The United States government has added a Russian company to its 'black list' of technology companies for the first time. This is the computer security giant Kaspersky, which is now considered "an unacceptable risk to US national security."
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the body that regulates communications in the country, made the decision last Friday at the last minute and also added two Chinese telephone operators, China Mobile and China Telecom, to the list.
"This decision will help protect our networks from threats posed by Chinese and Russian state-backed entities that seek to engage in espionage and harm US interests," said Jessica Rosenworcel, director of the organization. This means that from now on US companies will not be able to use federal funds or US government grants to purchase Kaspersky products or services, including its antivirus tools. Neither can government agencies, since they operate entirely with federal funds.
 |
| User interest in Facebook Falls 87% |
Unlike Huawei or ZTE, the company will be able to continue to market its products in the country and reach agreements with companies to, for example, integrate its antivirus tools into PCs, but manufacturers will have problems selling them to government customers, which which complicates Kaspersky's business prospects in the territory.
It is a new escalation in a relationship that has dragged tension for years. In 2017, with Donald Trump in office, the US government removed Kaspersky from the lists of suppliers accepted by official bodies. The reason is that he considered that the company had ties to the Kremlin and that its antivirus could have been used by the Russian government to steal data from the National Security Agency (NSA).
Do You Know What We Have Posted on
twitter facebook instagram reddit tumblr
The Department of Homeland Security never offered concrete evidence about the decision, but it is believed to be related to the discovery of several NSA files on Kaspersky servers.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has served to tighten the screw a little more from the White House. In a statement released in response to the FCC's decision, Kaspersky says she is "disappointed" by the decision, which she believes has no technical merit and was made solely on political grounds.
"The inclusion is completely unfounded and is a response to the geopolitical climate rather than a comprehensive evaluation of the integrity of Kaspersky products and services," they explain from the company.
0 Comments