Developing computer security software for consumers and the business world isn’t an easy job. There are plenty of bad guys who want to gain access to systems and often times security software is what stops them. Eugene Kaspersky runs one of the largest computer security software firms in the world, Kaspersky Lab. Eugene Kaspersky founded the company back in 1997 and nearly since its inception there have been assumptions and accusations the company was tied to the Russian government.
Seeing as the company is from Russia and founded by a Russian cybersecurity expert, you could see how some would connect the two. Now, Kaspersky is wanting to rid himself of that label by sharing his company’s source code with the U.S. Government.
“If the United States needs, we can disclose the source code,” he said, adding that he was ready to testify before U.S. lawmakers as well. “Anything I can do to prove that we don’t behave maliciously I will do it.”
Kaspersky’s competition
“I do understand why we look strange. Because for Russia it’s very unusual, a Russian IT that’s very successful everywhere around the world. But it’s true,” he said.
While it’s understandable why Kaspersky is willing to hand over his source code, it’s also troubling to some that he would consider doing that. There are some who believe this type of source code shouldn’t be handed over to any government, even one deemed friendly. One never knows what that government could use the code for, even against its own citizenry. It’s an interesting situation Kaspersky finds himself in here. On one hand, the cloud of his Russian ties is over him, and on the other, handing over source code to any government could create a new cloud.
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