The Biden administration has made a significant decision to ban US companies and citizens from utilizing software developed by a major Russian cybersecurity firm due to national security concerns. This move, announced by the Commerce Department Secretary, utilizes new authorities granted by executive orders signed by Presidents Joe Biden and Donald Trump to prohibit the use of software products from the Russian firm, Kaspersky Lab, within the United States.
The announcement follows reports in April indicating that the Biden administration was planning to issue an order preventing US entities from using Kaspersky software. The Commerce Department Secretary stated that after a thorough investigation, action is being taken to prohibit Kaspersky Lab and all its affiliates from providing cybersecurity and anti-virus software in the US. Additionally, three Kaspersky entities have been added to the Entity List, preventing them from selling or updating software in the US.
