Friday, July 20, 2007

Government Spyware vs Anti-malware Firms

I am amazed this (this too) didn't get more coverage: should (willl, legally can, etc) anti-virus companies detect government-created (police, FBI, KGB, MI5, etc) malware if:

a) not notified by the government (I am guessing "yes" here)
b) "politely asked" by the government (I am guessing "maybe" here :-))
c) court ordered by the government (I am guessing "no" here)

This even features a funky table with anti-malware firm responses ... The only supposed real case mentioned is this: "The Associated Press reported in 2001 that "McAfee Corp. contacted the FBI... to ensure its software wouldn't inadvertently detect the bureau's snooping software." McAfee subsequently said the report was inaccurate."

Dr Anton Chuvakin