Washington announced Thursday the ban on Russian antivirus software Kaspersky in the United States, as well as on Americans based abroad, due to its proximity to Moscow. “Kaspersky will no longer be able to sell its software in the United States or provide updates to software already installed,” the US Department of Commerce said in a statement.
“The ban also extends to affiliates, subsidiaries and parent companies of Kaspersky Lab,” the press release further specifies. Kaspersky will, however, be allowed to continue certain activities until September 29, to allow customers to find alternatives. Separately, the U.S. government added three entities linked to Kaspersky to a blacklist for their cooperation with Russian military and intelligence authorities, supporting the Russian government’s cyber espionage objectives.
Cybersecurity risks
Businesses and individuals still using Kaspersky antivirus do not face U.S. sanctions, but they are warned of cybersecurity risks, according to the Commerce Department. “Russia has repeatedly demonstrated its ability and intent to exploit Russian companies, like Kaspersky Lab, to collect and exploit sensitive U.S. information,” said U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.
For his part, Alejandro Mayorkas, the secretary of homeland security, added that this action “is essential to our homeland security and will better protect the personal information and privacy of many Americans”.
There have already been precedents
In response to this announcement, the developer quickly condemned a decision “made based on the current geopolitical climate and theoretical fears” which “benefits cybercrime”. She has defended herself against such suspicions for years. Karspersky “has demonstrated on numerous occasions its independence from any government” and the United States has “ignored this evidence”, asserts the group, which specifies that its information services on the world of cybersecurity are not affected by this measure.
This is not the first time that Washington has taken action against Kaspersky. The software had already been banned from federal agencies in 2017. Furthermore, in March 2022, the United States Federal Communications Commission added Kaspersky security products, solutions and services to the “list of communications equipment and services constituting a threat to internal security.
In addition to the United States, many other countries have also expressed their concern. A few weeks after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Germany recommended avoiding using the services and Italy immediately opened an investigation. At the end of 2023, the Canadian government decided to ban its civil servants from using Kaspersky tools on their professional phones.