Jan 25, 2018

Tech firms let Russia review software used by U.S. agencies

Image: NurPhoto / Getty Images

Technology giants SAP, Symantec and McAfee allowed a Russian defense agency to probe the source code of some of their products — the same ones used by at least a dozen federal agencies — in order to sell in the Russian market, Reuters reports.

Why it matters: Experts say this could jeopardize the security of government computers and networks by allowing Russian hackers to discover unknown vulnerabilities. The agencies that use these software products include the Pentagon, NASA, the State Department, the FBI and other intelligence units.

Go deeper:

  • In October, Reuters revealed that an HP software used in at least seven agencies had been reviewed by a Russian military contractor.
  • In letter to Sen. Jeanne Sheehan, the Pentagon warned that source code reviews by countries like China and Russia could allow them to expose vulnerabilities.
  • Reuters has not found any cases in which a source code review aided in a cyberattack, but both federal and private cyber experts have expressed concern.

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Updated 28 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Top Senate Democrat says State Dept. is working on new Saudi arms deal

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo briefs reporters on May 20. Photo: Nicholas Kamm/pool/AFP via Getty Images

Senate Foreign Relations ranking member Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) wrote in a CNN op-ed on Wednesday that he learned that the State Department is currently working to sell thousands of additional precision-guided bombs to Saudi Arabia.

Why it matters: Democrats say that Steve Linick, the State Department inspector general who was ousted on Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's recommendation, was investigating the administration's previous effort to sell weapons to Saudi Arabia without congressional approval.

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Data: Johns Hopkins University; Chart: Danielle Alberti/Axios

More than 100,000 Americans have died of the coronavirus, according to data from Johns Hopkins — a terrible milestone that puts the death toll far beyond some of the most tragic events in U.S. history.

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