Several FBI agents went to the homes of at least a dozen Americans who work for a Russian cybersecurity firm, according to an NBC report published Wednesday.
The Bureau, which reportedly did not issue search warrants during its interrogations, is currently conducting a larger investigation into Kaspersky Lab and the extent of its relationship with Russian intelligence services. The agents visited employees from various locations across the country, and in the late afternoon or evening, according to NBC.
Officials within the U.S. first revealed in May that they were reviewing whether they should use the software the company provides, since executives at Kaspersky Lab allegedly have connections to Russian military and intelligence agencies. The company’s products are widely used, including in private residences, commercial enterprises and government facilities. (RELATED: FBI Director Comey: Russia Can’t Hack U.S. Election System Because It’s So ‘Clunky’)
Bipartisan calls of concern over the company have continued in recent weeks. Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Joe Manchin of West Virginia, for example, have both voiced their apprehensiveness, ABC reports.
Kaspersky, though, refutes allegations of Russian government ties, or any accusations of impropriety in general.
“The company has never helped, nor will help, any government in the world with its cyberespionage efforts,” Kaspersky Lab said in a statement, according to NBC. “The company has a 20-year history in the IT security industry of always abiding by the highest ethical business practices, and Kaspersky Lab believes it is completely unacceptable that the company is being unjustly accused without any hard evidence to back up these false allegations.”
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