As part of Kaspersky Lab’s Global Transparency Initiative, announced in October 2017, the company is preparing to move a number of its core processes from Russia to Switzerland.
Data storage and processing for a number of regions will be moved, as will software assembly, and a Transparency Centre will be opened.
CEO Eugene Kaspersky commented: “In a rapidly changing industry such as ours we have to adapt to the evolving needs of our clients, stakeholders and partners. Transparency is one such need, and that is why we’ve decided to redesign our infrastructure and move our data processing facilities to Switzerland. We believe such action will become a global trend for cybersecurity, and that a policy of trust will catch on across the industry as a key basic requirement.”
Kaspersky Lab has never helped, nor will help, any government in the world with its cyberespionage or offensive cyber efforts, and it’s disconcerting that a private company can be treated as guilty merely due to geopolitical issues.
– Spokesperson, Kaspersky Lab
Kaspersky Lab’s integrity has been called into question in the past, most notably by the US government, which last year banned the use of its products within its facilities on the grounds that it represented a “grave risk” to national security. The company has been accused of using its software to help Russia steal NSA hacking tools, though Eugene Kaspersky denied any wrongdoing and stated that if he were forced to participate in spying on behalf of the Kremlin, he would move operations out of Moscow.
The UK’s NCSC has also warned against use of Russian security products in cases where it is assessed that access to the information by the Russian state would be a risk to national security. The Dutch government has also announced that it plans to drop the company’s software, and Twitter has banned Kaspersky Lab from advertising on its website.
A spokesperson from the company said: “Kaspersky Lab has never helped, nor will help, any government in the world with its cyberespionage or offensive cyber efforts, and it’s disconcerting that a private company can be treated as guilty merely due to geopolitical issues.”
