The US puts the Russian antivirus company Kaspersky on the list of companies that “represent a risk”

by time news

Rodrigo Alonso

Madrid

Updated:

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Kaspersky is one of the Russian companies that is being affected the most by the invasion of Ukraine. The FCC (Federal Communications Commission of the USA, for its acronym in English) has added the cybersecurity firm to the list of entities that represent an “unacceptable risk to national security” and accuses it of spying and trying to harm the internet users in the country. The inclusion implies that US companies and users will not be able to continue using federal aid to contract any of the services offered by the company.

Until now, the list of entities vetoed by the FCC was made up practically exclusively of Chinese technology companies. Precisely, the commission took advantage of the announcement of the inclusion of Kaspersky, the first of Russian origin to enter the list, to confirm that it had also been added to China Telecom and China Mobile International USA.

“Their addition, like that of Kaspersky Labs, will help protect our networks from threats posed by Chinese and Russian state-backed entities seeking to engage in espionage and otherwise harm United States interests,” he said. Commissioner Greg Carr in a statement.

This is not the first blow he has received in recent weeks Kaspersky. Previously, the German Federal Office for Information Security advised users to stop using any solution from the company, which claims to support 400 million people worldwide, as posing “a particular risk to IT infrastructure.” ». Likewise, ‘Reuters’ reported a few days ago on Italy’s decision to restrict the use of the firm’s tools in all public administration teams.

The company, “disappointed”

In a statement, Kaspersky claims to be “disappointed» with the FCC decision. As in so many other statements made by the company over the last month, and which have been shared with ABC, the company maintains that the “decision is not based on any technical evaluation of Kaspersky products, which the company continually defends, but rather it is taken for political reasons.” In other words, he considers the measure an unjustified punishment for the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In the statement, Kaspersky recalls that the FCC’s decision is based primarily on the 2017 US Government bans on federal entities and federal contractors from using the company’s products and services. This measure was promoted by the former president of the United States, Donald Trumpa few months after it came to light that Russian intelligence had used the company’s antivirus to steal information from the NSA (National Security Agency).

Previously, from the cybersecurity company they explained to ABC that they are “a private global cybersecurity company and, as such, have no ties to the Russian government or any other government.” Regarding the invasion of Ukraine, the firm limits itself to expressing that it believes that “peaceful dialogue is the only possible instrument to resolve conflicts” and that war “is not good for anyone.”

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