Enlarge / Kaspersky Lab CEO and Chairman Eugene Kaspersky speaks at a conference in Russia on July 10, 2017. (credit: Anton NovoderezhkinTASS via Getty Images)
Shortly after Bloomberg Businessweek published an explosive story under the headline: "Kaspersky Lab Has Been Working With Russian Intelligence," the security firm released a lengthy statement noting that the company does not have "inappropriate ties with any government."
The article, which was published in the early morning hours on Tuesday, says that the Moscow-based firm "has maintained a much closer working relationship with Russia's main intelligence agency, the FSB, than it has publicly admitted. It has developed security technology at the spy agency's behest and worked on joint projects the CEO knew would be embarrassing if made public." Media organization McClatchy made seemingly similar claims in a July 3 report.
In the same statement, Kaspersky responded further: "It's important to be clear: the company never received a request from the Russian government or any affiliated organization to create or participate in ANY secret projects, including one for anti-DDoS protection."