Kremlin Makes Russian Tech Offers They Can't Refuse

Kremlin Makes Russian Tech Offers They Can’t Refuse

Posted: October 8th, 2017

By Robert Hannigan

Robert Hannigan is international Chairman of BlueVoyant, the US cyber security services company. He was previously Director of GCHQ, the UK’s largest intelligence agency and NSA equivalent from 2014-17, and a member of the National Security Council. He established the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre in 2016 and was responsible for the UK’s active cyber defence and offensive cyber programs. www.roberthannigan.com/about

After reports that highly classified intelligence material was taken from a NSA contractor’s private computer through the individual’s use of Kaspersky Lab’s antivirus software, all eyes turned to the Moscow-based company’s relationship with Russian intelligence and the Kremlin. As private companies using the antivirus software scramble to assess their exposure, The Cipher Brief caught up with former GCHQ Director Robert Hannigan after he attended the Cambridge Cyber Summit in Boston to ask how the UK views this threat and how business should think about protecting itself.

The Cipher Brief: What is the relationship between Russian companies and the Russian security services?

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