Kaspersky Lab to open software to review, says nothing to hide despite US security concerns

Moscow-based Kaspersky Lab said on Monday it will ask independent parties to review the security of its anti-virus software, which the US government has said could jeopardise national security, citing concerns over Kremlin influence and hijacking by Russian spies.

Kaspersky, which research firm Gartner ranks as one of the world’s top cybersecurity vendors for consumers, said in a statement that it would submit the source code of its software and future product updates for review by a broad cross-section of computer security experts and government officials.

It also vowed to have outside parties review other aspects of its business, including software development. Reviews of its software, which is used on some 400 million computers worldwide, will begin by the first quarter of next year, it said.

“We’ve nothing to hide,” Chairman and CEO Eugene Kaspersky said on Monday. “With these actions we’ll be able to overcome mistrust and support our commitment to protecting people in any country on our planet.”

Kaspersky did not name the outside reviewers, but said they would have strong software security credentials and be able to conduct technical audits, source code reviews and vulnerability assessments.

US President Donald Trump’s administration last month barred government agencies from using Kaspersky Lab anti-virus products.