The United States on Thursday announced a ban on the sale of anti-virus software from Russian cybersecurity company Kaspersky Lab, according to U.S. media reports. release From the Bureau of Industry and Security, Department of Commerce. Kaspersky’s alleged close ties to the Russian government were found to pose a significant risk. The software’s privileged access to U.S. computer systems could allow Russian actors to steal sensitive information, install malware or block critical updates, sources told Reuters before the official announcement.
The Russian cybersecurity company has since been trying to restore its international reputation. US bans Kaspersky from using federal government computers 2017. Stealing sensitive NSA documents, the software is said to be used by Russian agents as a personal backdoor. Nearly seven years later, Biden used sweeping powers created by the Trump administration to ban it nationwide. In addition to the ban, the Biden administration has placed Kaspersky on a trade restrictions list, which could further damage its international reputation and sales.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo announced the restrictions in an interview with reporters Thursday. Raimondo said the ban was “the first of its kind” and was the result of a thorough investigation into the company’s ties to Russia.
“Russia has repeatedly demonstrated their ability and intent to use Russian companies like Kaspersky Lab to collect and weaponize sensitive U.S. information, and we will continue to use every tool at our disposal to protect U.S. national security and the American people,” Raymond said. Say more in the press release
New sales of Kaspersky in the US will be blocked after 30 days. After 100 days (September 29), these restrictions will also prohibit the downloading of software updates, resale and licensed products. Products that integrate Kaspersky into its software but sell them under different brands will also be banned.
Kaspersky has spent the past seven years denying any ties to the Russian government. CEO Eugene Kaspersky once Offered to hand over his company’s source code to the U.S. government. The effort did not win the trust of any government officials.
Kaspersky reportedly has more than 220,000 enterprise customers in 200 countries and lists Volkswagen as one of its largest customers on its website. The antivirus software company operates out of Massachusetts.
In 2019, Kaspersky’s story deepened. Russian court convicts senior researcher Serving in the company because of treason for U.S. interests. Ruslan Stoyanov, the former head of Kaspersky Lab’s computer incident investigation team, is serving a 14-year prison sentence.
The authority Biden used to ban Kaspersky is a relatively new one for the executive branch. Former President Donald Trump tried to use the same power to ban Americans from using Chinese social media platforms TikTok and WeChat, but was blocked by a federal court. In this case, and in this case, the executive branch could theoretically ban or restrict technology from “foreign adversary” countries.
