3 ms·

There's an important difference: American security companies have ties to American intelligence. The concern here is Kaspersky has ties to Russian intelligence.

There's an important difference: American security companies have ties to American intelligence. The concern here is Kaspersky has ties to Russian intelligence. If you're an American company or government agency and have to choose between the two the choice is pretty clear. I have a lot of respect for Kaspersky and hope they are still independent. But "ties to intelligence" can come in many forms: deliberate, coerced, or via infiltration. We've seen similar issues here in the US. Sometimes companies work voluntarily with the FBI and NSA, sometimes they are infiltrated or tricked by them.

sovietmoonbase 5y ago
> If you're an American company or government agency and have to choose between the two the choice is pretty clear. I suppose that entirely depends on one's threat-model. As an American, I have greater concerns of USG oppression than I do Russian. As the Russians have their ham-fisted means of exterting influence on a company, the US has their very own nasty ways of infiltration. If you're interested in personal freedoms free of malicious government intrusion, they both suck.
- NelsonMinar 5y ago