The Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab closes its division in the United States and lays off all of its workers in the country.
The company, which has been present in the US market since 2005, made the decision after the US Department of Commerce banned the sale of antivirus software developed by Kaspersky in the country from 20 July 2024.
Although the specific motives have not been disclosed, US authorities were conducting an “extremely thorough” investigation, which did cite national security concerns. According to investigators, Kaspersky or the Russian government could use the company’s software to spy on US users or sabotage their security systems.
The popular antivirus company Kaspersky has not waited for the ban to take effect and has decided to close its business in the United States. According to sources from the company, although they initially considered appealing the measure, they have opted to carry out a gradual closure of their operations and will eliminate all jobs in the country, which will be around 50.
According to a statement, after analyzing the impact of the legal measure, they have determined that there are no longer viable business opportunities for the company in the country.
This is not the first time the company has faced closures or bans in the United States. In 2017, the Department of Homeland Security banned federal government agencies or any ministerial department from installing Kaspersky software on their computers. In 2018, its use in the military was also banned.
Kaspersky has always denied that its software could be used to pass classified information to the Russian government. However, until now all the bans have been at the government level, without affecting the commercial market. With the ban now on the sale of antivirus software for personal use, the company is forced to close down.
The closure not only affects the workers who have been laid off, but also leaves all those people and companies that use Kaspersky antivirus without product updates. Since they will not receive updates or security patches from September 2024, the best thing for current users of the brand is to change their antivirus. This is precisely what the US authorities are seeking with this measure.
In addition, they have also prohibited companies in the country from carrying out any type of business or agreement with the Kaspersky firm, nor from using its software or integrating it in any way into other developments they carry out.
