U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson on Friday urged Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann to remove any Kaspersky Lab software from Mississippi’s elections systems over fears of Russian hacking. But Hosemann said he made that call about a month ago, after he first heard concerns over the company’s possible ties to the Russian government. He said the Kaspersky antivirus software, sold throughout the U.S., was being used in three Mississippi counties, Adams, Franklin and Wilkinson. One has already switched to another brand and two others are in the process, Hosemann said. “On Aug. 18, we notified all our circuit clerks of potential vulnerabilities of Kaspersky software and at that time determined three of them were using it,” Hosemann said. “All have responded. One I know has already changed and two are in the process.”
Thompson’s press release came after the federal government on Wednesday ordered Kaspersky software removed from federal government computer systems. Kaspersky is being investigated by the FBI for possible links to Russian government security services. The New York Times reported the FBI, aided by American spies, has for years been trying to determine whether Kaspersky executives are working with Russian intelligence and whether its software could contain back doors that would allow access to computers.
Thompson in a written statement Friday said: “As voter registration databases house such information, we must be certain the software used does not give Russia or other malicious actors a back door to it.”
Full Article: Mississippi Russian election software.