DHS was warned about the dangers of using Russian tied software

Washington Times:
The Pentagon’s intelligence agency flagged Russian software company Kaspersky Lab as a potential threat as far back as 2004, 13 years before the Department of Homeland Security banned the government from using its products, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

Kaspersky producers were the subject of a Pentagon-wide threat assessment circulated by the Defense Intelligence Agency in 2013, according to an email sent from the Department of Defense this week to the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, The Journal reported after reviewing the message.

The DIA “began producing threat reporting referencing Kaspersky Lab as a threat actor as early as 2004,” the email said, suggesting the government’s suspicions about the antivirus vendor started well before recent reports linking it to Russian intelligence.

The DHS recently issued a directive on September 13 ordering federal agencies to audit their systems for Kaspersky products and remove them within 90 days, citing “information security risks.”

“The Department is concerned about the ties between certain Kaspersky officials and Russian intelligence and other government agencies, and requirements under Russian law that allow Russian intelligence agencies to request or compel assistance from Kaspersky and to intercept communications transiting Russian networks,” the directive said.

“The risk that the Russian government, whether acting on its own or in collaboration with Kaspersky, could capitalize on access provided by Kaspersky products to compromise federal information and information systems directly implicates U.S. national security.”
...
There was no explanation for why Homeland Security continued to ignore the warning.   It is probably inexplicable.

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