The US is ready to ban Kaspersky Lab products

The Joe Biden administration intends to ban the use of Kaspersky Lab software by American companies and citizens. About it CNN reports with reference to American officials.

According to them, the US Department of Commerce has made a preliminary decision to prohibit certain transactions between the Russian company and American buyers. The ban on the use of Kaspersky Lab products by American government agencies was introduced in 2017 based on suspicions of cooperation between the Russian company and the FSB. The decision to ban Kaspersky Lab’s popular antivirus programs in the United States would be an unprecedented step by the American government.

One of the main motives for this decision is concerns about the security of American critical infrastructure, CNN interlocutors say. The draft decision mentions an antivirus program released last year. The Ministry of Commerce has not yet made a final decision. The Russian company will have the opportunity to challenge it in court if such a decision is made.

Kaspersky Lab is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of antivirus software. Its founder, Evgeny Kaspersky, is a graduate of the technical department of the KGB Higher School. As American media wrote, in 2015, Russian hackers were able to steal secret files of the US National Security Agency, gaining access to them using the Kaspersky Lab program. The Russian firm denied the accusations.

Representatives of the US Department of Commerce and representatives of Kaspersky Lab declined to comment on this information.