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The Joe Biden administration has banned Russia-based cybersecurity firm Kaspersky from making its popular antivirus products available in the US over national security concerns.
“Kaspersky will generally no longer be able to, among other activities, sell its software in the United States or provide updates to software already in use,” the commerce department said in a statement. The announcement came after a lengthy investigation found that “Kaspersky’s continued operations in the United States pose a national security risk due to the Russian government’s offensive cyber capabilities and the ability to influence or direct Kaspersky’s operations.”
US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said: “Russia has shown time and time again that it has the ability and intent to exploit Russian companies, such as Kaspersky Lab, to collect and use sensitive American information.”
Kaspersky, in a statement to AFP, said the commercial division “made its decision based on the current geopolitical climate and theoretical concerns” and pledged to “pursue all legally available options to preserve our current operations and relationships.”
“Kaspersky does not engage in activities that threaten the national security of the United States and, in fact, has significantly contributed to its reporting and protection against various threats targeting U.S. interests and allies,” the company said.
The move is the first such action taken by an executive order issued during Donald Trump’s presidency that gave the Commerce Department the power to investigate whether certain companies pose a national security risk.
Raimondo said the Commerce Department’s actions show America’s adversaries that it will not hesitate to act when “their technology poses a risk to the United States and its citizens.”
While Kaspersky is headquartered in Moscow, it has offices in 31 countries around the world, serving more than 400 million consumers and 270,000 enterprise customers in more than 200 countries, the Commerce Department said.
In addition to banning the sale of Kaspersky’s antivirus software, the Commerce Department also added three entities related to the firm to a list of companies deemed to be of concern to national security “for their cooperation with Russian military and intelligence authorities in support of Russian objectives of the government in the field of cyberintelligence’.
The Commerce Department said it “strongly encourages” consumers to switch to new vendors, although its decision does not prohibit them from using the software if they choose to do so.
Kaspersky is allowed to continue certain operations in the US, including providing antivirus updates, until September 29 this year “to minimize disruption to US consumers and businesses and to give them time to find suitable alternatives,” it added in him.
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