The Biden administration has taken a sweeping step to ban Kaspersky Labs from selling its antivirus products to US customers. The Russian software company will not be able to sell to new customers from July and will not be able to serve existing customers after September.
The source said this before the official news the company’s ties to the Russian government make it a security risk with the potential to install malware, collect privileged information or hide software updates on American computers. US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo announced the ban at a briefing today.
“You have done nothing wrong and are not subject to any criminal or civil penalties,” he said to current Kaspersky customers. “However, I would encourage you as strongly as possible to immediately stop using this software and switch to an alternative to protect yourself, your data and your family.”
The Russian company has repeatedly been the subject of cybersecurity questions over the years. Federal Communications Commission Number of companies creating unacceptable security risks in 2022. Kaspersky products in 2017 and the case also drew investigation .
This level of executive order applies to the Trump administration to block or limit access to technology and software from countries deemed foreign enemies. In 2020, it pushed to ban TikTok and WeChat, arguing that the Chinese-owned apps could be a security risk. That move In 2021, however, this led to a review of applications that reached the end point in April could force TikTok to find a new owner to continue operating in the US.
