Russian antivirus giant Kaspersky Labs has announced its decision to exit the US market following a ban on its software by the Biden administration. The company informed BBC News that it
had made the "sad and difficult decision" to leave, citing unviable business opportunities in the country.
This move comes after Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo declared last month that Moscow's influence over Kaspersky posed a significant risk to US infrastructure and services. Despite operating in the US for two decades, Kaspersky has denied these allegations.
"Starting from July 20, 2024, Kaspersky will gradually wind down its US operations and eliminate US-based positions," the firm stated. Its US website has already ceased selling its antivirus and cybersecurity tools, displaying a message that reads, "purchase is unavailable for US customers."
The ban, announced earlier, prevents the sale and distribution of Kaspersky products in the US. Ms. Raimondo emphasized that the US needed to act due to Russia's "capacity and... intent to collect and weaponize the personal information of Americans."
The Commerce Department clarified that Kaspersky would generally no longer be able to sell its software or provide updates to existing software within the US. The ruling leverages broad powers established during the Trump administration to restrict transactions between US firms and technology companies from "foreign adversary" nations like Russia and China. It effectively bars software updates, resales, and licensing of Kaspersky products from September 29, with new business restrictions taking effect within 30 days of the announcement. Sellers and resellers violating the restrictions will face fines from the Commerce Department.
Headquartered in Moscow, Kaspersky has offices in 31 countries, serving over 400 million users and 270,000 corporate clients globally. In response to the ban, Kaspersky stated it would pursue "all legally available options" to challenge the decision, maintaining that it had not engaged in any activities threatening US security. Photo by Alexxsun, Wikimedia commons.