Washington announced on Thursday June 20 the ban on Russian antivirus software Kaspersky in the United States, as well as on Americans elsewhere in the world, criticizing this cybersecurity giant for its proximity to Moscow.
“Kaspersky will no longer be able to, among other activities, sell its software in the United States or provide updates to software already in use”the US Department of Commerce said in a statement. “The ban also applies to affiliates, subsidiaries and parent companies of Kaspersky Lab”it is specified.
Kaspersky will nevertheless be allowed to carry out certain activities until September 29, to give customers time to find an alternative.
Additionally, three entities linked to Kaspersky were added to a Washington blacklist, “for their cooperation with Russian military and intelligence authorities in support of the Russian government’s cyberespionage objectives”.
Software already banned from federal agencies in 2017
Companies and individuals who continue to use Kaspersky antivirus are nevertheless not exposed to American sanctions, but are warned of the risks linked to cybersecurity, specifies the commerce department.
“Russia has repeatedly shown that it has the capacity and intent to exploit Russian companies, such as Kaspersky Lab, to collect and exploit sensitive US information”, commented the American Secretary of Commerce, Gina Raimondo, quoted in the press release. This action “is vital to our homeland security and will better protect the personal information and privacy of many Americans”for his part declared the Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas.
This is not the first time that Washington has taken measures targeting Kaspersky. The software had been banned from federal agencies in 2017. And in March 2022, the United States Federal Communications Commission added security products, solutions and services provided, directly or indirectly, by Kaspersky, to the “list of communications equipment and services that constitute a threat to internal security”.
The multinational Kaspersky Lab has offices in 31 countries, and customers in more than 200 countries and territories, details the Commerce Department. The group provides antivirus and other cybersecurity-related products and services to more than 400 million users and 270,000 businesses worldwide, it is further indicated.