14 DAY TRIAL // Kaspersky has reached out to technology media outlets to inform that the Russian security firm has not, in fact, been tapped by Apple Inc. in Cupertino, Calif. to help clean OS X of flaws.
An interview with Kaspersky’s CTO published by UK site Computing this week gave birth to several other reports headlined in the following manner: “Apple seeks Kaspersky’s help with security.”
That’s not the case, according to the firm. Engadget reportedly felt the story was a bit fishy, and asked Kaspersky for clarification.
The security firm confirmed to the tech site that Nikolay Grebennikov’s comments had been taken out of context, particularly the part about Kaspersky Lab having “begun the process of analyzing the Mac OS platform at Apple's request.”
On Monday, April 14, computing.co.uk published an article titled "Apple OS 'really vulnerable' claims Kaspersky Lab CTO" that includes an inaccurate quote regarding Apple and Kaspersky Lab. The article reports that Kaspersky Lab had "begun the process of analyzing the Mac OS platform at Apple's request" to identify vulnerabilities. This statement was taken out of context by the magazine – Apple did not invite or solicit Kaspersky Lab's assistance in analyzing the Mac OS X platform. Kaspersky Lab has contacted computing.co.uk to correct its article.
Kaspersky included in their letter a new statement from Nikolay Grebennikov, chief technology officer at Kaspersky Lab, to clarify the misrepresentation.
Grebennikov begins with a typical introduction, stating that “As Mac OS X market share continues to increase, we expect cyber-criminals to continue to develop new types of malware and attack methods. In order to meet these new threats, Kaspersky Lab has been conducting an in-depth analysis of Mac OS X vulnerabilities and new forms of malware.”
Grebennikov clarifies that “this security analysis of Mac OS X was conducted independently of Apple.”
“However,” he continues, “Apple is open to collaborating with us regarding new Mac OS X vulnerabilities and malware that we identify during our analysis.”
Grebennikov concluded (again, in typical manner for an executive), noting that his firm is “committed to providing the highest level of security for all of our customers, including Mac OS X.”