The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a binding directive to all federal agencies, requiring them to stop using Kaspersky software within 90 days due to concerns about the Russian company's ties to the Kremlin.
In a statement, DHS is giving federal agencies 30 days to identify Kaspersky Lab products on their networks and remove them within the next 60 days.
“This action is based on the information security risks posed by the use of Kaspersky products in federal systems,” DHS said.
“The company’s products and Kaspersky Anti-Virus provide broad access to files with elevated privileges on computers on which the software is installed, which can be exploited by malicious users to compromise these systems.”.
According to DHS, under Russian law there are regulations that allow Russian intelligence services to request or compel Kaspersky Lab to provide access to communications passing through Russian networks.
“The risk is that the Russian government, either alone or in cooperation with Kaspersky, could exploit the access provided by Kaspersky Lab products to compromise federal information systems, which directly concerns US national security.”.
DHS will allow Kaspersky to submit a written request for any objections, and Reuters reports that Kaspersky has already denied the allegations implying espionage.
"There is no credible evidence presented publicly by any organization, and the accusations are based on false claims and inaccurate assumptions," Kaspersky Lab said.
In July, the Trump administration removed Kaspersky Lab from two lists of approved vendors that government agencies used to purchase technology equipment.
Reuters reported at the time that Kaspersky products were removed from the General Services Administration (GSA) vendor list for contracts covering information technology services and digital photography equipment.
However, under the guidelines, government agencies were still able to use Kaspersky products purchased separately from the GSA contracting process.
The Ministry's move comes after accusations from US intelligence agencies that Russia managed to hack into Democratic Party emails, thus aiding Donald Trump's electoral victory, despite President Vladimir Putin declaring that his country has never engaged in hacking activities, but some "patriots."
Speaking to reporters in Sydney in June, Eugene Kaspersky said he would not be surprised to learn that there was Russian interference in the recent US election.
"It is not surprising if there was interference by Russian hackers, unfortunately I have no data because we did not participate in the investigation," said the head of Kaspersky Lab.
