The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has issued a warning for businesses using products and services provided by Russian cyber security company Kaspersky.
Businesses are being urged to avoid using Russian tech providers, with Kaspersky being the only company named in the latest guidance.
High-profile and critical infrastructure companies, as well as organisations aiding Ukraine or criticising the Russian government, are at the highest risk of being compromised by Russian threat actors, the NCSC said on Tuesday.
However, it added that consumers using Kaspersky antivirus on their private IT equipment are unlikely to be targeted by the Russian state and can continue using the products and services.
The warning comes close to five years after the NCSC urged public sector organisations to avoid using Kaspersky antivirus, alongside ensuring that software is kept updated while network configurations and credentials are managed correctly.
“We still think this advice is correct but, given the conflict in Ukraine, the context has changed considerably,” NCSC technical director Ian Levy said on Tuesday.
The heightened risk stems from the Russian legal provision that obligates Russian companies, including antivirus providers such as Kaspersky, to assist the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB).
According to Levy, “the pressure to do so may increase in a time of war”.
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“We also have hacktivists on each side, further complicating matters, so the overall risk has materially changed,” he added.
Levy said that the NCSC has “no evidence that the Russian state intends to suborn Russian commercial products and services to cause damage to UK interests”.
The precautions, however, stem from the need to “err on the side of caution”.
“The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence,” said Levy.
The guidance comes days after Kaspersky was declared a threat to US national security and added to the FCC’s List of Equipment and Services Covered By Section 2 of the Secure Networks Act.
Earlier this month, Germany’s Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) also recommended switching away from any Kaspersky product to another vendor. Similarly to the NCSC, the BSI based the recommendation on the risk that the company could be forced by the Russian state to carry out offensive cyber operations.
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