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Kaspersky Lab

Kaspersky Lab is a Russian multinational cybersecurity and anti-virus provider company headquartered in Moscow, Russia.[1] It was founded in 1997 by Eugene Kaspersky, Natalya Kaspersky and Alexey De-Monderik. Kaspersky Lab develops and sells antivirus, endpoint security, SIEM, XDR, and other cybersecurity products and services.[4] The Kaspersky Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT) has led the discovery of sophisticated espionage platforms conducted by nations, such as Equation Group and the Stuxnet worm.[5] Their research has uncovered large-scale and highly technical cyber espionage attempts. Kaspersky also publishes the annual Global IT Security Risks Survey.[6]

Kaspersky expanded abroad from 2005 to 2010 and grew to $822 million in annual revenues by 2024.[7][8] In 2010, Kaspersky Lab ranked fourth in the global ranking of antivirus vendors by revenue.[9] It was the first Russian company to be included into the rating of the world's leading software companies, called the Software Top 100 (79th on the list, as of June 29, 2012).[10] In 2016, Kaspersky's research hubs analyzed more than 350,000 malware samples per day.[11] In 2016, the software had about 400 million users and was one the largest market-share of cybersecurity software vendors in Europe.

The US government has alleged that Kaspersky has engaged with the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB)—ties which the company has actively denied.[12][13][14] In 2017, the Trump administration issued a ban of Kaspersky software on federal civilian and military computers. In response to these and other allegations, Kaspersky began to solicit independent reviews and verification of its source code, and relocated core infrastructure and customer data from Russia to Switzerland. Multiple countries have banned or restricted their government agencies from using Kaspersky products, including Lithuania,[15] the Netherlands,[16] and the United States.[17]

As of 2025, Kaspersky has over 30 offices in Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Latin America, and customers in over 200 countries.[18][19]

History

The first version of Kaspersky Lab's antivirus software was developed by Eugene Kaspersky in 1989 in response to the Cascade Virus.[20][21] Early versions had just 40 virus definitions and were mostly distributed to friends and family members.[22] Kaspersky continued developing the software at KAMI,[22] resulting in the AntiViral Toolkit Pro (AVP) product released in 1992.[23] It was popularized in 1994 after a competitive analysis by Hamburg University gave his software first place.[24][25][23][26]

In 1997, Eugene Kaspersky, his wife Natalya Kaspersky, and Alexey De-Monderik left KAMI to form Kaspersky Lab,[27] and to continue developing the antivirus product, then called AVP.[30][31] The product was renamed Kaspersky Anti-Virus after an American company registered the AVP trademark in the US.[30]

In 1998, a Taiwanese student released a virus called CIH. During the first three weeks of the outbreak, Kaspersky Lab's AVP was the only software at the time able to remove it. This increased demand and led to deals with antivirus companies in Japan, Finland and Germany to integrate AVP into their software.[22][30][32]

According to WIRED, Kaspersky's software was "advanced for the time". For example, it was the first software to monitor viruses in an isolated quarantine.[33] The company's revenue grew 280 percent from 1998 to 2000, with about 60 percent of its revenue coming from foreign sales.[30] Natalya worked to broker deals abroad and localize the software. It opened offices in the UK, Poland, Holland and China. It later expanded to Germany, France, the US and Japan.[32] By 2000, the company had 65 employees and sales in more than 40 countries.[30] Kaspersky opened new offices in South East Asia and the Middle East in 2008[24] and in South Africa in 2009.[34] It also expanded in India, the Middle East and Africa in 2010.[24][35] In 2009, retail sales of Kaspersky Lab's antivirus products reached almost 4.5 million copies per year.[27]

In 2011, General Atlantic bought a 20 percent share of Kaspersky Lab for $200 million, with the expectation of helping the company go public. A few months later, the decision was made to keep the firm private and Kaspersky re-purchased the shares from General Atlantic.[36][37][38] This was followed by numerous executive departures in 2011 and 2014 regarding disputes over going public and over Eugene Kaspersky's management style.

