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Russian Cybersecurity Giant Kaspersky Tries To Maintain Neutrality During Ukraine War (vice.com) 161

Posted by BeauHD from the time-to-pick-a-side dept.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Motherboard, written by Joseph Cox: Around the same time Russian forces launched a massive rocket into a square in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, killing and wounding an as of yet unknown number of people, Eugene Kaspersky, head of his namesake Russian cybersecurity firm, tweeted that he hoped negotiations between Ukraine and Russia would lead to "a compromise." The statement encapsulates the company's position since Russia invaded Ukraine six days ago -- that of attempted neutrality in a war where silence or fence sitting is implicitly siding with the Russian forces. In another statement to Motherboard sent on Monday, the company said "As a technology and cybersecurity service provider the company is not in a position to comment or speculate on geopolitical developments outside of its area of expertise."

Kaspersky is one of the best-known Russian companies, and for years its antivirus product has been among the most used in the world. The antivirus software also harvests telemetry data for Kaspersky's researchers who can then use that to identify and counter new threats. Its researchers are some of the best in the world, with its Global Research & Analysis Team (GReAT) regularly publishing leading research on various government malware operations. Famously the company first revealed details of a U.S. government hacking group that it dubbed Equation Group. Kaspersky has also researched suspected Russian government linked hackers. Eugene's tweet also brings something else to the surface again: how much is Kaspersky, the company, influenced by the Russian government, even if indirectly? As a Russian firm operating in Moscow under Russian laws, it may feel the need to toe the line on Russian issues.

Kaspersky's company statement on Monday added that "Kaspersky is focused on its mission to build a safer world. For 25 years, the company delivers deep threat intelligence and security expertise that is constantly transforming into innovative security solutions and services to protect businesses, critical infrastructure, governments and consumers around the globe. Kaspersky's business operations remain stable. The company guarantees the fulfillment of its obligations to partners and customers -- including product delivery and support and financial transaction continuity. The global management team is monitoring the situation carefully and is ready to act very quickly if needed." Kaspersky may not currently feel it is in a position to speculate or take a position on the invasion of Ukraine. But with a 40 mile long Russian military convoy making its way to Kyiv, and with the prospect of more cyber attacks playing a role in the invasion, Kaspersky may need to take a side.
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Russian Cybersecurity Giant Kaspersky Tries To Maintain Neutrality During Ukraine War More

Russian Cybersecurity Giant Kaspersky Tries To Maintain Neutrality During Ukraine War

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  • In Soviet Russia, war maintains YOU!

    • Oddly enough the term Soviet isn't as amusing as it used to be in slashdot. But really it seems we're talking almost Tsarist Russia.

      But I think it fair to warn mr Rasputin that russia was once part of alaska and we might decide we want to reclaim our former ownership of russia.

      In the end though the key to the way out of this mess is economic sanctions applied monilithicskky around the world with no exceptions for anything connected to russia. If you are Russian or do bussiness with Russia then no one dies

      • It needs to be perceived by the Russians right from day one that it will be unbearable.

        A lot of Russians already do. The pretty much unanimous feeling among Russian friends is "Putin will destroy Russia". Problem is saying this inside Russia will get you arrested, beaten up, and then disappeared.

      • I've been thinking that, if we're going to get do-overs, we should acknowledge that it was a mistake to hand Königsberg to the Russians in 1945, and that we're retroactively awarding that sliver of former East Prussia to Poland and/or Lithuania instead.

        We'd just be righting a historical wrong, after all...

  • A compromise? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by MachineShedFred ( 621896 ) on Tuesday March 01, 2022 @07:22PM (#62317025) Journal

    How about this compromise: all Russian army personnel gets the fuck out of Ukraine, and Russia immediately starts paying reparations to rebuild what they fucking broke. And, they make payments to the families of those that they killed. And Putin stands trial in The Hague for war crimes next to whatever cronies authorized using cluster munitions in cities with millions of civilians.

    Anything short of that would be an insult to Ukraine, and the rest of the world. Fuck Russia.

    • > Fuck Russia

      Don't be angry against Russians or Russia. It's (always) the few at the top.
      • The Russian people put him at the top, maintained him there, accepted him stealing their money and fed themselves on his propaganda. They could choose to pull him into the streets like Ceausescu whenever they want.
        • If you think any of that is true then you're hopelessly naive. As for the article, Kaspersky is making as strong of an anti-war statement as they think they can get away with, without being disappeared or having a polonium sandwich for lunch tomorrow. It's easy to sit around playing "keyboard warrior" when there isn't a very real possibility of getting black-bagged and waking up in Siberia.
          • What is the population of Russia? 1 person + the government? Stop justifying indifference.

