Kaspersky Lab (pron.: /kæˈspɜrski/; Russian: Лаборатория Касперского, Laboratoriya Kasperskogo) is a Russian multi-national computer security company, co-founded by Natalia Kaspersky and Eugene Kaspersky in 1997.[3] Kaspersky Lab is a developer of secure content and threat management systems and the world’s largest privately held vendor of software security products. Kaspersky Lab is headquartered in Moscow, Russia with 30 regional offices in Australia, Austria, Benelux, Canada, Mainland China, France, Germany, Hong Kong (China), India, Italy, Taiwan, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Latvia, Malaysia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and United States of America (in Boston and Miami).[2] The company currently works in almost 200 countries.[4] The company’s products and technologies provide protection for over 300 million users worldwide and more than 250,000 corporate clients globally.[2]
Kaspersky Lab ranks fourth in the global ranking of antivirus vendors.[5] It was the first Russian company to be included into the rating of the world’s leading software companies, called the Software Top 100 (79th on the list, as of 6/29/2012). Kaspersky Lab is ranked 4th in Endpoint Security segment according to IDC data for 2010.[6] According to Gartner, Kaspersky Lab is currently the third largest vendor of consumer IT security software worldwide and the fifth largest vendor of Enterprise Endpoint Protection. Kaspersky Lab has been named a "Leader" in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Endpoint Protection Platforms.[7]
The Kaspersky Anti-Virus engine also powers products or solutions by other security vendors, such as Check Point, Bluecoat, Juniper Networks, Sybari (acquired by Microsoft in 2005), Netintelligence, Clearswift, FrontBridge, Netasq, Wedge Networks, and others. Altogether, more than 120 companies are licensing technology from Kaspersky Lab. Kaspersky Lab also has a number of partnerships with various technology companies (ex. Samsung[8]).
Securelist.com, formerly viruslist.com, is a computer security portal run by Kaspersky Lab that is devoted to educating the general public about different aspects of internet security. It hosts a Virus Encyclopedia which provides information about various types of computer malware.
Kaspersky Lab runs several global sponsorships, for example, the Scuderia Ferrari Racing Team[9] and geographical expeditions.[10]
Products
Kaspersky Internet Security 2011
The first product, Kaspersky Anti-Virus, was released by Eugene Kaspersky in the middle of 1997. As of 2012, the line of Kaspersky home-user products consists of Kaspersky Internet Security (KIS) 2012, Kaspersky Anti-Virus (KAV) 2012, Kaspersky Mobile Security (KMS) 9 and AVZ Antiviral Toolkit, Kaspersky Anti-Virus for Mac, Kaspersky Password Manager, and Kaspersky KryptoStorage.[11] In 2010, Kaspersky launched a consumer security suite named Kaspersky Pure. In the United States, Kaspersky Lab was ranked as the fastest growing internet security software,[12] based on NPD sales data.
In addition to the company’s consumer products, Kaspersky Lab offers a variety of security applications designed for small business, corporations and large enterprises. These offerings include security software to protect workstations, file servers, mail servers, mobile devices, and Internet gateways,[13] all managed through a centralized Administration Kit. These applications are also available in bundled security suites,[14] scaled to fit the requirements of organizations of varying sizes.