On January 1, 2012, Kaspersky Lab officially left the Business Software Alliance (BSA) over SOPA. The BSA had supported the controversial anti-piracy bill, but Kaspersky Lab did not support it stating, "we believe that such measures will be used contrary to the modern advances in technology and the needs of consumers," and to show their disapproval, announced their intent to leave on December 5, 2011.[39][40]

By 2013, the company had an unaudited $667 million in annual revenues.[41] In 2014, Kaspersky Lab signed a distribution deal with Ingram Micro, which significantly expanded its reseller program.[42]

In August 2015, two former Kaspersky employees alleged that the company introduced modified files into the VirusTotal antivirus database to trick software from Kaspersky competitors into triggering false positives in virus and malware scans. A possible motive is that Eugene Kaspersky allegedly was furious at competitors perceived to be "unfairly" free-riding on Kaspersky's malware discoveries via the open-source VirusTotal database. The company denied the allegations.[43][44][45] On his personal blog, Eugene Kaspersky compared the accusations to unsubstantiated conspiracy theories.[46] Reuters followed up by publishing leaked emails allegedly from Kaspersky alluding to "falsies" and "rubbing out" foreign competitors; Kaspersky Lab stated the emails "may not be legitimate and were obtained from anonymous sources that have a hidden agenda".[47]

In 2016, Kaspersky executive Ruslan Stoyanov was arrested by Russian authorities on charges predating his work at Kaspersky.[48] In 2019, he was convicted of treason.[49][50]

In 2017, Kaspersky Lab launched the Global Transparency Initiative, which included several measures, including the opening of Transparency Centers to demonstrate the original code of products to partners and authorities.[51] In 2025, the Transparency Review and Accountability in Cyber Security (TRACS) 2025 study, conducted by the Tyrolean Chamber of Commerce and Industry in collaboration with MCI and AV-Comparatives, covering 14 of the most widely used corporate cybersecurity solutions (Cisco, ESET, Kaspersky, Microsoft, Symantec, etc.), it was noted that only three participants — Cisco, Kaspersky, and Microsoft — applied the practice of transparency centers as a real element of openness policy in the company.[52]

In June 2023, Kaspersky Lab said many of its senior staff and managers were hit by an ongoing attack that it first suspected in early 2023 and has compromised thousands of iPhones. The oldest traces of infection date back to 2019.[53] The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) separately accused the US National Security Agency and company Apple of being behind the attack and infiltrating the phones of diplomats from China, Israel, NATO members, and Syria. Kaspersky Lab said it does not believe itself to be the main target and that it had not shared its own findings about the attack with Russian authorities until the FSB announcement.[54]

On 20 June 2024, after the US announced that it would prohibit Kaspersky from selling or distributing updates to its software to US customers and sanctioned 12 of its senior leaders, the company announced it would leave the US market.[18][55][56] On September 25, the company abruptly replaced its software on US users' computers with UltraAV software developed by US cybersecurity firm Pango, angering some users.[57][58]

Products and services

Kaspersky Lab develops and markets antivirus, internet security, password management, endpoint security, and other cybersecurity products and services.[59] It is the fourth or fifth largest endpoint security vendor[24][60] and the third largest consumer IT security software company.[24] It is the sixth largest overall IT security company.[61] Its revenues are about 15 percent from Russian companies domestically, one-third from European organizations and one-fourth from US organizations.[62] The software has about 400 million users in all.

Kaspersky's consumer software include the Antivirus, Internet Security and Total Security products.[63] The Antivirus software includes malware protection, monitors the PC for suspicious program behavior, and warns users about potentially dangerous websites. The Internet Security software adds privacy features, parental controls, anti-phishing tools.[64][65] Total Security adds parental controls, adult website filters, diagnostic tools, a Password Manager application, and other features.[63][66] Since 2023, the new lineup was introduced, with Kaspersky Basic, Plus and Premium replacing Antivirus, Internet Security and Total Security.[67] Kaspersky's software is available for Macs, PCs, Android, iOS, Windows Mobile, BlackBerry and Symbian.[68][69]

