Kaspersky
Biden to prohibit sale of Kaspersky software over national security risk
The Biden administration plans to prohibit the selling of Kaspersky Labs’ antivirus software in the US.
The company is said to have a sizable U.S. clientele that includes state and municipal governments as well as providers of vital infrastructure.
Indications are that the cybersecurity company’s reputation will be further harmed and its international sales may be impacted by the addition of the company to a trade restriction list that will come along with the ban.
There have been increasing allegations of intimate ties between Kaspersky and the Russian government recently.
Sources indicated that the corporation is actively cooperating with the FSB, while others assert that Russian intelligence has hacked the company’s goods for its gain.
However, authorities are becoming more and more worried that Kaspersky’s goods pose a threat to national security.
According to two other sources familiar with the case, the Trump administration plans to use its extensive powers to implement a sweeping new rule that would also add the company to a list of companies subject to trade restrictions.
This step may severely damage the company’s reputation and negatively impact its sales abroad.
The timing and specifics of the software sales ban, as well as the intention to include the cybersecurity company on the entity list—which essentially prevents U.S. suppliers from selling to a corporation—have not been made public before.
“The case against Kaspersky Lab is overwhelming,” said Senator Jeanne Shaheen. “The strong ties between Kaspersky Lab and the Kremlin are alarming and well-documented.”
The U.S. administration imposed sanctions on 500 Russian organizations earlier in February, aimed at the military-industrial complex and businesses that support the war effort.
The economic sanctions that Western countries placed on Russia despite these actions haven’t had the desired impact of putting an end to the conflict in Ukraine.
Earlier report stated that the International Criminal Court’s prosecutors are looking into claims that Russia conducted cyberattacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, committing war crimes in the process.