The U.S. Commerce Department said on Thursday that the Biden administration is completely prohibiting the use of cybersecurity software backed by Russia in the country because of suspected Russian government influence activities over the program.
U.S. government authorities have expressed alarm about Kaspersky Lab’s software since at least 2017. According to U.S. authorities, Russian law grants their government complete access to Kaspersky networks, which means it can see all of its clients’ data.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told reporters on a call on Thursday that “Russia has shown it has the capacity, and even more than that, the intent to exploit Russian companies like Kaspersky to collect and weaponize the personal information of Americans.”
According to Raimondo, the Bureau of Industry and Security of the Commerce Department’s newfound powers allowed it to ban Kaspersky.
According to Raimondo, Kaspersky “has long raised national security concerns” and was removed from a number of government systems as early as 2017.
She stated that “while we’ve been exploring every option at our disposal, we ultimately decided that given the Russian government’s continued offensive cyber capabilities and capacity to influence Kaspersky’s operations, that we had to take the significant measure of a full prohibition if we’re going to protect Americans and their personal data.”
The new restriction prevents Kaspersky from entering into any new deals within the United States after July 20. Up to September 29th, Kaspersky can continue to offer cyber and antivirus software to its current clients; beyond that date, “Kaspersky will not be able to provide security updates.” The rule states that software services will “degrade.”
Raimondo stated that although Americans and American companies using current Kaspersky software will not be in violation of the legislation, they will not be able to upgrade their products after September 30.
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“I would encourage you in the strongest possible terms to immediately stop using that software and switch to an alternative in order to protect yourself, your data, and your family,” the secretary of commerce stated.
Alejandro Mayorkas, the secretary of Homeland Security, stated in a statement that people in the United States need to know they can trust that their gadgets are safe. His Department is home to a strong cyber agency.
“The actions taken today are vital to our national security and will better protect the personal information and privacy of many Americans,” Mayorkas stated. “We will continue to work with the Department of Commerce, state and local officials, and critical infrastructure operators to protect our nation’s most vital systems and assets.”