For businesses, the company has developed Kaspersky Industrial CyberSecurity for OT environments, and Kaspersky Hybrid Cloud Security for container infrastructures. Detection and response solutions include Kaspersky Next XDR Expert, Kaspersky Next EDR Optimum, and Kaspersky SIEM for centralized security monitoring. The company markets the Kaspersky Endpoint Security for Business suite. It includes a centralized user interface and management application called the Kaspersky Security Center. The cybersecurity software itself is called the Kaspersky Security Network. The Kaspersky Administration KitSecurity Center manages configuration, installation and remote use. The business suite also has quarantine, reporting, and other features.[70] Its software product for businesses with 25 staff or less is called Kaspersky Small Office Security (KSOS).[71] Within the suite are products specifically for virtualization security,[72] mobile security,[73] and fraud protection[74] among others. Kaspersky also develops a free tool that helps businesses gain access to Windows devices that are infected by ransomware.[75] In 2017, KasperskyOS, a secure operating system, was released,[76] and in 2021, Kaspersky IoT Secure Gateway 100 for IoT was introduced based on it.[77] Among cloud solutions, Kaspersky Hybrid Cloud Security protects cloud infrastructures, and Kaspersky SD-WAN ensures secure corporate networks.

KasperskyOS

KasperskyOS is a proprietary microkernel operating system built from scratch using secure-by-design principles. It's developed by Kaspersky for embedded and industrial devices with heightened cybersecurity demands. It features minimal trusted kernel, strict isolation of components in user space, default-deny policy enforcement and formal, policy-based control via the Kaspersky Security System. The aim is to create “Cyber Immune” systems that keep critical functions operating even if some parts of the system are attacked via unknown vulnerabilities. Key use cases are network equipment, industrial control/IoT gateways, smart cars, smart city and transport infrastructure, and other critical-infrastructure uses.[78]

KasperskyOS is distributed both as a platform and inside finished appliances such as the Kaspersky IoT Secure Gateway (KISG 100/1000), while early deployments also appeared in Kraftway routing/switching gear.

There is a community edition for prototyping and development.[79]

Threatpost

Threatpost is a discontinued[80] computer security blog which was funded by Kaspersky Lab. According to Eugene Kaspersky, it was independent of Kaspersky.[81] It was launched in 2009.[82][83] After August 2022, no new articles have been published on the site.[84]

Partnerships

The Kaspersky Anti-Virus engine also powers products or solutions by other security vendors, such as Check Point, Bluecoat, Juniper Networks, Microsoft Forefront,[85] Netintelligence, Clearswift, FrontBridge, Netasq, Wedge Networks, and others. Altogether, more than 120 companies are licensing technology from Kaspersky Lab. Kaspersky Lab also has a number of partnerships with various technology companies.

The International Multilateral Partnership Against Cyber Threats in which Datuk Mohd Noor Amin acts as the chairman, announced the appointment of Harry Cheung – Managing Director of Kaspersky Lab, APAC – as the Goodwill Ambassador for Greater China.[86]

Kaspersky Lab was a long-term partner of Scuderia Ferrari and in December 2021, announced a partnership extension with the Formula One team, and also became the team's esports partner.[87] However, in March 2022 the deal was paused as a joint decision taken by the two companies due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[88]

In 2024, Kaspersky and the African Union's law enforcement agency, AFRIPOL, signed a five-year cooperation agreement to prevent and combat cybercrime.[89]

Interpol

INTERPOL and Kaspersky have maintained a long-standing partnership aimed at preventing and combating cybercrime worldwide. In 2013, Kaspersky supported INTERPOL's Global Complex for Innovation in Singapore by providing advanced digital forensics tools and expertise to aid international investigations.[90]

In 2016, the two organizations signed a cyber threat intelligence exchange agreement to enhance real-time data sharing on emerging threats.[91] This cooperation was renewed and expanded in 2019, enabling joint operations targeting major malware campaigns and organized cybercrime groups.[92]

During the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, Kaspersky supported INTERPOL in countering cyberattacks aimed at the Games’ infrastructure and participants.[93] In 2025, their joint efforts helped dismantle over 20,000 malicious IP addresses and domains linked to information-stealing malware, as part of a global crackdown involving law enforcement from more than 50 countries.[94]

The partnership focuses on sharing threat intelligence and strengthening global cybersecurity resilience.[95]

