YEREVAN. – Kaspersky Lab CEO Eugene Kaspersky gave an interview to Armenian News-NEWS.am telling about licensed content in CIS states, cyber crimes and American spy system.
It is known that Russia and the CIS states have no tradition of buying licensed programs. Has anything changed in recent years?
A breakthrough in Russia came somewhere in the mid of 2000s. Previously there was a general belief that it is not necessary to purchase software because it can be downloaded or copied free of charge. At some point people began to be proud of having legal software. It appeared on computer forums, and was discussed by ordinary people. People became proud of legitimate applications, music and movies. I think the changes happened due to the following reasons: first, the paying capacity has grown. Secondly, there was an effective anti-piracy campaign by Microsoft and the government. I believe that piracy is not only in the head, but in your pocket. So, the best way to combat piracy is not to punish or to search for distributors, it is necessary to develop economy and explain that the use of licensed software is a right thing.
So, have the CIS states turned into a market?
Yes, generally speaking, it has become. As to business entities, the vast majority use only legal software. It has not been so, especially in small companies. The piracy in Russia and the CIS is not the biggest problem for us now.
According to the latest research of Kaspersky and B2B International, the Russian and foreign businessmen underestimate the level of cyber threats, despite the fact that 200,000 new malware samples appear every day. How fast have been the figures growing over the recent years?
Unfortunately, the number of new malware is growing, and this happens quite fast. It is not clear what will happen next. Computer criminals feel free enough. Writing a malicious program is not too difficult. Neither is infecting a large number of computers. The criminals may remain unpunished, and this is the reason they feel relatively safe so far. Now the situation is changing. The cyber police in many countries are very active, and the number of successful investigations is growing. Interpol has joined the struggle. If there are more examples of successful struggle against cyber crimes, the number of new viruses will either stabilize or even will begin to decline. We have witnessed only growth so far. And the increase in number of viruses and threats is typical not only of Windows, but also of Android, occasionally even of Mac.
Viruses for smart phones, tablets. Is it another family?
Yes. Moreover, they are being developed by different people. Traditional computer crimes have been committed on Microsoft Windows, and it is difficult for people to be retrained on new platform. The new younger generation is already “working” on Android. But all this does not apply to professional spyware. If it is a professional team that is hunting information, they learn and conduct a coordinated attack so as not only to infect your computer, but also mobile devices connected to PC. It is not only about Android, but iPhone.
Which are the viruses posing the greatest threat to large companies?
If we talk about the attack on business, including large corporations, the main problem for them now is espionage. The most popular purpose is stealing sensitive information, industrial espionage, technology theft. Real professionals are standing behind the attacks. They can simultaneously attack computers, smart phones and tablets. The Red October malware is one of the examples. Unfortunately, such attacks are growing. The platform is not imortant. For example, there are constant attacks on Dalai Lama office where Macs are used.
Were anti-virus companies – McAfee, Symantec – aware of the global surveillance before it was revealed by Snowden?
If we talk about the collection of phone metadata, mail monitoring and private information, the rumors have been spreading for a long time. For example, in 2008 the Swedish parliament authorized its intelligence agencies to monitor all Internet traffic within the country and to share this information with other countries. It was a big scandal not only in Sweden. However, they calmed down soon. It is clear that the intelligence agencies that are fighting against terrorism and organized crime, are very interested to see what’s going on the web. I can not judge whether it is good or bad. I understand and share the concern of ordinary people that the security forces are intruding upon their personal life. But computers are used by the mafia and terrorists, too. And the special services have to fight against them. How to treat the surveillance cameras on the roads and in the streets? They save lives, but at the same time they are watching the honest people. Most likely, two states, Germany and Iceland are not collecting personal information. If we trust the data published by Snowden, the Americans monitored traffic in Germany and shared their data with the German intelligence services. I can not tell where to draw the line between privacy and security, this is a very difficult question.
Аnd what about spying on organizations and business?
Of course, this is a big scandal and at the highest political level. At least it caused cancellation of the Brazilian president’s visit to U.S. and the mess in Europe with hearings in the European Parliament. It is clear that Germany took this seriously: “How it happened that we are allies with the United States and Britain, but there is surveillance and collection of personal data”.
So, Snowden spoiled international relations...
Yes, he did it profoundly. In addition, it is undoubtedly a blow to American Internet companies. A number of people around the world refused to use the popular American services, including free e-mail and social networks. The recent reports suggest that an investment company from Malaysia will carry its server to Russia. Somehow, they believe that we are safer.
