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Subject: [ISN] =?iso8859-7?q?Russia=A2s_Top_Cyber_Sleuth_Foils_US_Spies=2C?= =?iso8859-7?q?_Helps_Kremlin_Pal
From: InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews ! org>
Date: 2012-07-23 16:03:23
Message-ID: alpine.DEB.2.02.1207231103100.12830 () infosecnews ! org
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http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/07/ff_kaspersky/
By Noah Shachtman
Danger Room
Wired.com
July 23, 2012
It's early February in Cancun, Mexico. A group of 60 or so financial
analysts, reporters, diplomats, and cybersecurity specialists shake off
the previous night's tequila and file into a ballroom at the
Ritz-Carlton hotel. At the front of the room, a giant screen shows a
globe targeted by crosshairs. Cancun is in the center of the bull's-eye.
A ruddy-faced, unshaven man bounds onstage. Wearing a wrinkled white
polo shirt with a pair of red sunglasses perched on his head, he looks
more like a beach bum who's lost his way than a business executive. In
fact, he's one of Russia's richest men—the CEO of what is arguably the
most important Internet security company in the world. His name is
Eugene Kaspersky, and he paid for almost everyone in the audience to
come here. "Buenos dias," he says in a throaty Russian accent, as he
apologizes for missing the previous night's boozy activities. Over the
past 72 hours, Kaspersky explains, he flew from Mexico to Germany and
back to take part in another conference. "Kissinger, McCain, presidents,
government ministers" were all there, he says. "I have panel. Left of
me, minister of defense of Italy. Right of me, former head of CIA. I'm
like, ‘Whoa, colleagues.'"
He's bragging to be sure, but Kaspersky may be selling himself short.
The Italian defense minister isn't going to determine whether criminals
or governments get their hands on your data. Kaspersky and his company,
Kaspersky Lab, very well might. Between 2009 and 2010, according to
Forbes, retail sales of Kaspersky antivirus software increased 177
percent, reaching almost 4.5 million a year—nearly as much as its rivals
Symantec and McAfee combined. Worldwide, 50 million people are now
members of the Kaspersky Security Network, sending data to the company's
Moscow headquarters every time they download an application to their
desktop. Microsoft, Cisco, and Juniper Networks all embed Kaspersky code
in their products—effectively giving the company 300 million users. When
it comes to keeping computers free from infection, Kaspersky Lab is on
its way to becoming an industry leader.
But this still doesn't fully capture Kaspersky's influence. Back in
2010, a researcher now working for Kaspersky discovered Stuxnet, the
US-Israeli worm that wrecked nearly a thousand Iranian centrifuges and
became the world's first openly acknowledged cyberweapon. In May of this
year, Kaspersky's elite antihackers exposed a second weaponized computer
program, which they dubbed Flame. It was subsequently revealed to be
another US-Israeli operation aimed at Iran. In other words, Kaspersky
Lab isn't just an antivirus company; it's also a leader in uncovering
cyber-espionage.
Serving at the pinnacle of such an organization would be a remarkably
powerful position for any man. But Kaspersky's rise is particularly
notable—and to some, downright troubling—given his KGB-sponsored
training, his tenure as a Soviet intelligence officer, his alliance with
Vladimir Putin's regime, and his deep and ongoing relationship with
Russia's Federal Security Service, or FSB. Of course, none of this
history is ever mentioned in Cancun.
[...]
--
Learn how to be a Pen Tester, CISSP, ISSMP, or ISSAP with Expanding Security online.
Come to a free class and see how good and fun the program really is.
http://www.expandingsecurity.com/PainPill
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