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Russian AntiVirus Firm Kaspersky Upset Over Reports of KGB Ties

By | news, Security | No Comments

Eugene Kaspersky, head of Russia-based security software supplier Kaspersky Lab, is fighting allegations that his company has “close ties” to Russian spies.

eugene-kaspersky

Last week, Bloomberg Business published an article accusing Kaspersky Lab of excluding Russia from reports examining electronic espionage by the United States, Israel, and the United Kingdom.

Bloomberg traced an alleged change in focus at the anti-virus shop back to 2012, when high-level managers began exiting the company and being replaced by what the news service claimed were “people with closer ties to Russia’s military or intelligence services.”

“Some of these people actively aid criminal investigations by the FSB, the KGB’s successor, using data from some of the 400 million customers who rely on Kaspersky Lab’s software,” Bloomberg said, citing current and former employees who went unnamed in the article.

“This closeness starts at the top,” Bloomberg continued. “Unless [CEO] Kaspersky is traveling, he rarely missed a weekly banya (sauna) night with a group of about five to 10 that usually includes Russian intelligence officials.”

While the chief did not deny the social gatherings, he did assert that they are not conspiratorial, and that the presence of spies was purely coincidental.

Kaspersky (pictured) spoke out late last week, writing in a blog entry that Bloomberg’s piece is nothing more than sensationalism.

“Exploiting paranoia is always a great tool for increasing readership,” he said, adding that, “It’s been a long time since I read an article so inaccurate from the get-go—literally from the title and the article’s subheading.”

As security expert Graham Cluley pointed out, Bloomberg’s story was published just two days after Kaspersky revealed more details about the long-running “Crouching Yeti” attacks, which target a number of countries—but not Russia.

The nation’s absence may seem odd, Cluley said, until you read that, according to Kaspersky, the authors of Crouching Yeti were likely Russian speakers.

“Clearly Bloomberg missed that piece of information,” Cluley said.

Investigating state-sponsored attacks can be awkward for any company: Silicon Valley-based FireEye CEO Dave DeWalt told The Wall Street Journal that he would think twice before publicizing a hacking campaign by government-backed Americans.

Kaspersky has indeed probed attacks attributed to Russian cyber-spies, including Red October, CloudAtlas, CosmicDuke, and Epic Turla.

“I must have said this a million times, but we do not care who’s behind the cyber-campaigns we expose,” Kaspersky wrote in his blog. “There is cyber-evil and we fight it. If a customer comes and shows us a problem we investigate it. And once we take the genie out of the bottle, there’s no way we can put it back.”

He continued to pick apart the Bloomberg article line-by-line, responding to a number of allegations and attempting to set the record straight.

Meanwhile, Kaspersky alluded to dealing with mistrust as a Russian company when he tweeted last week that the company’s next research conference will provide better accommodations.

“It’s very hard for a company with Russian roots to become successful in the U.S., European, and other markets. Nobody trusts us—by default,” Kaspersky said. “Our only strategy is to be 100 percent transparent and honest. It took years to explain who we are. Many people attempted to find ‘dirt’ on us—and failed. Because we’ve nothing to hide.”

 

Apple Sales News

By | Apple, news | No Comments
Apple Sales News U.S. Sales
MacBook

Shipping April 10

MacBook on Apple.com

The New MacBook

At just 2 pounds and 13.1 mm thin, the new MacBook is Apple’s thinnest and lightest notebook.

It features a stunning 12-inch Retina display, new Apple-designed keyboard, all-new Force Touch trackpad, fifth-generation Intel Core M processors, fast PCIe-based flash storage, and all-day battery life. And it’s available in three gorgeous metal finishes—Gold, Space Gray, and Silver.

The new MacBook is designed for a wireless world and is the ideal notebook for customers looking for the complete Mac experience in Apple’s most portable notebook ever.

Mac

Now available

Mac on Apple.com

Updates to Mac notebooks

13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display
The 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display now features the all-new Force Touch trackpad, fifth-generation Intel Core processors, next-generation Intel Iris Graphics 6100, and ultrafast PCIe-based flash storage. It’s the ideal notebook for enthusiasts and professionals looking for fast performance in an incredibly compact and light design.

MacBook Air
The MacBook Air line now features fifth-generation Intel Core processors, next-generation Intel HD Graphics 6000, and a Thunderbolt 2 port. And with all-day battery life, MacBook Air will go with you and stay with you the entire day.

Watch

Available April 24

Apple Watch on Apple.com

Apple Watch – Coming in April

Apple Watch will be available on Friday, April 24 to customers in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, the UK, and the U.S.

On Friday, April 10, Apple Watch will be available for pre-order through the Apple Online Store. And Apple Retail Stores and select department store shop-in-shops will begin offering customers the chance to preview their choice of Apple Watch and try it on.

For more details, see the press release.

ResearchKit ResearchKit on Apple.com

ResearchKit introduced

Apple has created ResearchKit, an open source software framework designed for medical and health research to help doctors and scientists gather data more frequently and more accurately from participants using iPhone apps.

Several world-class research institutions have already developed apps with ResearchKit for studies on asthma, breast cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and Parkinson’s disease. These apps are available on the App Store in the U.S. today, and will be available in more countries in the future.

ResearchKit will be released in April. See the press release and website for more details.

HBO Now

Available April 2015
(U.S. only)

Apple TV on Apple.com

HBO NOW on Apple TV, iPad, and iPhone

With HBO NOW, Apple customers have an incredible new way to watch many of their favorite HBO programs. They can subscribe to HBO right from an Apple TV or iOS device—no cable or satellite subscription required—and get instant access to every episode of every season of HBO’s award-winning original shows and Hollywood blockbusters.

HBO NOW will be available for just $14.99 a month with no long-term contract or commitment. Customers can sign up on Apple TV, iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch, and get the first month for free.