Market assessments and reception

According to 2016 reviews in PC Magazine, Kaspersky AntiVirus and competitor Bitdefender were both consistently ranked at the top in independent competitive tests.[96] PC Magazine's own malware and phishing tests showed similar results. Noted pros — “bonus security tools” and a large number of Kaspersky Total Security features, including password management, encryption and parental control software. Minuses — scanning took longer than expected.[96] The product received high scores in lab tests for antivirus, antiphishing and other features and “average” scores in tests for antivirus and spam filtering.[97]

Kaspersky's 2013 Endpoint Security for Windows product was the top-ranked enterprise antivirus software in a competitive test by Dennis Technology Labs, followed by Symantec Endpoint Protection.[98] AV-Comparatives awarded Kaspersky "Product of the Year" for 2015, based on the number of high scores it received throughout the year on a wide range of tests.[99][100][101] PC Magazine praised the software's features, but said it lacked policy management and deployment options.[102] Kaspersky's parental control software has been praised by PC Magazine for its “very affordable parental control and monitoring,” software content filtering, child profiles, social media monitoring and other features. Downsides noted: some features only available for iOS or Android.[97]

The anti-virus software testing group AV-Comparatives gave the Windows XP version of Kaspersky AV an "Advanced+" rating (its highest) in both its February 2008 on-demand detection test (with the fourth highest detection rate among 16 products tested).[103] However, in the Retrospective/Proactive Test May 2008, Kaspersky received the "Standard" rating, detecting 21% of new malware with 1-month old signatures and receiving a substantial amount of false positives.[104]

The firewall included in Kaspersky Internet Security 7.0 got a "Very Good" rating in Matousec's Firewall challenge,[105] with a result of 85%. Kaspersky Anti-Virus 7.0 has achieved a 6.5 result out of 8 in the Anti Malware Labs rootkit detection test.[106] It has also achieved a 31 out of 33 detection of polymorphic viruses[107] and a 97% result in the self-protection test.[108] In 2007, Kaspersky Internet Security 7 received an award from the British magazine PC Pro and also won a place in its "A List".[109]

Kaspersky has passed most of the Virus Bulletin comparative tests since August 2003.[110] In 2005, according to PC World magazine, Kaspersky anti-virus software provided the fastest updates for new virus and security threats in the industry.[111]

In PC World magazine's March 2010 comparison of consumer security suites, Kaspersky Internet Security 2010 scored 4.5/5 stars, and was rated second overall.[112] In the December 2011 version of AV-Comparatives' annual reports, Kaspersky Lab's software achieved the highest overall ranking and has earned the AV Comparatives' "Product of the Year" award.[113]

On February 1, 2012, Kaspersky Internet Security earned "AV-TEST Award for Best Repair 2011" award in the field of home user products from AV-TEST Institute.[114] On January 28, 2013, Kaspersky Endpoint Security earned "AV-TEST Award for Best Protection 2012" and "AV-TEST Award for Best Repair 2012" awards in the field of corporate products from AV-TEST Institute.[115]

Later in 2013, Kaspersky earned the product of the year award from AV-Comparatives and the highest score among Enterprise solutions in a Dennis Technology Labs report.[101][116]

Kaspersky has also received certification of its products through the OESIS OK Certification Program, which verifies that the applications are interoperable with third-party technology solutions like NAC and SSL VPN products from Cisco Systems, Juniper Networks, F5 Networks, and others.[117]

Kaspersky products regularly participate in and achieve high results[118][119] in independent tests by AV-Test,[120] AV-Comparatives,[121] and SE Labs.[122] These organizations are members of the Anti-Malware Testing Standards Organization (AMTSO),[123] which Microsoft has adopted as an “industry standard organization” for independent certification purposes.[124]

Finances

Malware discovery

Kaspersky Lab's Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT) was established in 2008.[133] It investigates cybersecurity threats and other work by malware operations.[134] IT security companies are often evaluated by their ability to uncover previously unknown viruses and vulnerabilities. Kaspersky's reputation for investigating cyber-security threats has been influential in gaining sales and prestige.[135] Beginning around 2010, Kaspersky exposed a series of government-sponsored cyber-espionage and sabotage efforts. These include Stuxnet, Duqu, Flame, Gauss, Regin and the Equation Group.[134] According to Wired, "many of them [were] seemingly launched by the US and its UK and Israeli allies. Kaspersky is especially well-known for its work uncovering Stuxnet, Careto,[136] and Flame."[137]

