Kaspersky culls staff, closes doors in US amid Biden’s ban

Kaspersky has confirmed it will shutter its American operations and cut US-based jobs following President Biden’s ban on the Russian business last month.

A spokesperson for the antivirus lab told The Register the closure will affect fewer than 50 stateside employees and layoffs will begin later this week.

“Starting from July 20 Kaspersky will gradually wind down its US operations and eliminate US-based positions,” the rep told us. “The decision and process follows the final determination by the US Department of Commerce, prohibiting the sales and distribution of Kaspersky products in the US.”

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo announced the ban in June, and at the time said Kaspersky would for national security reasons no longer be allowed to sell software in the US to new customers from July 20. Uncle Sam will also prohibit Kaspersky from distributing software updates and malware signatures to existing American customers after September 29, rendering its security software largely useless after that date.

“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 said in June.

The next day, the US Treasury Department sanctioned a dozen C-suite and senior-level executives at the antivirus maker, but notably left CEO and co-founder Eugene Kaspersky off the list.

The Russian outfit, at the time, blamed the ban on “the present geopolitical climate and theoretical concerns,” and argued it was not based on a legitimate evaluation of Kaspersky’s services. America is heavily aiding Ukraine in fending off its Russian invaders, and the antivirus maker said it had been caught in the geopolitical cross-fire.

Kaspersky also denied it was a threat to US national security – Uncle Sam says the lab’s products could be used by the Kremlin to backdoor American systems – and pledged to pursue legal action over the issue.

In a statement today, however, it sounds as though any plans to fight the ban in stateside courts fizzled out.

“The company has carefully examined and evaluated the impact of the US legal requirements and made this sad and difficult decision as business opportunities in the country are no longer viable,” it said.

Kaspersky, the statement added, had been operating in the US for almost 20 years “contributing to the nation’s strategic cybersecurity goals by safeguarding organizations and individuals in the country from ever-evolving cyberthreats.”

It continued:

“Kaspersky’s business remains resilient, and our key priority remains the same – to protect our customers in any country from cyberthreats. Being a global cybersecurity vendor, the company will continue investing in strategic markets and remain committed to serving its customers and partners and ensuring their protection.” ®