The U.S. government announced last Thursday that it will ban the sale of software from Kaspersky Lab, Inc. to both businesses and consumers. The Secretary of Commerce, Gina Raimondo, says that Russian influence over the company poses a significant security risk.
Kaspersky Has Been Blacklisted
The sale of Kaspersky software has been banned immediately. From September 29 onwards updates may no longer be installed, making the software useless. Without updates Kaspersky Antivirus will no longer protect against new malware. The company will also be added to the Entity List, a list with foreign companies deemed a national security concern.
The ban is part of more than 300 new sanctions against Russia. The U.S. fears Kaspersky software could be used to steal sensitive information or to install malware. Kaspersky is under the jurisdiction of the Russian government and could be pressured to share information.
In 2017, the U.S. banned the use of Kaspersky software within the Department of Homeland Security. A ban within the federal government followed in 2018. In 2022, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) also confirmed that Kaspersky is a threat to national security. Kaspersky’s software is also under scrutiny in Europe.
Specialist in Cybersecurity
Kaspersky is an internationally renowned specialist in cybersecurity. Among other things, they provide Kaspersky Antivirus and Kaspersky VPN to 400 million consumers and 270,000 companies worldwide.
Kaspersky is originally a Russian company and its CEO, Eugene Kaspersky, has studied at the KGB technical university. Today, however, it is a British holding. Kaspersky has not yet responded to the new ban.
The company has always dismissed previous allegations. They claim they store and process “threat-related data” of users from Europe and North America on servers in Switzerland. The company undergoes regular audits and has so-called “Transparency Centers” where “trusted partners” can inspect the source code.
