Kaspersky founder mum on son's alleged kidnap

Security firm Kaspersky Labs has kept mum on reports that the son of its founder, Eugene Kaspersky, was abducted in Russia. Kaspersky Labs issued a statement on Friday asking the media to "refrain from speculating and distributing unconfirmed information" about the kidnap. "Kaspersky Lab respectfully asks members of the media to refrain from speculating and distributing unconfirmed information about alleged events related to the Kaspersky family. Eugene Kaspersky continues his day-to-day work at the company, and has stated that the unconfirmed information being spread at the moment is harmful for the company," it said. Russian media outlet Pravda had reported that Kaspersky's son Ivan, 20, was kidnapped in Moscow, and that his whereabouts remain unknown. The Pravda report said that the younger Kaspersky was kidnapped in the morning of April 19 when he was going to work. Ivan, who was working on his diploma project, was employed at InfoWatch, the company of his mother Natalia Kaspersky - a co-founder of Kaspersky Lab. The Pravda report said Ivan was kidnapped near the office of the company, and that the kidnappers demanded 3 million euros in ransom. Pravda said Ivan is a fourth-year student of the Moscow State University, where he studies at the department of numerical mathematics and cybernetics. It added Ivan's home and work addresses were indicated in his profile on Vkontakte, a popular Russian social network. A separate story on DarkReading.com said that the elder Kaspersky did not appear to be aware of this as of Thursday night. It quoted Graham Cluley of Sophos as saying that he spoke with Kaspersky Thursday night. "I spoke to Eugene last night and he was very chirpy," Cluley said, adding that he also spoke with someone else who was with Kaspersky later who knew nothing about the son's alleged disappearance. The report noted that a Kaspersky Lab spokesperson neither confirmed nor denied the reports, saying the company had no information to share at this time. - TJD, GMA News