US official: 15 per cent of agencies used Kaspersky software
WASHINGTON — Computer systems at 15 per cent of U.S. government agencies were running Kaspersky Lab software that’s been banned because of concerns about the company’s ties to the Kremlin and Russian spy operations, a top Homeland Security Department official told Congress on Tuesday.
In July, the General Services Administration removed Kaspersky from its list of approved federal vendors. In September, the Homeland Security Department directed all U.S. federal agencies and departments to stop using products or services supplied directly or indirectly by the Russian-owned and operated company.
About 94 per cent of all federal agencies met the mid-October deadline to determine whether they were using any Kaspersky products, Jeanette Manfra, assistant secretary, told a subcommittee of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. She said the department is helping the remaining agencies, which are small and do not have the tools to scan their systems.
“Out of all the federal agencies, a small number have identified the use or presence, in some aspect of their systems, of Kaspersky-branded products — about 15 per cent of agencies that have reported,” she said.