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The US government is expected to announce a ban on the sale of software from Russia-based Kaspersky Labs on Thursday, June 20. This move comes as tensions with Moscow continue to escalate, making Kaspersky’s position as a provider of critical cybersecurity products in the US untenable. The company’s close ties with the Russian government mean that it will not be allowed to sell software to US firms, and additional trade restrictions could be applied that lock Kaspersky out of other markets.
According to a report from Reuters, the Biden administration has become concerned about Kaspersky’s role in critical infrastructure. Numerous state and local governments use the company’s products to secure their systems, but the feds believe the Russian government could have sway over the company and might use it to gather intelligence or sabotage computer systems.
This move is not totally without precedent—Kaspersky software was used by Russian hackers in 2015 to access an NSA contractor’s computer, and the US Department of Homeland Security banned it on US government networks in 2017 following the release of emails that show a cozy relationship with Russian intelligence. Canada banned Kaspersky software from government devices last year, citing unacceptable security risks.
The Biden administration does not believe Kaspersky is cuddly, despite this disarming mascot.
Credit: Kaspersky
The proposed US action would go further than a sales ban. The company’s Russia operation is already subject to strict export restrictions due to the war in Ukraine, but foreign units have been able to continue operating in the US. A source tells Reuters that the administration aims to hamstring Kaspersky by adding it to the Commerce Department’s Entity List. That tool was used to kneecap Huawei some years ago, just as it rose to become the largest smartphone maker in the world. This effectively cut the company off from the US market and wrecked its supply chain.
Following this action, even non-US companies that use US technology would be forced to cut ties with Kaspersky. The ban would cover Kaspersky itself, as well as any white-label product that uses Kaspersky’s software. For its part, Kaspersky has noted in the past that it is an independent company and does not do the bidding of Moscow, but it has not responded to the latest report.
If the government goes all the way to block Kaspersky, the commercial embargo will go into effect on Sep 29, 100 days after publication. Since the company would no longer be allowed to sell or even update its security products, the grace period allows US enterprise and government to transition to alternative products. However, policies that allow this action are relatively new, and it’s possible courts could block the administration from targeting Kaspersky.