Biden administration cites cybersecurity dangers as cause for slapping sanctions on the Russia-based software program firm.
The USA has slapped sanctions on 12 individuals in senior management roles at Russia’s AO Kaspersky Lab, citing cybersecurity dangers, a day after it introduced plans to bar the sale of the corporate’s antivirus software program over “nationwide safety issues”.
The sanctions imposed on Friday goal its most senior leaders, together with Kaspersky’s long-serving chief working officer, Andrei Tikhonov, and chief authorized officer, Igor Chekunov, the US Division of the Treasury stated.
“Right now’s motion in opposition to the management of Kaspersky Lab underscores our dedication to make sure the integrity of our cyber area and to guard our residents in opposition to malicious cyber threats,” Treasury Undersecretary Brian Nelson stated in an announcement.
The sanctions prohibit American firms or residents from buying and selling or conducting monetary transactions with the sanctioned executives, they usually freeze the executives’ belongings held in america.
AO Kaspersky is one in every of two Russian items of Kaspersky Lab, which was positioned on Washington’s trade-restriction record on Thursday for allegedly cooperating with Russian navy intelligence to assist Moscow’s cyber-intelligence objectives.
‘Unfair competitors’
Kaspersky stated in an announcement on Thursday that it’s going to “pursue all legally obtainable choices to protect its present operations and relationships”, including that it “doesn’t have interaction in actions which threaten US nationwide safety”.
The Kremlin has criticised the US determination to ban Kaspersky’s antivirus software program as a approach to take away competitors for American firms.
“Kaspersky Lab is an organization which may be very, very aggressive on the worldwide degree,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov advised journalists on Friday. “This can be a favorite methodology of unfair competitors from the a part of america. They resort to such techniques each time.”
US Division of State spokesperson Matthew Miller, nonetheless, stated the corporate was topic to the “jurisdiction, management or route of the Russian authorities, which may exploit the privileged entry to acquire delicate knowledge”.
The USA is sanctioning 12 executives of AO Kaspersky Lab, a Russian cybersecurity firm. The corporate’s merchandise are susceptible to exploitation by the Russian authorities and pose an unacceptable danger to our nationwide safety and the security and safety of People.
— Matthew Miller (@StateDeptSpox) June 21, 2024
