Kaspersky Banned?

Just fyi, here is an excerpt from a recent article I just read.

As the U.S. government continues to ratchet up sanctions in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, public reporting suggests there may be a new target in the sites of U.S. sanctions authorities: Kaspersky Labs (Kaspersky), the popular Russian cybersecurity and antivirus company. Any sanctions imposed by the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) would come on the heels of other recent government action against Kaspersky. On March 25, 2022, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) added Kaspersky to its list of communications equipment and services that are deemed to pose an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States, as well as the safety and security of the American people. Kaspersky, which is headquartered in Moscow, is the first non-Chinese company added to the list that includes Shenzhen-based Huawei Technologies Company and ZTE Corporation, among others.

 

I watched related Senate Hearings via CSPAN a few years ago. Each head of the U.S. Defense Dept. stated they wouldn't want Kapersky on D.O.D. computers. Out of curiosity, I did alittle research on Evgeni Kapersky. He is a former KGB officer. Separately, I watched an interview with him on CNN. He said he'd stand up to Putin, if his company was threatened. In a separate article, the author referenced another interviewer who believed Kapersky's son was kidnapped as a message to Kapersky himself. In summary, there's a difference between consumer use and governmental/ corporate use of any software program, imho.

 

I think the decision is political

 

Glad the rest of the world didn't ban us when we invaded Iraq under the sorry-ass pretext of ridding it of "WMD" and its supposedly 'imminent' nuclear attack capability!

 

Back to non-political... If I have anything to hide, I think the software I choose will depend on where I am:

If living in America - I would use Chinese or Russian software - definitely avoiding anything from the 5-eyes.
If living in Europe - I would still use Chinese or Russian sofware.
If living in China or Russia - then I would use American software - for sure!

 

And I use no Security Software.

 

Agree, actually. IF I truly have anything that need hiding, I'd likely use a dedicated computer just for that - Linux OS, TOR, very specific software... and be real careful to use it only for very specific functions. Even security software can be a great resource for agents/LEO's to scour for your usage info?