According to Bloomberg, the US Federal Communications Commission has added Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab to its list of companies that pose an “unacceptable risk to US national security.” This is the first time a Russian firm has been added to the list, which is dominated by Chinese firms such as Huawei and ZTE.
Businesses in the United States are prohibited from purchasing items or services from the companies on the list using federal subsidies provided by the Federal Communications Commission’s Universal Service Fund. On Friday, the FCC added China Telecom and China Mobile International USA to its list, in addition to Kaspersky.
“I am pleased that our national security agencies agreed with my assessment that China Mobile and China Telecom appeared to meet the threshold necessary to add these entities to our list,” FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel in a press release (PDF). “Their addition, as well as Kaspersky Labs, will help secure our networks from threats posed by Chinese and Russian state-backed entities seeking to engage in espionage and otherwise harm America’s interests.”
In a statement on its website, Kaspersky said the FCC’s decision was “based on political considerations” in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and that the business “remains ready to engage with US government authorities to address the FCC’s and any other regulatory agency’s concerns.”
Russian intelligence allegedly used Kaspersky antivirus software to obtain confidential documents from the National Security Agency in 2017, according to an allegation rejected by the Moscow-based corporation. After accusing the corporation of having ties to the Kremlin, former President Donald Trump signed a bill prohibiting federal institutions from using Kaspersky products later that year.
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