FBI Investigating Kaspersky

FBI agents visited the homes of more than a dozen people who work for Kaspersky Lab, a cyber-security company based in Russia, to gather information about the company's operations, according to a report.

The visits were part of a counter-intelligence inquiry the FBI is currently conducting, according to NBC News, and there is no indication the inquiry is tied to the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election currently being led by special counsel Robert Mueller.

FBI agents visited the homes of Kaspersky Lab employees living on the East and West Coasts at the end of their work days, sources told NBC News. The agents told workers they weren't in trouble, but said the FBI was gathering facts about how the company works and to "what extent the US operations ultimately report to Russia."

Kaspersky Lab is owned by Eugene Kaspersky, who has ties to some Russian intelligence officials, US officials reportedly said. The company sells its software to businesses and the government, and its cyber-security software is widely used in the US. The Russia-based company also has done business with former national security adviser Mike Flynn, who is currently under investigation for his work as a foreign lobbyist. Kaspersky Lab paid Flynn $11,250 in 2015 for cyber-security consulting, but the work Flynn did was not part of the FBI's questions to employees.

Though US intelligence officials have warned that Kaspersky Lab has ties to Russia, the company said in a statement it has "no ties to any government."
"As a private company, Kaspersky Lab has no ties to any government, and the company has never helped, nor will help, any government in the world with its cyberespionage efforts," the company said. 
"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. 

“Kaspersky Lab is available to assist all concerned government organisations with any ongoing investigations, and the company ardently believes a deeper examination of Kaspersky Lab will confirm that these allegations are unfounded."

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