What we do for the world’s cybersecurity

Kaspersky frequently has to defend its rights in relation to patent lawsuits initiated by patent trolls. In April 2021, Kaspersky received a summons in a suit from a patent troll called Cybersoft IP, LLC. We estimated that in the worst-case scenario, potential damages could amount to $500,000. The plaintiff insisted that our product, Kaspersky Secure Mail Gateway, was in violation of a network security patent for a technology that allows communicated data on a user device to be checked. The patent pertains to a personal firewall-type solution implemented on a user device through which network data is intercepted and scanned. But similar network traffic filtering solutions are well-known and have been in use for a long time. The lawsuit seemed like a risky one for us at first sight. Cybersoft IP, LLC offered to close the case for $90,000 and intimidated us with litigation concerning further patents, but this is not the kind of deal our company makes. However, after analyzing the patent we saw that not all elements of the patent claim were disclosed in the description, and nor were they understandable to specialists in the field, which in many jurisdictions is grounds to revoke the patent.

We were able to have all claims revoked in court, while the patent troll had to acknowledge the proceedings had no grounding, choosing to settle the case. Kaspersky bore the legal costs, which amounted to around $150,000, but we proved we were right: we put the troll in its place, and demonstrated to other potential plaintiffs that our company is not an easy target.

In 2021, Kaspersky’s experts discovered stolen data showing that a group of cybercriminals had infiltrated the infrastructure of a Latin American country’s central bank. The group were looking for partners to follow through with the attack. This type of collaboration has been quite common in the last two years; one group hacks into an organization, another encrypts and steals the data, while a third group demands the ransom and handles the financial side.

Our experts analyzed the data and discovered that the perpetrators had access to the entire infrastructure, including the international financial transfer system. Kaspersky promptly notified INTERPOL and the International Payments Framework.

After a joint investigation, all vulnerabilities within the corporate network were closed, thereby halting the preparations for the planned attack. Our seamless cooperation was instrumental in stopping the perpetrators before the organization suffered real losses.

In 2021–2022 we started implementing a waste sorting and collection system in the office. The first step was to instruct the employees on how to properly sort waste. We started with a video tutorial illustrating the main office waste categories, and we placed informational posters above the containers in every kitchen/dining area. We then developed an FAQ list featuring some of the trickiest and most frequent questions about waste: why sort it, what is produced from recycled waste, and so on. We provided training for the cleaning personnel on how to collect and sort the waste bags. We also invited Irina Kozlovskikh from the charity Vtoroye Dykhanie (Second Breath) to give a lecture to our employees during which she talked about how separate waste collection works in Moscow and who collects waste from Kaspersky’s office. The lecture ended with a Q&A session.

To ensure that all the information provided would sink in, we decided to reinforce it with an unusual game. On Earth Day, April 22, 2022, we launched an online game called Trash Ninja, available to all employees. The premise is to help your colleagues better navigate office waste. The game has fairly simple rules, so it can be used to challenge coworkers and compete for the title of waste sorting guru — or Trash Ninja. As a result, our Moscow office employees learned how to properly sort waste — not only in the office but also at home.

In October 2017, Moscow’s Department of Education and Science gave the go-ahead for a new educational program — Math Vertical — to be introduced across Moscow’s schools. The program involves the advanced study of mathematics from grades seven through nine. Kaspersky suggested enhancing the Math Vertical with a special course on the Basics of Information Security, consisting of several key blocks such as programming basics, an introduction to state-of-the-art high technologies, and advice on security in cyberspace. The authorities selected School No. 1409 as the one to be mentored under the company’s patronage, and named the experimental program Kaspersky’s Math Vertical.

Upon completing the program, the tenth-graders of Kaspersky’s Math Vertical undertake an internship with the company where they are given specific production tasks to solve. In 2019, the internship attracted three high school students; in 2022 there were already 12 of them. After completing our internship, two of the students went on to college specializing in IТ, and now simultaneously work in Kaspersky’s R&D department and pursue higher education.