Popular anti-virus software companies are a prime target for intelligence agencies because they have direct, continuous access into their clients’ networks and collect large quantities of data about them, former U.S. intelligence officials and cybersecurity experts say. Although the targeting of anti-virus (AV) companies by government-backed hackers only recently became well-known, experts say sophisticated intelligence agencies have long understood the inherent value of infiltrating these firms to gather information and in some cases, spread malware. “As cybersecurity companies centralize information and maintain access to their customers, securing the cloud-based infrastructure of those cyber companies becomes paramount,” said Ben Johnson, a former NSA computer scientist. “These organizations have become prime targets for intelligence agencies, militaries, and sophisticated cyber organizations looking for ways into corporate and government institutions.” Because most anti-virus vendors have designed their products to autonomously search for computer viruses on users’ systems by directly scanning files and then sending that data back […]
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