          • As for the article, Kaspersky is making as strong of an anti-war statement as they think they can get away with, without being disappeared or having a polonium sandwich for lunch tomorrow.

            They are also making as strong of a "pro-Russia" post as they can without getting sanctioned immediately.

            Kaspersky works for the Russian government. That's not necessarily a bad thing, the Russian government needs IT contractors, too. But Kaspersky could have condemned the war, many people in Russia are. If they are afraid, they say things like, "I am against the war." Kaspersky did not even say that. Their statement could easily be taken as a call for Ukraine to surrender.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by MrL0G1C ( 867445 )

          Did they? Do you know what Putin did to the opposition leader? $80 is the amount a Russian family get when their son dies in a war he has no choice in fighting. Russia is not a free country, protest is illegal, elections are rigged, news outlets that don't support the govt are banned. So no, don't blame Russian people, blame Putin and the kleptocracy.

        • The Russian people put him at the top, maintained him there, accepted him stealing their money and fed themselves on his propaganda. They could choose to pull him into the streets like Ceausescu whenever they want.

          Just gotta love all those fucking western armchair heroes, talking about how easy it is to stand in front of tanks and "just pull dictators into the streets".

          • In no time in Russian history have the people risen up against a country to put their will in place. I can't think of one time.

            • You mean like right now, they sure as hell tried in Afghanistan.

            • I sure hope you're being massively sarcastic.

              In case you aren't:
              1917 - invasion of Ukraine;
              1917 - invasion of Alash autonomy (modern Kazakhstan);
              1918 - invasion of Finland;
              1918 - invasion of Latvia;
              1918 - invasion of Lithuania;
              1918 - invasion of Estonia;
              1918 - invasion of Georgia;
              1919 - invasion of Georgia;
              1920 - invasion of Azerbaijan;
              1921 - invasion of Georgia;
              1921 - invasion of Armenia;
              1924 - invasion of Romania;
              1925 - invasion of Afghanistan;
              1929 - invasion of China;
              1929 - invasion of Afghanistan;
              1932 -

          • We too have corrupt and murderous "leaders," but also have some level of free speech, access to weapons, access to information, ability to organize, etc., that Russians do not, and, still, we do not "pull [our] dictators into the streets."

            One might claim that we have free and fair elections by which we could potentially depose our leaders without similar levels of violence. However, how free and fair they truly are is in dispute, and at any rate, we can only realistically choose leaders who belong to one o

        • And I hope they will, because, at this point, all evidence points to him being a war criminal.

          However, I think you overestimate how difficult that will be, in a highly authoritarian society where government has all the power (and guns) while the people have essentially none, and not even, at this point, a sufficient level of free speech so as to be able to even organize an effective resistance of any kind.

          I will not blame or punish civilians for the actions of their "leaders," especially when they have no r

      • You're half right. Don't mad at Russians. But yes Russia, like China are horrible countries. The country is the few at the top. I love Chinese and Russian people and their cultures, but their countries in their current form have got to go.

        • 100% on this. By Russia I meant Russians and their culture (and agreed on Chinese). The state has definitely got to go.

          • Agreed.

            But in my view, all states are bad, because the very concept of a nation-state is flawed.

            Some more so than others; Russia and China are more awful than most of those in the West or in Europe.

            But I still hope for a day in which the whole idea of some people ruling over every detail of the lives of others, without the latter's informed and revocable consent, is widely recognized as being fundamentally flawed, inequitable, and unjust, and not dramatically unlike chattel slavery, but on an even greater s

      • The few at the top, then a bunch of middle men who want to be noticed and rewarded by those on top, that gladly carry out the orders, often with their own sadistic twist to show how ambitious they are. Then you get a mixed group of people, some doing the orders in fear of breaking them, others doing orders because propaganda makes them believe in the "greater good", and those who are onboard with the evil, who would happy rat out anyone who is in descent.

        If the Middle Men just said no, then the few up on to

    • He's going to have a heart attack or something.

    • How about this compromise: all Russian army personnel gets the fuck out of Ukraine, and Russia immediately starts paying reparations to rebuild what they fucking broke. And, they make payments to the families of those that they killed. And Putin stands trial in The Hague for war crimes next to whatever cronies authorized using cluster munitions in cities with millions of civilians.

