The US Department of Commerce has implemented a ban on Kaspersky Lab’s antivirus software, citing concerns over Russian influence and national security risks. Effective immediately, the ban impacts Kaspersky’s US subsidiary from selling or updating software in the country until September 29, 2024.

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The U.S. Department of Commerce has banned Kaspersky Lab, a Russian cybersecurity firm, from selling its products in the U.S. due to national security concerns. The ban affects Kaspersky’s U.S. subsidiary, preventing the company from selling software or providing updates in the country. The Commerce Department cited the potential risk of the Russian government exploiting Kaspersky’s access to U.S. customer data. Kaspersky criticized the decision as being based on geopolitical concerns rather than a thorough evaluation of their products. The ban includes provisions for continued operations until September 29, 2024, to allow users to transition to alternative solutions.

After concluding that Russian corporation Kaspersky presented an “undue or unacceptable risk to national security,” the U.S. Department of Commerce prohibited the company from selling its antivirus software and other cybersecurity products in the United States.

Within the United States, Kaspersky will typically no longer be able to sell its software or offer upgrades for software that is already in use, according to a press statement issued on June 20 by the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) of the Commerce Department.

The U.S. subsidiary of Moscow-based Kaspersky Lab, Kaspersky Lab, Inc., is subject to the ban. Because of “the Russian Government’s offensive cyber capabilities and capacity to influence or direct Kaspersky’s operations,” the company’s operations were considered dangerous for American security.

The BIS said that as mitigation strategies alone could not address such dangers, a complete ban was the only option available to guarantee the protection of national interests.

In particular, the BIS found that Kaspersky was under the jurisdiction of the Russian government, which obliges it to abide by Moscow’s requests for information. This may result in Russian authorities gaining access to private data kept on devices using the company’s antivirus program.

“Kaspersky has broad access to, and administrative privileges over, customer information through the provision of cybersecurity and anti-virus software. Kaspersky employees could potentially transfer U.S. customer data to Russia, where it would be accessible to the Russian Government under Russian law,” the BIS said.

The business expressed disapproval of the Commerce Department’s decision to impose the ban in the United States, stating that it was based more on theoretical concerns and the current geopolitical atmosphere than it was on a thorough assessment of the reliability of Kaspersky’s goods and services.

“Kaspersky does not engage in activities which threaten U.S. national security and has made significant contributions with its reporting and protection from a variety of threat actors that targeted U.S. interests and allies.”

The BIS discovered that Kaspersky also possesses the ability to selectively refuse updates or install dangerous malware on the machines of its clients. According to the BIS, this might make American citizens and vital infrastructure susceptible to malware assaults.

Software from Kaspersky is also included in goods and services offered by other companies. According to BIS, users of these third-party products run the risk of inadvertently installing Kaspersky’s software on their networks or devices, which could jeopardize their personal information.

Kaspersky claimed that to guarantee the company’s reliability, it had put in place “significant transparency measures.” In the cybersecurity sector, none of the company’s competitors have “unmatched” these safeguards.

The business said that the Commerce Department’s ban “unfairly ignores the evidence.”

“The company intends to pursue all legally available options to preserve its current operations and relationships,” Kaspersky said. “The decision does not affect the company’s ability to sell and promote cyber threat intelligence offerings and/or training in the U.S.”

Russian Cyber Threat

The Commerce Department has decided to permit Kaspersky to carry out some of its activities in the nation until midnight. ET on September 29, 2024, to lessen the impact of the software’s ban.

Providing codebase updates and anti-virus signature updates are examples of such procedures. According to the EPA, this allows Americans ample time to locate appropriate substitutes.

According to Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, “Russia has shown time and again they have the capability and intent to exploit 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 safeguard U.S. national security and the American people.”

In support of the Russian government’s cyber intelligence goals, AO Kaspersky Lab, OOO Kaspersky Group, and Kaspersky Labs Limited from the United Kingdom have all been added to the Entity List, according to the BIS, “for their cooperation with Russian military and intelligence authorities.”

Export limitations and license requirements for specific technology and products apply to companies on the Entity List.

The Commerce Department made its judgment in response to a string of attacks on Microsoft corporate email accounts that were traced back to hackers associated with Russia.

The Russian state-sponsored actor Midnight Blizzard gained access to the email accounts, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued an emergency directive in April requesting that federal entities take the appropriate precautions to alleviate the situation.

The recent hack of Microsoft “adds to their long list,” according to Jen Easterly, head of CISA, who stated that “the U.S. government has documented malicious cyber activity as a standard part of the Russian playbook” for several years.

The critical infrastructure of the United States is seriously threatened by countries like China and Russia, according to a report released on March 25 by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). It stated that America’s cyber force-generating mechanism is “clearly broken” in the face of these threats.

The Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and Space Force should all have their autonomous cyberservice, according to the assessment.

The Russian Embassy was contacted by The Epoch Times for a statement regarding the Kaspersky ban.

Recently, GreatGameIndia reported that Russia could retaliate if the West seizes assets, citing its conservatorship of assets valued at approximately $288 billion from several foreign companies that have refused to operate in Russia.