Stuxnet

In 2010, Kaspersky Lab worked with Microsoft to counteract the Stuxnet worm, which had infected 14 industrial locations in Iran using four zero-day vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows.[138] According to IEEE Spectrum, the circumstances "strongly suggest" the worm was developed by the United States and Israel to damage centrifuges in Iran's nuclear-enrichment program. It was the first discovery of a major government-sponsored cyber-attack.[139][140]

Flame

In May 2012, Kaspersky Lab identified the malware Flame, which a researcher described as potentially "the most sophisticated cyber weapon yet unleashed".[141] According to the researchers in Kaspersky Lab, the malware had infected an estimated 1,000 to 5,000 machines worldwide[142][143] when asked by the United Nations International Telecommunication Union to investigate reports of a virus affecting Iranian Oil Ministry computers.[144] As Kaspersky Lab investigated, it discovered an MD5 hash and filename that appeared only on customer machines from Middle Eastern nations. After discovering more pieces, researchers dubbed the program "Flame" after the name of one of its modules.[144]

Flame was an earlier variant of Stuxnet. Kaspersky never verified the source of the software, but it is suspected to have been developed by the National Security Agency (NSA) to transmit keystrokes, Skype calls and other data.[145][146][142] Kaspersky created algorithms to find similar malware and found Gauss that July, which collected and transmitted data from devices infected by bluetooth or USB drives.[139][147]

Red October

In January 2013, Kaspersky discovered the Red October malware, which had been used for widespread cyber-espionage for five years. It targeted political targets like embassies, nuclear sites, mostly in Europe, Switzerland and North America. The malware was likely written by Russian-speaking hackers and the exploits by Chinese hackers.[148][149] That June, Kaspersky discovered NetTraveler, which it said was obtaining data on emerging technology from government targets and oil companies. Kaspersky did not identify who was behind it, but it was similar to other cyber-espionage coming from Beijing, China.[150][151] Later that same year, Kaspersky discovered a hacker group it called Icefog after investigating a cybersecurity attack on a Japanese television company. Kaspersky said the hacker group, possibly from China, was unique in that they targeted specific files they seemed to know about before planting malware to extract them.[152][153]

Mask

In February 2014, Kaspersky identified the malware Mask, which infected 380 organizations in 31 countries. Many organizations that were affected were in Morocco. Some of the files were in Spanish and the group is believed to be a state conducting espionage, but Kaspersky did not speculate on which country may have developed it.[154][155]

Regin

In November 2014, Symantec and Kaspersky authored papers that contained the first disclosure of malicious software named Regin.[156] According to Kaspersky, Regin is similar to QWERTY, a malware program discovered the next year.[157] Regin was used to take remote control of a computer and is believed to have originated from the Five Eyes alliance.[158] That same month Kaspersky reported on the Darkhotel attack, which targeted users of wireless networks at hotels in Asia. It asked users to update their software, and then download malware that gave up their passwords.[159][160][161]

Equation Group

In 2015, Kaspersky identified a highly sophisticated threat actor that it called "The Equation Group". The group incorporated sophisticated spying software into the firmware of hard drives at banks, government agencies, nuclear researchers and military facilities, in countries that are frequent targets of US intelligence efforts.[162] It is suspected to have been developed by the National Security Agency (NSA) and included many unique technical achievements to better avoid detection.[163] That same day, Kaspersky announced the discovery of a hacker group it called Carbanak, which was targeting banks and moving millions of dollars into fake accounts. Carbanak was discovered when one bank asked Kaspersky to investigate suspicious behavior from its ATMs.[164] A similar malware using some of the same techniques as Carbanak was discovered in 2016 and dubbed Carbanak 2.0.[165]

Duqu

In June 2015, Kaspersky reported that its own network had been infiltrated by government-sponsored malware. Evidence suggested the malware was created by the same developers as Duqu and Stuxnet, in order to get intelligence that would help them better avoid detection by Kaspersky in the future. Kaspersky called it Duqu 2.0.[166] The malicious software resided in memory to avoid detection. The hack was believed to have been done by the same group that did Duqu in 2011. It used exploits in Microsoft installer files.[167]

