Kaspersky Lab outright denies ever having government ties

Russian software vendor Kaspersky Lab has denied having ties to any government following recent allegations that its products are used within the US government.

Social news website BuzzFeed reported earlier this week that the US government is trying to roll back the use of Kaspersky’s cybersecurity tool due to concerns that the Moscow-based firm maintains close ties to the Russian government.

In a statement on its US website, the company insists that it has “never helped, nor will help, any government in the world with its cyber espionage efforts”.

The 400-word statement goes on to say that the location of Kaspersky Lab’s headquarters have no impact on the firm’s mission to protect people and organisations from cyber threats.

“Just as a US-based cyber security company doesn’t allow access or send any sensitive data from its products to the US government, Kaspersky Lab products also do not allow any access or provide any private data to any country’s government,” the statement went on to say.

Kaspersky Lab was also keen to point out that it has discovered and publicly reported on multiple Russian-speaking cyber espionage campaigns, more than any other US-based company.