Kaspersky Banned: Federal Agencies Ditch Russian Cybersecurity Firm Over Spying Concerns

The United States federal government Wednesday placed a ban on the use of security software by Russia-based cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab in federal agencies over fears of ties between the company and the Russian government, the Washington Post reported.

Acting Department of Homeland Security secretary Elaine Duke announced the ban of Kaspersky Lab software from federal government networks. The agencies have an unspecified timeline to rid their machines of the software, which DHS declared may pose a security risk.

“The Department is concerned about the ties between certain Kaspersky officials and Russian intelligence and other government agencies, and requirements under Russian law that allow Russian intelligence agencies to request or compel assistance from Kaspersky and to intercept communications transiting Russian networks,” 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.”

U.S. officials have been wary of Kaspersky Lab’s ties to the Russian government and state-sponsored cyberespionage—a concern that has only ramped up in the wake of the 2016 presidential election, which Russia appear to interfere with.

“Kaspersky Lab doesn’t have inappropriate ties with any government, which is why no credible evidence has been presented publicly by anyone or any organization to back up the false allegations made against the company,” a spokesperson for Kaspersky Lab said in a statement to the Washington Post. “The only conclusion seems to be that Kaspersky Lab, a private company, is caught in the middle of a geopolitical fight, and it’s being treated unfairly even though the company has never helped, nor will help, any government in the world with its cyberespionage or offensive cyber efforts.”

“Kaspersky Lab has always acknowledged that it provides appropriate products and services to governments around the world to protect those organizations from cyberthreats, but it does not have unethical ties or affiliations with any government, including Russia,” the firm said.

Earlier this year, the federal General Services Administration—the agency in charge of government purchasing—removed Kaspersky Lab from its list of approved vendors. The decision was made after the GSA raised concerns about a vulnerability in Kaspersky that could provide the Russian government backdoor access to systems running the security firm’s products.

In response to the skepticism of the GSA, Kaspersky Lab CEO Eugene Kaspersky agreed to provide the U.S. government with the source code to the company’s security products in order to prove there was no potential for the Russian government to spy through the software.

Despite the offer of transparency from the company’s CEO, the fears of Russian government ties only grew stronger after a number of emails seeming to indicate Kaspersky’s involvement in operations tied to Russian intelligence agencies.