Threat Intelligence

Report: Phase two of U.S. government’s Kaspersky ban complete

The U.S. government's effort to purge its systems of anti-virus software from Kaspersky Lab has reached the final stage, according to a report from Nextgov.

Federal agencies have completed the first two steps by scanning their networks for the software, and also by developing plans to disable and replace it, adds the report, citing a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official.

The deadline to finish phase two was Nov. 19. Phase three – the software's actual removal – must be completed by Dec. 19, according to the DHS' directive to executive branch departments and agencies.

In September, the DHS officially banned government agencies from using anti-virus software developed by Russia-based Kaspersky due to concerns that it gave Kremlin agents a backdoor to spy on U.S. officials.

Bradley Barth

As director of multimedia content strategy at CyberRisk Alliance, Bradley Barth develops content for online conferences, webcasts, podcasts video/multimedia projects — often serving as moderator or host. For nearly six years, he wrote and reported for SC Media as deputy editor and, before that, senior reporter. He was previously a program executive with the tech-focused PR firm Voxus. Past journalistic experience includes stints as business editor at Executive Technology, a staff writer at New York Sportscene and a freelance journalist covering travel and entertainment. In his spare time, Bradley also writes screenplays.

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Account HarvestingBlack HatDNS SpoofingDeauthentication AttackDictionary AttackDistributed ScansHybrid AttackInformation WarfarePassword CrackingReconnaissance

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