Regarding any possible ongoing action pertaining to Kaspersky products, a representative for the Commerce Department declined to provide comment.
The action, which is nearing completion and may take place as soon as this month, would forbid Kaspersky Lab from offering specific goods and services in the US through the use of relatively recent Commerce Department powers based on executive orders signed by Presidents Joe Biden and Donald Trump, according to the sources.
Although it is now illegal for US government organizations to use Kaspersky Lab software, prohibiting private enterprises from doing the same would be a first.The sources added that although the Commerce Department has reached a "initial determination" to forbid some transactions between the Russian corporation and US citizens, nothing is definitive until it is revealed.
It's the most recent attempt by the US government to utilize its extensive regulatory powers to stop citizens from adopting widely used technologies that US authorities view as a threat to national security. The Senate is debating a bill that would require TikTok, a Chinese-owned company, to find a new owner or risk being banned in the US.
According to the familiar sources, one objective of the directive would be to reduce any harm to vital US infrastructure.
According to a source who saw the document, the original ruling last year that prohibited specific Kaspersky software also extended to US citizens, albeit it might have been changed.
Although the sources did not specify the entire extent of any final order against Kaspersky goods, it is anticipated that the company's anti-virus software will be the main target.
Questions regarding a possible ban and the size of Kaspersky Lab's US market share were not answered by a business representative.
Regarding any possible ongoing action pertaining to Kaspersky products, a representative for the Commerce Department declined to provide comment.
For years, US officials have claimed that Kaspersky Lab may be forced to provide data to the Russian government or that Kaspersky Lab could seek to hack or spy on Americans using its antivirus software. Kaspersky Lab has vehemently denied all of these allegations.
Before the Commerce Department issues a final decision, Kaspersky Lab is permitted by US law to challenge the "initial determination" that forbids the use of its products or to reach an agreement with the government that allays US security concerns.
Officials in the Commerce Department must carefully assess how feasible it would be for the agency to enforce any such regulation and for users to abide by it. It wouldn't make sense, for instance,
could compel a tiny American company to remove Kaspersky software if it was interfering with operations and didn't affect national security.
Software from Kaspersky Lab is used by more than 400 million consumers and 240,000 businesses globally, the company claims. It's unclear how many of those individuals and businesses are based in the US. However, according to US officials, the program poses a risk to US infrastructure that justifies the pending order.
"A new era" in the laws governing commerce
In 2017, the US federal civilian agencies under the Trump administration were compelled to remove Kaspersky Lab software items from their networks, and Congress subsequently formalized the prohibition.
and used US military networks to implement it. However, the anticipated action from the Biden administration would take things a step further by utilizing the power of the Commerce Department to stop private businesses from utilizing Kaspersky Lab software.
The Commerce authority are relatively recent and partially stem from an executive order issued by Trump in 2019 and Biden in 2021 on the pretext of safeguarding Americans' personal information from "foreign adversaries."
The International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 gives the Commerce Secretary the authority to examine potentially hazardous transactions, and both orders refer to a "national emergency" regarding security risks to the United States' software supply chain.
According to amended law based on the two executive orders, the secretary may specifically forbid transactions involving the information and communications technology supply chain or reduce the risk associated with them.
The Wall Street Journal stated last year that although no decision had been taken, Commerce was considering using its powers to impose restrictions on the use of Kaspersky Lab software.
However, a US individual involved with the secret negotiations said that after months of contemplating how best to utilize the Commerce Department's regulatory powers against the use of Kaspersky Lab software, US officials are finally getting ready to exercise the authority.
Henry Young, a former senior attorney at the Commerce Department, said that the impending action "signals a new era in which Commerce will be more willing to intervene in the name of protecting national security."
Young, who is currently senior director of policy at the Business Software Alliance, an industry lobby, stated that companies "owned or controlled by a foreign adversary should take note" if the Commerce secretary demonstrates "the willingness to prohibit transactions that create an unacceptable risk to US national security."
According to a Commerce official, the goal of the Commerce Department is to use its authority in the most targeted manner possible to address national security problems without negatively affecting American firms or consumers.
The representative did not address any particular proposed measure, only the department's overall strategy for policing digital transactions.
The Commerce official declared, "We will do what addresses the national security risk and nothing more." "We'll do it if it means telling critical infrastructure operators X, Y, and Z operating in high-risk industries that they cannot use this software and that software supplier cannot conduct business with them. And we'll make the necessary broader changes.
significant participant in cybersecurity
Alongside American competitors like McAfee and Symantec, Kaspersky Lab, which was founded in Moscow in 1997, has become one of the most successful anti-virus software companies in the world.
Top-tier experts in the cybersecurity field, Kaspersky Lab is renowned for its ability to analyze not just everyday user-affecting cybercriminal threats but also hacking activities suspected of being carried out by various countries, such as the US, Israel, and Russia.
A portion of the conjecture and mistrust expressed by US authorities regarding the Russian enterprise revolves around Eugene Kaspersky, a captivating computer specialist who co-founded Kaspersky Lab in Moscow in 1997.
When attempting to link the company to the Russian government, some US senators like to bring up the fact that Eugene Kaspersky studied cryptography at an institution supported by the KGB. "Any unethical ties or affiliations with any government, including Russia," is something that Kaspersky Lab has denied having. After graduating, Kaspersky worked as a software programmer at a Russian Ministry of Defense institute; the corporation claims that this was "the extent of his military experience."
Geopolitical tensions between the West and Russia, which have only gotten worse since the Kremlin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, have caused Kaspersky to lament that his company is a victim of them.
But, Kaspersky Lab's relationship with the US government hasn't always been tense, despite the court disputes and years of vitriol. Harold Martin, a National Security Agency contractor, was apprehended in 2016 after receiving a tip from the corporation and turned over to the US government. Martin was found guilty of stealing sensitive material, according to Politico.
However, US officials' misgivings over the Russian software company remained unabated despite another incident involving a different NSA contractor that was published.
In 2015, details regarding US cyber operations were stolen by hackers working for the Russian government from another NSA contractor, according to a 2017 Wall Street Journal investigation.
According to the Journal, which cited sources familiar with the issue, the Russian hackers seemed to have targeted the contractor after recognizing data through the contractor's usage of a Kaspersky Lab program.
"We have not been provided with any information or evidence substantiating this alleged incident, and as a result, we must assume that this is another example of a false acc
usation," Kaspersky Lab stated in a statement at the time.
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