New York, June 20 (EFE).- President Joe Biden’s administration has banned Russia-based cybersecurity firm Kaspersky from selling its antivirus products in the US over national security concerns due to the company’s links with the Kremlin.

Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo emphasized the risks posed by Kaspersky’s connections to Moscow and its intelligence services, noting that some of its US clients include critical infrastructure providers and local and state governments.

“Russia has shown it has the capacity, and even more than that, the intent to exploit Russian companies like Kaspersky to collect and weaponize the personal information of Americans,” Raimondo told reporters on a call on Thursday.

She said Kaspersky “has long raised national security concerns.”

The secretary said that “while we have been exploring every option at our disposal, we ultimately decided that given the Russian government’s continued offensive cyber capabilities and capacity to influence Kaspersky’s operations, that we had to take the significant measure of a full prohibition if we’re going to protect Americans and their personal data.”

A commerce department statement said Kaspersky “will generally no longer be able to, among other activities, sell its software within the United States or provide updates to software already in use,” said

The statement said a probe had found that Kaspersky’s “continued operations in the United States presented a national security risk due to the Russian government’s offensive cyber capabilities and capacity to influence or direct Kaspersky’s operations.”

The US Commerce Department will notify Kaspersky of its decision soon.

The move adds to the list of cybersecurity firms prohibited from selling their products or services under its brand or derivatives in the United States.

In a statement posted on X, Kaspersky vowed to “pursue all legally available options to preserve its current operations and relationships.”

“Kaspersky is aware of the decision by the US Department of Commerce to prohibit the usage of Kaspersky software in the United States. The decision does not affect the company’s ability to sell and promote cyber threat intelligence offerings and/or trainings in the US,” the company said.

The statement said the US made the “decision based on the present geopolitical climate and theoretical concerns, rather than on a comprehensive evaluation of the integrity of Kaspersky’s products and services.”

“Kaspersky does not engage in activities which threaten US national security and, in fact, has made significant contributions with its reporting and protection from a variety of threat actors that targeted US interests and allies.” EFE

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