BSI warning of Kaspersky: Constitutional Court rejects lawsuit
Ukraine war
The BSI warns against the use of Kaspersky software. The regular test winner in antivirus tests sees itself as a victim of the political situation.
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Update from June 13, 2022: Kaspersky fails before the Constitutional Court
Even in the third instance, Kaspersky was unsuccessful with a lawsuit against the BSI (Federal Office for Information Security). The Constitutional Court did not accept this. Kaspersky therefore “did not state that the administrative courts violated fundamental rights precisely through the way in which they processed the application for a temporary injunction.” This also means that an urgent application associated with the constitutional complaint is off the table.
In March, the BSI warned against using software from the Russian company. According to the BSI, this could voluntarily or against his will become a gateway for the Russian government’s spy software. Kaspersky had first filed an urgent application in Cologne, then wanted to lodge a complaint in Münster against the decision in Cologne.
Update from April 29, 2022: Kaspersky’s complaint against the Cologne decision rejected
The Münster Higher Administrative Court also rejected Kaspersky’s complaint against the BSI’s warning. After the first-instance judgment of the Cologne Regional Court, the anti-virus company had filed an objection here. That is justified OVG judgment as follows:
“The BSI made the decision to issue the warning without any errors of judgment and, in particular, observed the principle of proportionality. The warning was not issued on the basis of irrelevant considerations or even arbitrarily.
In particular, it was not politically motivated and does not represent purely symbolic politics. In view of the threat situation presented, it serves solely to reduce the risk of possible attacks on information technology security. It was suitable and necessary for this.
With the warning, the BSI significantly increases awareness of potential dangers that currently result from the use of antivirus programs from Kaspersky and recommends replacement with alternative products after an individual risk assessment. At the same time, it formulated the warning in compliance with the principle of restraint and limited it to what was necessary.”
The OVG’s decision cannot be contested.
Update from April 4th, 2022: BSI warning justified according to administrative court
The Cologne Administrative Court has rejected an urgent application by the Kaspersky Group against the BSI’s warning. Accordingly, the Federal Office may continue to warn against the Russian security company. On March 21, in response to the BSI’s warning about the company’s antivirus solutions, Kaspersky applied for an interim injunction to cease and desist and revoke this warning.
According to the administrative court, however, the BSI is entitled to issue the warning because the term “security gap” is broad enough. Virus protection software meets all the requirements for a possible security gap due to extensive authorizations, which is why a lack of trust in the manufacturer is already sufficient for the warning. According to the court, Kaspersky currently has this lack of trust. Those involved can appeal against the decision.
Original message from March 16, 2022: BSI warns of Kaspersky’s antivirus tools
The Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) warns against the use of Kaspersky virus protection products. In view of the Ukraine war, the Russian manufacturer is being targeted by security experts. They see “extensive system permissions” and “encrypted connections (at least for updates)” of the antivirus tools as potential gateways for espionage attacks.
Such attacks could be carried out by the manufacturer himself or against his will – enforced by the Russian government. According to the BSI, it is also conceivable that Kaspersky would become a victim of its “own” state and its own software would be unwittingly used as a sabotage tool. Such a risk cannot be ruled out “in the course of the current military conflict and threats made against the EU, NATO and the Federal Republic of Germany”.
All users as well as companies and authorities that use Kasperky software can be affected. If you have concerns, you should according to BSI use an alternative to protect their own online systems. However, a change of security provider must be carefully planned and implemented, as switching off the current solution can expose you to further dangers.
BSI Warning: How is Kaspersky Responding?
Kaspersky has to warn position taken and sees himself as a victim of the political situation. The warning was not issued on the basis of an evaluation of the products on offer.
In a blog post, the company writes: “Kaspersky is a private, global security company and has no ties to the Russian or any other government. Data processing has been taking place on servers in Switzerland since 2018. Further data comes from various places in the world, including Canada and also Germany. The security and integrity of the data services have been confirmed by independent audit bodies.”
Kaspersky: Which alternative do you recommend?
Internet Security or Total Security from Kaspersky has been in the top spots in antivirus tests for several years. We have listed alternatives in various articles, whether for private users or companies. If you need more information, you can refer to the following articles:
We recommend our antivirus customer barometer for this. This tells you how users rate different solutions and manufacturers based on their own experience.
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Reference-www.pc-magazin.de