USA bans Kaspersky antivirus software over concerns about cyberattacks – Business

The US government is banning the Russian anti-virus software Kaspersky. A detailed investigation has shown that this is the only way to address national security concerns, a sub-agency of the Department of Commerce said. Kaspersky denies the allegations and intends to defend itself.

The sale of the software to companies and consumers in the USA will be prohibited from July 20th. From September 29th, Kaspersky will also no longer be allowed to install updates – this would make the software largely useless against new threats. From this point on, resale is also prohibited. The transition period is intended to give customers time to switch to other providers, explained the Bureau of Industry and Security.

The reason for the ban is the Russian government’s cyberattack capabilities and its ability to influence Kaspersky. The company’s software is capable of collecting information from US companies and citizens that could be misused by the Russian government, the authority warned. However, consumers and companies will not face any penalties if they continue to use Kaspersky software.

Kaspersky announced that it would take legal action to protect its business. It is believed that the decision was made “based on the current geopolitical climate and theoretical concerns” – and not on an analysis of the company’s software and services. “Kaspersky does not engage in activities that threaten the national security of the United States,” it said in a statement. Statement on the online platform X.

American spy software was allegedly sent to Moscow years ago

Kaspersky, once an internationally respected specialist in PC security, has had a difficult time in the West for years. In Germany, the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) warns against using the software. In the USA, installation on government devices has been banned since 2017. One trigger for this is an incident in which suspected spy software from the US secret service NSA fell into the hands of Kaspersky. The company explained at the time that the source code had been discovered as a previously unknown variant of malware on a PC and had been loaded onto a Kaspersky server for analysis.

According to media reports, an employee of the US surveillance agency had illegally downloaded the secret software onto his private computer, which was running Kaspersky’s anti-virus software. The company assured that the files had been deleted after an analyst informed company boss Eugene Kaspersky about the discovery. They had not been shared with anyone. In the USA, however, it is assumed that the NSA tools ended up with the Russian secret service. The Wall Street Journal wrote at the time, citing American officials, that Kaspersky software had specifically searched for terms such as “Top Secret” as well as the names of secret US programs.

The BSI warned against the use of Kaspersky software in March 2022 in connection with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In such a situation, a Russian IT manufacturer could either carry out offensive operations itself or possibly be misused as a tool for cyber attacks without its knowledge, the authority argued, and recommended replacing Kaspersky antivirus software with alternative products – an unprecedented step. Kaspersky also countered at the time that the warning was politically motivated. It was also controversial among experts because the BSI did not provide any concrete technical justification, but merely suggested possible influence by Russia.

Kaspersky has always argued that it is a private company that has “no ties to the Russian or any other government.” Company boss and founder Eugene Kaspersky is Russian; he studied at a university run by the former Soviet secret service KGB and worked for a military research institute. His company is based in Moscow, but moved servers to Switzerland a few years ago – partly to reduce Russia’s influence.