US government apps found in Russian code
A Russian data company posing as an American has developed code for apps used by the US Army, as well as for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Based on Reuters (opens in a new tab), a company called Pushwoosh, which lists an address in Washington, DC (among other places) as its headquarters, is actually based in Novosibirsk, Russia. It also claims that Pushwoosh has listed addresses in California, Maryland and Washington, DC
The result is over 8,000 iOS and Android apps contains code developed in Russia. The US Army has since announced it has removed the offending code from its products, and the CDC has removed the Pushwoosh software from seven publicly available apps, citing security concerns.
‘Pride Russia’
The company’s founder, Max Konev, told Reuters a few months ago that he never hid the company’s Russian origins. “I am proud to be Russian and I will never hide this,” he said.
In fact, the business address listed on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, is a suburban home in Kensington, Maryland, belonging to a friend of the founder, who says he has no connection whatsoever. different from the company.
Konev claims that the Maryland address was used to “receive business correspondence” during the Covid-19 pandemic. He also claimed that Pushwoosh now operates from Thailand, but Reuters could find no evidence that the company was registered in that jurisdiction.
Pushwoosh is a data processing software company that can set alarms. However, Reuters found no evidence that Pushwoosh mishandled user data.