      Anything short of that would be an insult to Ukraine, and the rest of the world. Fuck Russia.

      Brave words for someone whoose country doesn't even have the cojones to send arms to Ukraine. So, fuck Russia, but also fuck YOU for egging Ukraine on, and then abandoning them to stand alone.

    • I'm sorry about Kaspersky, but it is impossible to trust anything coming out of a dictatorship with absolute control over information. They should have moved out of Russia when they had the chance.

      Fuck Putin, Lawrow, and all the fascists in that fucked up regime.

  • how much is Kaspersky, the company, influenced by the Russian government, even if indirectly? As a Russian firm operating in Moscow under Russian laws, it may feel the need to toe the line on Russian issues.

    Well duh.

  • A pointed question (Score:4, Insightful)

    by drkshadow ( 6277460 ) on Tuesday March 01, 2022 @07:27PM (#62317041)

    I'd like to ask a question that is within Kaspersky's position of expertise:

    - Is Kaspersky allowing any attacks on Ukrainian assets which Ukrainian corporations, citizens, or government agencies would expect that it is actively protecting?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      There have been claims that Kaspersky was lent on by Russian intelligence, presumably to avoid detecting their malware. Those claims are unsubstantiated but believable.

      In the past Kaspersky anti-virus software has detected NSA malware, which lead to it being banned on US government computers because samples of the malware were sent back to Kaspersky. Like all anti-virus software, it has the option of sending malware detected by heuristics back to HQ for analysis.

      Probably the only way we will ever know is if

  • It's not possible to maintain neutrality (Score:4, Insightful)

    by rsilvergun ( 571051 ) on Tuesday March 01, 2022 @07:28PM (#62317043)
    Putin is bombing kindergartens. You can't be neutral about that. And he's doing it for the stupidest reason imaginable. This is his legacy. He's a weak dying old man and he wants one last hurray and some sort of legacy to leave to Russia and he thinks that's Ukraine.

    Personally I think just leaving the $200 billion dollars he stole from the Russian citizens would be enough but what do I know about national politics?
    • Some people make the world a better place by being part of it. Some people make the world a better place by no longer being part of it. Putin clearly fits in the latter group, and history will remember him as such.

      • Some people make the world a better place by being part of it. Some people make the world a better place by no longer being part of it. Putin clearly fits in the latter group, and history will remember him as such.

        You do know that people who will realistically succeed him are even worse? Zhyrinovsky for example? He seriously proposed detonating a nuke over Warsaw (I *think* he meant at "scary fireworks in sky" altitude, not "kill everyone" altitude, but still) in first days of Georgia invasion, just because Poland was diplomatically kicking West's ass trying to get them to bloody *do something*, and not treat it as "just another war in third world country noone ever heard of".

        • Just as much chance as the next guy being the same or better, I'll take the odds after the Russian economy crashes and they have to rethink their position in the world.

    • He's pining for the glory days of the USSR, and is looking to re-capture those glory days in the most literal way imaginable.

      This is such blatant, naked aggression it's almost hard to believe. And it's sad he's pulling out the "Nazi" boogeyman when the Russians are acting the part more than anyone has in a very long time, complete with paper-thin justifications for their aggression. At this point, might as well release a book titled "My Struggle" in which he talks about the need for more "living space."

      • Adding to the absurdity, apparently Russian bombing damaged part of the mass gravesite at the Babi Yar Holocaust memorial in Kyiv today:

        Russia strikes Kyiv TV tower, killing 5 and damaging Babi Yar Holocaust site [timesofisrael.com]

      • He's pining for the glory days of the USSR, and is looking to re-capture those glory days in the most literal way imaginable.

        An article posted on ria.ru on 2/26 and taken down quickly when the assault on Ukraine didn't achieve the steamrolling of the country that was expected, but available on archive.org [archive.org], this appears to be Putin's intention:

        Russia is restoring its unity - the tragedy of 1991, this terrible catastrophe in our history, its unnatural dislocation, has been overcome. Yes, at a great cost, yes, through the tragic events of a virtual civil war, because now brothers, separated by belonging to the Russian and Ukrainian

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Bert64 ( 520050 )

      Being neutral is the best they can do, and even that is risky for them.

      If Putin is bombing kindergartens, do you think he would have any hesitation about arresting kaspersky and sending him to a gulag?

