Kaspersky to ditch anti-piracy software lobbyists, BSA

SOPA support fractures alliance.
  • Liam Tung (CSO Online (Australia))
  • — 05 December, 2011 10:11

Russian antivirus firm Kaspersky Lab will reportedly leave the anti-piracy lobby group for software companies, Business Software Alliance, over its position on US piracy laws.

Kaspersky intends to withdraw from BSA on January 1, 2012 due to the BSA’s support of the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), Russian daily newspaper Izvestia reports.

Kaspersky is Russia's largest tech company but just one of many tech firms there that are concerned by the impact SOPA could have, according to the report.

Russia’s largest social network, VKontakte, for example, was on the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) list of the world’s main copyright violators, and could be affected by the law.

A Kaspersky Lab spokesperson told the paper it believes SOPA could harm advances in technology and will withdraw from BSA because it did not want to be associated with the law.

Kaspersky Lab is expected to release an official statement soon.

The BSA includes amongst its members Microsoft, Adobe, Apple, Dell, Intel and McAfee, and is behind most of the reports detailing the cost of piracy to the software industry. In October the alliance gave its support to the legislation.

The proposed law has raised the ire of at least 16 web giants, including Google, Facebook, Yahoo! and Twitter, which argue the law could, amongst other things, put their operations at the whim of rights holders.

The law is mostly aimed at ensuring US residents cannot access copyright infringing websites and would demand that ISPs and search engines ensure blacklisted sites remain inaccessible.

After giving the proposal the thumbs up in late October, the BSA’s support waivered following a hearing last month that was viewed by many as stacked in favor of major intellectual property owners. Google was the only opponent of the law invited to speak.

BSA CEO Robert Holleyman wrote shortly after the hearing that the alliance still supported the bill but conceded it "could sweep in more than just truly egregious actors".

There were "reasonable questions" about the law's unintended consequences on security and communications, which were intrinsic to a healthy internet economy, he added.

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Tags: anti-piracy, Business Software Alliance (BSA), kaspersky lab, security, Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)

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Clearswift tips: Guidelines for introducing and policing an effective IT Policy

1. Make it clear that the policy is not about playing ‘Big Brother’ but to ensure the security of employees, company information and data and to safeguard the company’s reputation.
2. Invest time to get buy-in from managers and their teams.
3. Convey the message of flexibility – with regard to social media, it is not about blocking staff usage but working in everyone’s interests to ensure that threats are contained.
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5. Within the training programme make sure that there are specific examples to demonstrate each rule or regulation, and that there is a clear explanation of the dangers of casual or careless talk on social networking sites. Again use examples, employees need to understand the consequences of raising a throwaway comment that has negative connotations for the business, as much as they need to be aware of dangers of making a more direct but ill-considered attack on a competitor, regulator or even a fellow colleague. They need to be clearly advised on any impact on the company and/or legal action or inquires that may be raised as a result.
6. Alert employees to any changes in policy through regular clear communication.
7. Reinforce the operational policy guidelines regularly, cover everything from blogging to Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
8. Ensure that the rules are fair and that they apply throughout the business.
9. Enforce the rules – if there is a deliberate or malicious contravening, disciplinary action needs to be taken. A policy isn’t worth having if it is seen to be lax and unenforced.
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Phil Vasic is Regional Director, APAC, at Clearswift, the software security company www.clearswift.com
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