“Today’s actions against Kaspersky Lab leadership underscore our commitment to ensuring the integrity of the cyber domain,” Brian E. Nelson, U.S. Treasury Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said in a statement. And the commitment to protect our citizens from malicious cyber threats makes it harder for these people to start a business in the United States. TechCrunch It pointed out that CEO and founder Eugene Kaspersky was not on the list of sanctioned individuals, nor was the company itself.
On Thursday, the U.S. Commerce Department banned Kaspersky from starting new business in the United States. The ban also prevents existing users of Kaspersky antivirus software from downloading software updates. Users of Kaspersky software have until September 29 to find a replacement. In a press release, the Commerce Department urged anyone using Kaspersky software to “quickly transition to a new vendor to limit the exposure of personal or other sensitive information to malicious actors due to a possible lack of cybersecurity coverage.” “
Individuals sanctioned by the Treasury include board members of Kaspersky Lab and Kaspersky Group. The U.S. Department of Commerce added Kaspersky’s operations in the United States, Russia and the United Kingdom to the Entity List on the grounds that they “cooperate with Russian military and intelligence authorities in support of the Russian government’s cyber intelligence objectives.”
2017, wall street journal Reports say Russia stole classified information from the personal computers of government contractors. The contractor, who worked with the National Security Agency, improperly stored the files on his personal computer that had Kaspersky anti-virus software installed. in a statement New York Times, Kaspersky denied any knowledge or involvement in the incident. Later that year, the Department of Homeland Security banned all federal agencies from using Kaspersky products on government servers.
