Shaheen Calls For Immediate Action Following New Report of Kaspersky-Kremlin Coordination

(Washington, DC) — Today, Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), a member of both the Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, released the following statement in response to a Wall Street Journal news report that claims Kaspersky Lab software cooperated with the Russian government to identify and hack classified U.S. government information:

“This new report further underscores the overwhelming case against Kaspersky Lab,” said Shaheen. “These revelations should expedite efforts at the federal level to rid all federal systems of Kaspersky Lab products. And in accordance with my request, the Senate Armed Services Committee should immediately schedule a hearing to assess this vulnerability to our national security. It’s imperative that the Trump administration declassify information on Kaspersky lab to raise awareness -- It’s a great disservice to the public and our national security to continue withholding this information. The threat posed by Kaspersky Lab to both public and private interests has been concealed for far too long.”

Last week, Senator Shaheen sent a letter to the leadership of the Senate Armed Services Committee, requesting a hearing on the use of Kaspersky Lab software to hack the National Security Agency in 2015. The letter can be read in full here. Shaheen has led efforts in Congress to ban the use of Kaspersky Lab software from the entire federal government, and included a critical amendment to the annual defense authorization bill to do just that in the legislation that passed the Senate last month. The Trump administration heeded her call, and in September ordered federal agencies to remove the software from government computers within 90 days. Senator Shaheen previously authored an editorial for the New York Times, warning of the dangers of the United States government using Kaspersky Lab software, which can be read in full here.