U.S. Bans Use of Kaspersky Software by All Federal Agencies

U.S. Bans Use of Kaspersky Software by All Federal Agencies
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The U.S. government banned all use of Kaspersky Lab software in federal information systems, citing concerns about the Moscow-based security firm’s links to the Russian government and espionage efforts, according to Bloomberg.

All agencies will be required to identify any Kaspersky products they have used within 30 days and develop plans to discontinue their use, according to a directive from Elaine Duke, the acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

“This action is based on the information security risks presented by the use of Kaspersky products,“ DHS said in a statement. “The risk that the Russian government, whether acting on its own or in collaboration with Kaspersky, could capitalize on access provided by Kaspersky products to compromise federal information and information systems directly implicates U.S. national security.“ DHS said it has provided Kaspersky an opportunity to address these concerns.

Kaspersky in an emailed statement denied “inappropriate ties with any government“ and criticized the U.S. decision as “based on false allegations and inaccurate assumptions, including claims about the impact of Russian regulations and policies.“ The ban comes after U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that the Russian government was behind an effort to interfere with last year’s presidential campaign.

The idea of having Kaspersky software on U.S. networks presented “an unacceptable risk“ mainly because Russian law requires the company to collaborate with its main spy agency, the FSB, White House cybersecurity coordinator Robert Joyce said at the Billington Cybersecurity Summit in Washington.