Android cyber-espionage

In June 2015, Kaspersky Lab and Citizen Lab both independently discovered software developed by Hacking Team and used by 60 governments around the world to covertly record data from the mobile phones of their citizens. The software gave police enforcement a "menu of features" to access emails, text messages, keystrokes, call history and other data.[168][169][170] Kaspersky also identified 37,000 attacks against banking companies that used modifications of the malware called Asacub and took control of Android devices. Asacub targeted mostly banking customers in the US, Russia and Ukraine using an SMS message that baited users into installing a Trojan.[171]

Silverlight

In 2016, Kaspersky discovered a zero day vulnerability in Microsoft Silverlight. Kaspersky identified a string of code often used by exploits created by the suspected author. It then used YARA rules on its network of Kaspersky software users to find that string of code and uncover the rest of the exploit. Afterwards, Microsoft issued a "critical" software patch to protect its software from the vulnerability.[172][173]

Poseidon Group

In 2016, Kaspersky uncovered the Poseidon Group, which would infiltrate corporations with malware using phishing emails, then get hired by the same company as a security firm to correct the problem. Once hired, Poseidon would install additional malware and backdoors.[174] In June 2016 Kaspersky helped uncover a Russian hacking group, leading to 50 arrests.[137]

ShadowHammer (attack on ASUS)

In 2019, Kaspersky Lab uncovered a large-scale attack on the ShadowHammer supply chain, in which attackers injected malicious code into official ASUS Live Update software updates. The backdoor was detected on half a million computers. The attack is estimated to have targeted 600 systems, where attackers actually used the backdoor. The investigation revealed a high level of sophistication in the operation and the use of two different ASUS digital certificates to sign the malware.[175]

Symantec confirmed Kaspersky's findings, reporting that at least 13,000 computers belonging to Symantec customers were infected with the malicious software update. About 18 percent of the infected systems belonging to Kaspersky customers were located in Russia, followed by fewer German and French computers. About 5 percent of infected Kaspersky customers were located in the US, while about 15 percent of Symantec's 13,000 infected systems were located in the US.[176]

Titanium

In 2019, Kaspersky uncovered Titanium, a very advanced and insidious backdoor malware APT, developed by PLATINUM, a cybercrime collective. Kaspersky Lab reported the malware on November 8, 2019.[177][178][179][180][181][182]

MATA Toolset Campaign

In 2020, Kaspersky published research on the MATA Toolset Campaign, a sophisticated cyber-espionage framework targeting multiple operating systems, including Windows, macOS, and Linux. The malware, attributed to the Lazarus Group, was used for stealing databases, distributing ransomware, and installing backdoors on infected systems. MATA's capabilities allowed attackers to execute a wide range of malicious activities, including exfiltrating sensitive data from corporate networks and compromising financial systems. The campaign highlighted the increasing cross-platform threat posed by state-sponsored actors. In September 2022 and October 2023, new malware samples linked to the MATA cluster were uncovered.[183][184][185]

PyPI Supply Chain Attack

In 2024, Kaspersky uncovered a year-long supply chain attack targeting the Python Package Index (PyPI), a popular repository for Python developers. Attackers uploaded malicious packages containing JarkaStealer, a malware designed to exfiltrate sensitive information from infected systems. These packages were disguised as legitimate tools and lured victims through social engineering tactics, including AI (OpenAI's ChatGPT) chatbots offering assistance. The campaign demonstrated the vulnerability of open-source ecosystems and emphasized the importance of scrutinizing dependencies in software development.[186][187]

NKAbuse Malware

In 2023, Kaspersky exposed NKAbuse, a sophisticated multiplatform malware written in the Go programming language. This malware leveraged blockchain technology for its peer-to-peer communication infrastructure, making it resilient to takedowns. NKAbuse functioned as a flooder and a backdoor, enabling attackers to launch distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks and gain persistent access to compromised systems. The campaign illustrated the evolving use of blockchain in cybercrime and reinforced the need for enhanced detection methods.[188][189]