      It's all right for you to criticise putin from the comfort of a western country, Criticising him from within Russia is extremely dangerous and people have to be careful.

      • If you're useful asset to the Russian economy then you should defect. Brain drain was a major problem for Russia during the first Cold War. And that's not just for the sake of a principled stance. Russia is no longer a safe place to be if you are one of those useful assets. The Khmer rouge killed anyone they thought was a member of the elites or intelligencia. As Putin ages he seems increasingly to be going out of his mind and it's clear no one is going to stop him. At a certain point it's time to flee. And
        • This, 1000x this. Not only should the world open their doors to the Ukrainians that are fleeing, they should all offer political asylum to Russians who want nothing to do with their government. All sports jocks, all academics, all nobodies.
    • Well, it's perfectly possible to remain neutral like the Swiss did. They are fully neutral in blocking any Russian flights and joining the Swift banking blocks as well as blocking accounts of Putin and his supporters. Because not doing that would play into an aggressor's hand, and that would not be neutral. Gotta love politics...

      • Well, it's perfectly possible to remain neutral like the Swiss did.

        Ah yes, being neutral on genocide and the trains of the soon to be murdered running through the Swiss railways. Also hoarding Nazi gold looted from the Jews.

        Fuck Swiss "neutrality".

    • Putin made the mistake of believing his own propaganda.

  • killing civilians is wrong. It's obvious why they'ew not speaking out of course, but let's not try that ludicrous fig leaf.

  • Russia is not a nation with an enemy government. It has been an enemy society since the 1917 Revolution.

    Those fond of secular democracy should never again do business with Russia or Russian companies. If you want to support secular democracy trade is THE most important way to do that.

    To trade with Russia endorses ethnic war against Ukraine.
    To trade with China endorses genocide of Uighers and much more. There is no getting round those truths except by taking your business to secular democracies instead. All

    • If you want to support secular democracy trade is THE most important way to do that.

      While I agree with the sentiment, the problem is that capitalism is greedy and needs to constantly expand. The vast US corporation I work for (for example) makes nearly $1 billion in profits from China every year and the shareholders won't want to give that up.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by hey! ( 33014 )

      I'm not sure what an "enemy society" is, but Russian *society* and Ukrainian *society* are not natural enemies. Aside from close cultural ties, they were part of the same country for decades and as a result many Russians and Ukrainians have friends and even relatives across the border.

      That's the reason for Putin's nonsense about "De-nazification". He *can't* mobilize Russians against Ukrainians, because Russians don't hate or fear Ukrainians as "other". He has to spin a picture in which Ukrainians have

    • Russian has been culturally poisoned long before 1917. They were pretty much feudalistic under the tsars. This is a country that, for pretty much its entire history, has been a menace to its neighbors and its own population. When they tried communism they took it to its most corrupt and violent extremes. Now the fascist, Putin, has done the same thing to capitalism.

      I do not think the Russian people are inherently terrible. No one is biologically immoral. But culture is a completely different matter.

      One of t

      • 1917 was an attempt to acquire power and reform society. It was fucked up by Stalin, who was a psychopathic despot. Basically Putin is his reincarnation. And he destroyed the attempts at the normalization by removing Yeltzyn.

        • 1917 was an attempt to acquire power and reform society. It was fucked up by Stalin, who was a psychopathic despot. Basically Putin is his reincarnation. And he destroyed the attempts at the normalization by removing Yeltzyn.

          Yes, Russia was such a paradise during Lenin's times.

        • The Russian Revolution was fucked from the moment the Germans gave Lenin safe passage back to Russia and he boarded the train in Zürich.

      • Very true. All governments should be forced to follow some basic principles agreed on globally else risk complete exonomic isolation

      • Mostly I agree.

        But democracy and freedom are not the same thing, and I advocate for the latter as an end, and the former as, at best, a highly flawed means to that end.

        In that light, I am not sure colonialism helped to turn India, or most of the African continent, into free societies. Democratic, maybe. But not free.

        I don't think freedom has ever been known to happen, nor to last, without the influence of Western classical liberal tradition. And, in many ways, colonialism was incompatible with said tradi

    • Not since 1917. Since 1922 (Stalin taking office). Removing the monarchy was a good move, but Stalin wasn't a socialist. Trotski was, but he was removed like today the opposition is removed.

    • Couldn't agree more.

