Biden administration to ban Russian company’s antivirus software

The Biden administration is announcing plans to ban the sale of Kaspersky Lab’s antivirus software in the United States due to national security concerns, Reuters reports.

Sources told Reuters that Kaspersky’s close ties to the Russian government pose a national security risk, potentially letting the company — and the Russian government — steal sensitive information from, install malware on, or withhold updates from Americans’ computers.

The Biden administration is expected to announce the ban Thursday. Kaspersky will be banned from conducting new US business 30 days after the restrictions are published. The ban will also prohibit downloads of software updates, resales, and licensing of the antivirus software, according to Reuters. Businesses already using Kaspersky’s software will have 100 days after the announcement — until September 29th — to find alternatives. Biden’s authority to ban the software is derived from powers created under the Trump administration. (It’s unclear which powers.)

The ban is the culmination of a two-year probe into Kaspersky by the Department of Commerce, which first began investigating the company in 2022. After Russia invaded Ukraine, the federal government warned some companies that the Russian government could manipulate Kaspersky software, causing the Commerce Department to escalate the probe, Reuters reported at the time. National security concerns notwithstanding, Kaspersky’s antivirus software has been well-reviewed. PCMag called the software highly effective but later stopped recommending it in 2022 “based on the increasing censure and criticism of Kaspersky by US government agencies, foreign agencies, and informed third parties.”

Concerns over Kaspersky preceded Russia’s invasion. In 2017, the Department of Homeland Security prohibited federal agencies from using the software, citing the fact that Russian law let intelligence agencies compel assistance from companies, including Kaspersky, and intercept certain communications.