This week the Russian antivirus company Kaspersky Labs announced it is withdrawing from the United States, following a June decision by the Biden administration to ban the sale of Kaspersky software over alleged links to the Kremlin. This was the culmination of a series of restrictions imposed by the US government: In 2017 the Department of Homeland Security issued a directive banning federal agencies from using Kaspersky software, while in 2018 the same rule was applied to the US military.
Further to its recent statement, Kaspersky has now announced something of a farewell gift to its US customers: six months of free security software and updates (thanks, The Register). The way it chose to announce this was via a letter addressed "To our lovely you", which also features a green teddy bear holding a heart balloon and a "stay safe" sign, with a single tear in its eye.