      Russia, China & some of the middle east need to be isolated, dismantled and converted into actual democracies even at extreme costs like not having the Chinese manufacturing supply chain or Russian oil/gas, because their leaders will keep doing increasingly disruptive shit to save their dictatorships. It will never end

  • It doesn't matter what Kaspersky says, or how much value they add to the security space (and they do). Who believes they won't face pressure from the likes of Putin, and who believes they would not bow to it when in Ukraine women and children are being shot at?

    Be serious.

  • The only compromise worth considering is that maybe Putin gets to live if he abdicates. Everything else: Russia get the fuck out of Ukraine, and that includes Crimea and the Donbas region.

    • The only compromise worth considering is that maybe Putin gets to live if he abdicates. Everything else: Russia get the fuck out of Ukraine, and that includes Crimea and the Donbas region.

      Fuck you. The terms of compromise will be decided by Ukrainian people, not fucking western armchair heroes who didn't even send one fucking solider to help them, and are now very eager to pay with Ukrainian blood for their own geopolitical aims.

      • I'm pretty sure you don't spew the same vitriol towards Kaspersky, a Russian, the invading party, who tells Ukrainians he hopes for a compromise. Do you go around hitting people and then proclaim you hope that there can be compromise? What kind of reaction would you expect?

        • I'm pretty sure you don't spew the same vitriol towards Kaspersky, (...)

          True, I don't. I respect straight cowards like Kaspersky WAY more than western armchair heroes like you who bravely declare the fight to bitter end - as long as it's Ukrainian blood on the line and not theirs. I'd like to see how brave you'd be if you were under real threat of being shipped off to a gulag like Kaspersky, or had to fight on the frontlines, while seeing their wife and children blown apart by bombs, like Ukrainians. So, yes, don't you DARE for ONE SECOND presume to tell Ukrainians what comprom

          • I'm sure the Ukraine will not consult me on the kind of compromise they are allowed to accept. My comment is directed at Kaspersky, that psychopathic asshole, who thinks it's at all acceptable for a Russian to hope for "compromise". Any compromise accepted by the Ukraine would be forced on it with the threat of annihilation and would therefore be defeat, not compromise. A compromise requires that both sides have legitimate but conflicting grievances or entitlements. That is not the case, and that's why ther

            • Both sides have grievances. However, none of them justify invading another sovereign nation, much less deliberately targeting their civilians.

              I'm not unmindful of the fact that, unfortunately, my own country has repeatedly done the same.

              Big countries tend to bully smaller ones. I wish they wouldn't, but they do, and, short of a much greater appreciation for rule of law and of the value of human life, than most people seem to have right now, I don't see much hope of fixing that anytime soon.

          • Nobody said Ukraine should fight unto its own destruction. Lots of people have said that the Russian Army should get out.

            So either you're erecting a strawman, or you're in favour of Russian forces remaining in Ukraine. Which is it?

          • I'm willing to sacrifice myself, but not my family, and if not for the fact that they'd lose my life insurance (which never pays out if war was the cause of death), I would consider going to Ukraine and helping to fight.

            As it stands now, I hope to get Ukraine some help through Ukrainian friends, and friends of friends. I'm not sure how I can do much better. I'm open to suggestions.

  • There is no neutrality when the violence is one-sided. It's understandable that they, as a company based in a country under dictatorship, can't but align themselves to the dictator's will. They have no choice; but their users do, and should choose a different company for the time being. I'm genuinely sorry for them but I'm much sorrier about the Ukrainian getting slaughtered.

  • Um yeah, I feel for Kaspersky which has impressive capabilities, but would not want to be running their software on my machines. Sorry. I actually did buy their antivirus once some generations ago, but I think anybody purchasing antivirus now would need to think twice and then twice again about allowing closed code from Russia onto their machines, regardless of how nice Kaspersky may appear. It is entirely possible for the code to hold an easter egg to be triggered by an unknown event. If they went open sou

  • Kaspersky stated that no one needed privacy. Then they were linked with mother Russia. Walk away.

  • I have friends and connections with both of the nations involved, and know and understand the arguments of both sides.

    However, Russia's "leaders" appear to have crossed the line by targeting civilians. I say "appear" because we live in a time in which "news" cannot be trusted, and the very facts on which our opinions are based are often unverifiable. Yet, no one seems to dispute that Russia has attacked and targeted civilians.

    In any case, attacks against civilians are NEVER acceptable to me.

    I will ALWAYS

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