The latest 2012 line of Kaspersky products are certified for Windows 8 and are multi-core optimized.[15]
Independent assessments
The anti-virus software testing group AV-Comparatives gave the Windows XP version of Kaspersky AV an "Advanced+" rating (its highest) in both its February 2008 on-demand detection test (with the fourth highest detection rate among 16 products tested).[16] However, in the Retrospective/Proactive Test May 2008, Kaspersky received the "Standard" rating, detecting 21% of new malware with 1-month old signatures and receiving a substantial amount of false positives.[17]
The firewall included in Kaspersky Internet Security 7.0 got a "Very Good" rating in Matousec's Firewall challenge,[18] with a result of 85%. Kaspersky Anti-Virus 7.0 has achieved a 6.5 result out of 8 in the Anti Malware Labs rootkit detection test.[19] It has also achieved a 31 out of 33 detection of polymorphic viruses[20] and a 97% result in the self-protection test.[21] In 2007, Kaspersky Internet Security 7 received an award from the British magazine PC Pro and also won a place in its "A List".[22]
In addition, Kaspersky has passed most of Virus Bulletin comparative tests since August 2003 (failing only 8 of 54 tests).[23] According to PC World magazine, Kaspersky anti-virus software provides the fastest updates for new virus and security threats in the industry.[24] In the December of 2011 version of AV-Comparatives' annual reports, Kaspersky Lab's software has achieved highest overall ranking and has earned the AV Comparatives' "Product of the Year" award for the year of 2011.[25]
In PC World magazine’s March 2010 comparison of consumer security suites, Kaspersky Internet Security 2010 scored 4.5/5 stars, and was rated second overall.[26]
On 1st February 2012, the Kaspersky Internet Security has earned "AV-TEST AWARD FOR BEST REPAIR 2011" award in the field of home user products from AV-TEST Institute.[27] On 28th January 2013, the Kaspersky Endpoint Security has earned "AV-TEST AWARD FOR BEST PROTECTION 2012" and "AV-TEST AWARD FOR BEST REPAIR 2012" awards in the field of corporate products from AV-TEST Institute.[28]
Kaspersky has also received certification of their products through the OESIS OK Certification Program, which verifies that the applications are interoperable with third-party technology solutions like NAC and SSL VPN products from Cisco Systems, Juniper Networks, F5 Networks, and others.[29]
Litigation
In May 2007, adware distributor Zango filed a lawsuit against Kaspersky Lab, accusing it of trade libel for blocking the installation of Zango software. In August, the court[30] ruled that the Communications Decency Act granted immunity to Kaspersky.[31]
Flame malware
In May 2012, Kaspersky Lab identified the malware Flame, which a researcher described as potentially "the most sophisticated cyber weapon yet unleashed."[32] According to the researchers in Kaspersky lab, the malware had infected an estimated 1,000 to 5,000 machines world wide[33][34] when asked by the United Nations International Telecommunications Union to investigate reports of a virus affecting Iranian Oil Ministry computers.[35] As Kaspersky Lab investigated, they discovered an MD5 hash and filename that appeared only on customer machines from Middle Eastern nations. After discovering more pieces, researchers dubbed the program "Flame" after the name of one of its modules.[35]
Controversy
Internet censorship in Russia
Natalia Kaspersky, former CEO and co-majority shareholder of Kaspersky Lab, released a public statement[when?] supporting efforts by the Putin regime to create a national firewall similar to the Great Firewall of China despite universal condemnation from human rights groups and internet freedom advocates, including Wikipedia, which recently shutdown its Russian-language site in protest of this legislation. It has been speculated that Kaspersky's support for this firewall is due to the fact that Kaspersky Lab would likely stand to profit from government contracts associated with developing and maintaining these new national filters.[36]
Kaspersky Lab itself has not commented on Kaspersky's remarks or its position on internet censorship in Russia and other countries.
See also
References
- ^ "Kaspersky Lab continues rapid growth with revenues up 14% in 2011". http://www.kaspersky.com/about/news/b usiness/2012/Kaspersky_Lab_continues_ rapid_growth_with_revenues_up_14_in_2 011.
- ^ a b c "About Us". Kaspersky.com. http://www.kaspersky.com/about. Retrieved 2013-02-24.
- ^ http://threatpost.com/en_us/blogs/int erview-eugene-kaspersky-092412
- ^ "Find a Partner". Kaspersky.com. http://www.kaspersky.com/partners/buy offline. Retrieved 2012-04-02.
- ^ The company was rated fourth in the IDC rating Worldwide Endpoint Security Revenue by Vendor, 2010. The rating was published in the IDC report Worldwide IT Security Products 2011-2015 Forecast and 2010 Vendor Shares – December 2011. The report ranked software vendors according to earnings from sales of endpoint security solutions in 2010
- ^ Worldwide Endpoint Security Revenue by Vendor, 2010
- ^ Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Endpoint Protection Platforms, Peter Firstbrook, Neil MacDonald, John Girard, January 16, 2012
- ^ http://www.kaspersky.com/about/news/b usiness/2012/Kaspersky_Lab_Enters_Sam sung_Apps Samsung
- ^ http://www.kaspersky.com/racing Scuderia Ferrari Sponsorship
- ^ "Kaspersky Lab to Support Felicity Aston in the Kaspersky One Transantarctic Expedition". Kaspersky.com. http://www.kaspersky.com/about/news/e vents/2011/Kaspersky_Lab_to_Support_F elicity_Aston_in_the_Kaspersky_One_Tr ansantarctic_Expedition. Retrieved 2012-09-29.
