The closure of federal subsidies may impact the company’s bottom line, but likely not significantly. Kaspersky Lab says its client base is 400 million strong, even years after being banned from US federal networks. In the name of national digital sovereignty However, Kaspersky products can no longer be purchased using government subsidies.
There is nothing stopping individuals or organizations from buying Kaspersky products. Government agencies compelling private domestic companies to compromise user privacy, in order to pursue action against individuals or groups, is not a new phenomenon nor exclusive to any one country.Īs for the effects of the blacklist, those who rely on Kaspersky services likely will not be affected. It should be noted that there is a longstanding precedent of US-based cyber security and telecommunications companies providing user data to the US government in response to subpoenas. This new decision by the FCC is its most decisive yet – this is the first Russian company to make the blacklist – but it is built on the same logic as previous denunciations of Kaspersky. In their own words, Homeland Security was concerned about 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.” In 2017, a White House spokesperson explained that Russian law requires companies like Kaspersky to cooperate and share information with national spy agencies like the Federal Security Service, the successor agency to the notorious KGB. Leaving some to question whether the threat is a real one or whether it is guilt by association.Īccording to the 2017 banning of Kaspersky products from federal networks, the FCC was specifically worried about provisions in Russian law concerning data sharing. Kaspersky operates from a headquarters in Russia and the other companies blacklisted on the same day are based in China. It remains unclear what the nature of the “unacceptable risk” cited by the FCC is. The US should immediately stop its unreasonable suppression of Chinese companies.” Purpose of the blacklist Officials at the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C., also issued a statement, saying the FCC had “abused state power and maliciously attacked Chinese telecom operators again without factual basis. The company claims the maneuver was “made on political grounds” and denounced the ban as an “unsubstantiated … response to the geopolitical climate rather than a comprehensive evaluation of … Kaspersky’s products”. The recent Russian aggressions in Ukraine were not mentioned in the FCC’s announcement, nor was President Joe Biden’s warning to the private sector about potential Moscow-backed cyber-attacks. In September 2017, US officials banned antivirus products made by Kaspersky from federally owned networks. Security against state-backed threatsįCC commissioner Brendan Carr said this decision is intended to “help secure our networks against threats posed by Chinese and Russian state-backed entities seeking to engage in espionage and otherwise harm America’s interests.”Īlthough this decision follows the Russian invasion of Ukraine – which began in late-February 2022 – the US government has banned Russian-made IT products before. When keeping a single office secure is challenging enough, eliminating variables in a problem as vast as national security seems attractive. There are no federal-level cyber security laws in the US, but this blacklist, called “List of Equipment and Services Covered by Section 2 of the Secure Networks Act”, is one mechanism with which the country defends its online infrastructure. Two Chinese-owned companies were added on the same day – China Mobile International and China Telecom Corp. Kaspersky joins a roster of companies which, according to the FCC, “pose an unacceptable risk to national security or the security and safety of United States persons”. On 25 March 2022 the FCC added Kaspersky.īecome a Cyber Security Hub member and gain exclusive access to our upcoming digital events, industry reports and expert webinars The FCC and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regularly amend the list of foreign IT vendors they consider threats to national security.
#Kaspersky antivirus antivirus password
The company offers antivirus, antimalware, password and endpoint management and other digital security products.ĭespite Kaspersky being a household name, US Federal Communcations Commission decided to blacklist the company. In 2021, Gartner named Kaspersky the third-largest provider of consumer-level IT products and the fifth-largest vendor of enterprise IT products. The company was founded in 1997, is operated by a holding company in the UK and is headquartered in Russia. Those who know cyber security know Kaspersky Lab.
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