Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky will lay off dozens of employees and exit the U.S. market following a U.S. government order banning the sale of its software, citing security risks.
Kaspersky announced it will “gradually wind down” its U.S. operations starting July 20, when the ban comes into effect, stating that its U.S. business is “no longer viable.”
Independent journalist Kim Zetter first reported the news on Monday, noting that fewer than 50 employees in the United States will be affected by the layoffs.
Kaspersky spokesperson Sawyer VanHorn confirmed the company’s statement and the layoffs. VanHorn was also among those laid off.
Initially, Kaspersky intended to challenge the ban, asserting that it “does not engage in activities which threaten U.S. national security” and that it would “pursue all legally available options to preserve its current operations and relationships.”
In June, the U.S. Commerce Department issued a ban on the sale of Kaspersky’s antivirus software to U.S. consumers, citing increased security and privacy risks due to the company’s Russian headquarters.
“Russia has shown it has the capacity and intent to exploit Russian companies like Kaspersky to collect and weaponize the personal information of Americans,” U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said during a call with reporters.
Once the ban is in effect, Kaspersky will be prohibited from selling its software to U.S. consumers directly or through U.S.-based resellers. After September 29, Kaspersky will no longer be allowed to push software or security updates to U.S. customers, resulting in degraded protection from the antivirus software.
The Commerce Department implemented a staggered approach to the ban to allow U.S. consumers time to find alternatives to Kaspersky software.
Additionally, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned several senior Kaspersky executives, effectively preventing U.S. customers from paying Kaspersky for its software or transacting with any future company run by its executives. Chief executive Eugene Kaspersky was not sanctioned.
The U.S. government has taken action against Kaspersky under both the Trump and Biden administrations. In 2017, the Trump administration banned the use of Kaspersky software across the federal government after Russian government hackers stole U.S. classified documents from an intelligence contractor’s home computer, which was running Kaspersky software.
Antivirus products, by their nature, typically have broad, if not complete, access to the devices they are installed on to identify malicious cyber threats.
