The Joe Biden administration has announced a nationwide ban on software manufactured by the Russian cybersecurity company Kaspersky Lab, citing national security concerns. The new measures announced by Gina Raimondo, Secretary of the United States Department of Commerce, are a result of the new authorities granted to the Department by executive order issued by Presidents Joe Biden and Donald Trump.
“We announce that, after an extremely thorough investigation, we are taking measures that will prohibit Kaspersky Lab and all its subsidiaries, affiliates, and parent company from supplying cybersecurity and antivirus software anywhere in the United States,” stated Raimondo. “We will also add three Kaspersky entities to the Entity List, which means they will not be able to sell or update software in the United States,” she added.
US authorities have been warning for years that the Russian government could force Kaspersky Lab to hand over data or use their antivirus software to hack or monitor Americans, accusations that Kaspersky Lab vehemently denies. In April, it was revealed that the Biden administration was preparing an executive order to prevent the use of Kaspersky software.
Raimondo told reporters, “Although we have been exploring all available options, ultimately we have decided that, given the Russian government’s cyber offensive capabilities and its ability to influence Kaspersky’s operations, we must take the important step of a total ban, if we want to protect Americans and their personal data”.
An official from the Department of Commerce also emphasized that, although no specific cases of software exploitation by the Russian government were identified, it’s considered a threat that goes beyond theory. These new permissions enable the department to take proactive action, even without concrete examples.
