A provision in a Senate spending bill that is likely to become law would bar the Defense Department from doing business with Kaspersky Lab, the Russian cyber-security company whose employees were interviewed at their homes this week by FBI agents.
The Congressional action comes amid mounting concerns about the Moscow-based company, which sells anti-virus software across the world to consumers, businesses and government agencies, including some elements of the U.S. government.
In recent months, U.S. intelligence officials have expressed concerns that the company is a security risk, without specifying the basis of those concerns.
Last month, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., asked the chiefs of the NSA, Central Intelligence Agency, FBI and three other intelligence agencies during a hearing whether they would be comfortable using Kaspersky products. Each said no.
"The ties between Kaspersky Lab and the Kremlin are very alarming," said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., who authored the provision in the defense spending bill. "This has led to a consensus in Congress and among administration officials that Kaspersky Lab cannot be trusted to protect critical infrastructure, particularly computer systems vital to our nation’s security."
FBI agents on Tuesday paid visits to at least a dozen employees of Kaspersky, asking questions about the company’s operations as part of a counter-intelligence inquiry, multiple sources familiar with the matter told NBC News.
In a classic FBI investigative tactic, agents visited the homes of the employees at the end of the work day at multiple locations on both the east and west coasts, the sources said.
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/fbi-interviews-employees-russia-linked-cyber-security-firm-kasperky-lab-n777571
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