• yeehaw@lemmy.ca
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    4 months ago

    When they’re tied to the Russian government this comes as no surprise. The only thing that surprised me was that it took this long.

    • stardust@lemmy.ca
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      4 months ago

      I think most countries spy on their citizens and a lot of the same countries probably don’t want other countries doing the same due to possible unwanted intel leaks in government and corporate sectors.

        • stardust@lemmy.ca
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          4 months ago

          Not saying it is okay. Pointing out that even if hypocritical there’s generally a strategic reason for countries to deter international spying. Would be quite a puzzling decision for any country to provide an open door for other countries to spy on them.

            • stardust@lemmy.ca
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              4 months ago

              Trying to set barriers seems logical when it comes to outsiders. But, spying by its nature is constant attempts to sneak past barriers, so attempts aren’t going to stop. It’d just be called collaboration instead of spying if information was shared freely and spying would be unnecessary.

              Maybe we have a different definition of deter. I don’t see it as stop, but trying to make it less easier. Why would spies stop trying to spy? I don’t expect that number to change. If it did that would be some pitiful spies.

              • 0x0@programming.dev
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                4 months ago

                It’d just be called collaboration instead of spying

                Happens all the time, the NSA can’t spy on US citizens to it asks GCHQ to do it for them, and vice-versa.

                Kaspersky’s software had been known for flagging US 3-letter-agencies’ malware, so there’s that…

                • stardust@lemmy.ca
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                  4 months ago

                  That’s with trusted parties where that type of collaboration is less likely to happen between parties that are hostile to each other. I would not expect blank country to trust any blank adversary countries software and instead be wary of their motives and back doors, and they would be smart not to with both sides seeking each other harm.

                  I don’t think you understand that I am viewing this from how sides that see each other as potential threats view and treat each other. Not talking about countries that are already collaborating as if they were allies.

                  In case you don’t understand. I am not claiming that countries do not spy on their own citizens and seek methods to spy even more on them. I’m talking about how countries can react to countries they label as adversaries.

    • Maddier1993@programming.dev
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      4 months ago

      On the other hand if the number keeps going down it helps strengthen hope that it can go down to 0. When these things happen some apparatus gets left behind on how to do it a again for rogue actors inside the country too.

      • MrAlternateTape@lemm.ee
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        4 months ago

        The funny thing is, that whole thing just proved that the spying didn’t work. Trump was still almost killed. So the spying and mass surveillance did still not prevent that.

        I guess they should stop violating everybody’s privacy, but obviously they don’t care.

  • katy ✨@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    4 months ago

    the consequences of xenophobia. i worked for kaspersky usa from 2011 to 2014 and they were great. it shows how much conspiracy theories take root when people believe eugene has ties with the russian government based on his mandatory service back when it was still the ussr.

    • Saik0@lemmy.saik0.com
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      4 months ago

      Pretty sure it’s not xenophobic to look at “Headquarters Moscow, Russia” and wonder if there’s any possibility that Putin could enforce something upon the company.

      It’s not like Russia doesn’t do it to us.

      The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) separately accused the US National Security Agency and company Apple of being behind the attack

      It’s fair to hurt Russia’s GDP by choosing not to use Kaspersky [in light of people’s opposition to the war with Ukraine]. That doesn’t mean “xenophobic”.

      Edit: Added bracketed clarification

    • rottingleaf@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      People believe that based on it being legally impossible for such companies to exist in Russia without working with FSB, it’s not a secret.

      EDIT: Not even talking about the educational institution he graduated from, which was called high school of KGB when he did that.

    • cm0002@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      Xenophobia is bad when the fear is unfounded

      The fear isn’t unfounded with a known hostile country like Russia, it’s not like after the Cold war they went “ah well now we’re besties”

      Maybe they weren’t having Kas do anything, or maybe they were.

      This is the same country known for jailing peoples families when they don’t cooperate, this is the same country that launched an unprovoked war, this is the same country that has been trying to actively take down the US via political games etc (I could go on forever)

    • Socsa@sh.itjust.works
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      4 months ago

      The conspiracy theory that Russia is the belligerent in a war against Europe and is actively engaged in cyber espionage?

  • filister@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    I would be highly surprised if US antivirus companies aren’t doing pretty much the same as what the US is accusing Kaspersky of doing.

    • rottingleaf@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      I would not be highly surprised if data collected by Kaspersky were often enough shared with American 3-letter agencies, and data collected by American companies with FSB and GRU and SVR.

      It’s like in sci-fi series and such they often show the good guys and the bad guys temporarily uniting against a common threat. Only here the common threat would be some journalists or activists or politicians unpleasant for both, maybe. Or just people of a subculture unpleasant for both even. I’d expect anybody dealing in human rights and such to be a target of such cooperation.