Russian
antivirus
giant
Kaspersky
Labs
has
told
BBC
News
that
it
is
leaving
the
US
after
the
Biden
administration
banned
sales
and
distribution
of
the
firm’s
software.
Kaspersky
said
it
had
made
the
“sad
and
difficult
decision”
to
leave
“as
business
opportunities
in
the
country
are
no
longer
viable”.
It
comes
after
Commerce
Secretary
Gina
Raimondo
said
last
month
that
Moscow’s
influence
over
the
company
posed
a
significant
risk
to
US
infrastructure
and
services.
Kaspersky,
which
had
been
operating
in
the
US
for
two
decades,
has
denied
the
allegations.
“Starting
from
July
20,
2024
Kaspersky
will
gradually
wind
down
its
US
operations
and
eliminate
US-based
positions,”
the
firm
said
in
a
statement.
Its
US
website
has
already
stopped
selling
its
antivirus
and
cybersecurity
tools,
with
a
message
reading
“purchase
is
unavailable
for
US
customers”.
The
announcement
came
after
sales
and
distribution
of
Kaspersky
products
were
banned
in
the
US.
Ms
Raimondo
said
the
US
was
compelled
to
take
action
due
to
Russia’s
“capacity
and…
intent
to
collect
and
weaponise
the
personal
information
of
Americans”.
“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,”
the
Commerce
Department
said.
The
ruling
used
broad
powers
created
by
the
Trump
administration
to
ban
or
restrict
transactions
between
US
firms
and
technology
companies
from
“foreign
adversary”
nations
like
Russia
and
China.
It
effectively
barred
downloads
of
software
updates,
resales
and
licensing
of
the
products
from
29
September,
while
new
business
was
to
be
restricted
within
30
days
of
the
announcement.
Sellers
and
resellers
who
violate
the
restrictions
will
face
fines
from
the
Commerce
Department.
According
to
the
Commerce
Department,
the
Moscow-headquartered
multinational
company
has
offices
in
31
countries
around
the
world,
servicing
more
than
400
million
users
and
270,000
corporate
clients
in
more
than
200
countries.
At
the
time,
Kaspersky
said
it
intended
to
pursue
“all
legally
available
options”
to
fight
the
ban
and
denied
it
engaged
in
any
activity
that
threatened
US
security.
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