Kaspersky Lab just launched their first Data Processing and Transparency Center in Zurich. This is part of their Global Transparency Initiative that we covered a while back.
Let’s take a look, and find out what this means for Kaspersky Lab and global cybersecurity!
The First Kaspersky Transparency Center
Malicious and suspicious files shared by users of Kaspersky Lab products in Europe will be processed in Kaspersky Lab data processing centers in Zurich, the first part of a relocation commitment made by the company in late 2017 under its Global Transparency Initiative.
The move reflects Kaspersky Lab’s determination to assure the integrity and trustworthiness of its products and the data processing center is accompanied by the opening of the company’s first Transparency Center in Zurich.
The relocation of Kaspersky Lab data processing is part of a major infrastructure move designed to increase the resilience of the company’s IT infrastructure to risks of data breaches and supply-chain attacks. It also further proves the trustworthiness of its products, services and internal processes.
Threat-Related Data and Malicious Files
From November 13, threat-related data coming from European users will start to be processed in two datacenters. These provide world-class facilities in compliance with industry standards to ensure the highest levels of security.
The data, which users have actively chosen to share with Kaspersky Lab, includes suspicious or previously unknown malicious files and corresponding meta-data that the company’s products send to Kaspersky Security Network (KSN) for automated malware analysis.
Files comprise only part of the data processed by Kaspersky Lab technologies, yet the most important one. Protection of customers’ data, together with the safety and integrity of infrastructure is a top priority for Kaspersky Lab, and that is why the file processing relocation comes first and is expected to be fully accomplished by the end of 2019.
The relocation of other types of data processed by Kaspersky Lab products, consisting of several kinds of anonymized threat and usage statistics, is planned to be conducted during later phases of the Global Transparency Initiative.
Kaspersky Lab’s First Transparency Center
The opening of Kaspersky Lab’s first Transparency Center in Zurich enables authorized partners to access reviews of the company’s code, software updates and threat detection rules, along with other activities.
Kaspersky Lab will provide governments and partners with information on its products and their security, including essential and important technical documentation, for external evaluation in a secure environment.
These developments will be followed by the relocation of data processing for other regions and, in phase two, the move of Kaspersky’s Lab’s software assembly to Zurich.
Kaspersky Lab’s Choice of Location in Zurich, Switzerland
Switzerland is a top location in terms of the number of secure internet servers available and is known as an innovative center for data processing and high quality IT infrastructure. A non-EU member in the heart of Europe, Switzerland has established its own data privacy regulation that is guaranteed by the state’s constitution and federal laws. There are strict regulations on processing data requests received from authorities.
“Transparency is becoming the new normal for the IT industry– and for the cybersecurity industry in particular. We are proud to be on the front line of this process. As a technological company, we are focused on ensuring the best IT infrastructure for the security of our products and data, and the relocation of key parts of our infrastructure to Switzerland places them in one of the most secure locations in the world.
The promises made in our Global Transparency Initiative are coming to fruition, enhancing the resilience and visibility of our products. Through the new Transparency Center also in Switzerland, trusted partners and governments will be able to see external reviews of our products and make up their own minds. We believe that steps such as these are just the beginning – for the company and for the security industry as a whole. The need to prove trustworthiness will soon become an industry standard.” Eugene Kaspersky, CEO Kaspersky Lab said.
Kaspersky Lab’s Next Big Step
Kaspersky Lab has engaged one of the Big Four professional services firms to conduct an audit of the company’s engineering practices around the creation and distribution of threat detection rule databases. This is done with the goal of independently confirming their accordance with the highest industry security practices.
The assessment will be done under the SSAE 18 standard (Statement of Standards for Attestation Engagements). The scope of the assessment includes regular automatic updates of antivirus records which are created and distributed by Kaspersky Lab for its products operating on Windows and Unix Servers. The company is planning the assessment under SSAE 18 with the issue of the SOC 2 (The Service and Organization Controls) report for the second quarter 2019 as part of its ongoing efforts to improve the security of its products with the help of a community of security enthusiasts from all over the world.
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