Triangulation

In 2023, Kaspersky uncovered Triangulation, a sophisticated spyware campaign targeting iOS mobile devices. The malware exploited multiple zero-day vulnerabilities to gain full control of targeted devices. Triangulation was primarily distributed through malicious attachments in instant messaging apps. Once installed, it allowed attackers to access encrypted communications, GPS locations, and sensitive data. Kaspersky attributed the campaign to an advanced persistent threat (APT) group but refrained from naming a specific actor, though evidence suggested ties to state-sponsored espionage.[190][191]

CloudSorcerer/EastWind

CloudSorcerer APT and its EastWind campaign were identified by Kaspersky in 2024.The malware leveraged public cloud infrastructure to perform large-scale data exfiltration and surveillance. The attackers used sophisticated phishing campaigns to infiltrate government and private sector organizations, especially targeting research institutions and critical infrastructure. CloudSorcerer employed novel encryption techniques to disguise data flows, complicating detection. Kaspersky linked the malware to a state-affiliated group but did not specify which country was behind the attack.[192][193]

DuneQuixote

In 2024, Kaspersky exposed DuneQuixote, a stealthy malware campaign targeting intellectual property in the technology and energy sectors. The malware used custom-built exploits and employed fileless techniques, operating entirely in memory to evade detection by traditional security tools. DuneQuixote's attack vector included compromised software updates and supply chain vulnerabilities. Kaspersky attributed the operation to a well-funded APT group with global reach, though the precise origin remained unclear. The discovery highlighted the growing complexity of threats targeting high-value intellectual assets.[194]

SparkCat

In February 2025, Kaspersky discovered SparkCat, a first OCR infostealer found on the iOS App Store.[195][196] On iOS and Android, SparkCat requests access to users' photo galleries when they attempt to use the support chat in an infected app. Once granted permission, the malware uses OCR technology to decipher text in photos and looks for screenshots of passwords or phrases to gain access to cryptocurrency; it sends the gathered information to the attacker.[197] By February10, 2025, Apple and Google had removed about 20apps from their app stores, but the malware persisted in unofficial stores and websites.[198]

Bans and allegations of Russian government ties

Since 2015, Western media outlets and governments have accused Kaspersky of having close ties to the Russian government. In 2017, allegations emerged that hackers had used Kaspersky software to steal confidential data from the home computer of a contractor for the US National Security Agency (NSA). Kaspersky denied the allegations, reporting that the software had detected Equation Group malware samples which it uploaded to its servers for analysis in its normal course of operation.[199]

In September 2017, the US Department of Homeland Security banned federal agencies from using and purchasing Kaspersky software, requiring them to remove it from their systems within 90 days.[17] In December, President Donald Trump signed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018, which extended this ban to military computers.[200] In response, the company launched a “Global Transparency Initiative”, moving its infrastructure to process customer data to Switzerland and opening transparency centers in a number of countries to allow customers and regulators to review its source code and data processing practices.[201][202]

In 2022, following Russian invasion of Ukraine, the US warned companies about the risks of using Kaspersky software, and the FCC added it to its list of national security threats.[203] In response, the company said the decision was political and expressed its willingness to cooperate with the authorities to address their concerns.[204] In 2024, leaked emails showed that Kaspersky allegedly helped Russia develop software for spy drones.[205]

In April 2024, it became known that the US Department of Commerce was considering a complete ban on the sale of Kaspersky products.[206] On June 20, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo announced that sales would be banned in the US from July 20 and software updates from September 29, as part of Trump and Biden's executive orders on protecting data from “foreign adversaries.”[207][206] In July, the company announced the closure of its US office and the dismissal of its staff,[208] and on July 17, it offered US customers six months of free updates, warning of limited functionality after September 29.[209]

In February 2025, Australia banned the use of Kaspersky software in government agencies due to national security concerns. The Department of Home Affairs ordered its removal from government devices by April 1, bringing the country into line with other members of the Five Eyes intelligence pact — the US, Canada, and the UK.[210][211]

See also

  • Antivirus software
  • Comparison of antivirus software
  • Titanium (malware)
  • Shaltai Boltai
  • Vault 7

External links

References

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