PC, and one from Russia to keep NSA out. Hopefully they can both help to keep China down, and UK and France AND North Korea and all other nosy countries.

dixiegrrrrl

(60,010 posts)
20. You mean to say that WE did basically the same thing then, to other countries???
Wed May 23, 2018, 05:29 PM
May 2018


I'm shocked! Shocked, I tell you.

Midnight Writer

(21,765 posts)
31. Thank you, atriedes1. I am not a computer savvy person, and have no idea how to link
Fri May 25, 2018, 01:24 AM
May 2018

or much of anything else. But I have been around a long time and have a pretty good memory.

TomVilmer

(1,832 posts)
33. Those links are not documentation, but rumors!
Fri May 25, 2018, 01:44 PM
May 2018

The Promis conspiracy is not taken seriously outside of nasty groups like the LaRouche cult. There might be something in it, but nothing has been proved.

BobTheSubgenius

(11,563 posts)
15. How in the world did it get there in the first place?
Wed May 23, 2018, 04:08 PM
May 2018

It may or may not have ties to the Kremlin, or be co-opted by the Kremlin, but why take a chance?

By the time you realize it's time to do something, it's too late...way too late.

Louis1895

(768 posts)
17. I have the same problem
Wed May 23, 2018, 04:27 PM
May 2018

Kaspersky anti-virus was a free program in a package of apps I bought for my Mac. It was highly rated in the reviews I read. I have tried to remove it but there is one thing that I cannot remove, no matter what I try.

Sneaky little dotards!

haele

(12,654 posts)
22. Apparently, there is a patch to remove Karpenski in MS Security Essentials.
Wed May 23, 2018, 05:46 PM
May 2018

Our company used it to check down deep and remove all traces of KES (Karpinski End Point) from the company computers. We now have Avast instead, and I rather hate Avast .

Haele

PoindexterOglethorpe

(25,857 posts)
19. I had it for quite a while and really liked it.
Wed May 23, 2018, 05:25 PM
May 2018

Several months back the Geek Squad (I buy my computers at Best Buy and use Geek Squad. It's excellent for people like me who aren't very tech savvy) said they were no longer supporting Kaspersky and when it was time to renew to get something else. So I did. I now have something called Webroot Secure Anywhere and all I can say is I haven't had any problems with viruses. So far, at least.

Kaspersky was quite good for a long time.

I suppose the problem with all the government computers is the extent to which they are vastly more complex than my lap top and my desk top, which is why they can't just install a new security system and then take out the old one as one done with my computers.

OneBro

(1,159 posts)
25. How the conversation went.
Wed May 23, 2018, 07:03 PM
May 2018

Kapersky: We should sell software to the American government so we can control their systems from the comfort of our living rooms.
Putin: Why would the US government buy software from a Russian company instead of an American company like, say, Microsoft?
Kapersky: The American people elect George W. Bush. Sort of. Twice.
Putin: . . .
Kapersky . . .
Putin . . .
Kapersky. . .
Putin: You think they would actually . . . pay for it, too?
Kapersky. (smiling)

Kablooie

(18,634 posts)
32. What do you bet that Kaspersky will be part of the Russian phase II election meddling?
Fri May 25, 2018, 01:29 AM
May 2018

They will try even harder in November.

meow2u3

(24,764 posts)
34. I wonder if this would work
Fri May 25, 2018, 02:45 PM
May 2018

Back up every single server in rotation, taking each one offline; erase the hard drives, reinstall the OSes, restore backups without the Kaspersky Lab malware, and then install an American security suite.
It'll take quite a bit of time, but it'll be far better than russkie software with built-in malware backdoors.

I'm just scratching the surface, but I'm sure you get the idea of what I'm talking about.

 

Bradical79

(4,490 posts)
35. Dumbasses
Fri May 25, 2018, 02:49 PM
May 2018

Who thought intentionally putting Russian software into our computer systems was a good idea?

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