Kaspersky Lab, a Russian security company, is still feeling the geopolitical squeeze after US officials put it to a list of companies considered unacceptable national security concerns.
The Federal Communications Commission is required by law to publish and maintain a list of communications equipment and services that constitute a “unacceptable danger to national security, or the security and safety of US people.”
Federal money for telecommunications in the United States must not be used to purchase items and services from businesses on the FCC’s list.
Kaspersky Lab expressed dissatisfaction with the FCC’s decision, which it claims is based on political considerations rather than technical evaluations of its products.
Earlier US limitations that barred federal agencies and their contractors from using Kaspersky’s products and services were “unconstitutional, based on baseless allegations, and lacking any public proof of misconduct by [Kaspersky Lab],” according to the security vendor.
In addition to Kaspersky Lab, the US subsidiaries of China Mobile International and national telecom incumbent China Telecom were added to the list last week.
Already subject to US government blacklisting at the time, telecom equipment and smartphone giant Huawei, as well as competitor ZTE and video surveillance firms Hytera, Hikvision, and Dahua, were added to the FCC list on March 12, last year.
Similarly, Moscow-based Kaspersky Lab has been on the radar of the US and European governments in recent years, amid concerns that the security firm may help and abet Russian surveillance and hacking operations.
This month, German and Italian signals intelligence services and authorities advised public and private clients to discontinue use of Kaspersky protection software and seek alternate alternatives.