- ^ Products & Services | Kaspersky Lab United States. Usa.kaspersky.com. Retrieved on 2010-09-29.
- ^ NPD Group/Retail Tracking/Security Software July 2006-June 2009
- ^ Business Security | Kaspersky Lab United States. Usa.kaspersky.com. Retrieved on 2010-09-29.
- ^ Business Security | Kaspersky Lab United States. Usa.kaspersky.com. Retrieved on 2010-09-29.
- ^ "Windows 7 Antivirus Software". Kaspersky Lab. http://usa.kaspersky.com/windows7.
- ^ "Anti-Virus comparative February 2008". Av-comparatives.org. http://www.av-comparatives.org/compar ativesreviews/detection-test/168-file -detection-test-february-2008. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
- ^ "Retrospective / ProActive - Test May 2008". Av-comparatives.org. http://www.av-comparatives.org/compar ativesreviews/retrospective-test/92-h euristic-behaviour-test-may-2008a. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
- ^ "Results and comments". matousec.com. http://www.matousec.com/projects/fire wall-challenge/results.php. Retrieved 2012-03-08.
- ^ "Anti-rootkit tests | Anti-Malware Test Lab". Anti-malware-test.com. http://www.anti-malware-test.com/?q=t axonomy/term/7. Retrieved 2012-03-08.
- ^ "Anti-Malware Solutions Test Results | Anti-Malware Test Lab". Anti-malware-test.com. http://www.anti-malware-test.com/?q=t axonomy/term/5. Retrieved 2012-03-08.
- ^ "Self-protection test | Anti-Malware Test Lab". Anti-malware-test.com. http://www.anti-malware-test.com/?q=t axonomy/term/16. Retrieved 2012-03-08.
- ^ "Kaspersky Internet Security 7.0 receives two top awards in testing conducted by the British magazine PC Pro". Kaspersky Lab. 2007-04-05.
- ^ VB100 Results Overview: Kaspersky
- ^ "Anti-Virus Personal 5.0 (Full Product)". PC World Magazine. 2005-01-25. Retrieved 2007-02-02.
- ^ "AV-Comparatives - Independent Tests of Anti-Virus Software - Summary Reports". Av-comparatives.org. http://www.av-comparatives.org/compar ativesreviews/summary-reports. Retrieved 2013-02-25.
- ^ Kaspersky Lab Internet Security 2010 Antivirus & Security Software Review. PCWorld (2010-03-30). Retrieved on 2010-09-29.
- ^ "AV-TEST Award 2011". AV-TEST.org. 2012. http://www.av-test.org/en/test-proced ures/award/2011/. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
- ^ "AV-TEST 2012 Awards". AV-TEST.org. 2013. http://www.av-test.org/en/test-proced ures/award/2012/. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
- ^ New versions of Kaspersky Lab's personal products. Kaspersky.com (2009-07-31). Retrieved on 2010-09-29.
- ^ "Opinion of Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit". June 25, 2009. http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore /opinions/2009/06/25/07-35800.pdf. Retrieved 2009-07-07.
- ^ "Zango tries, fails to sue its way out from under the "spyware" label". ars technica. August 30, 2007. http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/ 20070830-zango-tries-fails-to-sue-its -way-out-from-under-the-spyware-label .html. Retrieved 2007-09-05.
- ^ Chloe Albanesius (28 May 2012). "Massive 'Flame' Malware Stealing Data Across Middle East". PC World. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817, 2404951,00.asp. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
- ^ "Flame virus: Five facts to know". 29 may 2012.
- ^ Damien McElroy and Christopher Williams (28 May 2012). "Flame: world's most complex computer virus exposed". The Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/world news/middleeast/iran/9295938/Flame-wo rlds-most-complex-computer-virus-expo sed.html. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
- ^ a b Kim Zetter (28 May 2012). "Meet ‘Flame’, The Massive Spy Malware Infiltrating Iranian Computers". Wired. http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012 /05/flame/. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
- ^ Wikipedia Shuts Down Russian Language Site in Protest of Government Censorship Legislation
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