The Lithuanian government has decided to ban security software developed by Moscow-based Kaspersky, for the same reasons as the product was banned in the United States and the United Kingdom.
The authorities of Lithuania announced that Kaspersky's software must be removed from computers operating in energy, financing or transportation services. The announcement also includes private companies.
The government says it made this decision because Kaspersky is now considered «potential threat to national security», explaining that its software can run only on computers that do not contain sensitive data.
“Information from computers using the software can leak to countries where we don’t want it to end up,” Rytis Rainys, deputy director of the state agency for cybersecurity, told Reuters
“We combined various sources for the conclusion, including information from our partners as well as from intelligence services”.
We remind that Kaspersky products were recently banned also by the US government, as President Donald Trump signed a bill requiring all state departments to remove the program as soon as possible.
Furthermore, the United Kingdom recommended not using Kaspersky's software due to concerns about possible cyber espionage, although in this case local authorities said they would cooperate with the Russian company to address the problem.
The security company naturally also denies any relationship with the Kremlin, explaining that the decision to ban its software stemmed mainly as a result of a “geopolitical dispute”.
“Kaspersky Lab has no ties to any government, and the decision of the Lithuanian government is disappointing. Unfortunately, the company appears to have become involved in a geopolitical dispute and this has led to claims for which no public, reliable evidence has been presented” says Kaspersky.
