Eugene Kaspersky

Kaspersky was born on 4 October 1965 in Novorossiysk, Soviet Union. He grew up near Moscow, where he moved at age nine. His father was an engineer and his mother a historical archivist. As a child he developed an early interest in math and technology. He spent his free time reading math books and won second place in a math competition at age 14. When he was fourteen, Kaspersky began attending A.N. Kolmogorov boarding school, run by Moscow University, specializing in mathematics. He was also a member of the Komsomol.

At the age of 16, Kaspersky entered a five-year program with The Technical Faculty of the KGB Higher School, which prepared intelligence officers for the Russian military and KGB. He graduated in 1987 with a degree in mathematical engineering and computer technology. After graduating college, Kaspersky served the Soviet military intelligence service as a software engineer. He met his first wife Natalya Kaspersky at Severskoye, a KGB vacation resort, in 1987.

Kaspersky lives in Moscow, Russia with his wife and five children. He and his first wife were divorced in 1998. On 21 April 2011, his son, Ivan, then 20, was kidnapped for a $4.4 million ransom. Kaspersky worked with a friend at the FSB and Russian police to trace the ransomer's phone call. They set up a trap for the ransomers, where they rescued his son and arrested many of the kidnappers. The incident had an influence on Kaspersky's sense of personal security. He now travels with a bodyguard and security detail.

Kaspersky is one of the richest people in Russia. His net worth is about $1 billion. According to Wired, he has "cultivated the image of a wild man with cash to burn." He has an interest in racing and drives his sports cars on race tracks as a hobby. He sponsors various "quirky or scientific projects" such as the Ferrari Formula One racing team or archaeological excavations in Akrotiri (prehistoric city). Kaspersky owns a BMW M3. Kaspersky describes himself as an "adrenaline junkie". He has gone hiking on volcanoes in Russia and reserved a trip to space on the Virgin Galactic.

Kaspersky is known for shunning formal attire, typically dressing in jeans and a shirt. He supports university projects and competitions in the IT security field.

Kaspersky is a passionate traveller and even funded an investment accelerator for projects developing sustainable tourism. He consistently shares travel photos and notes in his personal blog, and maintains the list "Top-100 must-see places in the world."

Kaspersky supported a women's expedition to the South Pole (Kaspersky Commonwealth Antarctic Expedition) led by Felicity Aston in 2009 and the first solo crossing of Antarctica by a woman (Kaspersky ONE Transantarctic Expedition) in 2011, also completed by Felicity Aston.

Eugene's company was the official cybersecurity partner for the FIDE World Championship series of chess tournaments.

Affiliations with Russian intelligence

Kaspersky's alleged prior work as a GRU cryptologist and GRU officer in the Soviet army and his education at a KGB-sponsored technical college has led to controversy about whether he uses his position to advance Russian government interests and intelligence efforts.

Wired said Kaspersky's critics accuse him of using the company to spy on users for Russian intelligence. Russian telecommunications companies for example are required by federal law in Russia to cooperate with the government's military and spy operations if asked. Kaspersky said his company has never been asked to tamper with its software for espionage and called the accusations "cold war paranoia". According to Wired, Kaspersky staffers argue "not unconvincingly" that spying on users would hurt its business and its relationship with the Russian FSB, the KGB's successor, is limited. According to Gartner, "There's no evidence that they have any back doors in their software or any ties to the Russian mafia or state... but there is still a concern that you can't operate in Russia without being controlled by the ruling party." Computing mocked some of the more extreme accusations of espionage, but said it would be unlikely for a Russian business to grow to the size of Kaspersky Lab without relationships within the Russian government. NPR journalists also said it was unlikely Kaspersky was using its software for espionage, because it would be risky for the company's business, but said Kaspersky showed an unusual disinterest in Russia-based cybercrime.

In August 2015, Bloomberg reported that Kaspersky Lab changed course in 2012. According to the publication, "high-level managers have left or been fired, their jobs often filled by people with closer ties to Russia's military or intelligence services. Some of these people actively aid criminal investigations by the FSB using data from some of the 400 million customers". Bloomberg and The New York Times also said Kaspersky was less aggressive about identifying cyberattacks originating from Russia than from other countries, allegations Kaspersky refutes. For example, he allegedly ignored or downplayed a series of denial-of-service attacks in December 2011 that were made to disrupt online discussion criticizing Russian politicians. Kaspersky also allegedly ignored a Russian-based spyware called Sofacy, which is believed to have been used by Russia against NATO and Eastern Europe. On the other hand, Kaspersky also published information on the Russia-based Crouching Yeti cyberattacks two days before Bloomberg accused him of ignoring Russia-based cyberattacks. At the time, the company had published eleven reports on malicious Russian programs. Competitor FireEye said it is awkward even in the U.S. to investigate cybercrimes performed by one's own government.

A March 2015 article in Bloomberg said an increasing number of executive staff at Kaspersky Lab previously worked for Russian military and intelligence agencies. According to News & Observer, Kaspersky "published a mammoth response, tearing down Bloomberg's accusations and accusing them of throwing facts out the window for the sake of a juicy anti-Russian narrative." Competitor FireEye said many U.S. IT companies also have executives that formerly worked for government military and intelligence agencies. NPR reported that Kaspersky has been doing an increasing amount of business with Russian cybersecurity agencies to catch cybercriminals. Kaspersky confirmed that Russian agencies are among its government customers.

In May 2017, the allegations resurfaced when US National Security Agency (NSA) director Mike Rogers told a US Senate Intelligence committee that the NSA was reviewing the US government's use of Kaspersky software for fear it would allow Russian intelligence services to conduct spy operations or launch cyber attacks against American digital infrastructure. ABC reported that the Department of Homeland Security had issued a secret report in February on possible connections between Kaspersky Lab and Russian intelligence, and that the FBI was currently investigating the matter. According to Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) director Vincent Stewart, his agency is "tracking Kaspersky and their software." In a press release, Eugene Kaspersky denied that his software is currently, or could be, used for such purposes, stating that "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 cyber-espionage efforts." He also stated that the US does not want to use his company's software for political reasons, and called the allegations "unfounded conspiracy theories".

Alleging connections to Russian intelligence, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in 2017 banned Kaspersky's main antivirus product from U.S. federal networks. In 2024 the U.S. Commerce Department announced that "Kaspersky will generally no longer be able to, among other activities, sell its software within the United States or provide updates to software already in use."

Kaspersky is one of many Russian oligarchs named in the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, CAATSA, signed into law by President Donald Trump in 2017.