Kaspersky Lab is involved in the development of Russian weapons

The Russian Kaspersky Lab cybersecurity and anti-virus provider is involved in the development of reconnaissance and strike drones used by the Russian army in war against Ukraine.

This was reported by the InformNapalm project, relying on the results of its investigation.

The team of Ukrainian “CyberResistance” activists together with the InformNapalm volunteer intelligence community successfully seized more than 100 GB of secret data of the Russian company “Albatross.” It is the manufacturer of a number of military drones, including localized Iranian Shahed-136.

From the materials found in the seized database, it becomes clear that the company worked closely with the famous Russian Kaspersky Lab software developer in the creation of drones.

Kaspersky Lab software products are introduced into Russian military technologies. In particular, the company helped “Albatros” develop hardware and software solutions to create a neural network for unmanned systems.

In part of the presentation, it’s stated about the implementation of the functionality of “machine vision” using the neural network, which automated the process of searching, selecting and tracking detected targets.

The “machine vision” system created in collaboration with Kaspersky Lab was integrated into the Albatros M5 reconnaissance drone.

The presentation of the combat version of the Albatros M5 UAV received by CyberResistance hackers indicates its active use on the battlefield in Ukraine. And also about the active use of the neural network in the process.

The Russian invasion troops have used drones against Ukraine since the spring of 2022. Their main users were units of the Special Operations Forces of the Russian Federation, FSB Special Forces, as well as a number of other elite army units.

Despite their active participation in the development of weapons, Kaspersky Lab reports that their activities are limited to the development of products “exclusively for civilian use.”

InformNapalm notes that the company’s logo is not on the military version of the “Albatros M5,” unlike its “agrarian-rescue” version. But in fact, it’s stated about the same drone and the capabilities that ensure the flow of Kaspersky Lab technologies from the civilian sphere to the military.

As of April 2024, Kaspersky Lab still manages to avoid significant international and, in particular, American sanctions, although individual countries and organizations have taken action against the use of that company’s products. These measures were driven by national security concerns, but it is not formalized as official sanctions internationally.

In most countries of the world stating against the Kaspersky Lab company has not yet officially introduced either an asset freeze or a ban on the sale of certain types of goods and trading of its securities. Only Ukraine and Poland imposed restrictions on Kaspersky Lab and its founder Yevgeny Kaspersky.