The U.S. government announced Thursday that it would ban the sale of antivirus software from Kaspersky Lab, Inc. to both businesses and consumers. U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo indicated that the company's Russian influence poses too great a security risk.
The sale of Kaspersky software is banned with immediate effect (1). As of September 29, 2024, updates may also no longer be installed, making the software largely unusable. After all, the software then no longer protects against new malware and viruses. The company will also be added to a list of trade restrictions called the Entity List (2).
The ban is part of more than 300 new sanctions against Russia. The US fears Kaspersky software could be used to steal sensitive information and install malware. Kaspersky is under the jurisdiction of the Russian government and could be pressured to share information.
In 2017, the U.S. banned the use of Kaspersky software within the Department of Homeland Security. A ban within the federal government followed in 2018. In 2022, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)(3) also confirmed that Kaspersky is a threat to national security.
In Europe, Kaspersky's software is also under scrutiny. In the Netherlands, there is a ban on its use within the Rijksoverheid. In 2022, the Rijksoverheid made public Kaspersky's threat analysis (4).
Kaspersky is an internationally renowned PC security specialist. Among other things, they provide Kaspersky antivirus (5) and Kaspersky VPN (6) to some 400 million citizens and 270,000 businesses worldwide.
Kaspersky is originally a Russian company and its CEO, Eugene Kaspersky trained at the KGB technical university. Today, however, it is a British holding company. Kaspersky has not yet responded to the new ban.
However, the company has always dismissed previous accusations. They claim to store and process "threat-related data" of users from Europe and North America on servers in Switzerland. The company undergoes regular audits and has so-called "Transparency Centers" where "trusted partners" can check source code.
(1) https://oicts.bis.gov/kaspersky/
(2) https://www.bis.gov/entity-list
(3) https://www.vpngids.nl/nieuws/fcc-bestempelt-kaspersky-als-gevaar-voor-nationale-veiligheid/
(4) https://www.vpngids.nl/nieuws/nationale-dreigingsanalyse-kaspersky-openbaar-gemaakt/
(5) https://www.vpngids.nl/antivirus/antivirus-tests/kaspersky-review/
(6) https://www.vpngids.nl/reviews/kaspersky-vpn/
