The Biden administration will ban cybersecurity company Kaspersky Lab from selling products in the United States over concerns the firm is closely tied to Russia and poses a security risk.
“Russia has shown it has the capacity and … intent to exploit Russian companies like Kaspersky to collect and weaponize the personal information of Americans,” U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on a call with reporters.
The move comes as Washington continues to put pressure on Moscow and as the Russian war against Ukraine is regaining momentum.
The administration plans to add Kaspersky, along with several of its Russian and U.K.-based units, to a trade restrictions list, which will bar downloads of software updates, licensing and resales.
The ban is set to take effect on Sept. 29 and will block any new Kaspersky business 30 days after that.
Kaspersky did not immediately reply to Global News’ request for comment. But in an online statement the company said the Commerce Department “made its decision based on the present geopolitical climate and theoretical concerns, rather than on a comprehensive evaluation of the integrity of Kaspersky’s products and services.”
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“Kaspersky does not engage in activities which threaten U.S. national security and, in fact, has made significant contributions with its reporting and protection from a variety of threat actors that targeted U.S. interests and allies,” it said.
The statement further say Kaspersky intends to pursue “all legally available options to preserve current operations.”
The company previously told Reuters it had no ties to the Russian government.
A Kremlin spokesperson said the U.S. was banning Kaspersky because it’s “very competitive” and the move was the United States’ “favourite trick of unfair, dishonest competition.”
The Department of Homeland Security banned Kaspersky’s flagship antivirus product from federal networks, alleging the company had ties to Russian intelligence. The department also stated Russian law lets intelligence agencies compel assistance from companies and intercept communications sent over Russian networks.
The Canadian government banned Kaspersky applications from government mobile devices in October 2023, saying they “present an unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security.”
The Canadian government did not immediately say whether it was looking at further banning Kaspersky.
— with files from Reuters
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