Biden Administration Bans Kaspersky Antivirus Software Over National Security Concerns
The Biden administration has banned a Russia-based cybersecurity firm, Kaspersky, from offering its popular antivirus software in the United States due to security threats. The US Commerce Department made the declaration on Thursday.
The Commerce Department said in its statement that ’Kaspersky will generally no longer be able to—among other activities—sell Kaspersky anti-virus software inside the United States or deliver updates to the software already in use. ’ This came as the result of months of inquiry, which found out that Kaspersky’s presence in the United States presented a security threat to America because of Russian Cyber capabilities and influence over the firm.
US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo noted, “Russia has repeatedly demonstrated that it possesses the capacity and desire to use Russian businesses, including Kaspersky Lab, to obtain and utilize other nations’ precious data against them. ”
Kaspersky came back with a statement saying that the decision made by the Commerce Department resulted from the existing tensions in the current geopolitics and theoretical exposure and that they would consider seeking all the legal ways possible to sustain their business and relations in the United States. Kaspersky equally does not indulge in action that poses a threat to the security of the United States yet has provided much value to reporting and protection from various nature of threat actors that have in the past targeted the United States and its allies.
Raimondo said that the Commerce Department’s action sends a signal to the Americas’ adversaries; hence, the US is not obligated to act when foreign technology threatens the Americans.
Kaspersky is situated in Moscow with regional offices in 31 countries; more than 400 million users and 270,000 corporate clients trust our company in more than 200 countries. The Commerce Department also blocked three companies associated with Kaspersky to benefit a firm that has direct relationships with Russian military or intelligence agencies and cooperates with the Russian government’s cyber intelligence goals.
While the Department did not completely blocklist the use of Kaspersky’s software, it went out of the way to persuade users to change to other vendors. The decision enables Kaspersky to perform specific operations, including the delivery of antivirus updates, until September 29 of this year. This grace period is for the benefit of US customers and companies to reduce inconveniences and look for other alternatives.
Kaspersky has continued to claim that its operations pose no risk to the United States as it has offered help in countering threat actors, including the US and its allies. Nevertheless, the US government has been unwavering regarding its stand and requested users switch from Symantec to other cybersecurity service providers for security’s sake.
At the same time, Kaspersky’s position in the US remains ambiguous as the company continues legal proceedings against the ban and is trying to appeal it. At the same time, the measures undertaken by the Biden administration testify to the willingness to ensure the latter’s safety, including from potential Internet threats posed by foreign actors.
